Four hundred names of places, people, publications and organisations are shown in the “Guided Search” section at the foot of the page. (More are being recorded.) This is the equivalent to the “Index” in a printed edition.
TIP — The periodical names are at the top of the list; then follow common dates; after that comes the extensive alphabetically-ordered list of surnames, place names and names of organisations.
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Soviet Republics and Cities
The described events all took place in the USSR and its 15 constituent Union Republics. e.g. Uzbek SSR. (Certain Autonomous Republics (ASSR) within the various Union Republics are also mentioned many times.)
For ease of identification cities are written upper case, e.g. RIGA.
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Gender
To avoid the uncertainty caused by the great variety of surname forms, female first names are always given, e.g. Chukovskaya Lydia. Male names are indicated by one initial or, if clearer identification is needed, the first letter of the patronymic is also given, e.g. Kovalyov I.S.
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Abbreviations
For brevity’s sake the following short forms of identification have been adopted:
Action Group = Action (or Initiative) Group for the Defense of Civil Rights in the USSR — «Инициативная группа по защите прав человека в СССР» (1969-1979). See CCE 8.10.
Amnesty International = the International Secretariat, based in London; also the short-lived Soviet section «Международная амнистия» (1973-1976).
Catholic Committee = Catholic Committee for the Defence of Believers’ Rights, organisation in Lithuania that aimed to defend the right to worship of all Christians, not just the majority Catholic population — Католический комитет защиты прав верующих. (See CCE 51.14)
Christian Committee = Christian Committee to Defend Believers’ Rights in the USSR, founded by Father Gleb Yakunin – Христианский комитет защиты прав верующих в СССР (1976-1980).
DMSU = Democratic Movement of the Soviet Union. General term, not a specific organisation. Anonynous claims by some to speak on behalf of several of the Union Republics (e.g. Ukraine) disputed.
Disabled Action Group = Action Group for the Rights of the Disabled — «Инициативная группа защиты прав инвалидов в СССР» (1978-1983).
Information Bulletin = Crimean Tatar newsheet.
Moscow Helsinki Group = Group for Monitoring Observation of the Final Accords — «Группа по наблюдению за выполнение Хелсингского соглашения» (1976-1982).
Poiski = Searches. Samizdat journal to which many dissenters contributed and of which several were editors (V. Abramkin, V. Gershuni, G. Pavlovsky et al.) — «Поиски» (1978-1980). See CCE 51.21 (item 18).
Religious Seminar = Group created and led by Alexander Ogorodnikov — «религиозно-философский семинар православной молодежи» (1976-1980).
Relief Fund = Fund for the Relief of Political Prisoners and their Families aka the Solzhenitsyn Fund — «Фонда помощи политзаключенным и их семьям» (1974-1994). See CCE 44.3.
Roman Catholics = congregations in various Soviet Union Republics (Moldavia, Georgia). For the more organised Roman Catholic congregations of Lithuania, see the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.
Social Issues = Social Problems. Periodical edited and issued by Valery Chalidze — «Общественные проблемы» (1969-1973). In 1972, Chalidze announced that Issue 15 of the periodical would be the last (see CCE 25.11, item 1).
Ukraine Herald = Ukrainsky vestnik. Periodical in Ukrainian, edited by Vyacheslav Chornovil and, after his arrest, by his wife Atena-Svyatomyra Pashko — «Украйнский вестник» (1970-1974//)
United Nations = all persons or bodies to which Soviet human rights groups appealed: most commonly the UN Secretary General or the UN Commission on Human Rights – «Комиссия по правам человека ООН».
Veche = Moot or Gathering. Journal founded and edited, until its last 10th issue by Vladimir Osipov — «Вече» (1971-1975).
Working Commission = Working Commission to Investigate the Use of Psychiatry for Political Purposes — «Рабочая коммиссия по расследованию использования психиатрии в политических целях» (1977-1981).
A Chronicle of Current Events 