The trial of Yurii Shikhanovich: A Chronicle of Current Events, samizdat journal of the human rights movement in the USSR, suffered a severe blow in September when one of its editors was sentenced

Abstract

A Chronicle of Current Events was initially produced in 1968 as a bi-monthly journal. In the spring of that year members of the Soviet Civil Rights Movement created the journal with the stated intention of publicising issues and events related to Soviet citizens' efforts to exercise fundamental human liberties. On the title page of every issue there appears the text of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which calls for universal freedom of opinion and expression. The authors are guided by the principle that such universal guarantees of human rights (and similar guarantees in their domestic law) should be firmly adhered to in their own country and elsewhere. They feel that ‘it is essential that truthful information about violations of basic human rights in the Soviet Union should be available to all who are interested in it’. The Chronicles consist mostly of accounts of such violations. In an early issue it was stated that ‘the Chronicle does, and will do, its utmost to ensure that its strictly factual style is maintained to the greatest degree possible.…’ The Chronicle has consistently maintained a high standard of accuracy. As a regular practice the editors openly acknowledge when a piece of information has not been thoroughly verified. When mistakes in reporting occur, these mistakes are retrospectively drawn to the attention of readers. In February 1971, starting with number 16, Amnesty International began publishing English translations of the Chronicles as they appeared. It has now reached its 64th issue and is also available from Routledge Journals. In 1981 Dr Andrei Sakharov wrote: ‘I consider the Chronicles' thirteen years of publication a genuine miracle, and I consider it as well an expression of the spirit and moral strength of the human rights movement in the USSR. The authorities' hatred of the Chronicle, manifested in innumerable acts of persecution, only confirms that evaluation.’ The following report was prepared by Radio Liberty Research (RL 339/84).