A conversation with Oleg Orlov "on the margins" of his book "Encyclopedia of Dissidence. USSR, 1956-1989. - NLO, NIPC "Memorial", 2024 (awarded the Enlightener Prize in December 2024).

The discussion will focus on the role and place of dissidents in Soviet history, dissidents in the Gorbachev and Yeltsin eras, the legacy of Soviet dissent in Putin's Russia, and today's political prisoners - this and more will be discussed by one of the founders of Memorial, a recent political prisoner released in 2024 as a result of an exchange, human rights activist Oleg Orlov.

Oleg Petrovich Orlov was born on April 4, 1953, and lived in Moscow. A biologist by education, human rights activist, one of the founders of the Memorial society, he was a member of the leadership of the Memorial Human Rights Center and International Memorial, and then became co-chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Center. In 2004–2006, he was a member of the Presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights. Member of the federal political council of the Solidarity movement in the late 2000s – early 2010s. Laureate of the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2009, laureate of the Moscow Helsinki Group Prize in 2012.

On February 27, 2024, he was sentenced under Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces") to 2 years and 6 months in a general regime penal colony. On July 11, 2024, the appellate court upheld the sentence. He has been in custody since February 27, 2024.

On August 1, 2024, he was released as part of an international prisoner exchange.

The meeting will be hosted by Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director of Zukunft Memorial eV

5 April 15: 00, Mezzanine