Memory of Lyudmila Alekseeva

Continuous optimism

On December 8, 2018, in Moscow, in the 92nd year of life, the veteran of the Soviet and Russian human rights movement died, one of the founders and over the past 22 years, the uniform head of the legendary Moscow Helsinsky group Lyudmila Alekseev. She was born in 1927 in Yevpatoria. During the Great Patriotic War, she intended to be volunteered to the front, but she was not taken out of excess. She graduated from the History of the Moscow State University, taught history.

In 1950, Alekseeva participated in the spread of Samizdat, in the 1960s in human rights performances. In 1970, she became an employee of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1977, Alekseeva, under the threat of arrest, was forced to leave the country of the United States, where she wrote a great work called “The History of Credel of the USSR. The latest period. "

In 1993, Lyudmila Alekseeva returned to Russia and immediately the activity of human rights to the country was immediately included in the most active way.

Alekseeva was a tough critic of President Putin and the Russian authorities, but she also opposed the war of Iraq and the actions of the United States.

In 2002, Alekseeva entered the Council of the Commission on Human Rights under the President of Russia, in which she worked for several years.

Among the activists of human rights and non -profit organizations, the attitude to the interaction of the oldest human rights activist by the authorities was ambiguous. But no one could suspect that she was looking for this personal benefit. It was rather a dispute about the approaches and possible compromises by the authorities of human rights activists.

Lyudmila Alekseeva herself, responding to such reproaches, motivated her position by the fact that it was precisely the officials of the bureaucracy that are the main violators of human rights, and therefore we need a dialogue with them.

Back in 2006, answering the question of the Dosh magazine, whether human rights activists use the purposes of ennoble their image with joint events, Alekseeva noticed that this helps to solve specific problems of people: “When I saw me near the president, officials, including many governors, decided that an important person, which was much easier for them to deal with them.”

She patiently explained: - Earlier, you used to call: “Hello, this is Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alekseeva, the chairman of the Moscow Helsinsky group,” - and in response: “And who are you?” Now they say: "Wait a moment, my cartridge will approach the phone." I became a man with whom this audience considers it necessary to talk. Well, then my concern, no matter how to scare them with its radicality, and not let them lose the idea that it is so important. Thanks to this, I managed to help a lot, so judge for yourself who won more Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin or me and those whose rights tried to defend. In my opinion, we won. ” She was sure of that.

According to Alekseeva, the Russian authorities “are used to acting a poke method. They will click on society and look ah, swallowed?! So, you can still push. Not inferior? Then wait, press later. Therefore, I do not deceive: they say, it is enough to raise the hi, and they will leave us to rest. Nothing of the kind. They will try to crush us all the time. And each time you need to fight off the attacks. The worst thing is that you spend so much effort not on business, but to repulse them, ”she noted with annoyance.

Talking about the chances of a human rights movement to survive the confrontation with the authorities, Alekseeva Tom interview “Dosh” expressed an adamant optimism: “Will we be eaten in the end, you know, the Soviet government wanted to break the Moscow Helsinsky group. Where is she now? And we exist! I'm not at all sure that everything was gone - no. In any case, until this happened, I will not predict our death. ”

Lyudmila Alekseeva, of course, did not remain side of the situation in the North Caucasus. In the early 2000s, she often went to Chechnya and Ingushetia, was friends with many people from there and helped them.

Thanks to her. Bright memory!