The Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center «Peace, Progress

mission/activities
The Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center «Peace, Progress, Human Rights»
The Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center is both a cultural institution and a public organization
promoting the formation of civil society in Russia.
It was established by the Public
Commission for the Preservation of the Heritage of Academician Sakharov – Andrei Sakharov
Foundation, chaired at the time by E. Bonner and, subsequently (since 2005), by S. Kovalev. The
Museum and Public Center opened 21 May 1996, on the 75th anniversary of Sakharov's birth.
Permanent exhibits, temporary exhibitions, the library, and museum collections are dedicated to three
main issues: «Totalitarian past», «Conditions of freedom – issues that currently face Russia», «The life
and activities of Andrei Sakharov».
The Museum and Public Center often initiates and organ
izes discussions on urgent societal and political issues and grants, free of charge, its facilities for sem
inars, conferences and other public events to organizations whose goals do not contradict the mission
of the Museum and Public Center.
The Museum occupies a small mansion that was part of a 17th19th century estate last owned by the
Usachev – Naydenov merchant family.
The premises housing the Museum and Public Center
have been granted by the Moscow City Government free of rent until 2021. Reconstruction of the
building was accomplished by architect Grigory Sayevich, and the permanent collection was designed
by architect Yevgeni Ass. Exposition equipment was developed, produced and mounted by Bioinjector
IPK. The design of the Round Table Room incorporates works by artists Svetlana Assiryants and Daniel
Mitlyansky and Maksim Mitlyansky.
In 2000, The Museum and Public Center was granted the
status of an Autonomous NonCommercial Organization. The organization is managed by the Board of
Directors. Grants and donations are the principal sources of operational funding.
Mission of the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center
– To contribute to the preservation of the historic memory of tens of millions of victims of the politi
cal repressions and crimes of the Soviet regime
– To contribute to the establishment of the values of an open democratic society and state in today's
Russia, as advocated and shared by Andrei Sakharov
Major activities of the Museum and Public Center
– Archive and museum activities
– Arrangement of exhibitions
– Defense of human rights
– Educational and instructive programs
– Arrangement of seminars and conferences
– Editorial and publishing activities
– Participation in the implementation of Andrei Sakharov Fund programs and projects
page
01
page
«I believe that mankind will find a rational solution to the challenging task of
implementing grandiose necessary and inevitable progress, at the same time
maintaining the human in man and the natural in nature.»
Andrei Sakharov
03
major sections
The Totalitarian Past of Russia:
«Mythology and ideology of the USSR » and « Political repressions in the USSR »
Temporary exhibitions:
«Problems of today's Russia »
page
05
The Totalitarian Past of Russia:
« The way through GULAG » and « Resistance to «Unfreedom »
«Andrei Sakharov: Personality and Destiny »
major sections
The Museum's Permanent Exhibition presents Soviet history as seen through the prism of political
repressions and resistance to the regime. In Moscow, it was the first exhibition open to the common pub
The artistic design of
lic in memory of the millions sacrificed in the name of communist Utopia.
the exhibition was developed by architect Yevgeni Ass. The main idea of the exhibition is a metaphoric
movement from «unfreedom» to freedom, from darkness to light. The exhibition space is divided into four
naves (corridors) by high walls. The walls serve not only as places for exhibits, but as symbols of chang
ing epochs, as well. By means of a variety of materials (brick, metal, wood, glass, textile), the dark and
gloomy at the start of the route, becomes more spacious, light and bright on the way to its end. The proj
ect was implemented by teams of young architects «Architect Lab» and «IceCoating (Obledenenie) of
Architects», «Bioinjector» Company.
In 1997, the Museum's Permanent Exhibit project was
awarded the prize «For the best interior» at the Moscow Architecture Competition held during the
«Architecture and Design» Fair.
The first authors to contribute to the major sections of the
exhibition included Nikita Okhotin, Leonid Litinsky, and Galina Averbukh. In 19982003, the material
content of the exposition was renewed, but its concept remained the same. The authors of the
renewed exposition were Lyudmila Vasilovskaya, Aleksandr Yermolaev, Andrei Ivanov, Yuri Samodurov,
and Maria Kudyukina.
The exhibits' design and mounting were accomplished by the archi
tects of «masterskayataf», headed by Aleksandr Yermolaev.
I II IIIVI
V
Major sections:
I
II
III
IV
V
Mythology and Ideology of
the USSR
Po l i t i c a l R e p r e s s i o n s i n t h e U S S R
The Way Through GULAG
Resistance to «Unfreedom»
A n d r e i S a k h a r o v : Pe r s o n a l i t y a n d D e s t i n y
the structure of the exposition
page
07
section #1
mythology & ideology of the USSR
1
page
09
mythology and ideology of the USSR
Mythology and Ideology of the USSR
The first section of the Exhibition presents a win
dowdressing of Soviet socialism in the form of a bright, colorful collage of photos, posters, lines from
Soviet songs and slogans. This is propaganda of the Soviet way of life: subjugation of nature, friendship
of nations, labor exploits, festive demonstrations, military parades, sports festivals, progress achieved in
science, technology and culture, unity of the Party and the people. The purpose of the propaganda was to
inspire faith in the inevitable victory of communism.
The idea of building a communist society
rested on man's ageold dreams of a just social order, material abundance, free and joyful labor, a world
without violence, private property, exploitation, and a world without the poor (but, at the same time,
without the rich). Vladimir Lenin declared: «the Russian mass public has to be presented with something
extremely simple, intelligible to its comprehension. Soviets and communism are simple enough». Up to
that point, the Bolshevik Party had led the Utopian project. The party enjoyed absolute power in politics,
the economy and ideology. It controlled society in order to nip all doubts and deviations in the bud.
The citizens of the Soviet state were assured that every day they made fresh advances on their way to the
glorious future. But the attainment of these objectives required sacrifices. There was no coincidence in
the frequent use of combat terminology: struggle for worldwide victory of the revolution, struggle for lib
eration of oppressed nations, struggle for peace in the world, struggle for harvest, for cleanliness, for the
new way of life, for the upbringing of a new man, for the accomplishment of housing and foodproduction
programs, etc. The ideological machinery of the State succeeded in creating an illusory vision of national
life, and a considerable part of society responded with genuine enthusiasm. And it was natural that the
guiding and organizing role played by the Communist Party and its leaders was emphasized permanently
throughout the whole Soviet period of history.
As soon as the majority of citizens realized the
gap between the image of propaganda's «bright future» and reality, the fall of the Soviet regime became
just a matter of time.
раздел #1
mythology & ideology of the USSR
page
11
section #2
Political Repressions in the USSR
The second section of the Exhibition deals with the his
tory of political repressions in the USSR in the period from 1917 to the mid1950's.
The socalled
dictatorship of the proletariat in the person of the Bolshevik Party considered it inevitable to start the
construction of a new society with total repression against real and potential enemies of the regime. Early
on, opposition newspapers were closed, rival political parties banned, the Constituent Assembly was dis
missed, and former landlords, noblemen, entrepreneurs, clergymen, army and police officers were deprived
of suffrage. However, as time went by, it became clear that repressions were not a temporal measure but
the very essence of the new regime. A few months after the revolution passed, a policy of enforcement
was applied to peasantry (the most numerous segment of Russia's population) in the form of «pro
drazverstka» (surplus appropriation system). This made civil war inevitable. The main instrument of
civil war was terror – «red» and «white».
After the war, many prominent representatives of
humanitarian intelligentsia were exiled abroad and the party of socialist revolutionaries (SR) was set
on trial (1922). Meanwhile, the Church suffered a fatal attack: its valuables were confiscated in the
interest of the struggle against hunger; many priests were arrested and shot. In 1928, the socalled
«Shakhty case» became a rehearsal for political show trials of the 1930's.
In the late
1920'searly 1930's, dispossession of kulaks (wealthy peasants) and mass collectivization resulted in
plunder and exile to remote areas of millions of peasant families. So far, independent peasantry was
eliminated. The horrible hunger of 19321933 with 7 million starved to death was a direct conse
quence of this policy.
In the early 1930's, the system of Main Administration for Camps (abbre
viated in Russian as GULAG) was formed. Inefficient forced labor of convicts was implied in construction
of nearly all new giant industrial enterprises, new cities, railways and canals. It remained an inalienable
and important part of the Soviet national economy until the mid1950's.
Violence reached its
culmination in the Big Terror of 19371938. Many prominent party and state figures, scientists and mili
tary officers were eliminated in those years. However, the overwhelming majority of victims consisted of
ordinary workers, peasants and office employees. Arrests and executions were conducted in compliance
with special quotas, approved by the Central Committee and Joseph Stalin personally. Tortures were per
mitted officially.
Even the Great Patriotic War could not stop the war of the Power against the
People. During 19411945, several nations were removed «forever» from their native lands: western
Ukrainians, Baltic peoples, several nations of the North Caucasus, Volga ethnic Germans, Crimean Tatars
and many others. Liberated POWs were immediately sent to Soviet camps. All those who could not leave
home and survived occupation were under suspicion.
In 1946, the era of the Cold War began –
political and military opposition of former allies. The new situation served as a background for ideologi
cal campaigns: struggle against «false sciences» (cybernetics and genetics), against «servility to the
West», against «cosmopolitans». In 1950 – 1953, a new wave of political trials passed including the Case
of Jewish AntiFacist Center, Leningrad Case, Case of DoctorsPoisoners etc. Only the death of Stalin
(1953) prevented further, new mass repressions.
The 20th CPSU Congress blamed the late
leader for all mass violence and called the years of his reign «the cult of personality». But the very sys
tem was not condemned. Henceforth, the party «revealed the cult of personality» and continued to build
communism.
Demography estimates show that in the period 19171954, the nation lost about
40,000,000 lives. The number of those who suffered is beyond estimation.
political repressions in the USSR
II
page
13
political repressions in the USSR
section #2
political repressions in the USSR
page
15
section #3
the way through GULAG
III
page
17
the way through G ULAG
The Way Through GULAG
For decades, the GULAG system was an everpresent fixture of the
Soviet regime, «a state within a state» with its own territory, laws, population, language and economy.
This section of the permanent exhibition demonstrates, once again, the horrible cost of the country's
achievements between the 1930's and the 1950's: broken lives, long years of forced labor of millions of
unlawfully convicted Soviet citizens.
Inspired by the book «GULAG Archipelago» by Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn the exhibition depicts the life of a person sent to a camp – the way along the circles of the
GULAG Inferno: arrest, investigation, verdict, camp, liberation and rehabilitation.
The section
presents original documents, photos, camp household items (such as tableware and clothing), primitive
working tools (shovel, hack, pickaxe), camp newspapers, and letters of prisoners. An individual tragic fate
lies behind each document or artifact. They are the material evidence of the crimes committed by the
Soviet state against its people.
Broken and cracked boards, reinforcing steel, metal rods and
other items on display in the exhibit magnify the unfriendly atmosphere which serves as a back
ground for the story of human life in the camp. On the black metal wall, you see photos of persons
shot in Moscow and the Moscow Region for «counterrevolutionary activities». In sliding boxes of
metal shelves, you find copies of documents of the investigations of political prisoners in 1930's –
1950's. Access computer monitors to view documentation that demonstrates the «Crimes of the
Soviet regime», fragments of the «Martyrs of political repressions executed in Moscow and the
Moscow Region in 1918 – 1953» database, «Memoirs on GULAG and their authors», and «Monuments
to victims of political repressions within the territory of the former USSR».
Two reference
documents are found at the end of the exhibition: certificates of liberation and rehabilitation. The
first verifies that its owner has been imprisoned for a committed «crime». The second informs that
the case has been «cancelled for the lack of corpus delicti».
section #3
the way through GULAG
page
19
section #4
Resistance to «Unfreedom»
This section of the exhibition presents evidence of opposi
tion to the regime in the postwar period through the mid1980's. Only a few dared to manifest dis
satisfaction against the government openly. But hostile attitudes towards official Soviet ideology,
unwillingness to collaborate with the authorities, and attempts to broaden the «permitted area» in
art and culture were very common throughout society.
Upon entering the exhibit, you find
photographs and documents about uprisings in the camps in 1953 – 1954. Fighting against the inhu
man living conditions, convicts insisted, first and foremost, on observation of Soviet laws. Although
these uprisings were brutally suppressed, they led, in the final result, to certain changes in the GULAG
During the postwar years, antiStalinist moods spread among the youth, indicating
system.
the need for changes. Numerous underground youth organizations and groups emerged. The most
noted among them included KPM (Communist Party of the Youth), SDR (Union for the Cause of
Revolution), and DS (Democratic Union). Their main goal was to return to «Lenin's principles and
ideals». Theoretically, they advocated force as a method of struggle, but practically their activities
were limited to the study of Marxist classics and criticism of Stalinism. As a rule, the state security
apparatus managed to detect such groups very quickly, and arrest and prosecute them in conformity
with Article 58 of the Criminal Code. Most of the arrested were sentenced to longterm imprisonment.
Three SDR members were executed.
In the 1960s, a completely new form of nonviolent,
open opposition to the regime emerged – the dissident movement. The movement's most vibrant par
ticipants – human rights activists – called for observation of the rights and freedoms granted by the
Constitution and international agreements: freedom of speech, conscience, and movement, and
access to information and its distribution. Many dissidents from the Baltic Republics, Armenia and
Georgia also advocated the right to national selfdetermination. Human rights campaigners did not
establish organizations with rigid articles, rules and hierarchy. They were people with different and
varying political views, interests, and confessions. In order to exert influence on the State, they pre
ferred civilized protest: meetings, protest manifestations, open plea letters to the authorities and the
world public, and interviews given to Western journalists. Violations of rights and persecution of
human rights campaigners became widely known through the broadcasting of Voice of America, BBC,
and Radio Liberty, and through information bulletins of Samizdat (such as «Chronicle of Current
Events»). In other words, human rights campaigners conducted lawful opposition to the authorities.
Although their activities did not contravene the USSR Constitution, the State fought against them
with the help of the Criminal Code, an obedient judiciary system, and punitive psychiatry. An acceler
ation of repressions in the early 1980's undermined the movement. But, despite the sad outcome at
that time, the movement for human rights succeeded in the distribution of true information and the
formation of public opinion.
Underground culture flourished in the period of the 1970's and
1980's. Unlike human rights campaigners, painters, musicians, writers and poets did not fight against
the power of the State itself, but resisted its ideological directives in art and literature. Their aim
was to reach real freedom in free creative process. This trend was later given the name of noncon
formism.
All of the phenomena mentioned herein contributed to the washout of Soviet offi
cial ideology and, in the final analysis, to the fall of the regime. In 1991, the USSR disintegrated.
resistance to «unfreedom»
1V
page
21
resistance to «unfreedom»
section #4
resistance to «unfreedom»
page
23
section #5
Andrei Sakharov: Personality and Destiny
Andrei Sakharov wrote in his memoirs: «In
a sense, my destiny has been an exclusive one. It is not excessive modesty, but the need to be precise
that makes me note that my destiny has appeared to be larger than my personality. I merely have tried to
keep up with my own destiny. I am no angel, politician or prophet. Therefore, my deeds and my evolution
do not result from a miracle: they are influenced by life, in particular, by people beside me … by ideas
I find in books.» Each section of the exhibition about Sakharov concentrates on a specific issue: «The
Birth,» «War and Science», «The Object», «The Choice», «Resistance», «Gorky», and «The Return». Each
marks a certain «step» in his evolution.
Sakharov devoted his life to science. His discoveries
in thermonuclear synthesis, cosmology, the physics of elementary particles, the predicted decay of pro
tons and, overall, his general body of substantive work in science, outstripped his time. Sheldon
Gladshow, Nobel Prize winner in physics, called Sakharov «maybe the greatest of all contemporary
In 1953, for his contribution to the development of thermonuclear arms,
Soviet physicists».
Sakharov was elected Academician of the USSR Academy of Science. Sakharov realized the dangerous
consequences of nuclear weapons tests and started his struggle for their limitation. Thus began his long
conflict with the Soviet authority. Gradually, the specter of his awareness grew broader. In 1967, he first
signed appeals in defense of political prisoners. In 1968, in his first publicized article, «Considerations on
Progress, Peaceful CoExistence and Intellectual Freedom», Sakharov revealed global threats to mankind.
The problems could be solved jointly by the USSR and capitalist countries, said Sakharov, and he called for
rapprochement on the base of convergence. Sakharov gave Considerations to Samizdat and sent a copy
to Leonid Brezhnev. In the following couple of years, 18 million copies of Sakharov's article were pub
lished abroad in 17 languages and gave rise to active debate.
Since 1970, the defense of
human rights and the defense of people persecuted for political reasons were of prime importance to
Sakharov. He became a troublemaker to the authorities. In 1975, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for
«…noncompromise struggle against the abuse of power in all its manifestations». In 1980, after his pub
lic protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he was deprived of all governmental awards and
exiled, without any trial and without any fixed term, to the city of Gorky. He lived there under 24hour
supervision of the KGB and had contact with the outer world only through his wife, Elena G.Bonner. Later,
in 1984, Mrs. Bonner was also exiled to Gorky for five years. While in exile, Sakharov went on hunger
strikes several times in order to defend his relatives. During the period at Gorky, he wrote a number of
important articles on science and started his book «Memoirs».
In December 1986, Mikhail
Gorbachev, then Secretary General of the Communist Party Central Committee, freed Mr. Sakharov and his
wife from exile. For many people, Sakharov was the informal leader of the democratic movement in sup
port of perestroika. In 1989 he was elected People's Deputy representing the Academy of Science. At the
First Congress of People's Deputies he presented his «Decree on Power» with the demand for abandon
ment of Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution (guiding role of the CPSU). This demand determined the fol
lowing stage in national history.
Andrei D. Sakharov died 14 December 1989. In the history of Russia in the twentieth century, few can be
found who exerted such moral impact on their contemporaries.
Andrei Sakharov
V
page
Andrei Sakharov:
P e r s o n a l i t y a n d d e s t i ny
25
section #5
Andrei Sakharov
page
27
exhibition hall
page
29
Capital punishment.
S.Agroskin. 2001
«All in good time».
S.Faibisovich. 2001
Sologubovka/Russia.
S.Shlyaer, M.I.Shtefan. 2004
Hands of the Power.
M.Mikhalchuk, A.Panov. 2006
Political `justice` and political prisoners in today's Russia.
A.Kholopov, Yu.Samodurov, L.Ponomarev. 2006
Notebooks of Yevfrosinia Kersnovskaya.
V.Rivanenok, N.Magidova, L.Vasilovskaya. 2005
The dead road: construction object No. 501503.
L.Vasilovskaya. 2005
Exhibition Hall
The Museum's exhibition program is principally devoted to current social and
political issues. Each exhibition is presented with a focus on the urgent problems facing society today,
and provides a way for the Museum and Public Center to participate in current societal life. The range
of problems discussed is rather broad and includes the war in Chechnya, the death penalty, the posi
tion of refugees, Soviet history, human rights and other similar topics.
In the genre aspect,
most of the exhibitions present contemporary fine art. A special series of exhibitions is dedicated to
artists who have suffered repressions. The arrangement of such exhibitions is our tribute to painters who
passed through the GULAG.
The titles of exhibitions on important actual issues include: «The
idea to create a Museum of the USSR», «Immunity against illusions», «Capital punishment», «Enough!»,
«What are we fighting for?», «People on the edge», «Caution: religion!», «Female portrait. Prison.
Russia. 21st century», «Notebooks of Yevfrosinia Kersnovskaya», «Political `justice` and contemporary
Russian political prisoners».
The exhibition «Caution: religion!» created the most controver
sial response. It was demolished by activists of a quasiconfessional organization. The event was fol
lowed by two trials: one against the hooligans and then, one against the organizers of the exhibition.
In both cases, the verdicts were not in the Museum's favor. The event revealed dramatic differences
in citizens' comprehension of freedom of speech and liberty of conscience granted by the Constitution.
The Museum's traveling exhibitions ("Enough!», «White list», «Illusion», «Capital punishment», «Lusya
and Andrei», «Medieval architecture of Chechnya and Ingushetia») have been displayed in many Russian
museums and exhibition halls. Cities to which they have traveled include Krasnoyarsk, Samara,
Ulyanovsk, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, and Pyatigorsk, among others.
The Museum
has participated in joint exhibition projects in collaboration with other entities including the State
Center for Modern Art, Krasnoyarsk Museum Center, Museum of Outsiders, Yaroslavl Art Museum, «Arc»
Gallery, Memorial Society, Moscow Helsinki Group, and Movement For Human Rights.
Exhibition
projects since 1997 have been organized and supervised by noted artists, including Aleksandr Yermolaev,
Nikolai Polissky, Konstantin Batynkov, and Aleksandr Ponomarev among others.
Sunken time. Russia. 20th Century.
M.Dashevsky. 2005
Art to life or an emergency exit.
A.Trubetskov, S.Pushkin. 2005
Female portrait. Russia. Prison. 21 st century.
Ye.Okun. 2005
Orrangement.
V.Rivanenok. 2005
Revolution?
L.Malskaya. 2005
Sakharov Gardens.
L.Vasilovskaya, N.Magidova. 2004
What we are fighting for?
Yu.Samodurov, masterskayataf. 2004
Far away from socialist realism.
V.Tikhanova. 2004
From Samizdat to tactical media.
O.Kireyev, N.Magidova. 2004
Immunity against illusions.
masterskayataf. 2003
The Golitsyns from Pokrovka.
V.Tikhanova. 2003
Political "justice"
and political prisoners in today's Russia.
A.Kholopov, Yu.Samodurov, L.Ponomarev. 2006
"Solidarity". Textbook.
V.Rivanenok, L.Vasilovskaya. 2005
exhibition hall
page
31
People on the edge.
A.Kuznetsov,L.Vasilovskaya. 2003
Faces of modern poetry.
M.Malanova, N.Magidova. 2003
Direct speech.
Yu.Reshetnikov. 2003
Caution: religion!
A.Zulumyan. 2002
Farewell to GULAG?
A.Kuznetsov. 2002
«The day of commemoration has no price».
V.Vedeneyev. 2002
Family album.
M.Ignatov, Yu.Reshetnikov. 2001
Letters from an abandoned house.
I.Goletiani. 2002
Notebooks of Yevfrosinia Kersnovskaya.
V.Rivanenok, N.Magidova, L.Vasilovskaya. 2005
Journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
D.Kamensky, A.Volodin. 2002
Artists' works after GULAG.
V.Tikhanova. 2002
Euro.
I.Daniltsev, A.Zverolovlev. 2002
Smoke without a fire.
A.Ponomarev. 2002
White list.
L.Vasilovskaya, T.Gromova, N.Magidova. 2002
Illusion.
B.Prudnikov, Yu.Fesenko. 2001
Enough!
Yu.Samodurov, V.Rivanenok, N.Magidova. 2001
Capital punishment.
S.Agroskin. 2001
Family album.
M.Ignatov, Yu.Reshetnikov. 2001
Protoculture.
masterskaya taf. 2001
Glory to thee, our free Fatherland?
T.Lebedeva. 2001
Far away from socialist realism.
V.Tikhanova. 2004
Baltic way.
L.Vasilovskaya, masterskayataf. 2001
Sakharov's era.
Yu.Zlotnikov. 2001
Adaptation.
K.Batynkov. 2001
Wall paper.
K.Batynkov. 2000
Against a crowbar.
K.Mikhailov, A.Klimenko. 2000
What are we fighting for?
Yu.Samodurov, masterskayataf. 2004
Walls.
L.Vasilovskaya, masterskayataf. 2000
Chechnya. The right to culture.
L.Ilyasov, A.Sorin, masterskayataf. 1999
TOP SAMBO.
L.Reznichenko, B.Mamonov.1998
«The USSR Museum» exhibition/laboratory.
Yu.Zlotnikov. 1998
From charity to recognition.
L.Reznichenko. 1998
Soviet zone.
L.Berlin. 1998
Human rights as a personal document.
N.Polissky. 1998
Refugees.
N.Ivanova, V.Rivanenok. 1997
Freedom as seen by Yuri Rost. 1997
Immunity against illusions.
masterskayataf. 2003
conferences/seminars/meetings
page
33
The Inauguration of Wounded Pegasus monument.
D.Mitlyansky, G.Shilina, G.Sayevich. 2004
Elena Bonner at the Press Conference 50 Years
of the UNO Universal Declaration of human rights.
Year 1998
Action handing of personal
«Human rights» document. 1998
Z.Bagalova, V.Redgrave at the presentation
of the film «Children's stories» documentary. 2000
The Concert in the Museum Square
devoted to Andrey Sakharov birthday. 2005
Conferences, Seminars and Meetings
More than 100 public events take place in the
Museum and Public Center annually. These include scientific and political conferences, seminars, dis
cussions and lectures, presentations of new books, concerts, movie screenings, and theatrical perform
ances. More than half of these are coordinated by the Museum itself, while various public organizations
organize the rest.
Some of the most notable conferences, organized exclusively by the
Museum and Public Center and dedicated to the issues that currently face Russian society, include:
«Ukraine and Russia: Societies and States» (1997); «To the 30th Anniversary of Sakharov's
«Considerations on Progress: Peaceful CoExistence and Intellectual Freedom» (1998); «Belarus and
Russia: Societies and States» (1998); «Chechnya and Russia: Societies and States» (1999); «Electronic
Sakharovian CongressHall (2001); «Just and Unjust Social Disparities in Contemporary Russia» (2002);
«Chechnya International Documentary Cinema Festival» (2003); «Russia Yesterday and Today» (conference in
memory of Otto Latsis, 2006).
Between 2000 and 2005 the Museum conducted a series of profes
sional training seminars for school teachers entitled «The History of Political Repressions and Resistance
to «Unfreedom» in the USSR», managed by I. Shekotova, Chief Librarian.
For the last few years
seminars on «PostModernism and Contemporary Russia» have been conducted in the Museum, man
aged by V. Khrustov and attended by noted Russian scientists.
S ince 2005 the Program
"Pacifist School," managed by S. Sorokin, has arranged counseling sessions for army conscripts.
The Roads which we didn't choose.
A Performance (The «Comediant» Theatre). 2005
library
During the visit of the President of the Republic Poland Mr. A.Kwasnievski
and Poland expresident V.Jaruzielski. 2005
The Library
The Library at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center specializes in his
torical, social, and political publications on the USSR and postSoviet Russia. The library's collection
includes over 13,000 titles. The major sections of the Library coincide with the themes of the Museum's
permanent exhibits.
The Totalitarian Past includes: Complete editions of the works of Marx,
Engels, Lenin, and Stalin; A comprehensive set of stenographic records of the VKP(b) – CPSU Congresses
and open political trials; Collections of documents on the history of political repressions in the USSR
and resistance to the regime; Investigations on global issues of totalitarianism; Several classical exam
ples of Soviet fiction; Albums of Soviet fine art and propaganda.
Periodicals from the early
years of the Soviet Union and special publications made by the VChK, OGPU, and KGB are of great biblio
graphic value.
The Library also possesses documents from the trial of the CPSU conducted by
the Constitutional Court. Included are 450 copies of the protocol records of VKP(b) and the CPSU
Central Committee Politburo meetings between 1919 and 1991. More than half of these have never
been published.
One unique collection contains the memoirs of political prisoners – excon
victs of the GULAG and Soviet dissidents. The documents are available in both printed and electronic
form. The Library possesses one of the most comprehensive collections of «Martirology Books of political
repressions victims» published in Russia and the former Soviet Republics.
Conditions of freedom
– issues that currently face Russia contains publications on issues of democracy and human rights in
postSoviet society: wars in Chechnya, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and other conflicts, as well as the posi
tion of refugees and the situation in the Army.
The Life and activities of Andrei D.Sakharov con
tains his scientific works, published articles, memoirs and diaries as well as biographies and other books
written about him.
The Reference Fund contains reference editions, dictionaries, glossaries and
encyclopedias. The Library also possesses the only complete set of Nobel Committee Yearbooks for 1901
– 2000 in Russia.
Video Library presents typical feature films and documentaries, mostly from
the Soviet era.
The Library operates as a readinghall. It provides free access to its collection
and electronic catalogue, as well as a freeofcharge internet connection.
page
35
common action
page
37
The Protest Action against the court trial against the organizers
of the exhibition «Caution: Religion!». 2004
The human rights activists – L.Ponomarev, Yu.Orlov, S.Kovalev. 2005
The Session of the Common Action Initiative Group. 2005
Common Action Initiative Group
In 1997, Elena Bonner, Lev Ponomarev and Valery
Abramkin initiated establishment of the informal Initiative Group for Amalgamation in Defense of Civil
and Economic Rights in the Russian Federation or, briefly, the Common Action Initiative Group. The
Group was comprised of representatives of several human rights organizations, former Soviet dissidents
and political prisoners.
As proclaimed by the Constituent Declaration of the Common Action
Initiative Group: «We amalgamated in order to join efforts in exerting impact on the State and on all
those who violate human rights… Only the realization of those rights can provide for a reliable founda
tion of a lawful State and prevent the return to totalitarianism in Russia…»
Meetings of the
Group are held in the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center.
Between 1997 and 2005, the
list of persons who have participated in the Common Action Initiative Group, or actively collaborated with
it in certain periods, included: Valery Abramkin, Lyudmila Alekseeva, Boris Altschuller, Mikhail Arutyunov,
Andrei Babushkin, Pavel Bashkirov, Vyacheslav Bakhmin, Larisa Bogoraz, Elena Bonner, Valery Borschev,
Yuri and Sergei Brovchenko, Lyudmila Vakhnina, Svetlana Gannushkina, Valentin Gefter, Lidiya Grafova,
Sergei Grigoryants, Elena Grishina, Evgeny Ikhlov, Anna Karetnikova, Maria Kirbasova, Sergei Kovalev,
Tatyana Kasatkina, Malva Landa, Lev Levinson, Karinna Moskalenko, Viktoria Malikova, Vladimir Oyvin,
Oleg Orlov, Grigory Pasko, Sergei Pashin, Mara Polyakova, Lev Ponomarev, Yuri Samodurov, Aleksei Simonov,
Sergei Sorokin, Aleksandr Tkachenko, Ernst Cherny, Yuri Shadrin, Aleksei Yablokov, priest Gleb Yakunin.
memories of lawlessness
V.E.Abramov
The Memorial to the Victims
of Political Repressions.
Abakan city,
Khakassian Autonomous Republic
Mr. V.Kuchenov, Mr. A.Sekunda,
Mr. M.Semizorov.
D.N.Akelkin
page
39
The Monument to the Victims Shot in 192126
on the territory of the Hospital # 23 in Moscow.
A.Yermolaev.
А.L.Zubov
К.V.Eganova
A.A.Arnold
M.Aymukhomedov
O.M.Frinovsky
R.S.Bochlen
D.O.Romanov
N.I.Bukharin
The Monument to the Poles
who had perished
in the Norilsk camp (Norilsklag).
Author Mr. S.Gerada
A.Т.Timofeev
The Mask of Grief.
Magadan town.
Mr. E.Neizvestny, Mr. K.Kazaev.
Memories of Lawlessness
The primary objective of this ongoing program is to record and
preserve historical awareness of tens of millions of political repression victims and crimes of the Soviet
regime through the creation and permanent replenishment of electronic databases.
List of
Martyrs of political repressions, executed and buried in Moscow and the Moscow Region during the peri
od 1921 – 1953.
Catalog of monuments and memorial signs to victims of political repression
within the territory of the former USSR.
Database of authors of memoirs about the GULAG
(biographical data and photographs of authors made before they were arrested and wrote memoirs).
Electronic library of memoirs about the GULAG published in Russian.
Database of
repressed artists and art critics.
The materials are available on Internet at
http://www.sakharovcenter.ru/bases/bases _index.htm
programs/projects
page
41
Competition «A lesson on the topic: «History of political repressions and resistance to
«unfreedom» in the USSR»
The competition may be attended by teachers of history, social
science and literature. Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center conducts the competition in col
laboration with Moscow Institute of Open Education, Russian Academy for raising teachers' profes
sional skills and retraining, Regional and City Departments of Education. The competition is held
annually since 2002. Financial support has been provided by NED (United States) and Open Russia
Foundation.
The objective of the competition is to promote study of the history of political
repression and resistance in the USSR in secondary/high schools, and to bring about discussions con
cerning historical, legal and moral evaluation of the Soviet system.
Plans and video materials
of conducted lessons are accepted for participation in the competition. Plans of best practice and docu
ments of conferences dedicated to results of the competition are published in compilations "School
Lessons on the History of Political Repressions and Resistance to Unfreedom" in the USSR." The edition
is delivered to libraries of universities and pedagogical institutes and to regional libraries. Published
materials are also available at
http://www.sakharovсеnter.ru/publications/publications .htm
TOP SAMBO Program
TOP SAMBO Club (the Russian acronym for «Taganka Society for Legal
SelfDefense Without Weapons») operates every year during the period October – May. Lectures, dis
cussions and training sessions are conducted weekly. Teenaged students meet and interact with histori
ans, philosophers, sociologists, lawers, psychologists, public figures and former political prisoners. Role
playing games on social adaptation, conducted by skilled specialists, are extremely popular.
Lectures and discussions enable students to develop comprehensive understanding and to form ideas
about totalitarianism and democracy, civil society and human rights. Participation in role playing games
and training help students learn to communicate, reach agreement, tolerate different points of view
while defending their personal opinion in a civilized manner, and bear responsibility.
Lessons
are free of charge.
editions/collections
Museum Collections
Publications of the Andrei Sakharov Museum
and Public Center
Publications made by
the Museum were dedicated to the issues of establish
ing democracy and civil society in contemporary
During the period 1997 – 2004, a
Russia.
series of monographs were issued entitled «Russia and
the Countries of the Former USSR: Societies and
States», edited by D.Furman. The series included:
Ukraine and Russia (1997), Belarus and Russia (1998),
Chechnya and Russia (1999), Azerbajdzhan and Russia
(2001), Baltic Countries and Russia (2002), Kazakhstan
Another series concern
and Russia (2004).
ing theoretical problems of human rights, also edited
by D.Furman, included «On the Way to Islamic
Reformation: Civil Freedoms, Human Rights and
International Law» by Abdullahi Akhmed AnNaim
(1999) and «Secession. The Right to Separation,
Human Rights and Territorial Integrity of Nations» by
Alan Buchanan (2001). The same series also included
«Just and Unjust Social Disparities in Contemporary
Russia» compiled and edited by R.Ryvkina) (2003).
Individual projects resulted in the publication of
«Local SelfGovernment in the Context of
Housing/Communal Reform» by F.Borodkin (2003)
and «Moscow Human Rights Committee» by E.Kline
(2004).
«The Book for Teachers. History of
Political Repressions and Resistance to «Unfreedom»
in the USSR» (2002, ed. V.Shelokhaev) was designed
specifically for teachers. In 2003, 2004 and 2005,
the compilations «School Lessons on the History of
Political Repressions and Resistance to «Unfreedom»
in the USSR» (ed. G.Klokova) were published. They
contain the best practices, selected in an annual pro
gram of competition conducted by the Museum and
Public Center, in relevant lessons from throughout
various regions of Russia.
«You and the
state» (1999, ed. I.Shekotova) and «Values of the
Civil Society» (2001, ed. A.Mikhailova, G.Apresyan) for
high school students and teachers were prepared.
The various collec
tions of the Museum are consistent with two of its
main issues: «totalitarian past» and «conditions of
freedom – issues that currently face Russia». They are
presented as follows:
«Artists' works, before
and after GULAG» – over 500 pieces of painting,
graphics and sculpture including works by M.Rudakov,
B.SmirnovRusetsky, N.Sychev, N.Maltseva, V.Timirev
and others. The collection has been gathered by
V.Tikhanova.
«Forced labor and living» –
working tools, tableware, clothes and other personal
items.
«GULAG files» – copies of investiga
tions, letters from prisoners' camps, photos, and other
documents.
«Memory of lawlessness» – pho
tos of the authors of memoirs on the GULAG and mon
uments to the victims of political repressions erected
within the territory of the former USSR.
«Resistance to «Unfreedom» – over 1,500 photos of
Soviet dissidents, prisons, camps and mental hospitals
from the collection of Professor Peter Reddway.
«Samizdat and tamizdat» – slang terms for «selfpub
lished» and «published abroad», illustrated by 500
copies of uncensored editions distributed in the USSR.
«Newspaper collection» – urgent issue of ROSTA
«wallpaper» with a list of persons shot under the
sanction of VChK (1919), «News of Provisional
Revolutionary Committee of Sailors, Red Army Men
and Workers of Kronshtadt» (1921) and others.
«Soviet agitation and propaganda» – posters, banners,
pennants, diplomas, and badges.
«Military
conflicts and their consequences» – unique photo
and video documentaries from current military con
flict areas: Chechnya, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
«Chernobyl disaster» – video interviews with people
involved in the elimination of the consequences of
the Chernobyl catastrophe, as recorded by Svetlana
Aleksiyevich.
«Elections» – documents and pro
pagandistic matters of election campaigns between
1990 and 2005.
Information about the
exhibits is stored in the electronic catalogue of the
museum collection (software developed by KAMIS JSC,
St. Petersburg).
page
43
Exposition materials presented by:
Sponsors and Grantors
Organizations:
A.D.Sakharov Archive
Russian State Archive of Cinema and Photographic
Documents (RGAFKD)
State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF)
Archive of the President of the Russian Federation
(APRF)
Central Archive of the Federal Security Service of
the Russian Federation (CA FSB RF)
Russian State Archive of Social and Political
History (RGASPI)
"Memorial" International HistoricElucidative
Charity and HumanRights Society
Government of Moscow
US Agency for International Development /USAID
National Endowment for Democracy /NED
(United States) through mediation of the legal
Consortium ARD/CHECCHI and Freedom House
(United States)
John D. & Catherine T.MacArthur Foundation
(United States)
Soros Foundation (United States)
Henry M.Jackson Foundation (United States)
Booklet Credits:
Compiled by Lyudmila Vasilovskaya
Editor – Yuri Samodurov
Translation – Konstantin Ananichev,
Edward Reddrop, David Reddrop
The booklet was prepared with the help of
Maria Kudyukina, Yuri Samodurov, Olga Baranova,
Bela Koval, Antonina Mikhailova, Inna Schekotova,
Tatyana Gromova, Aleksandr Goldin
Booklet design by «masterskayataf»:
Aleksandr Yermolaev, Elena Tarutina,
Konstantin Shulika, Natalia Chunakova
This edition was sponsored by Henry M.Jackson
Foundation (United States)
Printed by – «GroshevDesign»
Open Society Institute /Soros Fund (Russia)
Andrei Sakharov Foundation (United States)
Open Russia Foundation (Russia)
UNICEF Representative Office in Russia
Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway
Union of Right Forces /SPS (Russia)
Moscow News
Individuals:
Elena Bonner (Russia)
Boris Bulochnik (Russia)
Allan Wynn (United Kingdom)
Peter Vins (United States)
Vladimir Gusinsky (Russia)
Yuri Zapol (Russia)
Edward Kline (United States)
Anatoly Novikov (Russia)
Aleksandr Panikin (Russia)
The Museum and Public Center express gratitude to
those who enriched the collections of the museum
and library
Valuable exhibits were donated by:
Zuleikhan Bagalova, Leonid Berlin, Elena Bonner,
Yuri Grimm, Valentina Ievleva, Edward Kline,
Vladimir Mashatin, Israel Mazus, Yuri Rost,
Yekaterina Shikhanovich, Rudolf Vedeneyev,
Vladimir Vernikov, Vladimir Zherlitsyn, Yuri
Zlotnikov, Tronin family, inheritors of Pavel Ozol,
Aleksandr Sobyanin, Leonard Ternovsky.
The Board of Directors of the Andrei
Sakharov Museum and Public Center
Anatoly Shabad
Chairman of the Board of the Museum
and Public Center
Yuri Samodurov
Director of the Museum and Public Center
Leonid Bazhanov
Boris Bolotovsky
Rare books and valuable bibliographic col
Elena Bonner
lections were donated by:
Svetlana Gannushkina
Elena Bonner, Nikolai Formozov, Edward Kline,
Boris Dubin
Aleksei Levinson, Aleksandr Livergant, Yulia
Vladimir Fainberg
Malkova, Mikhail Mindlin, Viktor Sokirko, Lidia
Leonid Keldysh
Tkachenko, Oleg Torchinsky, Vladimir Zaitsev.
Edward Kline (United States)*
Sergei Kovalev
«Memorial» International HistoricElucidative
Aleksandr Lavut
Charity and HumanRights Society
Leonid Litinsky
Embassy of the State of Israel
Lev Ponomarev
Vozvraschenie Publishers
Aleksandr Pumpyansky
Posev Publishers
Yuli Rybakov
Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on
Yuri Ryzhov
Poklonnaya Gora
..
Aleksei Semenov (United States)*
Enquete – Kommission «Uberwindung der Folgen
Victor Shenderovich
der SEDDiktatur im Prozess der deutschen Einheit»
Gennadi Zhavoronkov
des Deutschen Bundestages
..
Bubliothek der Hansestadt Lubeck
*Members of the Board before entry into force
of the Law on NonCommercial Organizations
Simon Wiesenthal Center
(17 April 2006).