Person of the Week: Tatyana Kursina

posted 27 Jul 2015, 04:01 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 27 Jul 2015, 04:35 ]
Tatyana Kursina is the former director of the NGO Memorial Center of Political Repression 'Perm-36' which ran Russia's only GULAG museum set up in 1994 on the basis of Perm-36, a Soviet-era labour camp (1946-87). On 22 July the Prikamye district court in Perm fined the NGO 300,000 roubles for failing to register as a foreign agent. The court also fined Tatyana Kursina 100,000 roubles.

Perm-36 announced that it was dissolving when officials from the regional government took over control of the museum. In March 2015, Perm-36 announced it had started the dissolution process after regional officials seized control of the museum. On 30 April 2015, the Justice Ministry ruled that Perm-36 was a "foreign agent."

Sources:
Russian NGO That Created Gulag Museum Fined Under 'Foreign Agent' Law, RFE/RL, 22 July 2015
Damien Sharkov, 'Russia Fines Former Gulag Museum for Being a "Foreign Agent",' Newsweek, 24 July 2015
Tom Balmforth, Perm's Big Chill, RFE/RL, 20 March 2015
'Aleksandr Kalikh: 'Perm-36 – a memorial to whom? Of what?', HRO.org in English, 5 March 2015. 
'Perm-36 NGO to close, but vows to carry on work', HRO.org in English, 2 March 2015
'Management of non-profit Perm-36 denied access to own archives', HRO.org in English, 9 April 2015
'Police seal archives at Perm-36 museum', HRO.org in English, 20 April 2015
'Urgent petition to save Perm-36 Gulag Museum', HRO.org in English, 19 June 2014
'Perm Memorial Society activists meet with Perm Region Governor', HRO.org in English, 9 July 2014
Why does Russia no longer have any need for the GULAG  Museum Perm-36 (Radio Svoboda)', Rights in Russia, 27 June 2014

Photo: Radio Svoboda
Comments