"The elderly are respected everywhere here"
October 1 is International Day of Older Persons. According to the WHO, this refers to those who have reached the age of 60.
On this day, people around the world discuss the prospects for active longevity and a dignified life in retirement.
We remember the elderly who weren't afraid to speak out about their social position—and ended up behind bars as a result. Or, like pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova, who simply did their job well and were denounced.
The quotes on each card are taken from their final words in court or other public appearances.
1. Pavel Syutkin, 61 years old
Historian of Russian cuisine, writer and blogger
Six years in prison for "fakes"
"I'm glad I was able to publicly express the opinions of millions of Russians who, even in the face of cannibalistic propaganda, managed to maintain their conscience and honor as normal people. As a historian, I'm confident that the last couple of decades will soon be called the most shameful burden our country has suffered in centuries."
2. Alexey Gorinov, 65 years old
Former municipal deputy
Five years in prison for "fakes" and "justification of terrorism"
"What kind of children's drawing competition or dance program dedicated to Victory Day can we talk about when children are dying every day, […] children are becoming orphans, and the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of World War II participants are now thrown into the heat of these military operations on Ukrainian territory?"
3. Dmitry Talantov, 65 years old
Former President of the Bar Association of the Udmurt Republic
6 years and 10 months in prison for "fakes" and "inciting hatred"
"They tell me I wrote these few words out of hatred. What a great feeling of hatred it must be if it pushes you not to kill someone, but to go to prison with sympathy for the dying."
4. Alexander Skobov, 68 years old
Journalist, historian, human rights activist
16 years in prison for “justifying terrorism” and “participating in a terrorist community.”
"Nobody attacked Russia, nobody threatened it. It was Putin's Nazi regime that attacked Ukraine. Purely because of the megalomania of its leaders, because of their inhuman thirst for power over everything."
5. Yuri Dmitriev, 70 years old
Historian, local historian, publicist, researcher of political repressions
15 years' imprisonment on charges of child pornography, indecent assault, and weapons possession. Memorial considers the case politically motivated.
"My path, my road, is to bring back from oblivion those people who perished due to the fault of our native state, being unjustly accused, shot, buried in the forests like homeless animals."
6. Nadezhda Buyanova, 70 years old
Pediatrician
5 years and 6 months imprisonment for “fakes”.
"A doctor—especially a pediatrician—is incapable of wishing harm on a child or their mother, or of traumatizing a child's psyche. Only a monster would do that—and the words I supposedly said to them."
7. Nikolai Zyuzev, 70 years old
Doctor of Philosophy, lecturer
7 years imprisonment for treason.
"Millions of people belonging to ethnic and indigenous groups in my homeland are suffering. Their languages and cultures are being destroyed by a regime that views diversity as a threat, that believes that everything different must be absorbed and assimilated."