British Human Rights Organizations and Soviet Dissent, 1965-1985

by Mark Hurst

Overview

In the latter half of the 20th century, a number of dissidents engaged in a series of campaigns against the Soviet authorities and as a result were subjected to an array of cruel and violent punishments. A collection of like-minded activists in Britain campaigned on their behalf, and formed a variety of organizations to publicise their plight. British Human Rights Organizations and Soviet Dissent, 1965-1985 examines the efforts of these activists, exploring how influential their activism was in shaping the wider public awareness of Soviet human rights violations in the context of the Cold War.

Mark Hurst explores the British response to Soviet human rights violation, drawing on extensive archival work and interviews with key individuals from the period. This book examines the network of human rights activists in Britain, and demonstrates that in order to be fully understood, the Soviet dissident movement needs to be considered in an international context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472527288
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/05/2016
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Mark Hurst is Associate Lecturer in the School of History at the University of Kent, UK.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction 1. From Belov to Bukovsky – The Growing Awareness of Psychiatric Abuse
2. Shifting Psychiatric Concerns, the Special Committee and the Soviet Withdrawal
3. Prisoner's Banquets, Ghosts, and the Ballet – The Women's Campaign for Soviet Jewry
4. From Toothache to Keston, via Moscow – Michael Bourdeaux and the Centre for the Study of Religion and Communism
5. Attempting Impartiality – Amnesty International and the Soviet Union
Conclusion: The Rush to Expertise
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Hurst succeeds … in providing valuable insights on the dedicated-and often deeply personal-engagement by the British actors. In addition, this work certainly contributes to the research on human rights NGOs and social movements in a British context and would indeed be useful for informing comparative work in other national settings.” —American Historical Review

“It is within Hurst's very cogent narrative that the reader will discover excellent opportunities to draw distinctions between the work of international human rights organizations working against authoritarian states, both historical and contemporary.” —Human Rights Quarterly

“The copious notes and bibliography serve as a testimony to the painstaking work that makes this volume not merely an academic reference, but an engrossing read in its own right, bringing life to the names of both the Western human rights activists involved and the prisoners and persecuted whom they defended. It is essential reading for historians, politicians and anyone with an interest in Russia past and present.” —Jourbanal of Ecclesiastical History

“Human rights activists may not have ended the Cold War by themselves, but thanks to works like Hurst's, it is increasingly difficult to imagine the Cold War ending without them.” —European History Quarterly

From the Publisher