1 August 2025
Statement by the Russian Helsinki Group
Source: Russian Helsinki Group
ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HELSINKI ACT
1 August marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing by the heads of 35 states, including the USSR, of the Declaration of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe – the Helsinki Final Act, whose ‘Third Basket’ includes the participating states’ obligations in the field of human rights: ‘The participating States recognise the universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for which is an essential factor for the peace, justice and well-being … [T]he participating States will act in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’
The Russian Federation, as the legal successor to the USSR, recognises the Helsinki Act; moreover, respect for human and civil rights and freedoms is enshrined in the main part of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Articles 17-64), which also contains the presidential oath: ‘I swear that in exercising the powers of the President of the Russian Federation, I will respect and protect human and civil rights and freedoms’ (Article 82).
The question of compliance with these remarkable principles in practice was acute during the Soviet era, and is highly relevant in contemporary Russia, where mass repression for beliefs and non-violent criticism have become a tragic norm that contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
We once again demand the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience in Russia and call on the authorities of the Russian Federation to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.
Members of the Russian Helsinki Group
- Boris Altshuler
- Svetlana Astrakhantseva
- Vyacheslav Bakhmin
- Valery Borshchev
- Aleksei Golovan
- Yury Kostanov
- Sergei Krivenko
- Sergei Lukashevsky
- Dmitry Makarov
- Viktoriya Malikova
- Daniil Meshcheryakov
- Karina Moskalenko
- Lev Ponomarev
- Sergei Sorokin
- Ilya Shablinsky
