Kennan Institute Congratulates 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Winners
The Nobel Committee has awarded its 2022 Peace Prize to three promoters of human rights from our region: the human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties. The Kennan Institute congratulates these human rights advocates for their tireless work to empower civil society in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Memorial and Ales Bialiatski face significant resistance from their own governments in Russia and Belarus. The Center for Civil Society has played a critical role in documenting human rights crimes and abuses in the aftermath of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. This year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates exemplify courage under pressure, and "together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy."
As highlighted below, the Kennan Institute has benefited from years of collaboration with the International Memorial Society and the Memorial Human Rights Center. We have hosted individual scholars as well conducted joint seminars on such issues as the Gulag, historical memory in Russia, contemporary political prisoners, and the current state of human rights in the Russian Federation. We are sharing selections from our collaboration to underscore the value of Memorial's work.
Memorial at Kennan
Smart Take: Russia’s Memorial Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Russia Without Memorial
Putin's Goal in Destroying Memorial: One More Step in Dismantling Russia’s Civil Society
Women’s Memory of the Gulag and the Future of Russia’s Memorial
'History Must Be Measured in Human Beings'
U.S. Film Premiere and Discussion: "The Right to Memory"
GULAG: Gone but not Forgotten
GULAG, a system of Soviet forced labor camps, was officially shut down more than half a century ago, but its memory remains a topic of dispute. Only a few of the camps’ survivors and former employees are still alive and can share their stories and reflections.
Smart Take: Russia’s Memorial Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Senior Program Associate Izabella Tabarovzky talks about the Russian organization Memorial, which was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Russia Without Memorial
In this roundtable, the Kennan Institute discussed what the destruction of Memorial will mean for the future of Russia with Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director of "Memorial" Historical, Educational and Human Rights Society; Daniil Beilinson, co-founder of OVD-Info; Grigory Vaypan, independent human rights lawyer and scholar; Kathleen Smith, Professor of Teaching at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.; and Kennan Senior Advisor Sergey Parkhomenko.
Women’s Memory of the Gulag and the Future of Russia’s Memorial
The Kennan Institute hosted a conversation about the latest developments at Memorial, saw photos from its new exhibit on women at the gulag, heard the stories behind them, and discussed Memorial’s future with speakers Irina Scherbakova, Director of the Memorial Oral History Center; Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director of "Memorial" Historical, Educational and Human Rights Society; Steven Barnes, Associate Professor of Russian and European History at George Mason University.
Film Screening and Discussion: Women of the Gulag
Shortlisted for an Academy Award in the documentary category, “Women of the Gulag” tells the compelling and tragic stories of six women—possibly, the last survivors—who found themselves caught up in Stalin’s massive slave labor machine. The screening was followed by a discussion with filmmaker Marianna Yarovskaya and former Galina Starovoitova Fellow Elena Racheva.
