Memory and Disinformation Studies

7 August 2020

12 years after the August 2008 War: Russian Disinformation and Real Facts

In 2020, Georgia marks 12th anniversary of the 2008 August War between Russia and Georgia. Similarly to 2008, today, Russian propaganda related to the Russo-Georgian war is active, assuring the population of Russia and Georgia as well as the international community through disinformation that Georgia started the war against the ethnic Ossetians on 8 August 2008 and Russia was “forced” to intervene Georgia in order to “protect” them.

22 July 2020

22 July is the Commemoration Day of the Victims of Repressions

The Commemoration Day of the Victims of Repressions, 22 July was established by the decree of the President of Georgia in 2002. On the same day in 1937, a great Georgian poet, Paolo Iashvili committed suicide in the building of the Writers’ Alliance.

21 July 2020

Documents about Georgia preserved in the archives of the Yeltsin Center

In Russia, the native Ural district of Boris Yeltsin, city of Yekaterinburg, since 2015, there has been a cultural and educational center named after him ("Yeltsin Center"). The Boris Yeltsin Museum occupies the main part of the center, as well as various departments, the most important of which is the Boris Yeltsin Archive. 11 funds of this archive are available online - it is possible to view the documents and download their copies.

6 July 2020

IDFI Started a Campaign for Increasing the Living Subsidy for the Repressed Individuals

Since the day of its establishment, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has been working on the issue of the Soviet repressions, has published numerous studies and articles, has carried out various activities and has been cooperating with the internationally well-known universities, research institutes and centers.

29 June 2020

Online Discussion – The Assessment of the Openness of State Archives in the Former Soviet and Eastern Bloc Countries

On 19 and 24 June, the Memory and Disinformation Studies Direction at the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information organized one Russian-language and one English-language online meeting with the researchers and experts involved in IDFI’s project „Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics and Eastern Bloc Countries“.

21 June 2020

The Openness of State Archives in the Former Soviet Republics and Eastern Bloc Countries - the Outcomes of the Evaluation

The openness of archives is very important for studying history in different countries. However, this issue is more critical in the countries where archives can be used for the identification and rehabilitation of the victims of repressions.

15 June 2020

Amendments in the Legislature of the Russian Federation during Covid-19

Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin has postponed a vote on the constitutional amendments, which was scheduled on 22 April 2020, to an unspecified future date.

9 June 2020

Allowing Photocopying in the Archives of Georgia – Essential Step toward Enhancing the Openness of Archives

Openness and accountability are democratic principles without which the development of free society is impossible. Access to information, openness of archives and publicity of archival documents are among the achievements of various countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which enable them to get known to and rethink their history and totalitarian past.

6 June 2020

Diplomatic Relations between the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Kingdom of Sweden According to the Documents Preserved at the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden

The main concern of the First Republic of Georgia (1918-1921) was to gain the recognition and support of the European countries, which was not an easy task, considering the political reality of that period and the international developments in Europe.

27 May 2020