A maximum security museum Russia's only Gulag memorial shuts its doors. A photo series
Source: Meduza
The museum Perm-36 is the only building complex from the Stalinist Gulag still standing in Russia today. In the Soviet era, many dissidents found themselves between its walls: Vladimir Bukovsky, Sergey Kovalev, and hundreds of other political prisoners. For almost 18 years after the collapse of Communism, the building was independently operated as a museum by a nongovernmental organization. In 2014, however, officials decided to reclaim it for the state, seizing control from Perm-36. On March 2, 2015, after months of failed negotiations with the local government to keep the prison open as a public museum, Perm-36 announced its own dissolution. Meduza presents a photo series by Maxim Sher on this most unique museum.