In a letter to the editor of the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, the German chapter of Memorial has claimed that German “Russia bashing” is within the gift of the Russian authorities to stop.

Responding to a guest article by Dr Gernot Erler, vice-chairman of the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats, (published May 25, 2013) who had demanded an end to German “Russia bashing”, Dr. Edgar von Radetzky, member of the executive board of Memorial, rejected Dr Erler’s argument, pointing out that valid causes lay behind the hostile commentary.

Dr von Radetzky drew attention to the German Bundestag resolution of November 2012 which called for a “modernisation partnership” not limited to economic and technological co-operation but also focusing on democracy, human rights, the rule of law and civil society in Russia.  He then compared these aspirations with the lack of modernisation initiatives by the Russian government alongside the suppression of civil society and concluded that these could be the essential causes of “Russia bashing” in Germany while being within the remit of the Russian government’s authority to address.

He insisted that Memorial’s concerns were entirely justified and cited the recent examples of the Russian economist Sergey Guriev and opposition figure Garry Kasparov who had left Russia saying they would not return to their home country for fear of political persecution and imprisonment. Guriev was a member of the expert panel invited to take part in an inquiry by the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council in 2011, which concluded that there was no valid legal basis or evidence supporting the guilty verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and that the case highlighted widespread systemic problems in Russia’s law enforcement practices and judiciary. In an article for the New York Times Guriev explained that the Khodorkovsky case, in which the businessman is presently serving his tenth year in jail, represented a warning to him.

Dr von Radetzky’s letter concluded with Memorial expressing its worries about the rising level of repression in Russia and calling on the Russian government to allow greater democracy and uphold the rule of law, thereby demonstrating that Russia is a rightful member of the Council of Europe.