The Pilorama International Civil Forum, which was held on the territory of the museum and near it, included several festivals that took place at different Forum venues: theatrical, author’s song, contemporary music; film festival with the participation of the leaders of the Russian film festivals “Artdocfest” and “Stalker”, poetry slam, presentation of exhibitions and performances, meetings with former dissidents and political prisoners, musicians, writers, film directors and artists.
The center of each Forum was a discussion platform, in the pavilions of which, for two days, there were continuous discussions on the most topical issues of civil life, domestic politics and the economy of the country and the region, historical memory, the history of Russia in the 20th century, political repressions and other topics that attracted the attention of civil society. society. The most famous civil activists, economists, political scientists, journalists, historians and sociologists, as well as citizens who came to the forum as spectators, became the participants in the discussions. Both recognized masters and novice musicians, bards, artists, poets, directors and artists took part in the festivals.
Members of the Public Council of the Forum, which formed its program, were human rights activist, former dissident and prisoner of the camp “Perm-36” Sergei Kovalev, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Vladimir Lukin, bards Alexander Gorodnitsky and Natella Boltyanskaya, Chairman of the International Society “Memorial” Arseniy Roginsky, writer, human rights activist, journalist, president of the Glasnost Defense Foundation Alexei Simonov, human rights activist Valentin Gefter, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Perm Territory Tatyana Margolina and others.
The forum gathered up to 10-15 thousand spectators, every year near the museum on the last weekend of July a large tent camp grew up, full of flags and pennants, smoking fires and field kitchens, ringing guitars and songs at night. In addition to the liberal public, which annually made up the majority of those gathered, organized groups of communists and activists of the Essence of Time organization regularly came to the forum, hanging red flags, portraits of Stalin and Beria, flaunting in the tunics of the OGPU and the NKVD, and trying, as a rule, to no avail, to provoke the organizers, participants and guests of the Forum.
The partners of the Perm-36 Memorial Center in organizing the Pilorama Forums were the Government of the Perm Territory, which financed some of its festivals and projects, and the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Perm Territory, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Forum was traditionally the Chairman of the Government of the Territory, and members of the Government were its participants. The traditional partner in holding the Forum was the Perm Youth and Student Association “Ural-Service”.
