Emilia Slabunova’s Facebook page, 12.02.2019

While the state propaganda on the Russia-24 TV channel talks about the “so-called human rights activists”, without giving them a word, and the benefits of the expedition of the Russian Military-Historical Society to Sandarmokh [the place of shooting and burial of the victims of Stalin’s reprisals in Karelia], which causes many questions from historians, human rights activists, journalists and relatives of the repressed [as the Society announced that this was a place of burial of Russian soldiers shot by Finns during the WWII rather than Stalin’s victims shot and buried there by the NKVD], regular hearings of the case of Yury Dmitriyev, Chairman of the Karelian branch of the [human rights society] Memorial are taking place.

The absurdity of the charges and the significance of the work of Yury Dmitriyev [who first discovered the largest in North-West Russia place of burial of Stalin’s victims] are clear to everyone. And that is why people come to support the historian. Today, a remarkable actress and person Liya Akhedzhakova came to the court hearings. Many thanks to Lia Akhedzhakova and to everyone who raise their voice in support of Yuri Dmitriyev!

And I continue to seek the truth on the “expedition” of the Russian Military-Historical Society in Sandarmoh. I have requested a report from the Russian Military-Historical Society on its results and findings, which they promised to submit a day before they started work in Sandarmokh (https://www.yabloko.ru/news/2019/02/12). Since then, they have already managed to hold a press conference and even announce that they have allegedly found the remains of Soviet soldiers shot by Finns [during the WWII], but have not yet submitted a report.

Photos by Sergei Markelov