Political analysts explain Kremlin's mood towards liquidation of "Memorials"*

Russian authorities would make no concessions after the appeal of the European Commissioner for Human Rights in support of the "Memorials"*, since the criticism from the Council of Europe (CoE) carries practically no risks for the Kremlin, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 11, the Russia's Supreme Court (SC) notified the "International Memorial" that the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) had filed a lawsuit to demanding liquidate the organization because of the absence of marking about the status of a foreign agent. The closure of the "Memorials" (of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" as well) will seriously harm the defence of human rights in Northern Caucasus, human rights activists, lawyers and journalists assert.

Dunja Mijatovic, the CoE's Commissioner for Human Rights, has joined the campaign in defence of the "Memorials"*. In her statement posted on the CoE's website, she pointed out that the use of the law on foreign agents to liquidate the "Memorials"* "is another evidence of using it as a tool to persecute the civil society and human rights defenders."

There will be no Kremlin's reaction to Ms Mijatovic's statements, said Alexei Makarkin, a deputy director general of the Centre for Political Technologies. "The CoE is of little interest to Russian authorities. I think that Dunja Mijatovic also understands that there will be no reaction. The maximum that will be is just some amendment of the law. Say, it's necessary to correct through the court that a person or a medium can suddenly becomes a foreign agent. But there's no point of abandoning the law," Mr Makarkin told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Even if the Kremlin reacts to Mijatovic's statement, the answer will not be sincere, said Sergey Zhavoronkov, a senior fellow at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy. "They can say whatever they want. The peculiarity of authoritarian regimes is that their statements have nothing to with reality. Statements are no officially outlined position – it's a lie. Authoritarian regimes also like to refer to court – say, it's not our decision. This will not work for the 'Memorial', because the lawsuit to liquidate the organization was lodged by the prosecutor, a Putin's subordinate. Therefore, Mr Putin will be the culprit in the liquidation," Mr Zhavoronkov has concluded.

*The organizations have been included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of non-commercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 22, 2021 at 05:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.