Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI04_11_2026_000621B)
| Photo Credit: PTI
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI04_11_2026_000621B)
| Photo Credit: PTI
#CSK #IPL #Ayush #Mhatre #retired #scoring #halfcentury">CSK vs DC IPL 2026: Ayush Mhatre retired out after scoring half-century
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI04_11_2026_000621B)
| Photo Credit: PTI
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI04_11_2026_000621B)
| Photo Credit: PTI
“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”
Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad idea
Typically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.
Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.
The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.
Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.
Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.
NFL load management? No thanks.
“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.
“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”
Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing.
“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”
Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad idea
Typically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.
Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.
The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.
Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.
Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.
NFL load management? No thanks.
“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.
“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”
Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing.
#NFLs #Proposed #18Game #Schedule #Doesnt #Sense #Deadspin.com">Why NFL’s Proposed 18-Game Schedule Doesn’t Make Sense | Deadspin.com
Before the NFL turned its attention to the upcoming draft, the offseason chatter was heavy on whether or not the league should expand its schedule from 17 to 18 regular season games. That subject was a popular topic at the annual league meeting in March.
There’s no doubt an 18-game regular season schedule is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants. That would increase revenue – remember, it’s always about money – and allow the league to move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend. It would likely mean the NFL would add international games (one for each team) and perhaps another streaming service as well.
It would also mean reducing the preseason from three games to two, and (hopefully) adding a second bye week.
“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”
Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad idea
Typically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.
Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.
The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.
Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.
Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.
NFL load management? No thanks.
“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.
“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”
Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing.
With Rohit set to turn 39 later this month and Kohli just a year younger, Pollard also brushed aside concerns around age, pointing to examples of longevity in modern cricket.
“Imran Tahir is playing somewhere in the world at 46 or 47. MS Dhoni is still playing at 44. Fortunately, I’m still playing around the world at 39. Different things motivate individuals to continue playing,” he said.
“These guys have done well for cricket overall. We tend to focus on age and what they should or shouldn’t do. We should honour players who have put smiles on our faces over time and let them decide when it’s time.”
With Rohit set to turn 39 later this month and Kohli just a year younger, Pollard also brushed aside concerns around age, pointing to examples of longevity in modern cricket.
“Imran Tahir is playing somewhere in the world at 46 or 47. MS Dhoni is still playing at 44. Fortunately, I’m still playing around the world at 39. Different things motivate individuals to continue playing,” he said.
“These guys have done well for cricket overall. We tend to focus on age and what they should or shouldn’t do. We should honour players who have put smiles on our faces over time and let them decide when it’s time.”
Published on Apr 11, 2026
#RCB #IPL #Kieron #Pollard #dials #Rohit #SharmaVirat #Kohli #narrative #ahead #marquee #clash">MI vs RCB, IPL 2026: Kieron Pollard dials down Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli narrative ahead of marquee clash
Having played with and against the two veterans who will once again command attention on Sunday night, Kieron Pollard sought to dial down the Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli narrative ahead of Mumbai Indians’ marquee clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium.
Pollard, now Mumbai Indians’ batting coach, insisted that the contest was bigger than individual rivalries, even as he acknowledged the value of the two stalwarts.
“You say it’s a Rohit-Kohli show. I look at it as Mumbai Indians versus RCB. Let the individuals enjoy this phase of their careers. They are still performing, they are still doing well. And even if they are not, they deserve the right to decide certain things,” Pollard said on Saturday.
“I’m happy that there are experienced guys still around. You need them to guide the younger players coming through, who will be the superstars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
With Rohit set to turn 39 later this month and Kohli just a year younger, Pollard also brushed aside concerns around age, pointing to examples of longevity in modern cricket.
“Imran Tahir is playing somewhere in the world at 46 or 47. MS Dhoni is still playing at 44. Fortunately, I’m still playing around the world at 39. Different things motivate individuals to continue playing,” he said.
“These guys have done well for cricket overall. We tend to focus on age and what they should or shouldn’t do. We should honour players who have put smiles on our faces over time and let them decide when it’s time.”
Having played with and against the two veterans who will once again command attention on…
Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”
The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory.
Politzek — voices that defy the Kremlin
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.
Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”
The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory.
Politzek — voices that defy the Kremlin
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.
Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
This article was originally published in Russian.
What’s really behind ‘foreign agent’ laws?
#Russian #Memorial #human #rights #NGO #labeled #extremist">Russian Memorial human rights NGO labeled ‘extremist’
Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”
The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory.
Politzek — voices that defy the Kremlin
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.
Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
#Deadspin #Jacob #Lopez #continue #Athletics #torrid #pitching #Mets">Deadspin | Jacob Lopez looks to continue Athletics’ torrid pitching vs. Mets
Apr 5, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
The matchup of the Athletics’ stingy pitching staff and the New York Mets’ suddenly punchless offense went as one might expect on Friday.
The A’s will look to continue suffocating opponents Saturday afternoon when they visit the Mets in the middle contest of a three-game interleague series.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez (0-1, 6.48 ERA) is slated to start for the Athletics against Mets right-hander Kodai Senga (0-1, 3.09).
A quintet of pitchers for the Athletics combined to allow just six hits in 4-0 win on Friday.
The shutout was the second straight for the Athletics, who had three pitchers — Jeffrey Springs, Justin Sterner and Hogan Harris — combine for a one-hitter in a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon.
The Athletics received a surprise boost Friday from J.T. Ginn, who made his first start of the year and allowed just one hit — a bunt single by Jared Young — over four innings.
Mark Leiter, winning pitcher Jack Perkins, Scott Barlow and Elvis Alvarado recorded the final 15 outs for the A’s, who haven’t allowed a run since the first inning of Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Yankees — a 26-frame span in which they’ve surrendered just eight hits.
“Awesome job again tonight,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said on Friday.
The repetition wasn’t nearly as satisfying for the Mets, who have lost their last three games by a combined score of 18-3.
The skid followed a four-game winning streak in which New York outscored the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks 28-8. That dominance came despite playing all but one inning without left fielder Juan Soto, who is expected to be out until late this month with strained right calf suffered April 3.
The Mets are batting just .200 (20-of-100) over the last three games, during which they’ve used three different No. 3 hitters — Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and Young — while Bo Bichette bats second in place of Soto. Polanco has sat out the last two contests due to bursitis in his left Achilles.
New York didn’t get a runner into scoring position Friday until the sixth inning, when Francisco Lindor and Bichette led off with singles before Lindor was thrown out by Nick Kurtz trying to scramble back to third base on Young’s grounder to first.
“Soto is irreplaceable, he’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Lindor said. “But guys understand that we’ve got to get it done.”
Neither Lopez nor Senga factored into the decision in their previous starts last Sunday. Lopez gave up three runs over 4 1/3 innings in the Athletics’ 12-10, 10-inning win over the Houston Astros, while Senga allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Giants.
Lopez threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in his lone previous appearance against the Mets on May 5, 2024, when he was pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Senga is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career starts against the A’s.
World Under-23 champion Sujeet Kalkal (65kg) and Abhimanyou Mandwal (70kg) posted contrasting wins to secure maiden titles, while Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat (61kg) and Mukul Dahiya (86kg) reached their respective finals to confirm two more medals at the Asian wrestling championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Saturday.
Indian freestyle wrestlers bagged four medals on the penultimate day.
Sujeet gave a clinical performance to record a convincing 8-1 victory over 2025 World Wrestling Championships bronze medallist Umidjon Jalolov. Against the highly defensive Uzbek, Sujeet, who led 2-0 at the break, executed three take-downs in the second period to assert his supremacy.
Abhimanyou, an Asian bronze medallist in 2024, erased a two-point deficit to shock double Worlds medallist Mongol Tomor-Ochiryn Tulga 5-3 in the 70kg final.
Sandeep Singh Mann lost 1-2 to Japan’s Keyvan Gharehdaghi in the 79kg summit clash to take silver.
Ankush (57kg) beat Japan’s Fuga Sasaki 8-2 to win bronze.
Meanwhile, Aman Sehrawat, who jumped from 57kg to 61kg, defeated Korea’s Kim Changsu 11-0 and Iran’s Ahmad Masoud 11-9 on his way to the final.
Mukul got past Uzbekistan’s Bobur Islomov 2-0, Bahrain’s Khidir Saipudinov 9-0 and Kazakhstan’s Bolat Sakayev 12-6 to reach the summit clash.
#Deadspin #Giants #seek #fourth #straight #victory #matchup #Orioles">Deadspin | Giants seek fourth straight victory in matchup with Orioles
Mar 31, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb (62) throws during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
After a bumpy start to the season, the San Francisco Giants finally appear to be on the right track.
The Giants, who managed to score just one run while losing their first three games en route to a 3-8 start, have bounced back to score 17 runs during their current three-game win streak. They’ll try to make it four in a row on Saturday at Baltimore with ace right-hander Logan Webb (1-1, 5.00 ERA) on the mound.
San Francisco clubbed 12 hits in a 6-3 victory in Friday’s series opener, including home runs by Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee. DH Casey Schmitt, who had just two extra-base hits in 25 at-bats coming into the contest, went 3-for-5 with three doubles, two runs scored and an RBI — the first Giant since Donovan Solano on July 30, 2020 to belt three doubles in a game.
“I think it can do a lot for us,” Schmitt said of his team’s winning streak. “This group, we’ve been really good about not putting too much pressure on ourselves and just going out and playing and getting things to fall in line. … We’re just playing baseball and having fun.”
The Giants got another strong start from Landen Roupp, who allowed one run on five hits over six innings while striking out four.
A key point in the game came in the bottom of the third inning. Adames had put the Giants ahead, 1-0, with a home run in the top half of the inning, but Gunnar Henderson walked and went to third on a double by Adley Rutschman in the bottom half. Roupp got out of the jam by striking out Baltimore’s marquee free agent signing, Pete Alonso, to end the threat.
San Francisco then came right back to increase its lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Schmitt led off with a double and scored on a single by Heliot Ramos, who later scored on a double by Adames.
Alonso, a five-time All-Star with the New York Mets who signed a five-year, $155 million free agent contract with the Orioles in December, is batting just .176 with one home run and three RBIs so far for his new team. He is just 2-for-28 (.071) with no homers, one RBI and 10 strikeouts over his last seven games.
“Yeah, it stinks, first couple of weeks, not performing up to my standards,” Alonso said. “You can work hard, you can try, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to win. And I expect more out of myself, and I know other people do as well. So it’s frustrating.
“I feel bad. A lot of people believe in me, and I believe in myself, but I’m not delivering results. I will. I just haven’t, but I will.”
Webb is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against Baltimore. This will be his second start at Camden Yards. He picked up a no decision in his first in 2024, allowing three runs on four hits over five innings while striking out eight.
Baltimore, which had a three-game win streak snapped with Friday’s loss, will counter with veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-2, 14.21 ERA).
Bassitt is 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA in eight career starts against San Francisco. He has won his last three starts against the Giants, including a 4-0 win in his last start while with Toronto on July 18 last season when he struck out five over 6 1/3 shutout innings.
![Why NFL’s Proposed 18-Game Schedule Doesn’t Make Sense | Deadspin.com Before the NFL turned its attention to the upcoming draft, the offseason chatter was heavy on whether or not the league should expand its schedule from 17 to 18 regular season games. That subject was a popular topic at the annual league meeting in March.There’s no doubt an 18-game regular season schedule is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants. That would increase revenue – remember, it’s always about money – and allow the league to move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend. It would likely mean the NFL would add international games (one for each team) and perhaps another streaming service as well.It would also mean reducing the preseason from three games to two, and (hopefully) adding a second bye week.“I like it for the long-term growth and development of the league – to keep our league healthy and grow revenue,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters at the league meeting. “I think preseason games have not been what (they) used to be.“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad ideaTypically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.NFL load management? No thanks.“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing. #NFLs #Proposed #18Game #Schedule #Doesnt #Sense #Deadspin.com](https://i3.wp.com/lineup-publishing.s3.amazonaws.com/1775918065280?ssl=1 "Why NFL’s Proposed 18-Game Schedule Doesn’t Make Sense | Deadspin.com Before the NFL turned its attention to the upcoming draft, the offseason chatter was heavy on whether or not the league should expand its schedule from 17 to 18 regular season games. That subject was a popular topic at the annual league meeting in March.There’s no doubt an 18-game regular season schedule is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants. That would increase revenue – remember, it’s always about money – and allow the league to move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend. It would likely mean the NFL would add international games (one for each team) and perhaps another streaming service as well.It would also mean reducing the preseason from three games to two, and (hopefully) adding a second bye week.“I like it for the long-term growth and development of the league – to keep our league healthy and grow revenue,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters at the league meeting. “I think preseason games have not been what (they) used to be.“It would allow us to also grow the game internationally,” Kraft continued. “Every team in the league would play a game overseas. I think it would be a lot more exciting to the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”Why NFL’s 18th game is a bad ideaTypically, more football is a good thing. In terms of adding an 18th regular season game, however, more would be less.Of the four major sports the NFL has the most meaningful regular season. Why? Because it plays the fewest regular season games. Each NFL contest carries more weight than a game in the NBA, NHL or MLB.The NFL went from 16 to 17 regular season games in 2021. Lengthening the season in any way would be adding to an already saturated product.Don’t fall for the talk that eliminating a preseason game and adding a game to the regular season is an even trade, since key players typically see little playing time during the preseason. That’s like comparing apples to dump trucks.Another strong argument against going to an 18-game schedule is player health. NFL bodies are already being pushed to the limit. The fear here is that adding to the regular season would be the tipping point that leads NFL players to start taking games off, like you see in today’s NBA.NFL load management? No thanks.“From playing in the league, and I played 16 [games], it was a long season,” Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So to play 17 is long, 18 is just adding more games. It’s definitely harder on the players. You think about the guys, and if you see what guys go through on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, just to get ready for football games, adding another game is definitely going to be hard on the players.“It’s not my decision to make, but just my perspective and what these guys have to go through and what they put their bodies through, it’ll be really tough to ask the guys to go do another one.”Like having an extra dessert, an 18-game regular season schedule would be too much of a good thing. #NFLs #Proposed #18Game #Schedule #Doesnt #Sense #Deadspin.com")
![Russian Memorial human rights NGO labeled ‘extremist’Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Russian Supreme Court keeps wording deliberately vague
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory. Politzek — voices that defy the KremlinTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
This article was originally published in Russian.
What’s really behind ‘foreign agent’ laws? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
#Russian #Memorial #human #rights #NGO #labeled #extremist](https://i1.wp.com/static.dw.com/image/76090686_6.jpg?ssl=1 "Russian Memorial human rights NGO labeled ‘extremist’Russia’s Supreme Court announced on Telegram on April 9 that the activities of human rights organization Memorial were now banned throughout the country. This came after a closed-door hearing that was treated as “top secret.” Media representatives and diplomats from Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and France were only allowed to attend the announcement of the ruling, which sparked strong reactions internationally.
The Nobel Committee, which awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to Memorial, condemned the court’s decision. The European Union delegation to Russia described the ruling as a “politically motivated blow to civil society in Russia.” The diplomats pointed out that the Russian state itself had “not only officially recognized Memorial’s merits but also provided direct support, and members of the organization served on the Human Rights Council for many years.”The Supreme Court hearing took place behind closed doorsImage: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo/picture alliance
Russian Supreme Court keeps wording deliberately vague
Lawyers for Memorial pointed out that the Supreme Court had classified the “International Public Movement Memorial” as “extremist,” but they pointed out that no organization of this name existed and had not been registered either in Russia or elsewhere.
They told DW that the wording had probably been kept deliberately vague to create a legal basis for potential repression against any Memorial structures, as well as their members and supporters. “The Justice Ministry’s action itself remained secret, and the organization’s representatives were barred from attending the hearing,” Sergei Davidis, the head of Memorial’s political prisoners support program, told DW.
He also stressed that in light of growing public dissatisfaction with the Russian government, the state was attempting to eliminate independent and reputable sources of information that could foster solidarity and networking in Russian society.
Memorial documents Soviet repression and the Gulag system
The international society Memorial was founded in 1987 and went on to become the leading independent organization dedicated to documenting Soviet-era repression in Russia. Its archives contain tens of thousands of documents about the victims of Soviet repression, including thousands of memoirs, hundreds of personal collections, as well as a wealth of material from researchers on the history of the gulags, the system of labor camps that was a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet era, and other human rights violations.
According to the independent online media outlet Mediazona, the authorities could now lay claim to the archive as the “property of an extremist organization.” In 2023, the head of the Perm NGO Center of Historical Memory, Aleksandr Chernyshov, was arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle archival documents from Russia to Germany.
The persecution of the Russian branch of Memorial began in 2014 when it was placed on a list of “foreign agents” by the Russian Justice Ministry. This status was later extended to the organization’s international branch, which required all publications and reports to be labeled accordingly. In case of non-compliance, there were fines and restrictions on Memorial’s activities.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Memorial International for “repeated” and “gross” violations of Russia’s foreign agent laws. Memorial was also accused of depicting a false image of the Soviet Union.
Pressure continued to mount in March 2023, when the homes and offices of nine Memorial staff members, including Oleg Orlov and Yan Rachinsky, were subjected to searches as part of a targeted campaign against independent human rights organizations. The same year, Orlov was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the army. He was released with other political prisoners as part of a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has since been living in Germany.
Memorial will continue its human rights activities
Since this year’s ruling on April 9, Memorial has announced that it will have to suspend all activities in Russia but will continue its activities abroad. It has blocked the sharing and commenting of posts on social media. All supporters in Russia have been urged to follow the safety guidelines published on Memorial’s website.
Although the court has used the term “international social movement” to describe Memorial and this does not actually exist as such, all people, associations and organizations associated with the NGO could now be at risk. Memorial has called on people in Russia to not make any donations, to remove any logos and links on social media, and to delete any compromising content on all digital devices. It warned that people could draw attention from law enforcement agencies even by subscribing to Memorial channels.
It also said that though the risks outside Russia were not as high, people could still be subject to persecution abroad. Nonetheless, it said it would continue its work to protect human rights and preserve historical memory. Politzek — voices that defy the KremlinTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Nobel Committee: ‘Affront to fundamental values of human dignity’
Earlier this week, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that to designate Memorial as “extremist” was “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression.”
On his Telegram channel, the Russian political scientist Aleksandr Kynev wrote that the persecution of Memorial marked a new level of repression in Russia. He added that the new status of the organization would allow the authorities to target even ordinary employees.
Davidis pointed out that Memorial did not have a unified, centralized structure, but constituted a broad network of different groups. He said that people continued to be interested in political repression, both in the past and today. He said that the work of human rights activists had to continue despite the more difficult and risky circumstances.
Russian government strategy to suppress memory of Soviet crimes
According to Irina Sherbakova, a co-founding member of Memorial, the latest move against the organization is part of the Russian government’s overall strategy. She explained that it was in keeping with the closure of the Moscow-based Gulag History Museum in 2024, the systematic removal of commemorative plaques installed by the Last Address memorial project, the restrictions on access to official archives and the amendment to the official concept for commemorating victims of political repression, from which the mention of mass repression and later mass rehabilitation has been removed.Irina Sherbakova co-founded Memorial. She now lives in GermanyImage: dts-Agentur/picture alliance
Sherbakova said that these measures were all aimed at controlling the collective memory of Soviet repression and human rights work today: “This is part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ideology, which is becoming increasingly ultranationalist.”
Human rights activist Anna Karetnikova agreed, and pointed out that the initiative to persecute Memorial went back to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which succeeded the Soviet secret service, the KGB, itself preceded by the NKVD. She said that the FSB viewed Memorial’s efforts to preserve the memory of Soviet repression and support of political prisoners today as a thorn in its side. She said that Memorial’s new status would lay the path for more criminal proceedings and increase pressure on civil society.
This article was originally published in Russian.
What’s really behind ‘foreign agent’ laws? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
#Russian #Memorial #human #rights #NGO #labeled #extremist")
