Ukrainian Helsinki Group
Encyclopedia
The Ukrainian Helsinki Group was founded in November 1976 to monitor human rights
in Ukraine
. The group was active until 1981 when all members were jailed.
The group's goal was to monitor the Soviet Government's compliance with the Helsinki Accords
, which ensure human rights
. The members of the group based the group's legal viability on the provision in the Helsinki Final Act
, Principle VII, which established the rights of individuals to know and act upon their rights and duties.
The organization is known in Ukrainian as , “Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords on Human Rights,” or, for short, , “Ukrainian Helsinki Group.”
Since 1977 the Ukrainian Helsinki Group foreign affiliate began its activities with the participation of Petro Hryhorenko
, Nadiya Svitlychna
, Leonid Plyushch
and later Nina Strokata-Karavanska Nadiya Svitlichna began to host the human rights themed radio programs on Svoboda radio.
At the end of 1979, six members of the group were forcibly sent to emigration, other Ukrainian dissidents were not allowed to emigrate. Soviet authorities used even punitive medicine in their efforts to restrict human rights movement. Some Ukrainian Helsinki Group members (Oksana Meshko, Vasyl Stus
, Petro Sichko and his son Vasyl) experienced the threat of psychiatric terror. Hanna Mykhailenko, who was a sympathizer of the Group, had been incarcerated in a psychiatric prison in 1980. Underutilization of medical care in Soviet camps and prisons later caused the deaths of UHG members Oleksiy Tykhy and Vasyl Stus.
In 1982 the Initiative Group for the Defense of Believers and the Church was established, which considered itself a part of the Helsinki movement in Ukraine. The organizers of it, Yosyp Terelia and Vasyl Kobryn were both sentenced in 1985.
Some political prisoners from outside Ukraine (Estonian Mart Niklus and Lithuanian Viktoras Petkus) announced their symbolical membership in Group in 1983.
By the estimations of Vasyl Ovsyenko, the Group involved 41 persons in total. About 27 of them were sentenced by Soviet authorities to prisons and camps directly for their membership in the association. They spent altogether about 170 years in prisons, mental hospitals and exile.
In 2004, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
was established as association of public human rights organizations.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The group was active until 1981 when all members were jailed.
The group's goal was to monitor the Soviet Government's compliance with the Helsinki Accords
Helsinki Accords
thumb|300px|[[Erich Honecker]] and [[Helmut Schmidt]] in Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Helsinki 1975....
, which ensure human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. The members of the group based the group's legal viability on the provision in the Helsinki Final Act
Helsinki Accords
thumb|300px|[[Erich Honecker]] and [[Helmut Schmidt]] in Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Helsinki 1975....
, Principle VII, which established the rights of individuals to know and act upon their rights and duties.
The organization is known in Ukrainian as , “Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords on Human Rights,” or, for short, , “Ukrainian Helsinki Group.”
Details
From the very early days the group endured the repressions of Soviet authorities. Four of its 10 founding members were sent to prison for participating in human rights work.Since 1977 the Ukrainian Helsinki Group foreign affiliate began its activities with the participation of Petro Hryhorenko
Pyotr Grigorenko
Petro Grigorenko or Petro Hryhorovych Hryhorenko or Pyotr Grigoryevich Grigorenko was a high-ranked Soviet Army commander of Ukrainian descent, later a prominent Soviet human rights activist, dissident and writer.-Early life:Petro Grigorenko was born in a village of rural Zaporizhzhia Oblast,...
, Nadiya Svitlychna
Nadiya Svitlychna
Nadiya Oleksiyivna Svitlychna was a Ukrainian dissident and human rights activist, and an active member of the Ukrainian Helsinki group. She was a writer and editor and for a time was a political prisoner of the Soviet regime....
, Leonid Plyushch
Leonid Plyushch
Leonid Plyushch is a mathematician and Soviet dissident.- Early life and career :Leonid Plyushch was born into a Ukrainian working-class family in 1939 in Naryn, Kirghizia. His father worked as railway foreman, and was killed at the front 1941...
and later Nina Strokata-Karavanska Nadiya Svitlichna began to host the human rights themed radio programs on Svoboda radio.
At the end of 1979, six members of the group were forcibly sent to emigration, other Ukrainian dissidents were not allowed to emigrate. Soviet authorities used even punitive medicine in their efforts to restrict human rights movement. Some Ukrainian Helsinki Group members (Oksana Meshko, Vasyl Stus
Vasyl Stus
Vasyl Semenovych Stus was a Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years in detention...
, Petro Sichko and his son Vasyl) experienced the threat of psychiatric terror. Hanna Mykhailenko, who was a sympathizer of the Group, had been incarcerated in a psychiatric prison in 1980. Underutilization of medical care in Soviet camps and prisons later caused the deaths of UHG members Oleksiy Tykhy and Vasyl Stus.
In 1982 the Initiative Group for the Defense of Believers and the Church was established, which considered itself a part of the Helsinki movement in Ukraine. The organizers of it, Yosyp Terelia and Vasyl Kobryn were both sentenced in 1985.
Some political prisoners from outside Ukraine (Estonian Mart Niklus and Lithuanian Viktoras Petkus) announced their symbolical membership in Group in 1983.
By the estimations of Vasyl Ovsyenko, the Group involved 41 persons in total. About 27 of them were sentenced by Soviet authorities to prisons and camps directly for their membership in the association. They spent altogether about 170 years in prisons, mental hospitals and exile.
In 2004, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
All-Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union was founded by 15 public human rights organizations on 1 April 2004...
was established as association of public human rights organizations.
Members
- Vyacheslav ChornovilVyacheslav ChornovilViacheslav Chornovil was a Ukrainian politician. A prominent Ukrainian dissident to the Soviet policies, he was arrested multiple times in the 1960s and 1970s for his political views...
- Mykola HorbalMykola HorbalMykola Andriyovych Horbal is a well-known Ukrainian dissident, human right activists, member of parliament of Ukraine, poet, and member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group-Early life:...
- Vitaliy KalynychenkoVitaliy KalynychenkoVitaliy Kalynychenko was a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.Kalnychenko's first transgresssion of Soviet law was his nonagreement to work for the KGB. He was approached in 1964 to act as an informant, but his unwillingness to do so caused him to be arrested by a fellow student in 1965...
- Ivan KandybaIvan KandybaIvan Kandyba , was a Ukrainian lawyer, who achieved most fame by being a founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.-Early life:...
- Yaroslav LesivYaroslav LesivYaroslav Lesiv was a Ukrainian poet, priest, and member of the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupYaroslav Lesiv was born in the village of Luzhkiv, , in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast of Western Ukraine....
- Levko LukyanenkoLevko LukyanenkoLevko Lukyanenko ; is a Ukrainian politician, and Soviet dissident and Hero of Ukraine.-Biography:Lukyanenko was born on 24 August 1928 in the Khrypivka village of Chernihiv Oblast, in the USSR...
- Valeriy MarchenkoValeriy MarchenkoValeriy Marchenko was a poet, journalist, translator, and member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.Marchenko was born into an educated family. His grandfather, Mykhaylo Marchenko, was the first Soviet dean of the University of Lviv....
- Myroslav MarynovychMyroslav MarynovychMyroslav Frankovych Marynovych , b. January 4, 1949, is the vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, founder of Amnesty International Ukraine, and a founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group-Biography:...
- Mykola Matusevych
- Oksana Meshko
- Ivan Hel
- Mart Niklus
- Vasyl Ovsienko
- Viktoras Petkus
- Leonid PlyushchLeonid PlyushchLeonid Plyushch is a mathematician and Soviet dissident.- Early life and career :Leonid Plyushch was born into a Ukrainian working-class family in 1939 in Naryn, Kirghizia. His father worked as railway foreman, and was killed at the front 1941...
- Oksana Popovych
- Patriarch Volodomyr (Romaniuk)Patriarch Volodomyr (Romaniuk)Patriarch Volodymyr was the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy....
- Mykola RudenkoMykola RudenkoMykola Danylovych Rudenko was a Ukrainian poet, writer, philosopher, Soviet dissident and human rights activist. He was the founder of the Ukrainian Helsinki group, and was twice arrested for his dissident activities.- Biography :...
- Yuriy Shukhevych
- Danylo ShumukDanylo ShumukDanylo Lavrentiyovych Shumuk was a Ukrainian political activist who served a total of 42 years imprisoned by three different states, Second Polish Republic, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union.- Living in the Second Polish Republic:...
- Vasyl Striltsiv
- Vasyl StusVasyl StusVasyl Semenovych Stus was a Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years in detention...
- Nadiya SvitlychnaNadiya SvitlychnaNadiya Oleksiyivna Svitlychna was a Ukrainian dissident and human rights activist, and an active member of the Ukrainian Helsinki group. She was a writer and editor and for a time was a political prisoner of the Soviet regime....
- Olexiy Tykhy
- Yosyf ZiselsYosyf ZiselsYosyf Zisels was a human rights activist and Ukrainian dissident.He was a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki group , involved in the samizdat movement, human rights activist, prominent activist in the Jewish movement in Ukraine, and a political prisoner.-References:...
- Petro Grigorenko
External links
- Ukrainian Helsinki Human rights Union
- Ukrainian Helsinki Group - Documents, Members, Chronology