HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE 1960S - EARLY 21ST CENTURY

According to the authors, the aim of the article is to identify the historical background of human rights activities in the USSR, the content of the main stages and the prospects of these activities in modern Russia. In the second half of the 1950s - mid-1960s, the preconditions for human rights activities appeared. First, this was manifested in the relative democratisation of the society, the humanisation of legal relations, which enabled part of the intelligentsia to expand their opportunities for demonstrating the freedom of creativity and demand the fulfilment of human rights enshrined in the 1936 Constitution of the USSR. However, in time, the government established a rigid ideological framework to be observed, which some citizens did not accept. The ideology of dissent, which is personified, first, by human rights activists, started to form. The authors consider that in the second half of the 1960s, relatively massive human rights activities began to shape in various forms: sending letters to government structures, rallies and demonstrations in connection with the violation of citizens' rights. In the late 1960s, the world outlook programmes of human rights defenders were developed. Through the network of "samizdat" literature, human rights defenders established contacts with their supporters in the regions of the country, including Western Siberia. Some human rights organisations (the Human Rights Committee in the USSR) were first recognised in foreign countries and the UN, which caused opposition from power structures that acted thoughtfully and flexibly, combining the methods of "prevention" and criminal penalties. A new stage in the work of human rights defenders that occurred in the second half of the 1970s is associated with the period of easing of international tension. The Moscow Helsinki Group, established in the USSR, assumed responsibility for monitoring the implementation of humanitarian articles of the all-European meeting held in 1975. It began to inform the government and the public of Western countries about human rights violations in the country. That is, the activities of human rights defenders acquired a political character. The end of the policy of detente essentially meant the use of repressive measures against them in the centre (Moscow) and in the regions ("Tomsk case"). In the mid-1980s, the next stage of human rights activities, which has been going on until now, began. It is connected with the policy of the perestroika, the demand for ideas of dissidents and their active participation in the political struggle for power. The human rights movement has been legalised. Non-governmental organisations have been established to protect political, civil, social and economic human rights. Thus, the authors conclude that human rights activities can become one of the stabilising factors both in internal life and in relations with other states. This requires both responsible social and economic policies on the part of state institutions and the establishment of an effective human rights protection system on the part of non-state actors.