The "General Pogrom" of Human Rights Defenders and Punitive Psychiatry (1972–1985)
The apogee of repressions under V. Shcherbytsky. Mass arrests of members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and of dissidents. To neutralize dissenters, punitive psychiatry was applied on a mass scale — declaring healthy people insane in order to isolate them indefinitely and subject them to torture by medication. Many human rights defenders, including V. Stus, never regained their freedom, perishing in special-regime camps[1][2].
Actors
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0010 | USSR |
Mass arrests of members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and fabrication of criminal cases, leading to the prolonged isolation and deaths of prominent dissidents (including Vasyl Stus) in special-regime camps[1]. |
Techniques Used
| ID | Name | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| T0021 | Neutralization of the Opposition |
Mass arrests of members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and fabrication of criminal cases, leading to the prolonged isolation and deaths of prominent dissidents (including Vasyl Stus) in special-regime camps[1]. |
|
| T0135 | Punitive Psychiatry |
Use of state healthcare institutions for the politically motivated diagnosing of dissenters (the diagnosis of "sluggish schizophrenia") and their indefinite confinement in psychiatric hospitals[2]. |
|
| T0110 | Torture and Abuse |
Administration of destructive pharmaceutical drugs (neuroleptics) as a means of physical and psychological pressure on healthy human rights defenders in closed institutions[2]. |
|
Instruments
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S0022 | Punitive Medicine and Psychiatry |
Use of state healthcare institutions for the politically motivated diagnosing of dissenters (the diagnosis of "sluggish schizophrenia") and their indefinite confinement in psychiatric hospitals[2]. |
| S0017 | Secret Police and Security Services |
Mass arrests of members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and fabrication of criminal cases, leading to the prolonged isolation and deaths of prominent dissidents (including Vasyl Stus) in special-regime camps[1]. |
References
- Михаил Зыгарь. (2023). Война и наказание: Как Россия уничтожала Украину.