Yuri Orlov is 80 years old

On Friday, the well -known human rights activist, one of the founders and the head of the Moscow Helsinki group, Yuri Orlov, is 80 years old. Yuri Orlov took up social activities in 1973 under the influence of the campaign against Andrei Sakharov. Then he sent an open letter to Brezhnev, in which he demanded a weakening of state control over the economy and democratization of Soviet society.

In 1977, Orlov was arrested and sentenced to seven years in maximum security camps and five years in exile.

In 1986, in exchange for the Soviet intelligence officer arrested in the United States, Orlov was sent to the United States and deprived of Soviet citizenship. Since 1989, he regularly comes to the USSR and Russia.

Famous human rights activists, associates of Orlov congratulate him on the anniversary. The editors of the Grani.ru join the congratulations.