Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial

Russia’s Supreme Court dealt a severe blow to human rights advocacy Thursday by designating the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group Memorial as “extremist,” effectively criminalizing its activities in the country. The decision represents the latest escalation in the Kremlin’s intensifying crackdown on civil society amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The ruling followed a closed-door hearing on a Justice Ministry petition to ban what it termed “the Memorial international civic movement.” Memorial, in a statement, pointed out that no such formal entity exists, but warned the ruling would “allow the authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, their participants and supporters.”

On the same day, police in Moscow raided the offices of Novaya Gazeta, a prominent independent newspaper whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Lawyers for the publication were denied entry during the raid.

Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and most respected human rights organizations, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the court’s actions as “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”

Founded in the late 1980s during the Soviet Union’s period of openness under Mikhail Gorbachev, Memorial was established to document and memorialize victims of Soviet political repression. Over decades, it evolved into a network of organizations in Russia and abroad dedicated to human rights advocacy and historical memory.

The group has faced mounting pressure from Russian authorities for years. In 2021, courts ordered the closure of Memorial’s two main entities after they were labeled “foreign agents.” Despite this setback, members continued their work, establishing an international association in Geneva in 2023, which Russia promptly banned as “undesirable.”

In February 2024, Memorial co-chair Oleg Orlov was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for criticizing the war in Ukraine. He was later released in August as part of a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries.

The new “extremist” designation dramatically raises the stakes, as involvement with extremist activities is a criminal offense in Russia carrying potential prison terms. This effectively criminalizes not only the organization but potentially anyone associated with it.

Jan Raczynski, chair of International Memorial, expressed bewilderment at the Justice Ministry’s petition. He highlighted the organization’s historical significance, noting that Soviet human rights advocate and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov served as its first chairman.

Raczynski drew parallels between the closed Supreme Court hearing and the very Soviet-era repressions that Memorial has documented for decades. “This is very similar to what we’ve been doing for almost 40 years now, these closed trials of people, in absentia, usually without a defense,” he said.

Russian state media quoted the Supreme Court’s press service describing Memorial’s activities as “clearly anti-Russian in nature, aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of Russian statehood, violating territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values.”

Memorial forcefully rejected these allegations, vowing that its work would continue “one way or another.” The organization stated that the case represents “yet another attempt to intimidate all dissent in the country and silence civil society” that would ultimately fail. “Memorial will outlive the Putin regime and will be able to openly return to Russia,” the group declared.

The raid against Novaya Gazeta represents another front in the government’s campaign against independent media. According to Russian news agencies, authorities have opened a criminal case against the newspaper for alleged illegal collection and use of personal data. The newspaper reported that one of its journalists, Oleg Roldugin, was detained for questioning.

Novaya Gazeta has faced escalating pressure since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its website has been blocked domestically, its media license revoked in 2022, and many staff members have fled abroad, establishing Novaya Gazeta Europe, which itself has been banned in Russia.

The newspaper has historic ties to Nobel laureates. It was established in 1993 partly with funds from Gorbachev’s 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, while its editor Muratov was declared a “foreign agent” after sharing the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa.

These developments reflect the systematic dismantling of independent civil society in Russia, leaving few remaining spaces for dissent or scrutiny of government actions as the country’s isolation from the international community deepens.