Russia – France renews its support for Mémorial France and hails its commitment to an accurate, restorative vision of history and remembrance (15 December 2023)

France renews its full support for the NGO Mémorial France and hails its commitment to an accurate, restorative vision of history and remembrance on the occasion of the December 15th conference, “Imperial violence: Reconsidering Soviet history through the prism of current events” (“Violences impériales. Repenser l’histoire soviétique au prisme de l’actualité”). Minister Catherine Colonna will be participating remotely in this conference, which has the support of the Institut Français and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

France also reaffirms its support for Memorial’s struggle for human rights and its effort to preserve the memory of crimes committed by Russia since the Soviet era. The Russian regime is exploiting the past and present for destructive, repressive purposes, as illustrated by the judicial harassment suffered by human rights defender Oleg Orlov, Memorial’s co-founder.