Why did Putin build a monument to victims of Soviet repression?
Something surprising happened on Oct. 30. Since the 1970s, Russian dissidents have marked the date as an annual commemoration of victims of Soviet-era repressions. Although it was adopted as a state holiday in 1991, state officials usually leave the organization of the commemorations to NGOs such as Memorial, which is dedicated to uncovering and publicizing the stories of the victims of Soviet terror.
But this year, during the centenary week of the October Revolution, President Vladimir Putin personally unveiled “the Wall of Grief” — a crescent of faceless human figures, cast in bronze, to remember the victims of the Soviet gulags.… Seguir leyendo »