When I look back through many years of my work in the ISHR, I see that there were human rights defenders in Central and Eastern Europe countries, but no region has so many prominent human rights activists as the Russian-speaking space.

Karl Hafen (former executive secretary, now treasurer of the ISHR (Germany), from the report at the international scientific seminar on the theme: “The role of the public and public organizations in protection and ensuring human rights” held by the Belarusian section of the ISHR in conjunction with the German section of the ISHR on December 11–12, 2013 in Brest, Belarus.

Mikhail Kukabaka was born in 1936 in Bobruisk, the Republic of Belarus. He is a Belarusian dissident of the Soviet times who was being deprived and imprisoned in prisons, mental hospitals and labour camps for almost 17 years for his convictions defending human rights, freedom of speech and the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 1968, he openly declared his disagreement with the invasion of the Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia. He was the author of a number of publications that were distributed by samizdat in the 1970s. His signatures were under numerous human rights documents of this time. In 1977, he announced the renunciation of the citizenship of the USSR.

He was being exerted over enormous pressure, but he withstood refused to write petitions for clemency. He endured in many respects because his efforts were appreciated by the UK, Austria and Denmark “Amnesty International”. He was released on December 2, 1988 in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On pardon” from 30.XI.1985.

Mikhail Ignatovich Kukabaka was the last Soviet political prisoner in the USSR. He returned to Belarus, continued his human rights activities, but the authorities of Mogilev (the regional center of the republic) were not able to provide even a room in the hostel, so after that he was forced to return to Moscow.

Mikhail Kukabaka is a rare example of a man who at a difficult time took up the topic of human rights and did not stop this work, even while in prison.

In his work, he always adhered to the principle of peaceful resistance. We believe that the time for broad public propaganda of his life, methods of protecting human rights and our rights has come. This opportunity arises in connection with the publication of the book «Мiхась Кукабака» dedicated to his 80th birthday and the publication of materials about his life and activities in the newspaper «Народная воля» (April-May 2017).

The Board of the Belarusian section of the ISHR has decided to invite Mikhail Ignatovich Kukabaka to a meeting with the organization’s activists.

I. Kotlyar,
Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian section of the ISHR, Professor