Yury Orlov and fellow activists formed a public group to monitor Soviet compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. Their use of the state’s own international commitments challenged restrictions on...
The physicist and Moscow Helsinki Group founder was detained after documenting rights violations. His prosecution demonstrated the state’s response to peaceful monitoring and drew international...
With members imprisoned, exiled, or threatened, the group announced it could no longer operate safely. Its records and monitoring practice had already connected local rights claims to the Helsinki...
