Obituaries

17 May 2022

Moscow

A statement by friends of Francis Greene at Memorial

Francis Greene has passed away.

A huge loss.

He was an honourable friend, and among the very first active supporters of Memorial, as far back as the late 1980s. Back then, thirty years ago, he donated royalties from the publication in the USSR of works by his father, Graham Greene. Throughout the years that followed, he continued to offer help that evidenced his deep understanding of the meaning of Memorial’s work and its mission. He shared our idea of the inextricable link between past and present, and of the necessity to speak about the tragedies of the past so that they would not be repeated today.

The many years of support Francis gave our archival research programs enabled us to compile and publish more than 30 books. These included fundamental research into the fates of repressed nobles; a history of the persecution of the Eastern Catholics in Russia; research into the fates of family members of repressed ‘enemies of the people’; a history of the persecution of the True Orthodox Christians; and histories of the Moscow Political Red Cross (1918 – 1922) and the Society for the Aid of Political Prisoners (1923 – 1938). Francis was directly involved in the publication of the diary of Moscow schoolgirl Nina Lugovskaya, sent to a prison camp with her mother and sisters.

We value and remember not only the material assistance Francis gave us, but the understanding, moral support, and oneness that underpinned our relationship with him.

Over the course of many years, he offered generous assistance to individuals and organisations who sought his help. His circle of interests and contacts was extremely wide, and was not limited to Memorial.

We are sure that everyone who knew this wonderful man will share our grief at the loss of him, our words of condolence, and our grateful memory of him.

From friends of Francis Greene at Memorial:

Irina Osipova, Elena Zhemkova, Aleksandr Daniel, Nikita Petrov, Yan Rachinsky, Boris Belenkin, Alena Kozlova, Irina Ostrovskaya, Sergei Krivenko, Irina Shcherbakova, Aleksandr Cherkasov, Oleg Orlov.

Translated by Richard Coombes