Alla Yaroshinskaya
Encyclopedia
Alla Yaroshinskaya is a Ukrainian
politician and journalist. She was a member of the Supreme Soviet
from 1989 to 1991, Deputy to the Minister of Press and Information until 1993, and then Adviser to the Russian President Boris Yeltsin
and member of the Russian Presidential Council. She has been a prominent campaigner for perestroika
and for better aid and information following the Chernobyl disaster
. She was President of the Ecological Charity Fund, and is Co-chair of the Russian Ecological Congress, Chief of the Federal Council of the all-Russian Social Democratic Movement and a member of other international committees. She is author or co-author of over 20 books and over 700 articles on freedom of speech
, human rights
, nuclear ecology and nuclear security.
, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2005 as part of the 1000 PeaceWomen
project. She also received the Ukrainian Zolote Pero ("Gold Pen") award.
, Yaroshinskaya was a political dissident, attempting to expose party corruption, for which she was branded an "unreliable" person and suffered intimidation and administrative penalties. On one occasion the KGB
abducted her and tried to force her to abandon her views. Upon graduating, she worked as a correspondent for the local newspaper, The Soviet Zhitomirshchina, for 13 years.
After the election of Mikhail Gorbachev
, she co-founded "Za perestroiku" ("For Perestroika
"), one of the first political clubs in the USSR, and the NGO
Regionalny drazhdansky front (The Regional Civil Front). She also began self-publishing a newspaper, Stenogramma, promoting resistance to the Soviet totalitarian regime. Her husband was put under pressure to divorce her and her son was discriminated against at school.
In late 1986 she began investigating the evacuation following the Chernobyl disaster
. She and her husband travelled secretly into radiation-contaminated areas, since the newspaper she worked for had banned such activities. She concluded that evacuees from highly contaminated villages had been resettled in areas barely less contaminated; that the only available food for them was heavily irradiated, their accommodation was inadequate and their health problems were officially denied or ignored. Her article was refused for publication, but she distributed samizdat
copies.
In 1989 she was proposed as a candidate to Gorbachev's first parliament, which led to intense criticism of her in the Soviet media, and a criminal case being brought against her for her criticism of the authorities. Despite persecution of her and her supporters, meetings in her support gathered over 20,000 people and she was elected with 90.4%.
On the Ecology and Glasnost Committee of the Supreme Soviet, she continued her campaign for full disclosure of the Chernobyl contamination. In 1990 she was appointed to a Commission inquiring into Chernobyl, and made a presentation on the subject to the European Parliament. Yaroshinskaya and the Commission were systematically obstructed by bureaucrats, and she was not permitted to copy relevant documents. Despite this she succeeded in making copies of top-secret documents of the Politburo of the Central Committee
, which she summarised in an article, Forty secret protocols of the Kremlin wise men, published by Izvestia
and the Western press.
During a publicly broadcast parliamentary session, Yaroshinskaya presented Gorbachev a video cassette documenting terrible living conditions of people in areas contaminated by Chernobyl, thus breaking the information blockade on Chernobyl. She publicly released top secret reports of the Politburo of the Central Committee
. The same day, two assassination
attempts were made against her.
Yaroshinskaya initiated many democratic laws in Russia and Ukraine. Following the collapse of the USSR, she published articles criticising Gorbachev, and criticising Ukraine's transformation into a totalitarian "communist reserve". Two criminal cases were brought against her, and eventually persecution forced her and her family to emigrate to Russia.
Yaroshinskaya's political work has involved international security, including the elimination and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. As a member of the Russian Presidential Council she participated in Preparation Committees of the United Nations
(UN) in the UN Conference on Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (1995), and in the UN Women's Conference (1995).
Yaroshinskaya is founder and President of the Ecological Charity Fund, the first private ecological charity in Russia. Through the Fund she initiated creation of The Nuclear Encyclopedia, which became a reference for anti-nuclear NGOs around the Commonwealth of Independent States
.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
politician and journalist. She was a member of the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
from 1989 to 1991, Deputy to the Minister of Press and Information until 1993, and then Adviser to the Russian President Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
and member of the Russian Presidential Council. She has been a prominent campaigner for perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
and for better aid and information following the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. She was President of the Ecological Charity Fund, and is Co-chair of the Russian Ecological Congress, Chief of the Federal Council of the all-Russian Social Democratic Movement and a member of other international committees. She is author or co-author of over 20 books and over 700 articles on freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, nuclear ecology and nuclear security.
Awards
She was a 1992 recipient of the Right Livelihood AwardRight Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
in 2005 as part of the 1000 PeaceWomen
1000 PeaceWomen
1000 PeaceWomen, also known as PeaceWomen Across the Globe, is an organization based in Bern, Switzerland that aims to increase the visibility of women promoting peace all over the world...
project. She also received the Ukrainian Zolote Pero ("Gold Pen") award.
Biography
As a student at Kiev UniversityKiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
, Yaroshinskaya was a political dissident, attempting to expose party corruption, for which she was branded an "unreliable" person and suffered intimidation and administrative penalties. On one occasion the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
abducted her and tried to force her to abandon her views. Upon graduating, she worked as a correspondent for the local newspaper, The Soviet Zhitomirshchina, for 13 years.
After the election of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, she co-founded "Za perestroiku" ("For Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
"), one of the first political clubs in the USSR, and the NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Regionalny drazhdansky front (The Regional Civil Front). She also began self-publishing a newspaper, Stenogramma, promoting resistance to the Soviet totalitarian regime. Her husband was put under pressure to divorce her and her son was discriminated against at school.
In late 1986 she began investigating the evacuation following the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. She and her husband travelled secretly into radiation-contaminated areas, since the newspaper she worked for had banned such activities. She concluded that evacuees from highly contaminated villages had been resettled in areas barely less contaminated; that the only available food for them was heavily irradiated, their accommodation was inadequate and their health problems were officially denied or ignored. Her article was refused for publication, but she distributed samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
copies.
In 1989 she was proposed as a candidate to Gorbachev's first parliament, which led to intense criticism of her in the Soviet media, and a criminal case being brought against her for her criticism of the authorities. Despite persecution of her and her supporters, meetings in her support gathered over 20,000 people and she was elected with 90.4%.
On the Ecology and Glasnost Committee of the Supreme Soviet, she continued her campaign for full disclosure of the Chernobyl contamination. In 1990 she was appointed to a Commission inquiring into Chernobyl, and made a presentation on the subject to the European Parliament. Yaroshinskaya and the Commission were systematically obstructed by bureaucrats, and she was not permitted to copy relevant documents. Despite this she succeeded in making copies of top-secret documents of the Politburo of the Central Committee
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Duties and responsibilities:The...
, which she summarised in an article, Forty secret protocols of the Kremlin wise men, published by Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
and the Western press.
During a publicly broadcast parliamentary session, Yaroshinskaya presented Gorbachev a video cassette documenting terrible living conditions of people in areas contaminated by Chernobyl, thus breaking the information blockade on Chernobyl. She publicly released top secret reports of the Politburo of the Central Committee
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Politburo , known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Duties and responsibilities:The...
. The same day, two assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempts were made against her.
Yaroshinskaya initiated many democratic laws in Russia and Ukraine. Following the collapse of the USSR, she published articles criticising Gorbachev, and criticising Ukraine's transformation into a totalitarian "communist reserve". Two criminal cases were brought against her, and eventually persecution forced her and her family to emigrate to Russia.
Yaroshinskaya's political work has involved international security, including the elimination and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. As a member of the Russian Presidential Council she participated in Preparation Committees of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) in the UN Conference on Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (1995), and in the UN Women's Conference (1995).
Yaroshinskaya is founder and President of the Ecological Charity Fund, the first private ecological charity in Russia. Through the Fund she initiated creation of The Nuclear Encyclopedia, which became a reference for anti-nuclear NGOs around the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
.