Press Release, 25.10.2023

Photo by the Novgorod branch of Yabloko

The rally will take place in Veliky Novgorod at the memorial sign to victims of terror on Monday, the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression, 30 October, from 14:30 to 17:30.

Participants will remember the names of the victims of Stalin’s terror – residents of the Novgorod region, executed in the 1930-1940s, and will read out excerpts from letters from today’s political prisoners Yury Dmitriyev, Liliya Chanysheva, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Maria Ponomarenko, Mikhail Afanasyev, Olga Smirnova, Vasily Neustroyev, Natalia Filonova, Andrei Pivovarov and others.

The Novgorod Yabloko will switch in the participants of the rally to the marathon “People, Don’t Kill Each Other!” organised by Yabloko to the Day of Remembrance of Victims of State Terror. The marathon got its name from the inscription on the stone installed at the entrance to the Sandarmokh memorial complex, the place of mass executions in Karelia. The author of the inscription is historian Yuri Dmitriyev imprisoned for 15 years. The organisational committee will prepare for each of the participants of the rally a list of names of five victims to read out at the action.

Registration for the action in Novogorod is required. For those who cannot participate in the marathon on 30 October, Yabloko proposes to send a pre-recorded video by email before 29 October.

Yabloko will stream the marathon on the Yabloko YouTube channel.

After the rally in Veliky Novgorod, the traditional action of writing letters and postcards to political prisoners will be held at the office of the regional branch of the Yabloko party (Bolshaya Moskovskaya 20/4) from 18:00 to 20:00.

Yabloko asks all its supporters to join its actions in memory of the victims of state terror and solidarity with Russian political prisoners.