In her Moscow memoirs, Irina Scherbakowa reflects on the brief years of awakening and freedom during Perestroika. It was during this period that she co–founded Memorial, the human rights organisation dedicated to coming to terms with the legacy of Stalinism. She provides a harrowing account of Russia’s seemingly unstoppable slide into dictatorship. In 2022, Scherbakowa was able to leave for Israel just in time. But giving up is not an option – following its liquidation, Memorial is being re–established in Berlin.

Many people currently associate Russia above all with Vladimir Putin and war. Irina Scherbakowa’s book is so magnificent because it brings Russia close to us in a personal, engaging and insightful way. Scherbakowa, one of the few remaining voices of the Russian opposition, weaves together Russian history over the last 100 years with personal experiences, professional insights and a wealth of unique anecdotes. The narrative set in Moscow ends in 2022, when even the resolute author, who loves her homeland above all else, is forced to leave her country. Scherbakowa writes: “In the darkest hour, one can still hope, even if one does not know what for.” This book, with all the courageous people – great and small – who appear in it, is not only superbly written. It offers hope.

Irina Scherbakowa (English: Irina Shcherbakova), born in Moscow in 1949, is a historian and journalist. She has worked as an editor and translator of German literature. Since the early 1980s, she has conducted interviews with GULAG survivors and, following its founding in 1989, has led the educational work of Memorial, a Russian human rights organisation. In 2021, the Putin regime dissolved the NGO; in 2022, Memorial was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside a Ukrainian and a Belarusian organisation. In the same year, Scherbakowa left her home country and now lives in Berlin and Tel Aviv. She is chair of the board of the exile organisation Zukunft Memorial, founded in Berlin, serves on the board of trustees of the Buchenwald Memorial and is an honorary member of the Centre for Literary and Cultural Research in Berlin.