"Memorial" states pressure on participants of children's contest

On the eve of the awarding ceremony of the winners of the contest for high school pupils "The Man in History, Russia – the 20^th Century", its organizers have reported that officials demanded from teachers and children to give up their travel to Moscow.

The International “Memorial” is holding the above All-Russian Historical Contest for High School Pupils since 1999. Its aim is to contribute to the formation of the civil position and historical self-awareness in the young generation through making independent historical researches.

This year, the completed 18^th contest received 1993 works from 78 regions of the country. The jury selected 43 best works, whose authors and their teachers were invited to Moscow to take part in the awarding ceremony, scheduled for April 26.

However, this year, the organizers have complained about the pressure on the contest and its participants. On April 20, reports started arriving from the majority of regions, where the winners of the contest live, that officials from regional ministries of education forbid pupils and teachers to attend the awarding ceremony.

"In all cases, regional education ministers referred to received telephone calls from Moscow officials from the Ministry of Education of Russia, who ultimately demanded to stop teachers and pupils from going to Moscow to the awarding ceremony, claiming that the “Memorial” is an organization, banned in Russia. We received such signals from the Volgograd, Astrakhan, Penza and Tver Regions, and from Mordovia and the KrasnoyarskTerritory," says the statement of the “Memorial”.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 4, 2016, it became known that the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) decided to include the International "Memorial" in the register of foreign agents. The "Memorial" treated the MoJ's decision as unlawful.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.