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A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When individual dissidents unite in a common cause they may become known as a dissident movement
Political movement

A political movement is a social movement working in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group....
. Early examples are the prophet Amos
Amos (prophet)

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and putative author of the speeches reported in the Book of Amos. The only direct information about him comes from this book....
 and Jeremiah
Jeremiah

Jeremiah was one of the 'greater prophet' of the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth.His writings are put together in the Book of Jeremiah and, according to tradition, the Book of Lamentations....
 who held the rich and powerful cognitive elite
Cognitive elite

The cognitive elite of a society, according to some social science researchers, are those having higher intelligence levels and thus better prospects for success in life....
 to account. Modern dissidents such as Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an United States linguistics, philosopher, cognitive science, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor emeritus and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 hold positions in the education sector and frequently give lectures to express their critical views on government policy and the ruling class
Ruling class

The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy.The ruling class is a particular sector of the upper class that adheres to quite specific circumstances: it has both the most material wealth and the most widespread influence over all the other classes, and it choo...
.

term dissident was used in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 during the period of 1965-1985, including Brezhnev stagnation
Brezhnev stagnation

Period of stagnation , also known as Brezhnevian Stagnation , the Stagnation Period, or the Era of Stagnation , refers to a period of socio-economic slowdown under Leonid Brezhnev in the history of the Soviet Union that started in the mid-1970s....
, for citizens who overtly (or sometimes even subtly) criticized the practices or the authority of the Communist party.






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A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When individual dissidents unite in a common cause they may become known as a dissident movement
Political movement

A political movement is a social movement working in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group....
. Early examples are the prophet Amos
Amos (prophet)

Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and putative author of the speeches reported in the Book of Amos. The only direct information about him comes from this book....
 and Jeremiah
Jeremiah

Jeremiah was one of the 'greater prophet' of the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth.His writings are put together in the Book of Jeremiah and, according to tradition, the Book of Lamentations....
 who held the rich and powerful cognitive elite
Cognitive elite

The cognitive elite of a society, according to some social science researchers, are those having higher intelligence levels and thus better prospects for success in life....
 to account. Modern dissidents such as Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an United States linguistics, philosopher, cognitive science, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor emeritus and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 hold positions in the education sector and frequently give lectures to express their critical views on government policy and the ruling class
Ruling class

The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy.The ruling class is a particular sector of the upper class that adheres to quite specific circumstances: it has both the most material wealth and the most widespread influence over all the other classes, and it choo...
.

Soviet dissidents

The term dissident was used in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 during the period of 1965-1985, including Brezhnev stagnation
Brezhnev stagnation

Period of stagnation , also known as Brezhnevian Stagnation , the Stagnation Period, or the Era of Stagnation , refers to a period of socio-economic slowdown under Leonid Brezhnev in the history of the Soviet Union that started in the mid-1970s....
, for citizens who overtly (or sometimes even subtly) criticized the practices or the authority of the Communist party. The people who used to write, tear and who distributed non-censored non-conformist literature samizdat
Samizdat

Samizdat was the clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature or other media in Soviet-bloc countries. Copies were made a few at a time, and those who received a copy would be expected to make more copies....
 were criticized in the newspapers. It was common to criticize an author in newspapers without publishing any of his works. Then, many people accepted the term dissident with respect to themselves. This radically changed the meaning of the term: instead of meaning a criminal, who opposes society, the term came to mean a non-conformist, who insists on the enforcement of officially published laws, including the international agreements, signed by the Soviet government. An important part of the activity of dissidents was informing society (Both inside the Soviet Union and in foreign countries) about violation of laws and human rights: see Chronicle of Current Events (samizdat) and Moscow Helsinki Group
Moscow Helsinki Group

The Moscow Helsinki Group is a pathbreaking and influential human rights monitoring non-governmental organization, originally started in what was then the Soviet Union; it still operates in Russia....
.

American dissidents

The term "dissident" has been used to described authors and activists who criticize the United States government. Examples include Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an United States linguistics, philosopher, cognitive science, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor emeritus and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 and Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn is a professor, political science, history, Social criticism, democratic socialist, activist and playwright, best known as author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States....
.

See also

  • List of Chinese dissidents
    List of Chinese dissidents

    This list consists of these activists who are known as Chinese dissidents.There are also a large number of Chinese who claim to be dissidents and seek to defect, usually to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand....
  • List of Singaporean dissidents
    List of Singaporean dissidents

    This is a list of Singaporean political dissidents.*Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam*Chee Soon Juan*Vincent Cheng *Chia Thye Poh*Francis Seow*Tan Wah Piow...
  • Dissent
    Dissent

    'Dissent' is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to an idea or an entity . The term's antonyms include ...


External links

  • Free dictionary, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dissident
  • Dissident Movement. Russian History Encyclopedia, http://www.answers.com/topic/dissident-movement