According to a pan-national survey, 46% of Russians aged 18-24 have never heard about mass repressions in the USSR. And it is encouraged by the government.

The government had a plan to reconstruct the main symbol of Stalin's terror — “The House of executions” at Nikolskaya, 23 in the center of Moscow (in which 31,456 people were shot dead) into a luxury perfume boutique. Most Russians did not know anything about that because government tried to do everything quietly.

When “Novaya Gazeta” - the leading oppositional newspaper - has learned about the fact, it decided to declare about the fact as loudly as possible. Our main goal was to change the future of the house, create public awareness and call to boycott any commercial use of the building.

The project budget was 53,000 RUB (about 900 USD). This money was to produce 30 samples of N23.

The main idea was to create a vivid symbol of this insane act of vandalism to mobilize both public opinion and influential people who can change the fate of the building.

So, we defined our target audience:

1) the Moscow government and the owner of the building who was close to the government,

2) Leading domestic and international media (as a tool to reach the first audience)

3) The wide public not indifferent to the historical memory of Russia. (as the energy that fills the project).

Contrast is the primary artistic technique used in the project. It emphasizes the absurdity of opening a glamorous perfume boutique in “The House of Executions”

Outside, premium perfume packaging: a snow-white box with a soft-touch surface, an embossed logo, and a black silk ribbon.

Inside, a weightless black tissue paper and an elegant sticker branded with the No. 23 logo. And you expect the content to match the packaging. But when you unfold the paper, you see a handful of soil from the Kommunarka execution yard.

The Kommunarka execution yard is a mass grave site located not far from Moscow. It was used for the burial of people shot in the house at Nikolskaya 23.

A bed of soil holds a vial made from vintage Soviet shell case.

The vial contains perfume scented with gunpowder and moist soil.

The opening of the elite perfumery boutique VUM in 2019 did not take place. The Moscow government has officially announced that there will be a memorial museum at Nikolskaya 23.

This means that the Russian society has received the first and very important vaccination against dictatorship and political violence.

All of this has become possible due to public outrage.

With the budget of 900 USD we have received about 200+ of such media publications as: BBC, The Times, LeMonde, El Pais and other media sources in 32 countries. The project was covered by many lifestyle media: Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, and Esquire, which have revealed the truth to potential customers of the boutique (Earned media value USD 8 mln).

46,000 people responded to our call and signed an online petition in support of the idea of a museum at Nikolskaya 23.