On 23 November 1977 the Kaluga Region Court ruled that Vladimir Rozhdestvov, charged under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code), was not mentally responsible.
It sent him for compulsory treatment to a Psychiatric Hospital of Special Type.
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Vladimir Pavlovich ROZHDESTVOV (b. 1937) graduated from the Tomsk Construction Institute.
On 6 November 1970, when he was travelling to Moscow to circulate leaflets he had written calling for the democratization of the Soviet system, Rozhdestvov was removed from the train at Kalinin [Tver] and forcibly hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital.
There he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Rozhdestvov was treated with insulin therapy. He left the hospital in May 1971
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In October 1971, when the KGB found out about the group of seven people organized by Rozhdestvov which was propagating dissenting views, they hospitalized him once again.
Rozhdestvov was treated with neuroleptic drugs and sulphazin. He was released in March 1972.
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Since then, as recorded in the history of his illness, Rozhdestvov “has been on a special KGB list as a socially dangerous sick person”.
On the night of 9-10 September 1977 Rozhdestvov was forcibly placed in Kaluga Region Psychiatric Hospital No. 1. There he was subjected to treatment with neuroleptic drugs.
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On 7 October 1977 Alexander Podrabinek wrote to Churkin, chief psycho-neurologist at the USSR Ministry of Health:
“We ask you to investigate this case and make every effort to release Rozhdestvov.
“We consider it necessary to inform you that if Rozhdestvov is not released by 12 October we shall be compelled to appeal to the special committee for investigating complaints about the use of psychiatry for political ends, set up recently by the World Psychiatric Association.”
On 11 October Rozhdestvov was transferred to the Kaluga Investigation Prison.
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On 4 November Procurator Amarov of the Regional Procurator’s Office told Rozhdestvov’s mother that a criminal case under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code) had been brought against her son and that compulsory treatment in a special psychiatric hospital awaited him.
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TRIAL
The trial took place on 23 November 1977.
Kuznetsov, deputy chair of the Kaluga Region Court presided; Procurator Dmitriyev was the prosecutor; defence attorney Nellie Ya. Nimirinskaya [1] spoke for the defence, and Doctor L.P. Tronina of the Kaluga Regional Psychiatric Hospital was the psychiatric expert.
The trial was open, and everyone who wanted was allowed into the hall.
N.P. Gaidukova and Voronin had been summoned as witnesses. Gaidukova did not appear: she presented a sickness certificate. The court determined to hear the case in her absence after reading out the evidence given by her at the pre-trial investigation. The court also determined to hear the case in the absence of the accused “in connection with his sick condition”.
The mother of the accused, Olga Yefimovna Rozhdestvova, petitioned for the admission of Alexander Podrabinek as legal representative for her son. Defence attorney Nellie Nimirinskaya upheld her petition.
Procurator Dmitriyev objected. The Court ruled against Rozhdestvova’s petition.
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RESOLUTION
The “Resolution on sending the case to court to resolve the question of the application of ‘Compulsory Measures of a Medical Character’ to V.P. Rozhdestvov” read:
“Since 1970 Rozhdestvov has systematically spread deliberately false fabrications slandering the Soviet political and social system. This is confirmed by the evidence of witnesses …
“Witnesses Krivorotov, Gutovsky, Reingardt, Nekrasov, Nadyshev and Naumenko have testified that in the period 1970-1977 Rozhdestvov listened to anti-Soviet broadcasts of Western radio- stations, commented on their content in an anti-Soviet vein, voiced complaints against the alleged incorrectness of policies conducted in the USSR, and tried to exercise a negative influence on them politically. He was interested in people who expressed political dissatisfaction with living conditions in our country, and praised life in capitalist countries …
“In February-March 1977 he handed over a manuscript to Gaidukova which contained slanderous fabrications against the material conditions of the Soviet people, its economic and political rights, and also against the internal policies of the USSR. He suggested to Gaidukova that she listen to broadcasts of foreign radio-stations . . .
“On 6-7 September 1977 he tried to foist anti-Soviet fabrications on Voronin. He tried to convince him of the necessity of struggling for the reconstruction of Soviet society on the model of the West, of circulating these fabrications amongst the population, and of joining an anti-Soviet organization allegedly in existence in the USSR. He suggested that he listen to broadcasts of anti-Soviet radio-stations and copy out the text of an ideologically harmful poem he had composed. …
“According to the conclusion of a forensic psychiatric examination, he expresses delusional ideas of reformism and of struggle with the socio-political system existing in the Soviet Union …
“Because of his mental condition Rozhdestvov needs compulsory treatment in a Psychiatric Hospital of Special Type.”
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WITNESS VORONIN
From the interrogation of witness Voronin:
Judge: Where and under what circumstances did you become acquainted with Rozhdestvov?
Voronin: We lived together for two days in a hotel.
Judge: Tell us everything you know about the case.
Voronin: On 6 September [1977] I arrived in Maloyaroslavets for military training. I stayed in a hotel, in a room for two, room No. 4. On the evening of 7 September, when I was writing synopses, a conversation struck up between us — Rozhdestvov and myself.
“Rozhdestvov asked me why I was not working in my speciality (by profession I am a builder). I replied that I was forced to leave my job because of a conflict with the director. Then he said that not only small bosses are bad, but the bosses at the top as well. In the evening, he listened to the Deutsche Welle radio-station and said that Italian Communists were not allowed into the USSR and that it was time to put an end to that. I asked: ‘Aren’t you afraid of trying to convert me?’ He replied: ‘First I size a person up, then I draw conclusions’.
“After this the conversation turned to labour-camps. In the evening, I went to see a film on a military-patriotic theme. Rozhdestvov did not go to see the film and said that he did not watch such films because everything in them was lies. I did not sleep all night and thought: how should I act? In the morning, I went to the KGB and told them everything. They ordered me to write a statement. They instructed me how to conduct the conversation and on what topics. In the evening, I introduced a conversation about struggle. Rozhdestvov told me about an underground organization and suggested that I participate in it.
“I asked how I could help. He said that it was necessary to try to convert good people, to conduct propaganda amongst pupils of senior classes. He said that it was possible to circulate 1000 leaflets in three months, then to take a break for about three months. He said that branches of the organization exist in 130 towns, a journal comes out — some Chronicle. He suggested I form a circle in Kaluga and move there with that aim. He suggested I have a talk about all this with my brother. He showed me his poem, suggested I copy it out for clandestine circulation amongst the masses. The following morning, we parted after exchanging addresses. He did not mention his surname in order to preserve security.”
Judge: What further conversation was there?
Voronin: I asked what the aim of the organization was. He said that it was necessary to change the system by peaceful means, to disband the army, to divide up the land into approximately 50 hectares per person, to introduce private property for factories and so on, like in the West.
Judge: What is the aim of the organization?
Voronin: To change the system.
Judge: Over how long?
Voronin: In a maximum of ten years.
Judge: What did he urge you to do personally?
Voronin: He urged me to join the struggle.
Judge: In what way?
Voronin: To campaign, to circulate leaflets, to move to a town where I could be closer to the masses.
Judge: What exactly did he say about the leaflets: what should they contain, who will prepare them, how will you receive them?
Voronin: He said that he would provide the leaflets, and that if a journal exists, leaflets are a trifle. He described how they scatter leaflets in Moscow.
Judge: Does the underground organization already exist?
Voronin: I don’t know. Rozhdestvov said it was necessary to form a circle.
Judge: Is the journal he was talking about the Chronicle of Current Events?
Voronin: Yes.
Judge: By whom is it published, by what organization, where?
Voronin: I don’t know.
Judge: What radio-stations did Rozhdestvov listen to? When?
Voronin: The first evening he listened to Deutsche Welle.
Judge: What was the content of the broadcast?
Voronin: About Italian Communists who were not allowed into the Soviet Union.
Judge: What stations did Rozhdestvov suggest you listen to? What are they called?
Voronin: Voice of America, Radio Liberty, BBC.
“I said that everything these radio-stations broadcast was slander. Rozhdestvov said they speak the truth, as strong nations would not slander weak ones.”
Judge: Did not doubts arise in you as to the mental health of Rozhdestvov?
Voronin: No. He produced many quotations, including from Lenin, and gave the impression of being an intelligent person.
People’s assessor: Was he drinking?
Voronin: No, he didn’t even drink beer.
People’s assessor: So, in your opinion he is not a sick man but an Enemy of The People?
Voronin: Yes.
Prosecutor: What is the content of the poem?
Voronin: The poem called for struggle and in general its content was prohibited.
Prosecutor: Does he slander in it or not?
Voronin: Yes, he slanders.
Prosecutor: What other slanderous things did he say?
Voronin: That worker’s pay is low, there is no meat or milk in the shops, that there are no rights like in the West, that some exhibition in Moscow was torn down, that the system of elections is undemocratic.
Prosecutor: In other words, he denigrated and slandered the Soviet way of life?
Voronin: Yes,
Counsel for the defence: What days were you in the hotel?
Voronin: The 7th and 8th. On 9 [September] I left after work. There was no work on the 10th.
Defence: What slander did Rozhdestvov communicate to you on 7 September, what facts?
Voronin: About the Party and the government, that there are the same bad people at the top as down below. He spoke of an underground organization.
Defence: I am asking you not about an organization but about what you regard as slanderous.
Voronin: For example, about the money system: he said that wages are low.
Defence: Did you talk about the money system that day, on 7 September?
Voronin: Yes.
Defence: You wrote the statement to the KGB the following day?
Voronin: Yes.
Defence: Why is it dated 9 September?
Voronin: I wrote it on the 8th but finished it on the 9th.
Defence: Who started the conversations on the second day of your acquaintance?
Voronin: Rozhdestvov was writing down the poem. I asked him about the poem.
Defence: What facts of a slanderous nature were contained in the poem?
Voronin: He wrote that the people drink because they have nothing to do, and he called for struggle.
Defence: You copied out the poem. Did you know that it was not allowed?
Voronin: No, I didn’t.
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DIAGNOSIS
The psychiatric examination had diagnosed Rozhdestvov as a “paranoid schizophrenic with delusions of reformism”. The psychiatric expert L. P. Tronina stated at the trial that Rozhdestvov “considered it possible to change the Soviet political system by peaceful means”.
The judge rejected the petition of the defence counsel to arrange another psychiatric examination and to call the other witnesses. The judge several times rudely interrupted the defence attorney’s speech. He forbade those present to take notes.
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On 25 November 1977 the Working Commission published a “Report on the Trial of Rozhdestvov”.
The same day a member of the commission, Alexander Podrabinek, addressed an open letter to the World Psychiatric Association. The letter concludes thus:
“And before it is too late, before the appeal hearing begins, I call on the World Psychiatric Association to intervene in this case. May the resolutions adopted in Honolulu not remain on paper. May Soviet psychiatrists feel the firmness of their foreign colleagues in upholding the humane principles of medicine.”
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NOTES
- In 1974, Nimirinskaya defended Victor Khaustov (CCE 32.2) and Victor Nekipelov (CCE 32.4); in 1976 she defended Vyacheslav Igrunov (CCE 40.50).
See Name Index for this Voroshilovgrad [Luhansk] lawyer’s involvement with earlier and later trials.
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A Chronicle of Current Events 