Museum of Moscow reportedly removed section on Soviet repressions from city history exhibition at last minute
The Museum of Moscow removed a planned section on Soviet repressions from its “History of Moscow” exhibition due to external pressure, journalist Ksenia Basilashvili reported on Tuesday.
According to the museum’s website, the exhibition spans Moscow’s history from Iron Age settlements along the Moscow River to the Soviet Union’s entry into World War II, showcasing the lives and daily routines of Muscovites across different eras.
Basilashvili wrote that the exhibition’s curators had originally planned for its first section to conclude with the topic of Soviet-era repressions. She noted that the museum’s collection included documents and personal belongings of repression victims, which were intended to be featured in the exhibition.
The curators had reportedly enlisted staff from the Gulag History Museum to draft labels for the section. According to Basilashvili, the Museum of Moscow’s academic council “reviewed and approved everything.”
“But then, a request to revise the texts was suddenly imposed from outside, followed shortly after by a demand to remove not only the texts but the entire ‘Repressions’ section altogether,” Basilashvili said. “Compare these two photos from the Museum of Moscow. The first shows the exhibition being set up, complete with titles and detailed texts. The second was taken by me on December 20. Now, there’s only a blank white wall in place of the words”