AHA president Gabrielle Spiegel and executive director Arnita Jones sent a letter on December 17, 2008, to Russian Federation president Dmitrii Medvedev, expressing on behalf of the American Historical Association concern over the violent raid the offices of the Russian human rights organization Memorial on December 4. The letter called for the authorities in St. Petersburg to return the wrongfully confiscated materials to the Memorial’s offices so they are available to scholars and uphold the integrity of the archive.
