Yuri Fedorov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yuri Fedorov (Russian: Юрий Фёдоров; born 1943) is a Russian human rights activist and former Soviet dissident. Born in Moscow, he was involved in the Dymshits-Kuznetsov hijacking affair.

While a student, Fedorov participated in the human rights group "Союз Свободы Разума" (Union of Intellectual Freedom) which published and distributed proclamations denouncing the anti-democratic Soviet regime. In 1962 the members of the group were arrested by the KGB. Fedorov was sentenced to five years in prison for anti-Soviet activities.

In May 1970, Fedorov participated in the Dymshits-Kuznetsov hijacking affair in an attempt to leave the USSR, and was arrested along with the other fifteen would-be escapees. He was charged with treason and sentenced to fifteen years in prison of which he served the full term. Only he and fellow Christian Alexei Murzhenk were in prison for so long (Murzhenk served fourteen years) - the other participants were Jewish, and were released early due to international pressure. Fedorov was eventually released in June 1985 under the 101st kilometre settlement restriction.

Fedorov was denied an exit visa until 1988 when he was able to emigrate to the United States. In 1998, after visiting post-Soviet Russia and witnessing many former political prisoners living in poverty, he founded The Gratitude Fund to commemorate the Soviet dissidents, "who waged a war against Soviet power and sacrificed their personal freedom and their lives for democracy". He now lives in New York City.