
Returning The Names 2025
Protest Memory: A Chronicle of the Banned “Returning the Names 2025”
Since 2020 organizers of “Returning the Names” have been repeatedly denied authorization. In Moscow, the main public readings are effectively banned, formally due to lingering COVID-era restrictions. In 2022 Russia’s Supreme Court liquidated the International Memorial, and pressure on the memory movement intensified. With mass gatherings impossible, activists seek legal ways to keep the ritual alive. “Returning the Names” is an annual commemoration in which participants read aloud the names of people executed during the Great Terror. Since 2007, thousands have joined across Russia and abroad on the eve of the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression. Traditionally Muscovites gathered at the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka Square, opposite the security services’ headquarters. Now the readings scatter across the city, during historical walks or in forests at mass graves. With no publicity, amid fear and the risk of prosecution, dozens take part, and their number keeps growing.
TMDB
7.0/10
1 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
View on IMDb
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- Russian
Behind the camera
Director
Produced in
Russia, Lithuania
Videos
Release dates
RussiaRU
- Premiere24 Nov 2025
Frequently asked questions
Returning The Names 2025 was released on 24 November 2025.
Member reviews
Sign in to rate and review. Browsing stays free and open.
Sign inMember comments
0Sign in to post a comment. Browsing stays free and open.
Sign in











