Viktoras Petkus

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Viktoras Petkus
Petkus in 1997
Born(1928-05-17)17 May 1928
Aleksandrai [lt], Lithuania
Died1 May 2012(2012-05-01) (aged 83)
Vilnius, Lithuania
Burial placeRaseiniai
NationalityLithuanian
Known forSoviet dissident
Board member ofLithuanian Helsinki Group
Christian Democratic Union

Viktoras Petkus (17 May 1928 – 1 May 2012) was a

Soviet dissident. He was a founding member of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group in 1976 which set out to document violations of human rights in the Soviet Union. For various anti-Soviet activities, Petkus was imprisoned three times in various prisons and Gulag
camps by the Soviet authorities.

Biography

Soviet dissident

First two imprisonments

Petkus was born in

Komi ASSR.[2] He attempted to escape in 1949 and the sentence was doubled to ten years. He was sent to Minlag. However, after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, he was released under a clemency program that pardoned juvenile offenders.[2] He returned to Lithuania and wanted to join a priest seminary, but was refused due to his imprisonment. He then enrolled into Vilnius University to study languages and literature.[3]

In 1957, Petkus participated in anti-Soviet protest during the

Mordovia ASSR), and Vladimir Central Prison.[2] He returned to Vilnius in December 1965 and took various short-lasting jobs (technician of medical equipment, accountant, sacristan at the Church of Saint Nicholas, etc.).[3]

Lithuanian Helsinki Group

He remained active in anti-Soviet circles. He was arrested again in December 1975 when he went to meet

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and attempted to collaborate with Russian and Ukrainian dissidents, but disintegrated after arrests of its leaders.[5]

Petkus was arrested again in August 1978. Soviet officials searched his apartment and found two typewriters, underground press, documents of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group.

Buryat ASSR.[2]

Petkus' persecution attracted international attention.[2] For example, his case was mentioned by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in a news conference when discussing human rights in the Soviet Union.[8] Harsh sentences handed out to Petkus, Alexander Ginzburg, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and other dissidents prompted the U.S. government to enact punitive measures against the Soviet Union, including requiring export licenses for oil and gas equipment and review of cultural and scientific exchanges.[9]

Independent Lithuania

When Soviets introduced glasnost and perestroika policies that allowed freer political expressions, Petkus was released. He returned to Lithuania in fall 1988 and joined political activities.[1] In 1989, he became chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (until 2001), one of the co-founders of Ateitis Catholic youth organization and the Lithuanian Human Rights Association [lt] (was its honorary chairman). He also co-founded the Union of Lithuanian Political Prisoners in 1990.[1] He published newspaper Nepriklausoma Lietuva (Independent Lithuania) in 1990–1995 and edited journal Lietuvos sargas (Guardian of Lithuania) in 1994–1995. In 1992–1997, he was advisor to the Seimas and the Government of Lithuania on human rights.[1]

He then largely retired from public life and devoted his time to writing. While Petkus did not complete his university education, he was well read and amassed a large personal library

bishops of Vilnius (2002), priest Česlovas Kavaliauskas [lt] (2002), Dominican Order in Lithuania (2004), Church of Saint Nicholas in Vilnius (2004). He also published two volumes of documents of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group (1999 and 2007) and a collection of letters, memoirs, and poems of political prisoners of the Soviet Union (2007).[1]

After a long illness, Petkus died on 1 May 2012 in Vilnius. He was buried in

progymnasium was renamed in his memory in September 2012.[11]

Awards

Petkus received the following awards:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Tutlys, Sigitas (8 June 2022) [2018]. "Viktoras Petkus". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bradišauskas, Valentinas (31 July 2019). "Petkus Viktoras". Dissident Movement in Ukraine. Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Aurimas, K. (October 1979). "Viktoras Petkus: Kovotojas už žmogaus teises". Aušra (in Lithuanian). 18 (58).
  4. ISBN 978-1-3501-4795-9
    .
  5. ^ Tutlys, Sigitas (9 July 2021) [2018]. "Viktoras Petkus". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. ^
    A Chronicle of Current Events
    . 50. November 1978.
  7. ^ "Appendix B. Imprisoned members of the Helsinki monitoring groups in the USSR and Lithuania". Implementation of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe: findings and recommendations seven years after Helsinki. Report submitted to the Congress of the United States by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. November 1982. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1982. pp. 251–252. Archived from the original (PDF, immediate download) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  8. ^ "News Conference of July 20 (Excerpts)". The Department of State Bulletin. 78 (2018): 11. September 1978.
  9. ISBN 978-1-107-00105-3
    .
  10. ^ a b "Viktoro Petkaus netektis – praradimas ne tik Lietuvai". Bernardinai.lt (in Lithuanian). 2 May 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Istorija" (in Lithuanian). Raseinių Viktoro Petkaus progimnazija. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
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