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Mr. S. describes his early years, how his dissident views formed, his first arrest under Article 70 of the Criminal Code, his expert psychiatric evaluation at the Serbsky Institute, and the judicial procedure that followed. He describes his subsequent commitment in an 'ordinary' psychiatric hospital and shares insights about the internal regulations, regime, and the release procedure. He also talks about his next arrest and the legal aspects of it. Mr. S. shares his views about whether Soviet psychiatrists seriously believed that 'failure to adapt to the society' was a sign of mental illness and whether they can be blamed for presumably following the orders from above. Mr. S. proceedes to describe his transfer to a special psychiatric hospital, the mass release of political prisoners in 1987, the reasons for such a drastic change of the political course in the Soviet Union, and gives an overview of the U.S. – U.S.S.R. relationship in the second half of the twentieth century. He then talks about how the 1989 U.S. State Department psychiatric mission to the U.S.S.R. fit into the broader human rights negotiations in the CSCE. Mr. S. tells how he taken off the psychiatric register and legally rehabilitated; he talks about the destiny of the Criminal Code 'political' articles 70 and 190-1 and current political articles in Russian Criminal Code used to suppress dissent. Mr. S. shares about his life and political activity after 1989, his subsequent arrests, and his assessment of the evolution of civil and political freedom in Russia after 1989. He then talks about the future of Russia, his own future as a dissident in Russia, and his views about the Russian war in Ukraine.

Mr. Kovalev tells about the role of various domestic and international actors in the process of democratization of the U.S.S.R. in the late 1980s and bringing human rights into the Soviet Union. He also assesses the political factors of the early 1980s that allowed Gorbachev come to power and retain it. Mr. Kovalev shares his insights about the Soviet foreign policy of the second half of 1980s-early 1990s and the U.S. - U.S.S.R. relationships. He shares his knowledge about the history of abuse of psychiatry and the reasons for resorting to it; the Soviet psychiatric register and the consequences of being on a register; the sealed instruction on involuntary commitment that existed but was not available to the public. Mr. Kovalev talks about the chain of decision making in ensuring that the American visit will actually happen and the key events on that road. He also comments on the internal tensions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) as well as the resistance put up by the M.O.H. in organizing the American visit. He also shares his views about the "system dissidents" in the U.S.S.R.

Dr. Roth describes his training and the highlights of his career; he then tells how he became interested in the issue of abuse of psychiatry in the U.S.S.R. His two human rights trips to the U.S.S.R. in 1985 and 1986 are discussed next. Dr. Roth then gives an overview of the general political background to the visit and tensions between him and Ambassador Schifter about some critical aspect of the visit. Dr. Roth then describes in detail the negotiation process between the U.S. and Soviet side, the main stumbling blocks, how he managed to overcome them, and who were his allies. Dr. Roth describes the Soviet uncooperativeness and tensions between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He then talks about informed consents, interview procedures, and the visit dynamics. He shares some anecdotes and most memorable events; he also talks about the people who meaningfully contributed to making the mission successful.

This item contains content that the University of Virginia Law Library published in the MoreUs blog between January 20, 2011 and March 17, 2023.

This item contains content that the University of Virginia Law Library published in the MoreUs blog between January 20, 2011 and November 21, 2024.

These are issues of the Library's News You Can Use newsletter dating from Spring 2021 to Fall 2023.