Denis Karagodin

The Stone of Sorrow, a memorial to victims of Soviet political repression, was dismantled at night under the official explanation that a former NKVD garage had to be protected — part of the infrastructure associated with the “black vans” of the Great Terror. The official version invites us to discuss the garage. But the way the dismantling was carried out forces a different discussion: the disappearance of public memory. The garage is the explanation...

The Stone of Sorrow, a memorial to victims of Soviet political repression, was dismantled at night under the official explanation that a former NKVD garage had to be protected — part of the infrastructure associated with the “black vans” of the Great Terror. Read more: https://karagodin.com/?p=16243 Support Denis Karagodin’s work...

I woke up to a city in which, overnight, the Stone of Sorrow — a memorial to the victims of political repression — had been dismantled. From that moment on, the task was not only to understand what had happened, but to document it as it unfolded. That is what I could do. And that is what I have done. Read more: https://karagodin.com/?p=16216 Support Denis...

Возможно, это совпадение. Но, в российской политической аналитике для таких совпадений существует вполне устойчивый термин — «чекистский юморок». Сигнал считан. A Chekist Wink on SMERSH’s Anniversary: The April 19, 2026 Demolition of the Stone of Sorrow The date of the demolition itself introduces an additional layer of possible interpretation. The removal of the Stone of Sorrow memorial — carried out in a controlled manner, with restricted access and indications of coordinated oversight — took place on April 19, coinciding with the anniversary of the establishment of SMERSH (April 19, 1943),...

The demolition of the Stone of Sorrow memorial in Tomsk marks another moment in the unfolding “memory wars” between Russia and Europe — a conflict in which struggles over monuments reflect deeper contestation over historical narratives, state identity, and the foundations upon which they are built. Read more: https://karagodin.com/?p=16149 Support Denis...