Return of the Names Events Span 101 Cities as Memorial Network Endures

The annual Return of the Names campaign commemorating victims of Stalinist repression was held across a reported 101 cities worldwide, demonstrating the continued reach of a decentralized remembrance initiative after the liquidation of its founding organization in Russia.

The events took place on Thursday, October 29, or earlier, ahead of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression. The campaign’s website listed 101 participating cities for the current year. Although Return of the Names is not a commercial enterprise and publishes no earnings or balance-sheet data, its reported geographic footprint provides a measurable indicator of its operational scale and institutional continuity.

The current total is lower than the figure reported for 2025, when the campaign’s website said events took place in 150 cities. The available information does not explain the difference, provide comparable attendance figures or disclose any financial metrics. It nevertheless shows that the initiative retains an international network capable of organizing both in-person and remote commemorations.

International network sustains operations

Germany accounted for 15 participating cities, according to the event list. Locations included Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Bremen and Bielefeld, as well as other German cities. That made Germany one of the campaign’s most visible national hubs in the information released by organizers.

In Paris, the event was organized by the Memorial France association. Participants gathered at a monument to Parisians who died in the First World War on Boulevard de Ménilmontant, according to RFI.

The campaign combines local events with remote participation, while organizers also provide online broadcasts. That hybrid format has allowed Return of the Names to operate across borders and continue after the formal dissolution of International Memorial, which first organized the event in 2007.

“The campaign did not disappear: it continued in other countries, while people in Russia still find ways to honor the memory of those who died,” RFI reported.

From an organizational perspective, the campaign’s survival reflects a shift from a centralized institution toward a distributed model involving overseas associations, local organizers and individual participants. No budget, fundraising total, donor breakdown or spending figures were included in the source material, limiting any assessment of the financial resources supporting that model.

Private commemorations return in Russia

Russian authorities have not approved Return of the Names events since 2020, initially citing measures intended to combat the coronavirus. Pressure on independent initiatives preserving historical memory increased after International Memorial was liquidated in 2021, RFI said.

This year, however, private remembrance events were held in Russia for the first time since Memorial was banned, according to an investigation by The Insider. Independent commemorations took place in the Irkutsk region, Kirov and Veliky Novgorod.

Similar events were scheduled for October 30 in St. Petersburg; Kopeysk in the Chelyabinsk region; and Tolyatti in the Samara region, the publication reported. The source did not provide attendance numbers, organizational costs or details of the groups funding or coordinating those gatherings.

In Moscow, diplomats from Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries visited the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka Square. RusNews reported that nobody from the United States Embassy attended this year.

The diplomatic presence gave the Moscow commemoration an international dimension even in the absence of an officially approved public campaign. It also highlighted the Solovetsky Stone’s continuing role as a focal point for remembrance of Soviet-era political repression.

Campaign approaches two decades of activity

International Memorial launched Return of the Names in 2007. On October 29 of that year, people assembled at the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow and read aloud the names of individuals executed or otherwise repressed by the Soviet state.

The reading of names has since become an annual event conducted both in person and remotely. Organizers also stream events online, extending participation beyond the cities hosting physical gatherings.

For observers assessing institutional resilience, the principal disclosed metrics are longevity and geographic coverage: the campaign has operated since 2007, reached 150 cities in 2025 and listed 101 cities for the current year. The source offers no financial statements, revenue data or quarterly reporting, so the campaign cannot be evaluated through conventional earnings or balance-sheet measures. Its continued activity is instead reflected in the number of locations, the persistence of local initiatives and the maintenance of cross-border participation despite restrictions in Russia.