Victor Krasin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Victor Aleksandrovich Krasin
|
|
|---|---|
| Виктор Александрович Красин | |
Victor Krasin in 1968, when he was active in the human rights movement
|
|
| Born | 4 August 1929 |
| Died | 3 September 2017 (aged 88) Nahariya, Israel
|
| Nationality | Russian |
| Citizenship |  Soviet Union (1929–1991) →  Russian Federation (1991–present),  United States |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Occupation | economist |
| Employer | Central Economic Mathematical Institute |
| Known for | human rights activism with participation in Initiative Group for the Defense of Human Rights in the USSR |
| Movement | dissident movement in the Soviet Union |
Victor Aleksandrovich Krasin (born August 4, 1929 – died September 3, 2017) was a Russian human rights activist and economist. He was known as a Soviet dissident, which means he spoke out against the government. He was also a political prisoner, someone held in prison for their political beliefs. Later in his life, Victor Krasin became a citizen of the United States.
Contents
Early Life and Challenges
Victor Krasin began studying at Moscow State University in 1947. He joined the Psychology Department.
In 1949, when he was 19, Krasin and his friends were arrested. They were accused of criticizing the government's ideas. He was sentenced to eight years in special work camps. These camps were called labor camps, where people were forced to work. Krasin was sent to a camp called Ozerlag.
Escapes and Hardship
In September 1949, Krasin tried to escape from a camp with four other people. They managed to get away from two guards. But they were caught again after three days. For this, he was given an extra 10 years in the camps. He spent his first winter working in a logging camp.
In 1950, Krasin was moved to another camp in a very cold region called Kolyma. These camps were specifically for political prisoners. Prisoners worked long hours, often 10 hours a day, with only one day off each month. Krasin learned to use a lathe machine, which is used for shaping materials. This skill helped him survive. He was sent to work in uranium mines, where many workers became very sick. But because he was a skilled machinist, he worked in the mechanical shops instead. This kept him safer. After the leader Stalin died, Krasin was released in 1954. He was also cleared of the old charges.
Education and Activism
Krasin went back to Moscow State University and graduated in economics in 1963. He then worked as a researcher at the Central Economic Mathematical Institute (CEMI).
Standing Up for Human Rights
Around this time, Krasin started to share information that the government did not approve of. He took photos and gave friends books that were not censored. He also began gathering facts about how human rights were being violated in the Soviet Union. He shared this information with American reporters. These stories were then published in newspapers in the United States.
In May 1969, Krasin and his friend Peter Yakir started a group. It was called the Initiative Group for Defence of Human Rights in the USSR. This was the first legal group to speak out against political repression in the Soviet Union.
Because he would not stop his human rights work, Krasin was fired from his job in 1968. He then started writing for A Chronicle of Current Events, a secret newspaper that reported on human rights issues. In 1969, he signed a letter to the United Nations asking for help.
Forced Exile and Trial
Later in 1969, Krasin was arrested again. He was accused of "parasitism," which meant not working in a way the government approved of. He was forced to live in a faraway place called Krasnoyarsk for five years. This was called internal exile. While he was in exile, he learned that his friend Nadezhda Pavlovna Yemel'kin was arrested for protesting for political prisoners. After his own sentence was overturned in 1971, he went to her exile town and they got married.
In September 1972, the KGB (the Soviet secret police) arrested Krasin again. This time, he was accused of "anti-Soviet propaganda," meaning he was spreading ideas against the government. He and Peter Yakir were put on trial. They were first sentenced to three years of exile but were later set free. Krasin later wrote a book about his experiences during the interrogations and trial.
International Support
After Krasin's trial in 1973, the United States Senate passed a special statement. It asked President Richard Nixon to demand that the Soviet government stop punishing human rights activists. The statement said that Andrei Sakharov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Pyotr Yakir, and Victor Krasin had shown "enormous courage" in defending freedom. The United States House of Representatives also passed a similar statement.
Later Life
In February 1975, Victor Krasin and his wife moved to the United States. They became US citizens in 1981. Krasin was interviewed by New York Times Magazine, and a story about his experiences was published in 1984. From 1984 to 1991, he worked as a reporter for Radio Liberty.
In 1991, Krasin and his wife returned to Moscow. They moved back to the United States in 2003. He continued to write articles for The Daily Journal.
Victor Krasin passed away on September 3, 2017, at the age of 88.
