Police demanded all documentation from Memorial after provocateurs attacked the organization’s office

The police demanded documentation from the leadership of the historical and educational society “International Memorial” for almost 30 years of activity. In addition, the chairman of the board of the organization, Yan Rachinsky, was summoned to the department of economic security and combating corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Central Administrative District of Moscow. This happened after a group of provocateurs tried to disrupt the screening of a film about the Holodomor in Memorial on the evening of October 14.

The security officials “wanted to get an explanation from Rachinsky, it is not known on what basis,” told The human rights activist himself “does rain”. They also demanded to provide them within five days with Memorial’s documents for the entire existence of the organization: a certificate of registration, copies of statutory and constituent documents, orders for the appointment of managers and chief accountants, copies of invoice cards indicating the amounts and reasons for payment, a list of creditors, investors and employees, as well as other financial and business documents.

The police are also demanding to bring a copy of the film about the Holodomor “Gareth Jones” by Polish director Agnieszka Holland, which provocateurs tried to disrupt the screening.

Jan Raczynski considers the demands of the police as “ridiculous” and “irrelevant” to the attack on the building of the center. He added that Memorial would consult with a lawyer regarding the provision of documents and, most likely, would write a statement about the illegality of the police’s demands.

On the evening of October 14, several dozen unidentified men with hidden faces, accompanied by an NTV film crew, burst into the Memorial building to disrupt the screening of the Gareth Jones film about the Holodomor. They shouted slogans and accusations of fascism.

Memorial employees called the police. Most of the unknown people left the hall before her arrival, but 3-5 people were stopped and the police were forced to wait.

The screening, coordinated with the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Polish consulate, was resumed, but after it the operatives took about six hours were not released people from the building, forcing them to write explanatory notes. In them, the audience had to explain how they ended up at the film screening, and talk about their convictions. Lawyers, lawyers and journalists were not allowed to see the employees of Memorial who remained locked up.

The police wanted to confiscate equipment, including computers, but in the end took only part of the fire alarm and the video recorder with them. The lawyers feared that the building would be sealed without an alarm.

The Polish film Gareth Jones tells the story of a journalist from Wales who comes to the USSR in the 1930s with the dream of interviewing Stalin. He becomes a witness of Stalin’s repressions and popular misfortunes, with a threat to his own life, writes an article about the dark side of the Soviet utopia. While the authorities are looking for an opportunity to silence him, aspiring writer George Orwell, impressed by his story, conceives the story “Animal Farm”.