According to historian Orlando Figes, the raid "was clearly intended to intimidate Memorial". Allison Gill, director of Human Rights Watch in Moscow, said "This outrageous police raid shows the poisonous climate for non-governmental organisations in Russia [...] This is an overt attempt by the Russian government [...] to silence critical voices." Academics from all over the world, signed an open letter to Dmitry Medvedev that condemned the seizure of disks and material. The United States declared that it is "deeply concerned" about the raid: State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "Unfortunately, this action against Memorial is not an isolated instance of pressure against freedom of association and expression in Russia."