Russia and Human Rights

Abstract

The renascence of Russia as a free and democratic state is an integral part of the tremendous changes we are now witnessing in the political landscape of our planet. For us, the peoples of Russia, this is a dual process. Clearly, the democratic revolution in our country and its reintegration into the mainstream of human development will radically change international politics. It will defuse global confrontation and make it possible for our country, as well as many others, to concentrate on internal problems. But the transformation of Russia is not ony a result of the replacement of a totalitarian system which had oppressed the individual. It is also a result of those momentous, worldwide changes which shape our epoch, among them the urgent need for democratization and respect for human rights. It cannot be coincidence that the end of the twentieth century is marked by the fall of authoritarian regimes in dozens of states in Europe and Latin America. Evidently general laws are at work that govern the nature of emerging civilization, one of the most prominent of which focuses on the individual human being in all aspects: that of a self-contained universal value, as an arbiter of the level of development of a society or as the main actor in the historical process. Another striking characteristic of the transition to a new stage of civilization is the combination of lofty idealism and the most prosaic type of materialism-indeed, the best minds of all times and nations have dreamt of the triumph of the human personality and have striven for a time when society, based on justice and prosperity for all, would guarantee full enjoyment of natural rights to all. From a purely prosaic point of view, the development of society has reached a level where only the individual, with his or her mind and abilities, can sustain progress. A free human personality-one which fully utilizes its capabilities and engages in creative and productive activity-is a necessity. It is no coincidence that many political scientists talk about the advent of a new era in which creative processes-scientific research, the accumulation, transfer and application of knowledge-are the implements of social development. For Russia and other countries which have cast off the fetters of authoritarian rule, the issue of human rights is critical. We have made a conscious and irrevocable choice, and the fact that this choice conforms with the dictates of our time convinces us of its inevitability. The path of Russian democracy has been a thorny one. When I was Slavic Review 51, no. 2 (Summer 1992)