You’re a Free Man | Generation Gulag: Andrys Ziders

The last time Andrys saw his father was June 14, 1941. Andrys and his family were among the 15,000 Latvians deported to Siberia. Thousands of Latvian men were executed by Soviet troops, the most likely fate of his father. Every year since 1998, victims of political repression from all over Latvia gather in August at an outdoor bandstand in the small town of Ikskile.

Generation Gulag is a series of nine short documentary films that uncovers the impact of Russia’s campaign to rewrite the history of Gulag survivors. The series features interviews and animated illustrations of the survivors’ memories, offering an accessible medium for understanding the dangers of recent campaigns to make history books fit new political narratives.

This story was first published by Coda Story. Watch the Generation Gulag series here.