The section is a unique collection of the intellectual heritage of the Ukrainian dissident movement. It contains more than 200 digitised documents, including analytical articles, journalistic essays, philosophical reflections, open letters, and literary works. These materials reflect the depth of thought, moral stance and cultural identity of the authors who opposed Soviet totalitarianism. The section is structured by topic and author, which makes it easier to navigate and contributes to a deeper understanding of the ideological foundations of the human rights movement in Ukraine.

Victor Nekrasov: BABI YAR, 45 YEARS.

The article is dedicated to the tragedy of Babi Yar and the subsequent attempts by the Soviet authorities to erase the memory of this event. The author emphasizes how the specifically Jewish character of the tragedy was intentionally suppressed, and the memory of the defenseless victims was replaced by the official narrative of heroism.

The Moral Code of the Destroyer of Communism

We are publishing this 2005 article by Zinoviy Antonyuk, but it seems as if it were just written, so well does it suit today’s challenges. The article, to our knowledge, has not been previously published and was found in the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) archive.

Zinoviy Antonyuk. Between Two Ends of the “Ethical Ladder”: Up the Mountain and Down to the Valley. Confessional Memoirs.

We are publishing this confession by Zinoviy Antonyuk, who passed away on April 28 of this year, in fulfillment of his long-held wish to make this text public. It is less an account of specific individuals by Mr. Antonyuk than an emotional portrait of the era in which he lived. The confession also reflects the author’s incisive moral reflections on the complex social vicissitudes of Ukrainian life.

Ethical Principles of the Human Rights Movement in Ukraine in the 1960s–1980s

From a speech by Vasyl Ovsienko at the research-to-practice conference “The Ukrainian Helsinki Group in the Domestic and Global Human Rights Movement,” dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the UHG’s creation (Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, November 8, 2016).

Babych, Serhiy Oleksiyovych. Down the Road of Absurdity. - Zhytomyr: Ruta. 2016

Babych, S.O. Down the Road of Absurdity (From What Was Lived, Endured, and Understood) - Zhytomyr: Ruta. 2016. A book by a political prisoner with a 27-year term. This story is for those who have managed, at least for a moment, to rise above themselves, like a fish out of water. —The Author

Young Poetry in Ukraine 1960–1963 and Its Crushing

Three articles: Young Poetry in Ukraine; The Party's Offensive Against Young Poetry; The Crushing of Young Literature in Ukraine (1960–1963)

Osyp Zinkevych. The Defense of Ukrainian Political Prisoners

The activities of the Ukrainian diaspora in defense of political prisoners of the 1960s-70s.

Appeal of the Ukrainian National Liberation Movement on the Matter of Ukrainian Independence

The appeal by 19 prominent Ukrainian political prisoners (written in the summer of 1979 by L. Lukianenko) is one of the most significant documents of Ukrainian samvydav. The authors call for the Ukrainian question to be placed on the agenda of the United Nations, authorizing the president of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians (WCFU) to take all necessary measures for Ukraine's secession from the USSR.

The Sixties in Ukraine*

Hel, Ivan Andriiovych

A biographical reference, updated by I. Hel in 2011
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