Places of Remembrance

The Place for Memory in Modern Russia: What to do Today with our Yesterday

Places of memory exist not only in the material world, but also within societal consciousness. Participants will discuss the fate of memorials in Post-Soviet Russia, primarily relating to 20^th century, and their influence on modern society.

Questions for Discussion:

• Is it necessary to remember everything? How does a happening, place or event become one that is remembered?
• How can a memorial influence the life of a human being? What can it change?
• How are collective memories formed and should memorials attractive “to any and every taste” exist? What are we to do with memorials that glorify totalitarianism?

Those invited to the discussion include: 

• Director of the Butovo Memorial Centre, Igor Garkavy; 
• Historian, Organizer and Author of Excursions to the Mednoje Memorial, Igor Korpusov; 
• Co-organizer of the Russia-wide “Prayer for Remembrance” Initiative, Alexandr Korneev; 
• Artist and author of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn graffiti in Tver, Viktor Lebedev, and others.