Memory of Russia: International seminar in St. Petersburg brings into focus the problems of memorials

On October 21-22 2010 the Museum of Political History of Russia (St. Petersburg) hosted the second International seminar of experts “Forgotten Graves” focused on the problems of search, record keeping and memorials building on burial places of victims of repressions, deportation, and exiles.

The seminar has been organized by the Scientific and Information Center “Memorial”, the Museum of Political History of Russia, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in St. Petersburg, and Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in St. Petersburg.

Participants of the seminar discussed problems of search, state and description of places of 1940s-1950s mass graves and exchanged information on the state of legislation in this field.

Within the framework of the seminar were launched roundtable discussions “Access to information, legislative acts, international agreements concerning the sites of mass burial places and the practice of their implementation in the Russian Federation” and “Creation of a unified international database of burial places of Soviet terror victims”.