Russia declares Memorial extremist in latest crackdown

The designation provides authorities with a legal mechanism to prosecute anyone who contributes to Memorial’s work or shares its publications.

Russia’s Supreme Court has branded the Nobel Prize-winning human rights group Memorial an “extremist” movement, according to state media reports. The ruling, delivered in a closed-door hearing, marks another escalation in Moscow’s years-long crackdown on dissent and free speech.

The designation provides authorities with a legal mechanism to prosecute anyone who contributes to Memorial’s work or shares its publications. Memorial, founded in the late 1980s to document Soviet-era repression, has long defended freedom of speech and recorded abuses from Stalin’s time to the present.

In a statement before the judgment, Memorial said it expected the outcome. “The case against Memorial is yet another attempt to intimidate all dissent in the country and force civil society into silence,” the group declared.

Authorities previously banned two of Memorial’s flagship organizations in December 2021, accusing them of “justifying terrorism and extremism.” Memorial rejected those charges as absurd. Despite restrictions, the group has continued operating largely from outside Russia, supporting what it says are more than 1,500 political prisoners.

Thursday’s ruling targets “the international public movement Memorial,” a designation the group says does not exist. Memorial argued the vague wording was deliberately chosen to enable prosecutions of anyone speaking out on human rights or historical crimes. In its response, the group vowed to survive the crackdown: “Memorial will outlive the Putin regime and will be able to openly return to Russia one day.”

The ruling means supporters inside Russia risk imprisonment if they donate money or show support online.

Memorial shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize with Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties, in an award widely seen as a rebuke of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Its leader Oleg Orlov was sentenced to prison in 2024 for “discrediting the armed forces” after protesting against the war and accusing President Vladimir Putin of leading Russia into fascism. He was later freed in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee voiced alarm ahead of the ruling, warning that if upheld, “all activities of Memorial will be criminalised. Anyone taking part in, or funding, Memorial’s work — or even sharing its published materials — will risk imprisonment.”

This latest move underscores the Kremlin’s determination to silence independent voices, even those internationally recognized for their work on human rights and historical memory.