Recognizing the Memorial organization as “extremist” is dangerous not only for people associated with the main human rights organization in Russia. Preserving the memory of repression and caring for political prisoners at risk. What risks are important to be aware of?

Not real. Pressure has been brought to bear on the memorial in various forms since the early 2000s. In 2012, a law on “foreign agents” was introduced, and a year later the Human Rights Memorial Center was declared a “foreign agent.” In 2016, this fate befell his parent organization, International Memorial. But the work continued.

A big blow to Memorial’s activities was its liquidation. In December 2021, the Supreme Court Make a decision Liquidation of the international memorial at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office. The gist of the complaint was that the organization repeatedly violated the “Foreign Agents” Act – as also allegedly “ovary Nazi criminals” and “created a false image of the Soviet Union as a terrorist state.”

After the liquidation, individual initiatives and projects related to the activities of the Memorial organization continued to exist in other organizational forms (for example, as social movements without legal registration). At that time, participation in or support of such initiatives did not in itself entail administrative or criminal liability.

In February 2026, the Ministry of Justice included the International Association “Memorial”, which was founded in Switzerland, on the register of “undesirable” organizations.

According to Russian legislation, participation in the activities of “extremist” organizations, their financing or other forms of support may entail administrative or criminal liability. Support includes donations, distribution of materials, participation in events, public display of tokens, and much more.

Below are the actions that can be considered grounds for liability according to Russian legislation and what consequences this may entail:

• Article 13.37 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – Distribution through audio-visual services of materials that call for terrorism or justify extremist activities. Fines for citizens and legal entities.
• Article 13.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – Researching and accessing extremist material, including through limited resources. fine.

• Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – Public display of symbols of extremist organizations. Fine or administrative detention (usually up to 15 days). It is also possible to impose a ban on some activities.
• Article 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – Distribution of extremist materials. A fine with the possibility of confiscation of materials or arrest (up to 15 days).
• Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – Public calls for extremist activity. A fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to five years.
• Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – Organizing or participating in the activities of an extremist organization. For participants – up to six years in prison, for organizers – up to 10 years.
• Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — Financing extremist activities (donations to “extremist” organizations fall under this article). Up to eight years in prison (up to 10 years in aggravated circumstances).

• Article 282.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – Repeated demonstration or propaganda of banned symbols, including symbols of extremist organizations. Up to four years in prison. A fine may also be imposed.
• Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – Incitement to hatred or hostility. Up to five years in prison. It can be used with other substances and act as an aggravating circumstance.

It is important to remember that interpretation of the law in Russia may depend on the specific context, the judge hearing the case, and the security officials initiating the case.

If you live or are visiting Russia, for security reasons, you are now prohibited from doing the following:

• Donate to memorial and related initiatives, as well as transfer funds to associated persons;
• Repost, comment or like their posts;
• Post images with their symbols (for example, logo) on your social networks;
• Link to them in your public (or better yet, non-public) texts;
• Participate in their projects, initiatives or events (including online);
• Make general comments that could be construed as support;
• Storage and distribution of its materials, for example books published with the support of or allocated to Memorial, as well as research and archival materials related to its activities.

The memorial itself too calls for Supporters do not search for their websites, social networks and other materials in search engines, nor do they save such bookmarks in the browser. Also, unsubscribe from mailing lists and social media networks, as simply subscribing can attract the attention of security forces. You can read the site and social networks without subscribing (keeping direct links for yourself) without fear.

People whose names are allegedly at the disposal of the Ministry of Justice are now exposed to serious risks (the Ministry stated that it had identified 196 “active participants” in the “Memorial Movement,” who were allegedly “receiving funding, including from foreign organizations”). The names are not publicly available, however If you suspect that you may be on the list for any reason, you should leave the country as soon as possible.

If you are not in Russia, are not planning a trip there and are confident in your safety, there are no immediate legal risks for you.

In this case, you can support Memorial – medially and financially. Its associated organizations continue to work in different countries and plan to fulfill their mission of memory preservation in the future. Thus, the German human rights organization Zukunft Memorial has already promised to expand its activities.

Make the decision responsibly. If you assume that a trip to Russia may become a necessity, you should take care of safety in advance.

We cannot say for sure without access to law enforcement practice, but, in essence, the Supreme Court’s decision means that the space for any activity related to the monument, which continued after 2021 in various forms, effectively disappears within Russia.

• For example, the “extreme” situation affects human rights work: the process of monitoring human rights violations in the country and documenting cases of recent political repression will become more complex. “Support for Political Prisoners” project. Memorial will continue to maintain and update lists of names, but coordinating assistance for these people and their families will already be dangerous.
• The action is also linked to the memorial. In Russia, its application became limited after 2021: offline meetings and public readings of lists of names increasingly took place not in the form of open mass events, but as local initiatives within communities. Some stocks have shifted to online and semi-anonymous formats to reduce risks to participants. Now having to work within the country entails greater risks for participants.
• Future fate is unclear – this public project of commemoration of victims of political repressions in the USSR exists independently and relies in its work on commemorative statements. But Russian law enforcement practice suggests that anything can be considered “extreme.”
• Until recently, various forms of work with Memorial Heritage within Russia remained open – access to archival materials, use of research bases and mention in scientific and educational works. Most of this material is digital and located in Electronic formHowever, it is still unknown how legal its use is. For the academic environment, this also creates an area of ​​legal uncertainty.

All of the above are of great importance for history and civil society in Russia, but even these are only parts of the great legacy of the monument, created over more than 35 years of work.