Press release, 29.01.2019

St. Petersburg authorities promise to make a new rent contracts with the Memorial human rights group on 1 March, 2019. St. Petersburg Vice-Governor informed Boris Vishnevsky, Yabloko MP in St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly, about the decision.

“I had a call from Vice-Governor Evgeny Yelin. The issue with Memorial is settled – they will keep their office at 9 Razyezzhaya Ulitsa. The old rent agreement will not be dissolved and the organisation will not be evicted. A new agreement will be signed on 1 March 2019. I was involved in the correspondence involving this issue for half a year. We were protecting Memorial together with Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov. I hope that nothing else prevents the organisation from doing their work. I want to thank all those who helped us,” Vishnevsky wrote on his Facebook page.

The Memorial human rights group has been renting these premises since 1997. The signed their latest agreement for a seven years’ period in January 2011. However, when Memorial tried to extend the rent agreement, the authorities refused to do so.

Boris Vishnevsky appealed to the then Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko, and the decision to dissolve the rent contact was suspended. However, the day before Poltavchenko resigned Vishnevsky was informed that the decision to end the rent agreement remained unchanged. Yabloko’s MP forwarded a new appeal to the acting Governor Alexander Beglov demanding that the decision to evict Memorial is reconsidered.

Earlier Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova also released a statement in support of the Memorial human rights group.