Tatyana Velikanova facts for kids

Tatyana Mikhailovna Velikanova (Russian: Татья́на Миха́йловна Велика́нова) was born on February 3, 1932, in Moscow. She was a talented mathematician and a brave person who spoke up for human rights in the Soviet Union. She is known as a key figure in the human rights movement there.

Tatyana was an editor for A Chronicle of Current Events, a secret newspaper that shared news about human rights issues. She openly said she was involved with this paper in 1974, even though it was risky. In 1969, she also helped start the Initiative Group on Human Rights in the USSR. This was the first group in the Soviet Union focused on human rights since 1918. In 1979, Tatyana was arrested. She was later sent away for several years because of her activities. Even when she was offered a chance to be released early in 1987, she refused. She wanted to be fully cleared of any wrongdoing. Tatyana chose to complete her full time away from home.

Early Life and Education

Tatyana Velikanova was born in Moscow on February 3, 1932. She studied at Moscow State University and finished her mathematics degree in 1954. After graduating, she worked as a teacher in a school in the Urals region. Later, starting in 1957, she became a programmer in Moscow.

Standing Up for Human Rights (1968–1969)

Tatyana became a person who spoke out against the government, known as a dissident, in 1968. That year, she saw a protest in Red Square where seven people spoke out against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. This invasion stopped the country's efforts to become more free, known as the Prague Spring. Tatyana went to the protest with her husband, Konstantin Babitsky, to be a witness. Her husband was arrested right there. He was sent away to a distant region for three years.

During her husband's trial, Tatyana saw that her testimony was twisted and used against him. This experience made her decide that she would never take part in such trials again. She kept this promise when she herself was put on trial later.

In May 1969, Tatyana and 14 other brave people started the Action Group for the Defense of Human Rights in the USSR. This group was special because it tried to get help from other countries. They wrote to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to speak up for people who were being treated unfairly in the Soviet Union. Their message was quickly translated and shared around the world.

In 1970, Tatyana began working with A Chronicle of Current Events. This was a secret newspaper, called samizdat, that came out every two months. It collected reports from all over the Soviet Union about how the government was violating people's rights. It quickly became the main source of uncensored information about unfair treatment during Leonid Brezhnev's time as leader. Tatyana became one of the main people who organized and edited this important publication. Other similar papers started in other Soviet areas, like The Ukraine Herald. But their information was still sent to Moscow to be translated and included in the Chronicle.

Chronicle Continues (1974–1979)

In 1974, the KGB, the Soviet secret police, tried to stop the Chronicle. They arrested some of its editors and threatened to arrest more people for every new issue published.

To protect others involved, three people decided to reveal their names. On May 7, Tatyana Velikanova, Sergei Kovalev, and Tatyana Khodorovich publicly announced in Moscow that they were responsible for the Chronicle's future. They then released three issues that had been delayed. They stated that they felt it was their duty to help the Chronicle reach as many people as possible.

Sergei Kovalev was arrested later in 1974 and faced a long time in prison and exile. Tatyana Khodorovich left the Soviet Union in 1977. In 1979, Tatyana Velikanova and others asked for a vote in the Baltic States to let them decide their own future. Soon after, she was arrested. Many important human rights activists, like Larisa Bogoraz and Andrei Sakharov, formed a group to support Tatyana. They gathered and shared information about her situation. Almost 500 people signed a petition to help her.

Trial, Sentence, and Return Home (1980–1988)

At her trial in August 1980, Tatyana Velikanova refused to defend herself. She said that by taking part in the trial, she would be helping an unfair process. She stated, "I respect the law, and therefore, I refuse to take part in this trial."

When the judge announced the decision, Tatyana simply said, "The show is over. So that's that." She was sentenced to four years in a labor camp, followed by five years of being sent away from her home. Tatyana spent her time in the camp in Mordovia, a region east of Moscow. In 1984, she was sent to western Kazakhstan for her exile. A book called Grey Is the Color of Hope by Irina Ratushinskaya, who was also a prisoner, tells about Tatyana's time in the camps.

In December 1987, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev offered to release the last two women who were still serving sentences for similar activities. Tatyana Velikanova was one of them. She turned down the offer. She demanded that she be officially cleared of any wrongdoing and recognized as innocent. Like some other political prisoners, Tatyana refused to accept conditions for her release. She chose to serve her full sentence of exile.

Later Life and Legacy

In late 1989, Tatyana Velikanova, along with Sergei Kovalyov and Alexander Lavut, were interviewed for a TV series about their human rights work. However, the company that made the film later destroyed the recordings of this interview.

Sergei Kovalyov later became well-known in Russia as the country's first Human Rights Ombudsman. Tatyana Velikanova and Alexander Lavut lived the rest of their lives quietly. After she returned to Moscow in late 1988, Tatyana started working at Moscow State School 57. She taught math and Russian language and literature there. She passed away on September 19, 2002.

See also

In Spanish: Tatyana Velikanova para niños