ALL

24 June | Film screening | Cardboard: Who Is Erasing the Memory of Repressions in Moscow?

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of memorial plaques to victims of Stalin’s repressions have been torn down across Moscow. A newly formed group of activists has started replacing them with handmade cardboard plaques, returning the names to the streets, trying to find out who is removing them — and why.

When: Wednesday 24 June 18:00
Where: Dialogbüro Vienna
Esslinggasse 9 / 6, 1010, Vienna
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Admission: free of charge, register here

The civic initiative "Last Address" has been working since 2014 to preserve the memory of victims of Stalin's repressions. At the request of individuals, and with the consent of building residents, the initiative installs uniform metal commemorative plaques (indicating the name, dates, and profession) on the façades of buildings identified as the last known address of a disappeared person.

Today, the initiative is struggling: many of its activists have left the country. Residents are afraid to speak about the past of their buildings and increasingly refuse to approve new plaques. One by one, the memorials disappear. No vandals are ever found — even in places covered by surveillance cameras.

Despite this, new groups of citizens have emerged. Without being part of “Last Address,” they print and hang cardboard plaques to replace the stolen metal ones. Armed with paper, glue, and markers, they wage their own small battle for historical memory.

By hanging cardboard signs, arguing with building managers, talking to neighbors and security guards, they begin their own investigation: who is systematically erasing these memorials in the very center of Moscow — and why?

Cardboard (2025, 66'), a documentary by Razrez studio and Mediazona, follows a group of activists defending the memory of Stalin’s repressions — and searching for those trying to erase it. The film was a part of Artdocfest official selection and nominated for the "Redkollegia" award.

In Vienna, the documentary will be presented by Egor Isaev, the director of Cardboard and curator of Mediazona’s documentary section, and Konstantin Koryagin, the film’s editor and an editor at syg.ma. The screening will be followed by an open discussion.

2026-06-03 10:55