The Returning the Names campaign has been taking place on October 29 for 15 years. It began in Moscow at the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka, gradually spreading to different cities of Russia and the world. On this day, thousands of people line up and, taking turns, read aloud the names of those executed by the Soviet regime.

Throughout the years of the Returning the Names campaign, different people took part in it.

Those who come are those for whom Soviet repression is, first of all, a personal tragedy, those for whom solidarity and joint civic action are important, which give hope and strength, those who feel that state crimes of the past and present are connected. The format of the action has remained the same as it was 15 years ago, while our lives themselves are changing dramatically.

Before our eyes, tragedies are unfolding in various post-Soviet countries that are directly related to the fact that the modern Russian state has inherited the mechanisms of terror and persecution used in the USSR, and society has not yet learned to recognize them in time and successfully resist them.

Here you can see what Returning the Names was like in past years. Photos and videos for 2023 will also appear in this section after the promotion. You can follow the broadcast on October 29 from 10:00 Moscow time – here on the website or on YouTube.