The "Evening of Letters to Political Prisoners", a campaign dedicated to International Women's Day and organized by the Future Russia-Switzerland community together with the Letters of Freedom initiative, has come to an end in Switzerland.
It involved Zurich, Bern and Geneva. A total of 37 people wrote 76 letters to Russian women prisoners. Participants in the event watched the documentary film "Convicts on Women's Colonies", produced last autumn by the Perm 36.6 investigative project. Professor Patrick Serio, head of Memorial's Swiss branch, joined the event in Geneva.
There are currently more than 800 people in Russia who have been persecuted for political reasons. Among them there are more than 80 women. Unfortunately, they are not frequently written about, and sometimes they are simply forgotten. There are, of course, " mediatized" political prisoners: Liliya Chanyshova, Zarema Musayeva, Zhenya Berkovich, Svetlana Pitreichuk and others. And there are those who are remembered only by their relatives and friends. Everyone needs support and attention, and we want all prisoners of Putin's regime to feel it equally.
The 8th of every month is the informal date of support to women political prisoners. But it is important to write to prisoners, regardless of gender, as often as possible. We encourage people to support women prisoners of the regime not only on the 8th of every month, but on any other day as well.
Letters help political prisoners maintain a connection with the outside world and belief in themselves. "Write letters to political prisoners, they are like a breath of fresh air for us, like a thread that connects with the free world. Words of support inspire, give strength, serve as a stimulus for self-development in such constrained circumstances." - Maria Ponomarenko
Here's a quick guide on how you can do it yourself:
1. "RosUznik" website: https://rosuznik.org/ - a volunteer organization. You can filter the list of recipients by anti-war articles (Anti-war protests, army discrediting, arson of military enlistment offices). Choose someone from the list and send a letter (you can attach images). It's for free, but you can also help the project by making a donation.
2. FSIN-letter - this is "email" service in the colony. The letter is delivered to the colony through the service by internet. The censor reads it, prints it, and delivers it to the prisoner. To send a letter, go to the website, find the colony where your recipient is located, enter their details, and write the text of the letter. Delivery and verification of the letter usually takes about 3-4 days. This is a paid service.
You can find a list of political prisoners with addresses on the Memorial website https://memopzk.org or use other resources.