Memory of the righteous

Sergei Adamovich Kovalev caused the strongest irritation of his opponents in relation to himself. Human rights activist with great experience, he was not used to streams of hatred and slander, to the slopes of "popular anger." The collection of signatures in the defense of Sinyavsky and Daniel, the publication of the Chronicle of current events-all this already in the 60-70s turned him from a respected scientist, candidate of biological sciences, factory department at the Scientific Institute-into an outcast, a renegade, and then in a political market.

What should happen in the soul of a biologist, who is accustomed to consider the world as a system, where certain forces act, which is impossible to change-that he will come out from behind the written table, leave his experiments and go to fight against the state, whose power seemed to surpass it many times? Probably a clear and clear conviction that you can’t calmly look at the injustice that are being created. What power was supposed to be this conviction? And the point, I believe, is not only in it.

All those who in Soviet times dared to oppose the system, courage and firmness could not occupy - otherwise how to decide to resist the Leviathan? But in Kovalev, not so much courage is striking, which, of course, had a lot, how much - forgive me for pathos - love for people. The feeling that is very difficult to preserve in yourself when you go against the current for many years, you constantly feel tension from the fact that you are being persecuted, you are slandering, you are offended. How many examples we know when people either break in such a situation, or turn into clones of their opponents, only with a reverse sign.

And Sergey Adamovich calmly, with some incredible dignity, for many years continued to do what he considered necessary-to protect the rights of prisoners-any, because whoever you are in the will, you should not torment and humiliate you in the zone.

To protect human rights - where they needed to be defended - at the post of an authorized manner or in Grozny's fire. To protect Russians and Chechens, to protect hostages in a hospital in Budennovsk - no matter what abominations then the warriors come up with, he defended everyone, and no matter how clearly his rightness is visible from today, when he tried to do a doomed business on those terrible December days of 1994 - to stop the war, understanding, anticipating the ulcerative ulcer in over the years. And he said what he thought, without thinking about the consequences, although there were immediately those who perverted and overwhelmed his words and actions.

But no matter what happens around him, no matter what new horrors fell upon our unfortunate country, he continued to preach love. Unlike the Nekrasov hero, he did not want to “preach love with a hostile word of denial,” he simply preached love, no - he defended love with all his actions and performances.

And he died in a dream - the death of the righteous. Let the earth be fluff for you, Sergey Adamovich.


Source: History lessons with Tamara Eidelman/ Telegram

Photo: Archive Hedgehog
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