On Oct. 30 – the day that had been unofficially marked in the Soviet Union as Political Prisoner Day and was later designated by Russia’s first post-Soviet parliament as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression—a new monument was unveiled in downtown Moscow. Standing on the corner of the Garden Ring and Sakharov Avenue, the memorial—called the “Wall of Grief”—commemorates those who had perished at the hands of the totalitarian system and its repressive structures over the seven decades of communist rule. The stones for the memorial had been brought from former Gulag camps across Russia; the word “Remember” is written on it in 22 different languages; the faceless heads adorning the memorial symbolize tears. “This is an uncomfortable monument,” said its sculptor, Georgy Frangulyan. “It sends shivers down the spine.”
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Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin unveils memorial to victims of Soviet repression, while his own repression continues
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers during a ceremony of unveiling the country's first national memorial to victims of the Soviet-era political repressions called "The Wall of Grief" in downtown Moscow on Oct. 30.
