Last year, our company, which has been working on the project “GULAG. Witnesses” organized the “Return of the Names” compaign in Toronto at the Raoul Wallenberg Monument. Risking his life during the Holocaust, Raoul Wallenberg saved tens of thousands innocent lives, but was subsequently arrested and perished in the dungeons of Stalin’s prisons.
The “Return of the Names” is a civil commemorative campaign which has been taking place on October 29 for already 15 years. It began in Moscow at the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka, gradually spreading to different cities of Russia and the world. On this day, thousands of people line up and, taking turns, read aloud the names of those executed by the Soviet regime.
Throughout the years of the “Return of the Names” campaign, different people took part in it. Part of those who come to participate, the Soviet repressions are, first of all, a personal tragedy. However, many that come are also motivated by solidarity and joint civic action, which give hope and strength, for those who feel that state crimes of the past and present are connected.
The format of the event has remained the same as it was 15 years ago, while our lives themselves are changing dramatically.
Before our eyes, tragedies are unfolding in various post-Soviet countries that are directly related to the fact that the modern Russian state has inherited the mechanisms of terror and persecution used in the USSR, and society has not yet learned to recognize them in time and successfully resist them.
For the second year, “Return of the Names” takes place in the context of a full-scale war waged by Russia against Ukraine. Ukraine defends not only its independence, but also a system of values that is absolutely important for us, at the center of which are freedom and human rights.
Against the backdrop of mass killings and arrests wherever they occur, the reminder of the cost of each individual life is felt especially acutely.
This year we invite everyone for whom today, for a variety of reasons, it is important to preserve the memory of the victims of Soviet state terror to participate in the event.
“Return of the Names” will take place on October 29 in many cities around the world, including Toronto. Join a reading with us in the Raoul Wallenberg memorial Park on October 29.
RAOUL WALLENBERG MEMORIAL
Earl Bales Park, 342 Raoul Wallenberg Rd, North York, ON M3H 3P7
