Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová visited members of the human rights and educational organization Memorial. After their ban on activities in the Russian Federation, they found refuge in the Prague residence of the Speakers of the House of Representatives last fall. From there, they continue their professional work and plan other related activities.
On Tuesday 21.11.2023 the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, visited representatives of the renowned historical, educational, and human rights organization Memorial. They have been working in the House of Representatives villa since last fall. Memorial has a long-term professional focus on research into the Soviet repressive system and its current reflection. Because of its activities, it was banned by the Russian authorities and its members faced persecution, bullying, and severe persecution in their homeland.
“Researchers from Memorial systematically contribute to illuminating the dark sides of the past and present of the Russian totalitarian regime. Their work was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Our doors are still open, literally,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
Up to eight employees of the organization currently work in the building of the First Republic functionalist villa from the 1930s in Prague’s Ladronka. The period of use of the premises was originally agreed upon with the leadership of the Chamber for six months. Concerning mutual interest, it was then extended after their expiration. The Memorial organization has committed to cover the costs of using the facility, most of which are energy and maintenance expenses. On the other hand, the object as such is provided to them free of charge.
“I am really glad that the villa of the Presidents of the House of Representatives, which has been uninhabited for a long time, has found a really meaningful use and has become a second home for those who are helping to build Russian civil society from exile,” added the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
“Thanks to our stay here, we manage to expand the Memorial’s museum collection. For example, last week I had the opportunity to acquire a unique violin handmade in the gulag, which the descendants of its author took to Dresden, from where we obtained it after five years of negotiations,” said Irina Ostrovskaja, the Memorial’s archivist and documentarian, during the meeting.
“Recently, we managed to publish several books, for example, a collection of documents about the surveillance of Andrei Sakharov by the KGB or a narrative catalog of our exhibition about women in the Gulag. This is also the result of the fact that we have the opportunity to devote ourselves fully to our work thanks to this background in Prague,” added Boris Bělenkin, director of the Memorial library.
“A huge thank you goes to Markéta Pekarová Adamová for her generous offer for the Memorial, which was not completely taken for granted at the time of the Russian war against Ukraine. Our Russian colleagues are aware of this, and I am personally pleased, for example, by the recent meeting of Memorial human rights activists with their Ukrainian counterparts. This took place in the Prague residence. Such meetings are very rare, although the need for them is great. In addition to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, who since last year have been welcoming the stays of Russian civil and human rights activists in the Czech Republic,” concluded Štěpán Černoušek, chairman of Gulag.cz and Memorial ČR.