There is no permanent exhibition; Memorial organises exclusively temporary and travelling exhibitions. The most substantial such exhibition so far was ‘Between Two Dictatorships. Russia and Germany in the 20th Century.’ It was displayed in the Centre, (2000-2003), in Voronezh (2001), Syktyvkar (2002), Glasgow (2003) and Riga (2004). The exhibition consists of documents and material from Memorial’s own archive, State and private archives, personal belongings of ex-prisoners and items of everyday camp life.
Since 1994, Memorial has organised over 20 different temporary exhibitions, including ‘The World of the Gulag’ (1994,1996,1998), ‘Kem - Threshold of the Solovetskii Islands’ (1995), ‘Mensheviks in Soviet Russia’ (1995), ‘To both sides of the Prison Doors: Gulag Art’ (1995), ‘Around Its Own Prisons’ (1997), ‘The Great Terror – 60 Years Later’ (1997), ‘Samizdat (2001), Budapest-Leningrad, 1956’ (2001), ‘From the History of the ‘Special Design Office’ OKB-172’, (2001), ‘Vorkuta-Leningrad. History of Repression in Komi, 1950s-1980s’ (Syktyvkar-St. Petersburg, 2003), and others.
The Centre’s collection comprises biographical archives (2868 files with personal documents, letters and diaries – originals as well as copies), a photo archive (about 10,000 photographs), an archive of memoirs (over 200 written memoirs), a collection of items (about 600 objects), an oral history archive, and others. The collection is subdivided into thematic units, such as ‘Samizdat’ ‘Mensheviks after 1917’, ‘Political Prisoners 1950s-1980s’, ‘Solovetskii Islands Camp’.
The Research and Information Centre ‘Memorial’ organises conferences and cultural and educational events, in particular the annual symposium in memory of V.V. Iofe. ‘Memorial’ also acts as a publisher and offers lectures, discussions, round tables, and film presentations. The centre provides legal advice for victims of repression and supports researchers.
