RUSSIALINK: “Returning the Names event begins near Solovetsky Stone in Moscow” – Interfax

MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The names of the victims of repressions during the Great Terror under Stalin have begun to be read as part of the Returning the Names event in front of the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow.

“Today, we have gathered in front of the Solovetsky Stone as a symbol of sorrow, memory, and repentance for the 13th time to remember those who were victims of the repressions of the 1930-1950s. It is very important to remember now that any deviation from the law may inevitably result in dangerous events. Violations of human rights, disrespect for human dignity are the most abominable crimes,” Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said after participating in the event on Tuesday.

The events marking the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions will continue on Wednesday. The Bell of Memory, an authorized event honoring the memory of victims of political repressions, will be held in Moscow and other Russian cities on October 30. In Moscow, the event will take place in front of the Wall of Grief, a monument to the victims of political repressions at the crossing between Academician Sakharov Avenue and the Garden Ring. It is to be held for the second year in a row.

Activists of the human rights society Memorial held the first event commemorating the victims of political repressions by forming a human chain around the KGB building on October 30, 1989. The following year, on October 30, 1990, the Solovetsky Stone, the oldest monument to the victims of Soviet political repressions in the country, was installed almost at the base of the Dzerzhinsky monument on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. October 30 was chosen as the national Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions in Russia starting 1991