The exhibition presents, through artistic illustrations, ten selected cases of political prisoners who were convicted in Russia for opposing the aggression against Ukraine and other crimes of the current Russian government. The opening took place on September 30, 2024 in the Wallenstein Garden in Prague. Its guest of honor was the Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov, who was released from a Russian prison as part of a large prisoner exchange in August 2024.
Political persecution has deep historical roots in Russia. Repression is once again serving the current regime as a tool of silencing, generating hundreds of political prisoners. Among them are men and women of various ages, pensioners and minors, residents of large cities and rural areas, representatives of various professions from activists and journalists to businessmen, priests and housewives. Their non-violent resistance to the war against Ukraine and the current Russian government is often redeemed by harsh sentences.
According to the Memorial association, there are almost 800 political prisoners in Russian prisons and penal colonies. The Russian human rights organization OVD-Info reports that 2,800 Russian and Ukrainian citizens are facing various forms of politically motivated criminal prosecution (data from September 2024).
“Political repression in Russia has acquired a demonstrably cynical character since the beginning of the war against Ukraine. Sentences of 25 years in prison are being handed down and you can be brought to justice for just a sentence on social media. Despite the unprecedented exchange of several of the most famous prisoners in August 2024, it could be even worse. The number of political prisoners is increasing and the screws are still being tightened,” said Štěpán Černoušek, chairman of Gulag.cz and Memorial ČR.
The Gulag.cz organization presents the situation of political prisoners in Russia at the exhibition through ten selected stories. Among them are internationally known political prisoners and those about whom the general public knows very little. At the same time, each of them deserves the attention and support of the free world. However, this is only a fraction of the total number of other unjustly imprisoned people, about whose fates not much is known in Europe.
The individual stories are processed into artistic form with illustrations by the Russian artist Liliya Matveyeva, who currently lives in exile in Berlin.
The guest of honor at the opening was Oleg Orlov from Memorial, who was only recently released from Russian captivity. His case is also part of the exhibition and, to the great joy of the authors, he was able to include an addendum in the final preparations about his release. Unfortunately, however, he was the only one. Many other innocent people remain in captivity.
The exhibition was prepared by: Gulag.cz, z.s., Memorial Czech Republic, z. s.
The text of the exhibition was created based on information from the project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial", OVD-Info and open sources of free media. The project was supported by funds from the subsidy program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic "Priorities of Foreign Policy of the Czech Republic and International Relations".
Theme: Petra Černoušková
Concept and texts: Štěpán Černoušek, Petra Černoušková, Alexandra Skorvid
Artistic processing: Lilja Matvějeva
Graphic design: Lilja Matvějeva, Petra Husková
Printing: Apostolos Joanidis
Language editor: Magdaléna Hájková
Exhibition production: Petra Černoušková, Magdaléna Hájková, Alexandra Skorvid, Olga Svitáková
