Russians commemorate victims of Soviet repression as a present-day crackdown on dissent intensifies

By ELISE MORTON

LONDON (AP) — Russians commemorated the victims of Soviet state terror on Sunday, while the Russian government continues its crackdown on dissent in the country. The “Returning of the Names” event was organized by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial. It has traditionally been held in Moscow on Oct. 29 — the eve of Russia’s Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression. As the demonstration was not approved by authorities for the fourth year running, Muscovites and several Western ambassadors instead laid flowers at a monument. Memorial also organized a live broadcast of the reading of the victims’ names from Moscow, other Russian cities and abroad.