The Remembrance Society

05/11/2026

Memorial currently recognizes 1,534 people as political prisoners in Russia, including 469 imprisoned for supporting Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that around 7,000 Ukrainian citizens were being held in Russian prisons.

“He dreamed, like everyone, of living in a free country,” Valentina Shapyrko said of her son, Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Artemenko, who is imprisoned in Russia.

04/16/2026

Last night The Remembrance Society marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Helsinki Commission at our symposium, “The Enduring Legacy of the Helsinki Process and its Continued Importance for the Future of Freedom.” In our opening remarks and also from our partner Memorial and the Ambassadors of Finland Leena-Kaisa Mikkola and Switzerland Ralf Heckner to the United States, and Mykola Horbal, former Chair of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, we recognized the remarkable bi-partisan work that the Commission has done over the past five decades advancing human rights and freedom. We honored the U.S. Helsinki Commission with our 2026 Resistance and Solidarity Award, accepted on behalf of the Commission by Chairman Senator Roger Wicker and the former Democratic Chairman Congressman Steny Hoyer. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we also honored the Chairman of The Remembrance Society, Don Ritter, with the 2026 Resistance and Solidarity Award for his lifelong dedication to resisting totalitarian tyranny and standing in solidarity with those struggling for liberty. Our tremendously distinguished panelists Vladimir Kara-Murza, Kyle Parker, Amb. Martin Palous, David Satter, Jamie Fly, Amb. James Gilmore, spoke about the great dissidents of the decade of the 1980s and how the Final Act influenced their activities, about the dissidents who have been murdered in the post-Soviet Putin era, and the role of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and the United States in advancing the principles of the Helsinki Accords, then and now, and how those principles can continue to promote freedom and peace in Europe in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine and beyond. Thank you to our colleagues in Congress and the State Department and across the diplomatic, policy, think tank and human rights communities for joining us for this very special evening! Senator Roger Wicker Steny Hoyer Freedom House Free Peoples of Russia House

03/25/2026

It was an honor for The Remembrance Society to host such a distinguished group last night for the release of Jan Jekielek's important new book, "Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary" in cooperation with Blanquita Cullum and The Epoch Times.

We heard powerful opening remarks from Ambassador Sam Brownback, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit, Mary Vigil on behalf of Congressman Chris Smith, Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, Grace Jin Drexel, daughter of detained Pastor Ezra Jin who is the founder of one of China’s largest underground house-church networks, and William Huang, survivor of the CCP's brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

Jan gave a compelling presentation about the practice of this horrific human rights crime being committed by the Chinese Communist Party and what it tells us about the nature of the CCP and the implications for US policy. For far too long, the international community has turned a blind eye to this urgent human rights issue, and Jan's book is a powerful call to action. We encourage you to read it!

Photo credit: James Cullum

02/04/2026

02/04/2026

The Remembrance Society co-hosted with the Free Peoples of Russia House a fireside panel discussion on the topic of "Venezuela Below the Surface: Russia, Cuba, Iran, China Connections.” Panelists engaged in a deep and lively discussion about the future of Venezuela and geopolitical dynamics under the surface beyond the drug trafficking, oil, and the snatching of Nicholas Maduro and the implications of those dynamics for U.S. national security. Our panelists walked through the history of the Soviet Union and Russia’s engagement with Communist Cuba in promoting anti-American activities in Latin America going back decades. They also covered how Iran and China have also become major players in countering American interests via Venezuela and how these malign actors are also in league with each other over the war in Ukraine. The wide ranging discussion dug into respective intelligence services, electronic surveillance, malign actors, arms trafficking and moving sanctioned oil – examples of the Venezuela cabal’s efforts to undermine the United States. Panelists were: Ilya Ponamarev|Russia, Frank Calzon|Cuba, Gelet Martinez Fragela|Cuba, Erik Suarez|Venezuela, Amb. Martin Palous|Global, Hon. Don Ritter, Chairman of The Remembrance Society & moderator. Follow us to hear about future events!

10/31/2025

My interview with Ukrinform as to Putin's motivations for starting and continuing his war against Ukraine. He had covered our Remembrance Society press event on October 28 as to why Putin won't stop fighting now. It's all about self preservation.

I would advise Trump to start from the premise that Putin is a genocidal murderer — Ukrinform.

09/29/2025

TRS Chairman Don Ritter op-ed on why the West must understand that Putin won't stop his war against Ukraine because he falls if he does. NATO encroachment, restoration of Empire, "protecting Russian-speakers" are all rationalizations to his people and the West to justify his war on Ukraine and keep power.

Both the political powers and the commentariat have got the Russia-Ukraine narrative wrong. “The overriding goal of the Putin regime is to strengthen...

03/27/2025

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vladimir-putin-worlds-number-one-terrorist-implications-for-us-policy-tickets-1302132185419?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Remembrance Society in cooperation with the American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) will hold a Congressional press conference the afternoon of April 9 to highlight the terror of Vladimir Putin since his rise to power, including the FSB apartment bombings of 1999, the downing of the MH17 airliner killing 287 innocent people, and the war crimes that have been committed in Ukraine including the Bucha massacre, the torture and murder of Ukrainian POWs, the killing of thousands via the bombing of civilian targets, and the abduction of 20,000 Ukrainian children. The press conference will take place in conjunction with the Ukraine Action Summit, organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) in Washington DC, from April 6-9.

As the United States seeks to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the press conference will examine the implications of Putin’s acts of terrorism against his own people, and against the people of Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022, and of Putin's violation of prior international agreements. Speakers will also discuss the danger of trusting Putin to live up to agreements, and the conditions for a sustainable agreement to end the war. Speakers at the press conference will include leading world experts on Russia and eyewitnesses of war crimes in Ukraine as well leading Members of Congress on this issue, clink on the link for further details and to register.

A Congressional press conference featuring leading world experts on Russia and eyewitnesses of war crimes in Ukraine on the terror of Putin.

03/13/2025

Today Rep. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) and over a dozen of her colleagues reintroduced the Crucial Communism Teaching (CCT) Act (H.R. 2080) in the 119th Congress. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the companion version in the Senate. During the 118th Congress, the House of Representatives passed the bill.

“Communism is one of the most destructive political ideologies the world has ever seen,” said Rep. Salazar. “The Crucial Communism Teaching Act is important because our youth must remember the crimes of the communists, including those inflicted upon my constituents and their families in Florida’s 27th district.”

The CCT Act framework is inspired by the Never Again Education Act, passed by Congress in 2020, which created a program to educate American students about the Holocaust through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The bill also continues similar efforts by Florida and other states to educate American students on the failed experiment of communism throughout history.

Knowledge of the horrific crimes of Communism and related totalitarian regimes is sadly lacking in the United States, particularly among younger generations,” said Founding Chairman of The Remembrance Society and Trustee Emeritus of The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Don Ritter. “Educating people about the brutality, immorality and ideology of Communist regimes is necessary to prevent recurrence of the totalitarian horrors which swept across the twentieth century and into the 21st. Importantly, such knowledge works to safeguard America's founding principles of freedom and democracy from contemporary forms of Communist ideology. We applaud Congresswoman Salazar for her leadership in authoring and reintroducing the Crucial Communism Teaching Act, and urge House Leadership to bring the bill swiftly to a vote.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.

12/14/2024

Sadly, Dr. Lee Edwards passed away, yesterday. A dear friend and colleague for some 20 years, Dr. Edwards was the most important figure of our generation in calling attention to the evils of communism and its victims, some 100 million! Lee was a prolific author, a pioneer in the modern conservative movement, and the creator of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation of Communism Memorial Foundation and Museum (VOC). The whole idea, as Lee liked to say was, "remember us". He was referring to the millions of Russians who disappeared into the bowels of the Soviet Gulags, millions who starved to death as a result the Stalin-created famine in Ukraine or the tens of millions starved by Chairman Mao. 100 million is an unimaginable number that Lee Edwards sought to break down into a more human story. He and his supporters did just that. His contribution and that of the VOC to the cause of freedom and free people is enormous. The Remembrance Society, which I am honored to serve as Chairman, is indeed a progeny of our best mentor, Lee Edwards and his VOC creation where I was a proud Board member, for some 20 years.
PS. Thank you, Lee Edwards, for your wonderful life. RIP... and see you in a while. Don