Lyudmila Alexeyeva
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva | |
---|---|
Людмила Михайловна Алексеева | |
Born | |
Nationality | Russian |
Citizenship | Soviet Union (1927–1991) → Russian Federation (1991–present) |
Alma mater | the Moscow State University, the graduate school of the Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics |
Occupation(s) | Russian historian, activist, chairwomen of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group |
Known for | Human rights activism with participation in the Moscow Helsinki Group |
Movement | Moscow Helsinki Group, Strategy-31, other rights-related movements |
Spouse | Nikolay Williams |
Awards | Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olof Palme Prize, Légion d'honneur, Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, Sakharov Prize |
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva (Template:Lang-ru, IPA: [lʲʊˈdmʲilə ɐlʲɪˈksʲeɪvə], born 20 July 1927, Yevpatoria, Crimea) is a Russian historian, leading human rights activist, founding member of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group,[1] and one of the last Soviet dissidents still active in modern Russia.[2]
Biography
Soviet period
Alexeyeva was born in Yevpatoria, Crimea. She was trained as an archeologist, graduating from the History Department of the Moscow State University in 1950 and finishing the graduate school of the Moscow Institute for Economics and Statistics in 1956. Alexeyeva joined the Communist Party of the USSR in 1952. From 1959–1968, she worked as an editor in the ethnography and archeology section of the publishing house “Science”.
Alexeyeva’s worldview was significantly affected by the Khrushchev Thaw that lasted from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. She belonged to the group of people, mostly intellectuals, who formed the dissident movement in the USSR in the 1960s. In 1966, Alexeyeva campaigned in defense of Daniel and Siniavsky, the writers who were arrested and tried for publishing their works abroad. In the late 1960s she signed petitions in defense of other dissidents who were prosecuted by the Soviet authorities, including Alexander Ginzburg and Yuri Galanskov.
In April 1968, Alexeyeva was expelled from the Communist Party and fired from her job at the publishing house. Nonetheless, she continued her activities in defense of human rights. In 1968–1972 she worked clandestinely as a typist for the first underground bulletin The Chronicle of Current Events devoted to human rights violations in the USSR.[3]
During 1970–1977 Alexeyeva worked at the Institute of Information on Social Sciences affiliated with the Science Academy of the USSR. Having become completely disillusioned with the Soviet ideology, Alexeyeva decided not to defend her Candidate of Sciences (roughly equivalent to a PhD) thesis and forwent a career as a scholar.
In early 1976, Alexeyeva became a founding member of the Moscow Helsinki Group. As a member, she signed a number of documents issued by the Group, helped compose some of them, and collected information for some of the documents. Her responsibilities also included editing the Group’s documents and hiding copies of them from the authorities.
Emigration
In February 1977 Alexeyeva was forced to emigrate from the USSR. She and her family settled in the United States, where she continued her human rights activities as a foreign representative of the Moscow Helsinki Group. She regularly wrote on the Soviet dissident movement for both English and Russian language publications in the US and elsewhere, and in 1985 she published the first comprehensive monograph on the history of the movement, Soviet Dissent (Wesleyan University Press).[4] In addition, after moving to the United States, Alexeyeva took up freelance radio journalism for Radio Liberty and the Russian language section of the Voice of America. In 1990 she published The Thaw Generation, an autobiography that described the formation of the Soviet dissident movement and was co-written with Paul Goldberg.[5]
Return to Russia
In 1989 she again joined the Moscow Helsinki Group that was restarted after its dissolution in 1981. In 1993, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, she returned to Russia, and she became a Chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group in 1996. In 2000, Alexeyeva joined a commission set up to advise President Vladimir Putin on human rights issues, a move that triggered criticism from some other rights activists.[2]
In December 2004, Alexeyeva co-founded and co-chaired, with Garry Kasparov and Georgy Satarov, the All-Russian Civic Congress, which Alexeyeva and Satarov left due to disagreement with Kasparov in January 2008. Subsequently, she co-founded the All-Russia Civic Network with Satarov. On February 10, 2009, Alexeyeva joined the Council for Promoting the Institutions of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation.
Alexeyeva has been critical of the Kremlin’s human rights record and accused the government of numerous human rights violations including the regular prohibitions of non-violent meetings and demonstrations and encouragement of extremists with its nationalistic policies, such as the mass deportations of Georgians in 2006 and police raids against foreigners working in street markets.[6] She has also criticized the law enforcers’ conduct in Ingushetia and has warned that growing violence in the republic may spread to the whole Russian Federation.[7] In 2006, she was accused by the Russian authorities of involvement with British intelligence and received threats from nationalist groups.[6][8]
Strategy-31
Since August 31, 2009, Lyudmila Alexeyeva has been an active participant in Strategy-31 – the regular protest rallies of citizens on Moscow’s Triumphalnaya Square in defense of the 31st Article (On the Freedom of Assembly) of the Russian Constitution. Since October 31, 2009, she has been one of the regular organizers of these rallies. On December 31, 2009, during one of these attempted protests, Alexeyeva was detained by the riot police (OMON) and taken with scores of others to a police station. This event provoked strong reaction in Russia and abroad. Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament, was “deeply disappointed and shocked” at the treatment of Alexeyeva and others by the police.[9] The National Security Council of the United States expressed “dismay” at the detentions.[10] The New York Times published a front page article about the protest rally (“Tested by Many Foes, Passion of a Russian Dissident Endures”).[11] Leonid Gozman, Co-Chairman of the Right Cause party, called the breakup of the peaceful demonstration and the detention of Alexeyeva foolish and a disgrace for Moscow authorities.
Assault
On March 30(?), 2010, Lyudmila was assaulted on live television in the Park Kultury metro station by a man as she was paying respect to the victims of the 2010 Moscow Metro Bombings.[12][13] At the Lake Seliger youth camp,[14][15][16][17][18] the Nashi youth movement branded her "a Nazi" and one of Russia's worst enemies.
Awards and Prizes
Alexeyeva has received the following awards and prizes for her human rights activities:
- 2004 — Olof Palme Prize
- 2005 — Person of the Year Prize of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Russia[19]
- 2007 — The Order of the French Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur)
- 2008 — Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (Lietuvos Didžiojo Kunigaikščio Gedimino ordinas)
- 2009 — The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
- 2009 — Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought[20]
- 2012 — The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd class[21]
- 2015 — The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize [22]
References
- ^ New politics. New Politics Associates. 1989. p. 133.
- ^ a b Maria Danilova (June 15, 2004), Lyudmila Alexeyeva Speaks Her Mind. The St. Petersburg Times. Issue #977 (45).
- ^ Barry, Ellen (2010-01-11). "Russian Dissident's Passion Endures Despite Tests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
- ^ Soviet Dissent: Contemporary Movements for National, Religious, and Human Rights
- ^ Alexeyeva, Ludmilla; Goldberg, Paul (1990). The thaw generation: coming of age in the post-Stalin era. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0822959119.
- ^ a b Gregory Feifer (March 7, 2007), Russia's New Dissidents Defend Human Rights. National Public Radio.
- ^ Situation in Ingushetia Threatens All of Russia – Alexeyeva. The Other Russia website. September 22, 2008.
- ^ Russian NGO rejects spy 'smear'. The BBC News. January 23, 2006.
- ^ Buzek: The EP appeals for the release of 2009 Sakharov Prize Winner Lyudmila Alexeyeva and other Russian human rights activists January 1, 2010
- ^ Russia: Rights Protesters Detained The New York Times, December 31, 2009
- ^ Russian Dissident’s Passion Endures Despite Tests The New York Times, January 11, 2010
- ^ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/regions/eurasia/russia-veteran-activist-attacked-democrats-dispersed.html[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.ilovepwnage.com/video.php?v=MjMzOTQ=
- ^ Johan Bäckman (2010-07-23). "Päivi Hirvelä on natsi, Naši-nuorten mielestä" (in Finnish). Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee. Lay summary
- ^ На молодежном форуме "Селигер-2010" главу Московской Хельсинкской группы Людмилу Алексееву приравняли к фашистам (in Russian). Echo of Moscow. 2010-07-27.
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ignored (help) - ^ В Селигере на кол насадили головы эстонских госдеятелей (in Russian). Delfi.ee. 2010-07-26.
- ^ Triin Tael (2010-07-26). "Vene noortelaagris aeti Eesti poliitikute pead teibasse". Õhtuleht (in Estonian).
- ^ Anton Oreh (2010-07-29). Ждем ответа. Ежедневный журнал (in Russian).
- ^ Person of the Year Prize of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Russia
- ^ Sakharov Prize 2009 awarded to Memorial
- ^ The Republic of Estonia honours 99 people with decorations on the eve of Independence Day
- ^ Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2015 awarded to Ludmilla Alexeeva
Books, articles and interviews
- "Statement of Lyudmila Alekseeva and Lidia Voronina, accompanied by Edward Kline". Basket III: implementation of the Helsinki Accords. Hearings before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ninety-fifth congress. First session on implementation of the Helsinki Accords (PDF). Vol. Vol. IV. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1977. pp. 29–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015.
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suggested) (help) - Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (Autumn 1977). "The human rights movement in the USSR". Survey. 23 (4): 72–85. ISSN 0039-6192.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila; Bukovsky, Vladimir; Amalrik, Andrei; Voikhanskaya, Marina; Plyushch, Leonid; Elina, Emilia; Voronina, Lidia; Bresenden, Yevgeniy (November 1977). "The Orlov tribunal". Index on Censorship. 6 (6): 52–60. doi:10.1080/03064227708532716.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila; Grigorenko, Pyotr; Amalrik, Andrei; Kaminskaya, Dina; Simes, Konstantin; Williams, Nikolai; Litvinov, Pavel; Litvinova, Maya; Sadomskaya, Natalya; Chalidze, Valery; Shragin, Boris; Stain, Yuri (2013) [1978]. "В защиту Анатолия Марченко" [In defense of Anatoly Marchenko]. Kontinent (in Russian). 152.
- Alekseeva, Liudmila (1980). The diversity of Soviet dissent: ideologies, goals and direction, 1965–1980.
- Алексеева, Людмила (2013) [1979]. "Путеводитель по аду психиатрических тюрем" [The guidebook to the hell of psychiatric prisons]. Kontinent (in Russian) (152).
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila (December 1982). "USSR: prisoners' rights denied". Index on Censorship. 11 (6): 31–33. doi:10.1080/03064228208533458.
- Alexeeva, Ludmilla; Chalidze, Valery (1985). Mass rioting in the USSR. Silver Spring. Foundation for Soviet Studies.
- Alekseeva, Liudmila (September 1986). US broadcasting to the Soviet Union (A Helsinki watch report). Human Rights Watch. ISBN 0938579878.
- Shcharansky, Anatoly; Bonner, Yelena; Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (26 June 1986). "The tenth year of the Watch". The New York Review of Books.
- Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (1987). Soviet dissent: contemporary movements for national, religious, and human rights. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6176-2.
- Alekseeva, Liudmila (1987). Cruel & unusual punishment: forced labor in today's U.S.S.R. AFL-CIO Dept. of International Affairs. ASIN B00073BWLG.
- Landy, Joanne; Alexeyeva, Ludmilla; Bastian, Gert; Daneker, Gail; Duncan, Polly; et al. (18 February 1988). "Release Juris Bumeisters". The New York Review of Books.
- Alexeyeva, Ludmilla; Arutunyan, Shagan; Arutunyan, Marzpet; Aristanyan, Vartan; Borisov, Vladimir; et al. (21 July 1988). "An Armenian in prison". The New York Review of Books.
- Alexeyeva, Ludmilla; Goldberg, Paul (1990). The thaw generation: coming of age in the post-Stalin era. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0822959119.
- Alekseeva, Liudmila (February 1990). Civil society in the USSR (A Helsinki watch report). Helsinki Watch. ISBN 092969242X.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila (March 1990). "Unrest in the Soviet Union". The Washington Quarterly. 13 (1): 63–77. doi:10.1080/01636609009477532.
- Bayefsky, Anne; Alexeyeva, Ludmilla; Kampelman, Max; Tabory, Mala; Maresca, John; Henkin, Alice (28–31 March 1990). "Human rights: the Helsinki process". Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law). 84: 113–130. JSTOR 25658533.
- Алексеева, Людмила (1992). История инакомыслия в СССР: новейший период. Вильнюс—Москва: Весть. ISBN 9785984400268. (The Russian text of the book in full is available online on the Memorial website by click)
- Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (1998). "Mustafa Dzhemilev, his character and convictions". In Allworth, Edward (ed.). Tatars of the Crimea. Return to the homeland. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 210–211. ISBN 0822319942.
- Alexeeva, Lyudmila (2000). "Private measures by which to ensure fundamental rights in present-day Russia: a view from inside". Helsinki Monitor. 11 (2): 23–32. doi:10.1163/157181400X00292.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila (10 June 2004). "Is this Putin's definition of democracy?". The Moscow Times.
- Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (13 October 2010). "Article by Ludmila Alexeeva". OSCE Magazine.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila (15 December 2010). "The rise and fall of Putinism". The Moscow Times.
- Alexeeva, Lyudmila (24 May 2013). "Vladimir Putin's goal is to destroy Russian civil society". The Guardian.
- Alexeyeva, Lyudmila; Schepp, Matthias; Thaler, Claudia (17 July 2013). "Interview: Putin turning Russia 'into a police state'". Der Spiegel.
- Alekseeva, Lyudmila (2013). "Interview with Melanie Ilick and Emilia Kosterina, 29 July 2011". In Ilic, Melanie (ed.). Life stories of Soviet women: the interwar generation. Routledge. pp. 14–32. ISBN 1135094713.
- Гальперович, Данила (4 August 2014). "Западные санкции: стоит ли загонять Кремль в угол? Людмила Алексеева, Владимир Буковский и Мария Липман рассуждают об этом в интервью "Голосу Америки"" (in Russian). Voice of America.
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suggested) (help) - Зубов, Михаил (28 April 2015). "Как Владимир Буковский победил карательную психиатрию. Людмила Алексеева: "Вряд ли эта легендарная фигура занимается детским порно"" [How Vladimir Bukovsky defeated punitive psychiatry. Ludmilla Alexeyeva, "This legendary figure is hardly engaged in child pornography"]. Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian).
- "Ludmilla Alexeeva: 'Russia is moving away from Europe'". Deutsche Welle.
External links
- Lyudmila Alexeyeva's blog on LiveJournal
- The Alexeyeva File, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book, 20 July 2012
- Schepp, Matthias (4 June 2010). "Rights in Russia: Putin pushes new law to curtail opposition". Der Spiegel.
- Alexeyeva in the 2011 four-part British documentary television series Putin, Russia and the West at IMDb
Audiovisual material
- ""Алфавит инакомыслия". Людмила Алексеева" (in Russian). Radio Liberty. 26 January 2011.
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suggested) (help) - Ludmilla Alexeeva on how MHG started its work (in Russian with English subtitles, 46 min, 15 December 2015) on YouTube
- Ludmila Alexeeva speaks about human rights (Golitsyno, 83 min, July 2014) on YouTube
- Lyudmila Alexeyeva from the Russian Civil Rights Group, 9:16 on YouTube
- 1927 births
- Living people
- People from Yevpatoria
- Moscow State University alumni
- Russian historians
- Russian human rights activists
- Soviet human rights activists
- Soviet dissidents
- Russian dissidents
- Moscow Helsinki Group
- Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- Russian women in politics
- Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Olof Palme Prize laureates
- Légion d'honneur recipients
- Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
- Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class
- Recipients of the Sakharov Prize