The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory has launched the preparation of an international research centre and museum of crimes of communism in Tallinn, Estonia.
The centre and the museum are to be established with the support of the government of Estonia and leading remembrance institutions in Germany, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
According to Sergei Metlev, the public relations manager at the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, the effort is aimed to bring together a diverse international coalition of regional and international experts, researchers and educators to secure the historical legacy of societies that faced communist regimes, to conduct fact-based, objective academic research and provide education in this field.
The museum of the crimes of communism is to be established at the Patarei prison complex in Tallinn that was used by both the Soviets and the Nazis often for inhumane purposes throughout the 20th century.
According to the organisers, the research centre will help understand the machinery, ideology and crimes of communist regimes and to analyse the historical impact of their policies and actions.
According to the “The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression”, communism and Nazism were distinct but comparable totalitarian systems. The book estimates the communist regimes killed approximately 100 million people.
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Cover: The museum of the crimes of communism is to be established at the former prison complex in Tallinn. Read also: Paul Goble: Ten reasons why we must remain anti-communists.
