<<No 51 : 1 December 1978>> (1) A. Sakharov: “The Human Rights Movement in the USSR and Eastern Europe: Aims, Significance, Difficulties” (8 November 1978, 12 pp.) “The word ‘movement’ in the title of this article is not intended to bring to mind any sort of organization, or association, or, still less, party. It simply … Continue reading Samizdat Update (51.21)
First Responses (54.1-1)
TO THE ARRESTS OF VELIKANOVA AND YAKUNIN <<No 54 : 15 November 1979>> A statement by the MOSCOW HELSINKI GROUP The Group to Assist the Implementation of the Helsinki Agreements in the USSR: Document No. 111 (3 November 1979) “A sharp increase in the persecution of the movement for the rule of law in the … Continue reading First Responses (54.1-1)
1 November 1979 (54.1)
<<No 54 : 15 November 1979>> On this day, Tatyana Mikhailovna VELIKANOVA, a veteran participant of the movement to defend the rule of law, and Orthodox priest Gleb Pavlovich YAKUNIN, a founder-member of the Christian Committee for the Defence of Believers' Rights in the USSR, were arrested in Moscow. T. Velikanova and G. Yakunin were … Continue reading 1 November 1979 (54.1)
Political Releases (53.1)
<<No 53 : 1 August 1979>> Pardons, April 1979. On 15 June 1970, a group of people who were planning to hijack an aeroplane and escape abroad in it were arrested in Leningrad. In December of the same year, they were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, and on two of them, Mark Dymshits and … Continue reading Political Releases (53.1)
Document 195 of the Moscow Helsinki Group (65.20)
<<Moscow Helsinki Group documents, 1976-1982>> On 6 September 1982 the Moscow Helsinki Group adopted document No. 195. “On 31 July 1975, the USSR, the countries of Europe, the USA and Canada signed the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference. The Moscow Group “to assist the implementation of the Helsinki Accords in the USSR” was set … Continue reading Document 195 of the Moscow Helsinki Group (65.20)
Ginzburg’s appeal, August 1978 (50.3)
<<No. 50, November 1978>> I consider that my sentence is unjust, that it should be revoked, and the case sent for retrial, for the following reasons: 1. One-sidedness of the pre-trial and court investigations, manifested in the following ways: 1.1 persons whose testimony had a significant bearing on the case were not questioned. I and … Continue reading Ginzburg’s appeal, August 1978 (50.3)
A List of Political Prisoners, August 1977 (46.23)
PREFACE The Russian Relief Fund for Political Prisoners (CCE 44.3) here gives the names of political prisoners and exiles known to it in mid-August 1977 [N.B. These 275 names exclude those in psychiatric hospitals, and almost all religious prisoners. For more details on those listed here see previous issues of the Chronicle, especially CCE 33.] … Continue reading A List of Political Prisoners, August 1977 (46.23)
In Defence of Davidovich, 1975-1976 (39.4)
<< No 39 : 12 March 1976 >> On 9 May 1975, at 12 noon, on the thirtieth anniversary of the victory over German fascism, a Jewish anti-fascist meeting took place in Minsk. War veterans, former partisans and young people gathered in the former ghetto district. About five hundred people were present, including Jews from … Continue reading In Defence of Davidovich, 1975-1976 (39.4)
Extra-Judicial Persecution (25.9)
<< No 25 : 20 May 1972 >> A group of Crimean Tatars has sent a letter to the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party, the USSR Council of Ministers and the USSR Supreme Soviet, citing numerous facts relating to the local authorities' oppression of Crimean Tatars returning to the Crimea: refusal to register … Continue reading Extra-Judicial Persecution (25.9)
Outside the Moscow Synagogue, 29 March 1972 (25.8)
<<No 25 : 20 May 1972>> On 29 March 1972 Jews who had gathered outside the Moscow synagogue were dispersed by police and “people’s vigilantes” [druzhinniki]. That evening, the eve of Passover, there were several bus- and carloads of policemen in the vicinity of the synagogue building. For half a day a fence was erected … Continue reading Outside the Moscow Synagogue, 29 March 1972 (25.8)
The Persecution of Believers in Lithuania (25.7)
<<No 25 : 20 May 1972>> Amongst cases of the infringement of believers' rights mentioned in “the Memorandum of the Catholics of Lithuania” [note 1] (see CCE 24.6) is the dismissal of O. Briliene, a schoolmistress and believer, by the Vilkaviskis district department of public education. In October 1969, the headmaster of a high school … Continue reading The Persecution of Believers in Lithuania (25.7)
Political Prisoners in the Mordovian Camps (25.6)
<<No 25 : 20 May 1972>> Dmytro Kuzmich VERKHOLYAK (b. 1928). From 1947 he was in the Ukrainian Insurrectionist Army [UPA]. Arrested in 1955, on 14 February 1956 a court in Ivano-Frankovsk sentenced him to be shot, but this was changed to 25 years of camps [note 1]. In camp he is working as a … Continue reading Political Prisoners in the Mordovian Camps (25.6)
Solzhenitsyn to the Patriarch; Zheludkov’s reply, March-April 1972 (25.5)
<<No 25 : 20 May 1972>> In March 1972 A. I. Solzhenitsyn sent a letter to Pimen, Patriarch of All Russia [note 1]. In answer to the appeal in the Patriarch’s Christmas message to all “Orthodox believers living abroad,” [note 2] that they should instil in their children a love for the Church and strengthen … Continue reading Solzhenitsyn to the Patriarch; Zheludkov’s reply, March-April 1972 (25.5)
Investigations in Oryol, 1973-1974 (29.4)
<<No 29 : 31 July 1973>> At intervals over a period of a month the following were arrested in Oryol: on 3 November 1972, Yevgeny Kuzin; in November, Oleg Savinkin; on 8 December, Alexander Yegorov. Victor Khaustov was arrested in Moscow on 17 January 1973. After his arrest he was confined in the investigation prison … Continue reading Investigations in Oryol, 1973-1974 (29.4)
The Case of Bolonkin, Balakirev and Yukhnovets (29.3)
<<No 29 : 31 July 1973>> On 11 October 1972 a search, directed by KGB Major E. M. Bykov, was made at the flat of Victor Kuznetsov (municipality of Pushkino, Moscow Region). The search was made in the presence of Kuznetsov’s wife, Valentina Kuznetsova; Kuznetsov himself was at that time being taken to the Lubyanka … Continue reading The Case of Bolonkin, Balakirev and Yukhnovets (29.3)
The Trial of Davydov and Petrov, 10-16 July 1973 (29.2)
<<No 29 : 31 July 1973>> From 10 to 16 July 1973 the collegium of the Leningrad City Court (chairman – Karlov, people’s assessor Dyakov, second assessor-name unknown to the Chronicle) heard in open court the case of G. V. Davydov and V. V. Petrov, indicted under Article 70, part 1, of the RSFSR Criminal … Continue reading The Trial of Davydov and Petrov, 10-16 July 1973 (29.2)
A Chronicle of Human Rights in the USSR (29.1)
<<No 29 : 31 July 1973>> The Publication of A Chronicle of Human Rights in the USSR has begun. The first issue, November 1972-March 1973, is a brochure of 80 pages. Publisher: Khronika Press, New York, 1973. Editors: Peter Reddaway (London) and Edward Kline (New York). Price: [$3.00]. The title page closely resembles the typewritten … Continue reading A Chronicle of Human Rights in the USSR (29.1)
The Case of Superfin, 1973-1974 (32.3)
<<No 32 : 17 July 1974>> Gabriel Superfin (b. 1943), the author of a number of articles and works prepared for publication on the history of Russian literature and culture”, [note 1] was arrested in Moscow on 3 July 1973 (see CCE 30.7). He was taken to Oryol [Orël, Central Russia], as one of the … Continue reading The Case of Superfin, 1973-1974 (32.3)
The trial of Nekipelov, May 1974 (32.4)
<<No 32 : 17 July 1974>> In May 1974, the Vladimir Regional Court examined the case of V. A. Nekipelov charged under Article 190-1 of the RSFSR Criminal Code (for search and interrogations of Nekipelov in the Myuge case, and for his arrest, see CCE 29). Victor Alexandrovich NEKIPELOV was born in 1928; he has … Continue reading The trial of Nekipelov, May 1974 (32.4)
The Trial of Khaustov, 4-6 March 1974 (32.2)
<<No 32 : 17 July 1974>> The trial in the case of Victor Alexandrovich Khaustov took place from 4 to 6 March in the Oryol City Court. The judge was Novikov, the prosecutor was Ponomaryov, and counsel for the defence was Nimirinskaya, a lawyer from Voroshilovgrad [Ukraine]. Khaustov was charged with: transmitting information to the … Continue reading The Trial of Khaustov, 4-6 March 1974 (32.2)
The trial of Starchik, December 1972 (28.5)
<<No 28 : 31 December 1972>> The trial of Pyotr Petrovich Starchik (see CCE 25.) was held on 14 December 1972 in the Moscow City Court. Starchik was born in 1939 and is married with two children, aged seven and one-and-a half. He finished two years of study in the psychology department of Moscow University … Continue reading The trial of Starchik, December 1972 (28.5)
The Trial of Dandaron, December 1972 (28.6)
«No 28 : 31 December 1972» In proceedings which lasted from 18 to 25 December 1972, B.D. Dandaron, a research officer of the Buryat Institute of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Siberian Section), was tried in the people’s court of the October district of the city of Ulan-Ude. Bidia Dandaron, 1914-1974 Dandaron … Continue reading The Trial of Dandaron, December 1972 (28.6)
Searches, Interrogations, Arrests (27.2)
<<No 27 : 15 October 1972>> (1) On 28 September 1972, a search was carried out at the flat of Yu.A. Shikhanovich [see CCE 24.10 and CCE 25]. Before it had been completed Shikhanovich was presented with a warrant for his arrest. He was driven away, and the search concluded without him, in the presence … Continue reading Searches, Interrogations, Arrests (27.2)
On the Trial of Yu. Orlov (51.20)
<<No 51 : 1 December 1978>> S. Polikanov (14 May 1978) On the eve of the trial of Yu. Orlov, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences S. Polikanov appealed to scientific and cultural figures in various countries, calling on them to “speak out decisively and immediately in defence of Yury Orlov and Alexander … Continue reading On the Trial of Yu. Orlov (51.20)