Russian Social Activist And Historian Lyudmila Alexayeva Passed Away; She Was 91

Russian human right activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva passed away in a Moscow hospital at 16:30 GMT on Saturday. The Soviet-era dissident who became a symbol of resistance in modern-day Russia died at the age of 91 after suffering a long illness. Alexeyeva defended human rights in the Soviet Union right from the 1950s, went into exile and returned to continue her work later in modern Russia where Vladimir Putin was president.

Russian Social Activist Lyudmila Alexayeva died in a Russian hospital on Sunday at the age of 91.

• Lyudmila Alexayeva died in the hospital after being admitted for several days.
• She was suffering from a long-term illness.
• She is prominent for being the last Soviet dissidents of Modern Russia.

Russian human right activist and historian, Lyudmila Alexeyeva passed away in a Moscow hospital at 16:30 GMT on Saturday. The Soviet-era dissident who became a symbol of resistance in modern-day Russia died at the age of 91 after suffering from a long illness.

Alexeyeva defended human rights in the Soviet Union, right from the 1950s, and went into exile. She returned to continue her work later in modern Russia where Vladimir Putin was president.

Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Kremlin Human Rights Council, said,

“This is a huge loss for the entire human rights movement in Russia. She had been struggling with illness recently, but her mind was always stronger than her body and far stronger than any disease.”

She co-founded the human rights organization Moscow Helsinki Group in 1976, and she had been the chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group till date. It is one of Russia’s oldest human rights organizations doing its part through the chaotic years of the country.

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The Moscow Helsinki Group said in an official statement,

“She was a legendary, wise and humane person who remained a defender of human rights until the last moments of her life.”

She lost her job as a science publisher in the USSR in an effort to fight for human rights cases and was subjected to numerous searches and interrogations by the KGB. With her security in question, she moved to the US from USSR in 1977. Alexeyeva returned to Russia in 1993 after the Soviet Union dismembered.

 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had sent a message of condolences to her family. In a press conference, he said,

“The president greatly appreciates Lyudmila Alexeyeva’s contribution to the development of civil society in Russia and had great respect for her point of view on several issues concerning the life of the country.”

She had fought for Human Rights all her life and was a tough critic of Putin’s government. The European Parliament awarded Alexeyeva the dignified Sakharov prize for defenders of human thought, along with the Memorial human rights group in 2009.

While receiving the award she said,

“If I save even one person, it’s already a true joy,”

It is the end of an era for social activism in Russia. People with the endurance and courage like Lyudmila are hard to come by.

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