Human rights in the Soviet Union

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labor unions, private corporations, independent churches or opposition political parties. The citizens' freedom of movement
was limited both inside and outside the country.

In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the very powerful

guarantees of property,[6][7] which were considered examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet legal theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky.[8] The Soviet Union signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973, but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by the Communist authorities.[9]
: 117  Human rights activists in the Soviet Union were regularly subjected to harassment, repressions and arrests.

Soviet concept of human rights and legal system

According to the

freedoms to which all humans are entitled."[10] including the right to [life] and [liberty], freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education
.

The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from

guarantees of property,[6][7] which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky.[8]

The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty.[14]: 167–169  The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by the Communist authorities.[9]: 117  Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are".[15]

Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example,

Soviet Ukraine's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what is his background, his education, his profession. These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror."[16]

The purpose of

party members, were required to take their client's guilt for granted..."[13]

Freedom of political expression

Main article:
Soviet political repressions

In the 1930s and 1940s, political repression was practiced by the Soviet

informants – either volunteers, or those forcibly recruited – was used to collect intelligence for the government and report cases of suspected dissent.[18]

Its theoretical basis was the theory of

Aggravation of class struggle under socialism
was proclaimed during the Stalinist terror.

Freedom of literary and scientific expression

Main articles:
Socialist Realism

Censorship in the Soviet Union was pervasive and strictly enforced.[19] This gave rise to Samizdat, a clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature. Art, literature, education, and science were placed under strict ideological scrutiny, since they were supposed to serve the interests of the victorious proletariat. Socialist realism is an example of such teleologically oriented art that promoted socialism and communism. All humanities and social sciences were tested for strict accordance with historical materialism.

All natural sciences were to be founded on the philosophical base of

wreckers" or enemies of the people and imprisoned. Some scientists worked as prisoners in "Sharashkas" (research and development laboratories within the Gulag
labor camp system).

According to the Soviet Criminal Code, agitation or propaganda carried on for the purpose of weakening Soviet authority, or circulating materials or literature that defamed the Soviet State and social system were punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2–5 years; for a second offense, punishable for a term of 3–10 years.[20]

Right to vote

Main article: Soviet democracy

According to

a worst period of terror and guaranteeing human rights, elections in which there was only one candidate, and in which 99 percent voted; a parliament at which no hand was ever raised in opposition or abstention."[22]

Economic rights

See also:
Property rights, Shortage economy, Second economy of the Soviet Union, and Consumer goods in the Soviet Union

Soviet famine of 1932–1933, one of several Soviet famines.[25] The 1932–33 famine was caused primarily by Soviet-mandated collectivization,[26] although the famine in part was also caused by natural conditions.[27][28] In response to frequent shortages, massive second economy existed for all categories of goods and services.[29]

Freedoms of assembly and association

Workers were not allowed to organize free unions. All existing unions were organized and controlled by the state.[30] All political youth organizations, such as Pioneer movement and Komsomol served to enforce the policies of the Communist Party. Participation in unauthorized political organizations could result in imprisonment.[20] Organizing in camps could bring the death penalty.[20][need quotation to verify]

Freedom of religion

St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Astrakhan, which served as a bus station in Soviet times.
Main article: Religion in the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union promoted

Communist regime
confiscated church property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in the schools. Actions toward particular religions, however, were determined by State interests, and most organized religions were never outlawed outright.

Some actions against Orthodox priests and believers included torture; being sent to

Punitive psychiatry in the Soviet Union).[32][33][35][36]

Practicing Orthodox Christians were restricted from prominent careers and membership in communist organizations (e.g. the party and the

Society of the Godless
were created.

Freedom of movement

January 10, 1973. Jewish refuseniks demonstrate in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the right to emigrate to Israel.
See also: Passport system in the Soviet Union and Population transfer in the Soviet Union

Emigration and any travel abroad were not allowed without explicit permission from the government. People who were not allowed to leave the country and campaigned for their right to leave in the 1970s were known as "

refuseniks". In the Soviet Criminal Code, a refusal to return from abroad was treason, punishable by imprisonment for a term of 10–15 years, or by death with confiscation of property.[20]

The passport system in the Soviet Union restricted migration of citizens within the country through the "propiska" (residential permit/registration system) and the use of internal passports. For a long period of Soviet history, peasants did not have internal passports, and could not move into towns without permission. Many former inmates received "wolf tickets" and were only allowed to live a minimum of 101 km away from city borders. Travel to closed cities and to the regions near USSR state borders was strongly restricted. An attempt to illegally escape abroad was punishable by imprisonment for 1–3 years.[20]

Human rights movement

Main article: Human rights movement in the Soviet Union

Human rights activists in the Soviet Union were regularly subjected to harassment, repressions and arrests. In several cases, only the public profile of individual human rights campaigners such as Andrei Sakharov helped prevent a complete shutdown of the movement's activities.

A more organized human rights movement in the USSR grew out of the current of dissent of the late 1960s and 1970s known as "rights defenders (pravozashchitniki).[37] Its most important samizdat publication, the Chronicle of Current Events,[38] circulated its first number in April 1968, after the United Nations declared that it would be the International Year for Human Rights (20 years since Universal Declaration was issued), and continued for the next 15 years until closed down in 1983.

A succession of dedicated human rights groups were set up after 1968: the

UN Human Rights Committee;[39] the Committee on Human Rights in the USSR was established in 1970;[40] and a Soviet section of Amnesty International
appeared in 1973. The groups variously wrote appeals, collected signatures for petitions, and attended trials.

The eight member countries of the

satellite states, such as Charter 77 in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
.

Over the next two years the Helsinki Groups would be harassed and threatened by the Soviet authorities and eventually forced to close down their activities, as leading activists were arrested, put on trial and imprisoned or pressured into leaving the country. By 1979, all had ceased to function.

Perestroika and human rights

Main article: Perestroika

The period from April 1985 to December 1991 witnessed dramatic change in the USSR.

In February 1987 KGB Chairman Victor Chebrikov reported to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that 288 people were serving sentences for offenses committed under Articles 70, 190-1 and 142 of the RSFSR Criminal Code; a third of those convicted were being held in psychiatric hospitals.[44] Most were released during the course of the year, spurred on by the death in prison of veteran dissident Anatoly Marchenko in December 1986.[45] Soon ethnic minorities, confessional groups and entire nations were asserting their rights, respectively, to cultural autonomy, freedom of religion and, led by the Baltic states, to national independence.

Just as

Shevardnadze, Yakovlev and Chebrikov reported on a proposed human rights seminar to be held in Moscow on 10–14 December 1987 with guests from abroad, and suggested ways of undermining, restricting and containing the event organised by former Soviet dissidents.[46] The reaction to a similar proposal seven months later was much the same.[47] As they conceded more and more of the rights over which the Communists had established their monopoly in the 1920s, events and organisations not initiated or overseen by the regime were frowned on and discouraged by the supposedly liberal authorities of the brief and ambivalent period of perestroika and official glasnost
.

In the remaining two and a half years the rate of change accelerated. The

Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution
(1977), which had explicitly established the primacy of the Communist Party within the Soviet State, a hitherto unspoken but all-pervasive dominance of the system.

The authorities formed units of riot police OMON to deal with the mounting protests and rallies across the USSR. In Moscow, these culminated in a vast demonstration in January 1991, denouncing the actions of Gorbachev and his administration. The demonstrations in Lithuania, Tbilisi, Baku and Tajikistan have been suppressed resulting in deaths of many protesters [48][49]

See also

References

  1. ^ "totalitarianism | Definition, Examples, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  2. ^ Rutland, Peter (1993). The Politics of Economic Stagnation in the Soviet Union: The Role of Local Party Organs in Economic Management. Cambridge University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-521-39241-9. "after 1953 ...This was still an oppressive regime, but not a totalitarian one.".
  3. ^ Krupnik, Igor (1995). "4. Soviet Cultural and Ethnic Policies Towards Jews: A Legacy Reassessed". In Ro'i, Yaacov (ed.). Jews and Jewish Life in Russia and the Soviet Union. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-714-64619-0. "The era of 'social engineering' in the Soviet Union ended with the death of Stalin in 1953 or soon after; and that was the close of the totalitarian regime itself.".
  4. ^ von Beyme, Klaus (2014). On Political Culture, Cultural Policy, Art and Politics. Springer. p. 65. ISBN 978-3-319-01559-0. "The Soviet Union after the death of Stalin moved from totalitarianism to authoritarian rule.".
  5. ^ "Закон СССР от 14 марта 1990 г. N 1360-I "Об учреждении поста Президента СССР и внесении изменений и дополнений в Конституцию (Основной Закон) СССР"". 2017-10-10. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-297-64688-5
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-679-76184-5
    ., pages 401–403.
  8. ^ a b Wyszyński, Andrzej (1949). Teoria dowodów sądowych w prawie radzieckim (PDF). Biblioteka Zrzeszenia Prawników Demokratów. pp. 153, 162.
  9. ^
    S2CID 57570614
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  10. ^ Houghton Miffin Company (2006)
  11. ^ Lambelet, Doriane. "The Contradiction Between Soviet and American Human Rights Doctrine: Reconciliation Through Perestroika and Pragmatism." 7 Boston University International Law Journal. 1989. pp. 61–62.
  12. ISBN 978-0967533407
    .
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-394-50242-6
    , pages 402–403
  14. ISBN 9780375760464.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  15. ^ Oleg Pshenichnyi (2015-08-22). "Засчитать поражение". Grani.ru. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  16. ISBN 0-374-52738-5
    .
  17. ^ Anton Antonov-Ovseenko Beria (Russian) Moscow, AST, 1999. Russian text online
  18. ISBN 0-8133-3744-5
  19. ^ A Country Study: Soviet Union (Former). Chapter 9 – Mass Media and the Arts. The Library of Congress. Country Studies
  20. ^
    ISBN 90-247-2538-0
    ; p. 652
  21. ^ Stalin, quoted in IS WAR INEVITABLE? being the full text of the interview given by JOSEPH STALIN to ROY HOWARD as recorded by K. UMANSKY, Friends of the Soviet Union, London, 1936
  22. ISBN 0-393-04818-7
    , page 97
  23. ^
    ISBN 978-90-411-1951-3
    .
  24. ^ "Статья 154. Спекуляция ЗАКОН РСФСР от 27-10-60 ОБ УТВЕРЖДЕНИИ УГОЛОВНОГО КОДЕКСА РСФСР (вместе с УГОЛОВНЫМ КОДЕКСОМ РСФСР)". zakonbase.ru. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  25. ^ Davies and Wheatcroft, p. 401. For a review, see "Davies & Weatcroft, 2004" (PDF). Warwick.
  26. ^ "Ukrainian Famine". Ibiblio public library and digital archive. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  27. ISBN 9780230238558
    .
  28. ^ Nove, Alec (1952). An Economic History of the USSR 1917–1951. Penguin Books. pp. 373–375.
  29. ^ Vladimir G. Treml and Michael V. Alexeev,"The Second Economy and the Destabilization Effect of Its Growth on the State Economy in the Soviet Union: 1965-1989" (PDF), BERKELEY-DUKE OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON THE SECOND ECONOMY IN THE USSR, Paper No. 36, December 1993.
  30. ^ A Country Study: Soviet Union (Former). Chapter 5. Trade Unions. The Library of Congress. Country Studies. 2005.
  31. ISBN 0-88141-180-9
  32. ^ a b L.Alexeeva, History of dissident movement in the USSR, in Russian
  33. ^ a b A.Ginzbourg, "Only one year", "Index" Magazine, in Russian
  34. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  35. ^ Dumitru Bacu (1971) The Anti-Humans. Student Re-Education in Romanian Prisons Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Soldiers of the Cross, Englewood, Colorado. Originally written in Romanian as Piteşti, Centru de Reeducare Studenţească, Madrid, 1963
  36. ^ Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc ("On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism"), Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2005
  37. ISBN 9780203412855
    .
  38. ^ A Chronicle of Current Events (in English)
  39. ^ An appeal to the UN Commission on Human Rights", A Chronicle of Current Events (8.10), 30 June 1969.
  40. ^ "The Committee for Human Rights in the USSR", A Chronicle of Current Events (17.4), 31 December 1970.
  41. ^
    ISBN 9780691048598
    .
  42. ^ "A new public association", A Chronicle of Current Events (40.13), 12 May 1976.
  43. ISBN 978-0691048581
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  44. ^ Bukovsky Archive, KGB report to Gorbachev, 1 February 1987 (183-Ch).
  45. ^ "Release of a large group of political prisoners", Vesti iz SSSR, 1987 (15 February, 3.1) in Russian.
  46. ^ Bukovsky Archive, report by Shevardnadze, Yakovlev and Chebrikov, 4 December 1987 (2451-Ch).
  47. ^ Bukovsky Archive, Kryuchkov to Politburo, 27 July 1988 (1541-K).
  48. ^ Подрабинек, Александр (30 March 2011). Буковский против Горбачева. Не юбилейные показания [Bukovsky vs Gorbachev. Non-jubilee testimonies] (in Russian). Radio France Internationale.
  49. ^ Bukovsky Archive, Moscow Party committee to CPSU Central Committee, 23 January 1991 (Pb 223).

Bibliography

External links
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