Human rights in the Soviet Union
Andrey Vyshinsky, a Soviet law theorist, dismissed Western concepts of civil liberties as bourgeois morality. He argued that the government was the sole beneficiary of human rights rather than the individual citizen. This theoretical framework turned courts into agencies of the state instead of independent arbiters. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights remained largely unknown to ordinary people living under Communist rule. Joseph Stalin extended the death penalty to adolescents as young as twelve years old in 1935. Martin Latsis, chief of Ukraine's secret police, instructed officers not to look for evidence of guilt. Instead he told them to ask which class the accused belonged to and what their background was. These questions determined the fate of the person standing before the court. Crime became defined as any action threatening the Soviet state or society. A desire to make profit could be interpreted as counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. Sergei Kovalev recalled how prosecutors mocked Article 125 of the Constitution when prisoners tried to use it for legal complaints. The prosecutor claimed the document was written for American Negroes to show how happy Soviet citizens lived.
The OGPU and NKVD operated extensive networks of civilian informants throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Volunteers and forcibly recruited individuals collected intelligence on suspected dissent across the country. Article 58 of the RSFSR code formalized repression as a legal basis for political control. Public trials served as forums for political agitation rather than determining actual guilt. Defense lawyers were required party members who had to accept their client's guilt from the start. Agitation against Soviet authority carried penalties ranging from two to five years in prison. Second offenses brought sentences of three to ten years behind bars. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants occurred between 1928 and 1931 under terms of the Civil Code. An attempt to illegally escape abroad resulted in imprisonment lasting one to three years. Former inmates received wolf tickets restricting them to live at least 101 kilometers away from city borders. Travel to closed cities and regions near state borders remained strongly restricted for decades.
Samizdat emerged as a clandestine copying system for government-suppressed literature during the late 1960s. The Chronicle of Current Events circulated its first number in April 1968 after the United Nations declared that year International Year for Human Rights. This publication continued for fifteen years until authorities shut it down in 1983. Many scientific disciplines including genetics, cybernetics, and comparative linguistics faced suppression periods. Lysenkoism gained favor in agriculture and biology despite being considered pseudoscience by many experts. Prominent scientists became labeled wreckers or enemies of the people during the 1930s and 1940s. Some researchers worked as prisoners inside Sharashkas located within Gulag labor camp systems. All natural sciences required foundations on dialectical materialist philosophy. Social sciences underwent strict testing for historical materialism compliance. Art, literature, education, and science served interests of the victorious proletariat under Socialist realism guidelines.
Over five million people lacked adequate nutrition and starved to death during the Soviet famine of 1932, 1933. Real property mostly belonged to the State while personal property existed with severe limitations. Article 154 of the Penal Code defined speculation as a criminal offense punishable by fines or imprisonment. Massive second economies developed across all categories of goods and services due to frequent shortages. Health, housing, education, and nutrition remained formally guaranteed but rarely met in practice. The 1932, 33 famine resulted primarily from Soviet-mandated collectivization though natural conditions played partial roles. Private trade with intent to gain profit faced bans enforced through corrective labor camps. Workers could not organize free unions since existing organizations were state-controlled and organized. Participation in unauthorized political groups carried potential imprisonment penalties. Organizing within camps brought possible death sentences for those involved.
The Communist regime confiscated church property and ridicled religion throughout Soviet history. Orthodox priests and believers faced torture, prison camps, mental hospitals, and execution. Practicing Orthodox Christians remained restricted from prominent careers and membership in communist organizations like Komsomol. Seminaries closed down while churches lost ability to publish materials freely. Atheism propagated through schools, media, and communist organizations via groups such as Society of the Godless. Psychological punishment and mind control experimentation attempted to force religious believers to abandon convictions. St Vladimir's Cathedral in Astrakhan served as a bus station during Soviet times instead of worship space. Anti-religious propaganda received open government sponsorship without Church response opportunities. Many former inmates received wolf tickets restricting residence near city borders after release. The persecution targeted particular religions based on State interests rather than outright outlawing all faiths.
Andrei Sakharov maintained public profile that helped prevent complete shutdown of human rights movement activities. Action Group for Defense of Human Rights went public in May 1969 with appeal to UN Human Rights Committee. Committee on Human Rights established itself in 1970 followed by Soviet section of Amnesty International appearing in 1973. Seven Warsaw Pact countries signed Helsinki Final Act in August 1975 including extensive human rights clauses. Moscow Helsinki Group emerged first among several Watch Groups formed between 1976 and 1977. Groups in Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia, and Armenia unified different branches of human rights activism. Leading activists faced arrest, trial, imprisonment, or pressure to leave country within two years. By 1979 all Helsinki Groups ceased functioning under harassment from Soviet authorities. Similar initiatives began in satellite states like Charter 77 in Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Dedicated groups wrote appeals, collected signatures for petitions, and attended trials throughout the period.
KGB Chairman Victor Chebrikov reported to Mikhail Gorbachev in February 1987 that 288 people served sentences for specific criminal code offenses. A third of those convicted remained held in psychiatric hospitals until most released during that year. Death in prison of veteran dissident Anatoly Marchenko occurred in December 1986 spurring releases. Ethnic minorities asserted cultural autonomy while confessional groups demanded freedom of religion. Baltic states led movements toward national independence over following years. Congress of People's Deputies held second autumnal session in 1989 during nationwide miners' strike. Article 6 of Soviet Constitution abolished in March 1990 ending Communist Party primacy formally. Riot police units called OMON formed to handle mounting protests across USSR territory. Vast demonstration in Moscow took place in January 1991 denouncing actions of Gorbachev administration. Demonstrations in Lithuania, Tbilisi, Baku, and Tajikistan suppressed resulting in deaths of many protesters. Events and organizations not initiated by regime faced disapproval from liberal authorities during perestroika period.
Common questions
What did Andrey Vyshinsky say about civil liberties in the Soviet Union?
Andrey Vyshinsky dismissed Western concepts of civil liberties as bourgeois morality. He argued that the government was the sole beneficiary of human rights rather than the individual citizen.
When did Joseph Stalin extend the death penalty to adolescents in the Soviet Union?
Joseph Stalin extended the death penalty to adolescents as young as twelve years old in 1935. This policy applied to individuals under the age of majority during the period of intense repression.
How many people starved to death during the Soviet famine of 1932, 1933?
Over five million people lacked adequate nutrition and starved to death during the Soviet famine of 1932, 1933. The famine resulted primarily from Soviet-mandated collectivization though natural conditions played partial roles.
Which year did the Moscow Helsinki Group emerge among Watch Groups formed between 1976 and 1977?
The Moscow Helsinki Group emerged first among several Watch Groups formed between 1976 and 1977. All Helsinki Groups ceased functioning by 1979 under harassment from Soviet authorities.
What happened to Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution in March 1990?
Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution was abolished in March 1990 ending Communist Party primacy formally. This change occurred during a nationwide miners' strike and the second autumnal session of the Congress of People's Deputies held in 1989.