The museum was one of the last institutions dedicated to documenting Soviet-era political repression in Russia. Russia is converting the Gulag History Museum in Moscow into a new exhibition documenting Nazi crimes against the Soviet Union during World War II, officials said Friday. “The new museum will feature an exhibition covering all stages of Nazi war crimes during the Great Patriotic War,” Moscow’s city government said in a statement, using the official Russian name for World War II. It will also document “biological weapons testing on Soviet citizens by the Japanese,” as well as showcase the Red Army’s victories, it added. The Gulag History Museum was founded in 2001, but authorities closed it in November 2024, citing “fire safety violations.” Until its closure, the museum commemorated the millions of people who were imprisoned in the Gulag — which was a vast network of forced labor camps across the country between 1918 and 1956. Millions of alleged traitors and enemies of the state were sent there, many to their deaths during Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s rule. The museum was one of the last institutions dedicated to documenting Soviet-era political repression in Russia. It contained thousands of artefacts from Gulag victims, including letters and personal belongings.
via dw: Russia to convert Gulag museum into Nazi crimes memorial