From Stalinism to Putinism: Overcoming the past in creating the future
31. oktober 2025 09.00 - 17.00
Since the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s rule in 2000, the Russian government has steadily tightened its grip on independent voices. What began as managed democracy – a system of soft control justified to restore order after the chaotic 1990s – has, over time, evolved into a far more restrictive and authoritarian regime.
The mass demonstrations on Bolotnaya Square in 2012 marked a turning point. In response, Putin's policy shifted, embracing morality politics and portraying his opposition as a threat to Russian national values and unity.
Since then, pressure on independent civil society actors trying to come to terms with the past has only intensified:
In 2021, the Russian Supreme Court dissolved Memorial International and the Memorial Human Rights Centre, two organizations dedicated to documenting human rights abuses during the Stalinist era and in contemporary Russia.
In 2023, the Sakharov Centre – a cultural institution committed to preserving the memory of Gulag prisoners and promoting human rights – was forced to shut down under the so-called Foreign Agent Law.
In 2024, the Gulag History Museum was temporarily closed and placed under new leadership more aligned with Moscow’s political elite.
Civil society actors have drawn parallels between Stalinist repressions and the mechanisms of state control employed by Putin’s regime. This raises important questions: What historical traits from the Stalinist era can be identified in modern Russia? Can we meaningfully compare Stalin and Putin – and if so, in what ways? It is still a stigmatised topic in most countries of the countries constituting the former soviet bloc?
Such issues as the mechanisms and intricacies of the state machinery and the nature of the political regime, the degree of the broader public society's involvement in state violence, the problems of guilt and responsibility, require complex and multifaceted analysis.
This analysis is impossible without the use of many historical sources (in particular, currently closed archival information), the collection of oral testimonies and other work on research, memorialization and education.
Though the war is still ongoing we should still not waste time and begin to work on shaping the future, What does justice look like? How do we prevent ending up in this situation in the future?
Special thanks to the Lannung Foundation for generously funding this conference. The organizers bear sole responsibility for the content of the conference.
9.00-9:30: Setting the scene
• Annika Hvithamar, Head of Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
• Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
9.30-10.45: How people in modern day Russia relate to the history of political repression
• Elena Zhemkova Executive Director, "Memorial" Historical, Educational and Human Rights Society founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
• Serguey Parkhomenko, among other ”The Last address” dedicated to creating a collective memorial to the victims of political repression
• Sergei Lukashevsky, is director of the Sakharov Museum and Public Centre
10.45-12.00: Stalinism experienced by people within the realm of the soviet bloc and the consequences for the societies in independent states
• Georgia Irakli Khvadagiani, SovietLab
• Belarus Sasha Filipenko, writer from Belarus
• Ukraine Jevgeni Zakaharov Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
12.00-13:00: Lunch
13.00-14.15: What is Neo-Stalinism or Putinism and how it influences the contemporary Russia?
• Stepan Chernousjek: The Gulag camps in the former USSR in the context of current situation in Russia
• Mikhail Suslov, historian at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies with specialisation in ideology, cultural history and Russia’s current affairs “The ideology of Putinism”
• Mikhail Kaluzhsky, theatre researcher. Former head of the theatre program at the Sakharov Center: Stalinist practices in contemporary Russian cultural politics and its impacts on the performing arts. Focusing on the intersection of political ideology and artistic expression
14.15-14.45: Coffee
14.45-16.00: Concluding panel: Undoing Stalin’s Legacy: Russia’s Path Beyond
• Tea Sindbæk, University of Copenhagen, with focus on Balkan Studies, Department of Cross-Cultural Regional Studies– about the political use of remembrance and concealment in a memory perspective
• Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
• Jelena Zjemkova, founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
• Stepan Chernousjek Russian studies scholar, explorer, publicist, and election observer. In 2009, he established the Gulag.cz Association.
• Irakli Khvadagiani, Historian, SovietLab Tbilisi
Language: English with simultaneous translation from Russian or Ukraine of individual speakers
Participants
Annika Hvithamar, Director, the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
Elena Zhemkova founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
Mikhail Suslov, Historian, the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Sergei Lukashevsky, Director, the Sakharov Museum and Public Center
Mikhail Kaluzhsky, Theater Researcher and former Head of the Theater Program at the Sakharov Center
Sasha Filipenko, Writer from Belarus
Evgeny Zakharov, Kharkiv Human Rights Group in Ukraine
Stepan Chernousek, Gulag.Cz, Scholar of Russian Studies from Czech Republic
Irakli Khvadagiani, Historian, SovietLab from Georgia
Tea Sindbæk, Associate Professor, with focus on Balkan Studies, Department of Cross- Cultural Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Sign up for the conference on KU's website using this link: https://ccrs.ku.dk/calendar/2025/from-stalinism-to-putinism/sign-up/
The mass demonstrations on Bolotnaya Square in 2012 marked a turning point. In response, Putin's policy shifted, embracing morality politics and portraying his opposition as a threat to Russian national values and unity.
Since then, pressure on independent civil society actors trying to come to terms with the past has only intensified:
In 2021, the Russian Supreme Court dissolved Memorial International and the Memorial Human Rights Centre, two organizations dedicated to documenting human rights abuses during the Stalinist era and in contemporary Russia.
In 2023, the Sakharov Centre – a cultural institution committed to preserving the memory of Gulag prisoners and promoting human rights – was forced to shut down under the so-called Foreign Agent Law.
In 2024, the Gulag History Museum was temporarily closed and placed under new leadership more aligned with Moscow’s political elite.
Civil society actors have drawn parallels between Stalinist repressions and the mechanisms of state control employed by Putin’s regime. This raises important questions: What historical traits from the Stalinist era can be identified in modern Russia? Can we meaningfully compare Stalin and Putin – and if so, in what ways? It is still a stigmatised topic in most countries of the countries constituting the former soviet bloc?
Such issues as the mechanisms and intricacies of the state machinery and the nature of the political regime, the degree of the broader public society's involvement in state violence, the problems of guilt and responsibility, require complex and multifaceted analysis.
This analysis is impossible without the use of many historical sources (in particular, currently closed archival information), the collection of oral testimonies and other work on research, memorialization and education.
Though the war is still ongoing we should still not waste time and begin to work on shaping the future, What does justice look like? How do we prevent ending up in this situation in the future?
Special thanks to the Lannung Foundation for generously funding this conference. The organizers bear sole responsibility for the content of the conference.
9.00-9:30: Setting the scene
• Annika Hvithamar, Head of Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
• Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
9.30-10.45: How people in modern day Russia relate to the history of political repression
• Elena Zhemkova Executive Director, "Memorial" Historical, Educational and Human Rights Society founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
• Serguey Parkhomenko, among other ”The Last address” dedicated to creating a collective memorial to the victims of political repression
• Sergei Lukashevsky, is director of the Sakharov Museum and Public Centre
10.45-12.00: Stalinism experienced by people within the realm of the soviet bloc and the consequences for the societies in independent states
• Georgia Irakli Khvadagiani, SovietLab
• Belarus Sasha Filipenko, writer from Belarus
• Ukraine Jevgeni Zakaharov Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
12.00-13:00: Lunch
13.00-14.15: What is Neo-Stalinism or Putinism and how it influences the contemporary Russia?
• Stepan Chernousjek: The Gulag camps in the former USSR in the context of current situation in Russia
• Mikhail Suslov, historian at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies with specialisation in ideology, cultural history and Russia’s current affairs “The ideology of Putinism”
• Mikhail Kaluzhsky, theatre researcher. Former head of the theatre program at the Sakharov Center: Stalinist practices in contemporary Russian cultural politics and its impacts on the performing arts. Focusing on the intersection of political ideology and artistic expression
14.15-14.45: Coffee
14.45-16.00: Concluding panel: Undoing Stalin’s Legacy: Russia’s Path Beyond
• Tea Sindbæk, University of Copenhagen, with focus on Balkan Studies, Department of Cross-Cultural Regional Studies– about the political use of remembrance and concealment in a memory perspective
• Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
• Jelena Zjemkova, founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
• Stepan Chernousjek Russian studies scholar, explorer, publicist, and election observer. In 2009, he established the Gulag.cz Association.
• Irakli Khvadagiani, Historian, SovietLab Tbilisi
Language: English with simultaneous translation from Russian or Ukraine of individual speakers
Participants
Annika Hvithamar, Director, the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Serguey Parkhomenko, journalist and founder (or cofounder) of the movement “The last address”
Elena Zhemkova founder and head of the organisation, Memorial
Mikhail Suslov, Historian, the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Sergei Lukashevsky, Director, the Sakharov Museum and Public Center
Mikhail Kaluzhsky, Theater Researcher and former Head of the Theater Program at the Sakharov Center
Sasha Filipenko, Writer from Belarus
Evgeny Zakharov, Kharkiv Human Rights Group in Ukraine
Stepan Chernousek, Gulag.Cz, Scholar of Russian Studies from Czech Republic
Irakli Khvadagiani, Historian, SovietLab from Georgia
Tea Sindbæk, Associate Professor, with focus on Balkan Studies, Department of Cross- Cultural Regional Studies, the University of Copenhagen
Sign up for the conference on KU's website using this link: https://ccrs.ku.dk/calendar/2025/from-stalinism-to-putinism/sign-up/
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Arrangør:
Det Udenrigspolitiske Selskab og Institut for Tværkulturelle Studier
Tidspunkt
31. oktober 2025
09.00 - 17.00