The Telegram channel “Repressions in Sverdlovsk” is run by Oleg Novoselov, an amateur historian and economist from Yekaterinburg. For many years, he has worked in local archives searching for information about victims of Stalinist repression.
In late September, Novoselov wrote that he had been notified that files on repressed people would now be issued only to their relatives.
Under current Russian law, case files on repressed people may be provided to any interested person 75 years after the case was closed.
It then emerged that access was being denied not only by the Yekaterinburg archive, but by other archives as well.
As grounds for the refusals, the archives cite Rosarkhiv Order No. 38 of March 20, 2025, which sets out the procedure for classifying documents as “official information with restricted circulation.”
The order provides for compiling a list of materials marked “for official use”. That list may include non-classified documents if their circulation, according to the order, “may create a potential threat to the interests of the Russian Federation.”