Soviet research institute observes memorial day of Stalin terror victims
Commemoration of Stalin terror victims
On July 30, the Soviet Past Research Laboratory, or Sovlab, held a ceremony to commemorate the victims of Stalin’s terror campaign. The event was held at 22 Ingorokva Street, the former headquarters of the Soviet Secret Police (Cheka) in Tbilisi.
Photographs of imprisoned and executed political and public figures were on display during the ceremony.
Sovlab associates and members of the public read out the names of victims from 1937-1938.
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Sovlab chairman on mission
“For four years Sovlab has been trying to establish July 30 as a day of remembrance for the victims of Soviet totalitarianism. It is necessary for more citizens to be involved in this process in Tbilisi and other regions. Today, witnessesing the Russian aggression against Ukraine, we see that the totalitarian monster has not gone away. The driver of both this war and Russia’s attitude toward Georgia is the weaponized memory of Soviet totalitarianism. We ought to have a full understanding of what we are up against and what we are here to defend. We defend the idea of a democratic Georgia and remember the individuals who perished for it,” Sovlab chairman Irakli Khvadagiani said at the ceremony.
Diego Colas, Ambassador of France to Georgia, attended the ceremony and also read out the names of victims.
“It is very important for us to remember the crimes that were committed in the twentieth century by the Bolsheviks and Communists. Today, Russia’s irredentist and imperialist agenda has been mobilized against Ukraine. We see a continuity between past and present crimes,” Ambassador Colas told Georgian media.
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Red Tide of Terror
On July 30, 1937 the Soviet People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the infamous NKVD, issued decree No 004447, unleashing one of the bloodiest waves of terror ordered by Stalin. The mass killings carried out by the Soviet regime claimed the lives of millions across the Soviet empire and tens of thousands in Georgia.
Although prior waves of persecutions and killings had already scarred Georgia, the bloodbath of 1937-1938 affected Georgian society and its social fabric in a profound way. In recent years, more than ten new statues of Joseph Stalin have been erected in Georgia, signifying the success of the Russian disinformation effort. According to a recent survey by USAID’s Information Integrity Program, 66% of Georgians wholly or partially agree that Georgians should be proud of Stalin due to his Georgian roots.
Sovlab was founded in 2010, and its primary mission is to research and raise awareness of the Soviet past and Russian disinformation, especially propaganda regarding Soviet history.
Commemoration of Stalin terror victims
