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Sakharov Center

Coordinates:55°45′04″N37°39′31″E/ 55.7511°N 37.6586°E/55.7511; 37.6586
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The Sakharov Center
Сахаровский центр
Formation1996
FounderYelena Bonner
DissolvedAugust 18, 2023;13 months ago(2023-08-18)
TypeNon-profit
NGO
PurposePreservingAndrei Sakharov's legacy, human rights promotion and monitoring
HeadquartersHouse 57, building 6, Zemlyanoy val street, 105120
Moscow, Russia
FieldsHistory ofhuman rights movementandpolitical repression in the Soviet Union
Director
Sergei Markovich Lukashevsky
Websitesakharov-center.ru

The Sakharov Center(Russian:Сахаровский центр) was a museum and cultural center inMoscowdevoted to protection ofhuman rights in Russiaand preserving the legacy of the prominent physicist andNobel Prizewinning human rights activistAndrei Sakharov.It was founded by the "Public Commission to Protect the Legacy of Andrei Sakharov", an international non-governmental organization established in 1990 through the efforts of Sakharov's widowYelena Bonnerand other Sakharov's friends and colleagues.[1][2][3]

In August 2023, the center was shut down following a ruling by the Moscow City Court, after a request from the Justice Ministry.[4]

History

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In 1994, the Public Commission opened the Sakharov Archives[5]in the three-room apartment where Andrei Sakharov lived. The contents of the archive were donated by Yelena Bonner, and include files donated by Russia's Federal Counterintelligence Service.[6]

In 1996, the Sakharov Commission opened the Sakharov Museum and multi-functional social center for Peace, Progress and Human Rights (renamed in 2012 as the Sakharov Center).[7]The main building of the museum was a two-story manor that housed a library and a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the dissident movement in the USSR, and to the life and works ofAndrei Sakharov.[8][9]The exhibition was designed by Evgeny Asse.[10]An installation made from a piece of the Berlin Wall stands in the park belonging to the museum.[11][3]

On August 18, 2023, the Sakharov Center was shut down by a Russian court.[4]

Activities

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The Sakharov Center provided a space for open expression in an increasingly restrictive political climate. In 2003, the Sakharov Center was vandalized after organizing a contemporary art exhibition titled "Caution, Religion!".[12]In 2013, Cossacks stormed the Sakharov Center and interrupted "Moscow Trials," a play based on the trial ofPussy Riotdirected byMilo Rau.[13]In 2014, the Center was attacked by Orthodox fundamentalists during events advocating tolerance for theLGBT community.[14]The memorial service for opposition leaderBoris Nemtsovwas also held in the Sakharov Center.[15][16]

On December 26, 2014, the Sakharov Center was declared a "foreign agent" underRussia's foreign agent law.[17]This law has been criticized both in Russia and internationally as representing a violation of human rights and having been designed to counter opposition groups.[18][19][20]In fact, the court cited the Sakharov Center's political activity as the main reason for designating it as a "foreign agent".[21]In January 2015, the Tagansky District Court fined the Sakharov Center 300,000 rubles for not voluntarily declaring itself a "foreign agent".[22]The Sakharov Center denies this designation and has appealed the decision.[23][24]On September 30, 2015, the Sakharov Center was fined again for failing to label itself as a foreign agent in an article it posted online.[25]

On March 12, 2022, the Center published a statement about theRussian invasion of Ukraineon its website, which can be translated, in part, as:[26]

Russian society has allowed itself to be dragged into the funnel of a monstrous crisis. The result was death, destruction and untold suffering in a neighbouring country. What happened means the moral bankruptcy of our society. And with this, regardless of the outcome of events, we will have to live for many years. The way out of this state will require a radical change in the basic attitudes of national identity, if at all it will be possible.

On January 24, 2023, Moscow authorities notified the Sakharov Center that all rental agreements with the human rights museum and cultural center were terminated, having been designated under theRussian foreign agent law,evicting the museum.[27]

References

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  1. ^"Мемория. Андрей Сахаров - ПОЛИТ.РУ".polit.ru.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  2. ^"Биография Андрея Сахарова".РИА Новости.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  3. ^ab"Sakharov Centre - Lonely Planet".Lonely Planet.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  4. ^ab"Russia closes human rights group Sakharov Center".Deutsche Welle.2023-08-18.Retrieved2023-08-19.
  5. ^Chebotarev, Tanya (2014).Russian and East European Books and Manuscripts in the United States.New York: Routledge. p. 130.ISBN978-0789024053.
  6. ^BOUDREAUX, RICHARD (1994-05-22)."Soviet Dissident Sakharov's Widow Inaugurates Library: Russia: Yelena Bonner opens archives in building where writer lived. Yeltsin, secret police donate files".Los Angeles Times.ISSN0458-3035.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  7. ^"Сахаровский центр".liveinmsk.ru.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  8. ^"Sakharov Museum Inaugurated | News".The Moscow Times.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  9. ^Richardson, Dan (February 16, 2009).The Rough Guide to Moscow.Rough Guides; 5 edition. pp. 174–175.ISBN978-1858280615.
  10. ^"Сахаровский центр".cult.mos.ru.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  11. ^"The Fall of the Berlin Wall: 25 Years Later".VOA.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  12. ^"'Orthodox Bulldozer' | ARTnews ".www.artnews.com.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  13. ^"Russian Officials Hassle Pussy Riot Play Director".The Huffington Post.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  14. ^"International Coming Out Day event in Moscow besieged by homophobes, ransacked by police for underage teens".Queer Russia: Live LGBTQ News & Views Feed.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  15. ^White, Gregory L.; Kolyandr, Alexander."Mourners Pay Their Respects to Slain Kremlin Critic Boris Nemtsov in Moscow".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  16. ^"В Сахаровском центре пройдет прощание с Борисом Немцовым".НТВ.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  17. ^"Russian Center Honoring Victims of Soviet Regime Branded 'Foreign Agent' | News".Retrieved2015-09-05.
  18. ^Lally, Kathy (2013-04-15)."Putin pushes NGO foreign agent law".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  19. ^Barry, Ellen (2012-07-02)."Russia Introduces Law Limiting Aid for Nonprofits".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  20. ^"Europe - Russian MPs pass controversial bill to label NGOs 'foreign agents'".France 24.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  21. ^Lyons, Kate; Rice-Oxley, Mark."Harassed and shunned, the Russians labelled foreign agents by Kremlin".the Guardian.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  22. ^"Russian Court Fines Sakharov Center Under 'Foreign Agent' Law".RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.2015-03-23.Retrieved2015-09-05.
  23. ^"Сахаровский центр отказался работать как" иностранный агент "".Slon.ru.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  24. ^Козлов, Вячеслав."Сахаровский центр оштрафован за нарушение закона об НКО".Коммерсантъ.Retrieved2015-10-09.
  25. ^"Sakharov Center Fined For Violating 'Foreign Agents' Law".RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.2015-09-30.Retrieved2016-01-18.
  26. ^"Заявление Правления Сахаровского центра".Сахаровский центр(in Russian). 12 March 2022.Retrieved13 March2022.
  27. ^"Moscow's Sakharov Centre evicted from all premises due to 'foreign agent' label".Retrieved26 January2023.
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55°45′04″N37°39′31″E/ 55.7511°N 37.6586°E/55.7511; 37.6586

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