[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7383-S7384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING LYUDMILA ALEXEYEVA

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to Lyudmila 
Alexeyeva, a true giant for human rights in Russia and around the 
world. Ms. Alexeyeva passed away over the weekend in Moscow and left 
behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but that was 
just her immediate family. Lyudmila's leadership and fearlessness 
inspired a generation of human rights and democracy activists in 
Russia; she was the grandmother of human rights in the country, and her 
stalwart leadership in the face of repression will truly be missed. 
Today is International Human Rights Day, a fitting moment to pay 
tribute this incredible leader.
  In thinking about Lyudmila's legacy, three words come to mind: 
vision, tenacity, and courage.
  Starting from her days drafting a Samizdat journal called the 
Chronicle of Current Events that scrutinized the Khrushchev regime, 
Lyudmila had the vision of a Soviet Union in which all of its citizens 
played a role in ensuring accountable governance and democratic 
principles. She saw the opportunity to fulfill this vision in the 1975 
Helsinki Accords, especially those tenets which enshrined the critical 
notion that signatory countries' respect for human rights inside their 
borders was integral to security in the transatlantic region. The 
Brezhnev government at the time had no intention of honoring those 
elements of Helsinki, but Lyudmila worked together with her compatriots 
to set up the Moscow Helsinki Group to monitor implementation of the 
Accords. The Moscow Helsinki Group inspired the proliferation of sister 
organizations in other countries whose governments had committed to 
Helsinki principles, including here in Congress with the Commission for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe. This platform inside of the Soviet 
Union and across the transatlantic space was critically important to 
build those bonds of international solidarity among so many likeminded 
democrats and human rights defenders. She was indeed a true visionary 
for open, democratic societies, and the bonds she built with and among 
activists who shared that vision stand strong to this day.
  Second, tenacity--Lyudmila faced so many obstacles during the Soviet 
period and the Putin era. After starting Moscow Helsinki, the pressure 
from the Soviet regime grew so great that she had to seek exile in the 
United States for 16 years. During that time, she became an American 
citizen, a proud moment for us here in this country. While in exile, 
she remained committed to

[[Page S7384]]

her vision. She advocated for international support for the plight of 
dissidents and human rights activists suffering repression in the 
Soviet Bloc. In the tradition of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Lyudmila wrote 
extensively on her country, publishing two important works: ``The Thaw 
Generation. Coming of Age in the Post-Stalin Era'' and ``Soviet 
Dissent.'' She also worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty during 
this period.
  Once she was able to return to Russia after the fall of the Soviet 
Union, Lyudmila dove right back into her work, scrutinizing the human 
rights record of Boris Yeltsin and resisting the sharp turn away from 
democracy under Vladimir Putin. As the space for civil society voices 
contracted inside Russia, Lyudmila was a clear and dogged advocate for 
freedom, a voice for the universal declaration of human rights and a 
voice for a better Russia. Despite this closing space, she expended 
enormous energy on mentoring and organizing a new generation of Russian 
human rights defenders to carry the torch. During this period, she 
would travel to Washington and was a true force of nature. She always 
had a few young activists in tow to make sure they were connected with 
key policymakers in DC. By doing so, she made clear to us in Washington 
that not all was lost inside Russia, that a tenacious new generation of 
activists was willing to take this baton of freedom and run the next 
leg of the race, and that they deserved our respect, attention, and 
support.
  Finally, courage--Lyudmila did not have to do this work. This calling 
subjected her and her family to pressure and repression by different 
regimes over the years. It subjected her to 16 years in exile from her 
homeland. After so much hard work during the Soviet era, she could have 
settled into retirement, leaving the toils of civil society development 
and human rights defense to a new generation, but as repression grew 
under Putin, Lyudmila would continue the work undaunted. Well into her 
70s and 80s, she would continue to organize. She would continue to 
travel to foreign capitals, only to face increased scrutiny at home. 
She would attend rallies in Moscow, sometimes in the dead of winter, 
under great physical threat. She would be arrested. She faced these 
challenges with remarkable composure and grace. Those images of 
Lyudmila during a Moscow street protest one New Years' Eve, dressed as 
a Russian holiday character, the Snow Maiden, in a powder blue coat as 
she stood up to thuggish Russian Government security forces, was a 
sight to behold. Her undaunted courage during this later period of her 
life was a true inspiration to so many of us around the world.
  It is tragic that Lyudmila did not live to see her vision for Russia 
realized. It is tragic that the Russian people have been robbed of the 
opportunity to live in a democratic country. It is tragic that the 
Putin regime continues to impose corruption and repression on a people 
who deserve so much better. Lyudmila understood what that ``better'' 
looks like and had a vision for her country: a governing system with 
true checks and balances; a country with a responsive government, held 
accountable to the people; a country where a strong civil society 
understood that it had a very important role and stake in the country's 
well-being. In her own way, Lyudmila symbolized that check and balance. 
She symbolized what a vibrant civil society in Russia could be if only 
taken to scale. She symbolized a place where Russia lived up to 
international human rights commitments, not as an answer to a foreign 
power, but because she saw fulfillment of these commitments as good for 
the citizenry and the country.
  Our world is better because Lyudmila was here. Our world is better 
due to her vision, courage, and tenacity. We all have an obligation to 
carry on her work, not only in support for human rights in Russia, but 
in all those dark corners of the world where people are repressed by 
their governments. In the coming days, tributes like this will be heard 
around the world, extolling Lyudmila's many efforts and accomplishments 
in defense of liberty and human rights.
  Lyudmila was a shining example to us all. Let us take this charge and 
be the embodiment of her life's work.
  Rest in peace, Lyudmila.

                          ____________________