Michaš Kukabaka (also known as Mikhail Kukobaka; born 1936) is a Soviet Belarusian dissident described as „the last Soviet political prisoner in the USSR“.

Early years

Kukabaka was born in Babrujsk, Soviet Belarus. He grew up in an orphanage, as his father was killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and his mother died after the war. He graduated from a vocational school.

Dissident activities

In 1968, he publicly declared his disagreement with the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops and handed over his article condemning the invasion to the Deputy Consul General of Czechoslovakia asking him to forward it to the West. 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 his Soviet citizenship. In 1978 he wrote an essay ''The Stolen Fatherland'', dedicated to the ongoing

russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

of Soviet Belarus. The essay was smuggled to the West, read out by the radio station ''

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

'' and published in various émigré publications. For this essay, Kukabaka was accused by the Soviet authorities of distorting "Leninist national policy."

Persecution and support

Kukabaka was first arrested in 1970 and endured a total of approximately 17 years in prisons, compulsory mental hospitals and labour camps. He refused to write petitions for clemency. Academician

Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet Physics, physicist and a List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world. Alt ...

did a lot to inform the public and assess the situation of Kukabaka, with other Soviet dissidents

Viktor Nekipelov Viktor Aleksandrovich Nekipelov (, 29 September 1928 – 1 July 1989) was a Soviet Russian poet, writer, Soviet dissident, and a member of the Moscow Helsinki Group. He spent about nine years in prison for his participation in the Moscow Hels ...

, Grigory Podyapolsky and Maria Petrenko also expressing their support. A public campaign was organised in the West in defence of Kukabaka, with publications in

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, and programmes by

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. The Belarusian diaspora in the United States created the "Committee of Prisoners of Conscience in Belarus“, with the Belarusian diaspora in other countries also active in expressing their support. Trade unions in England and Denmark protested against his incarceration. US Congressman Bill Green highlighted Kukabaka's story in a special note addressed to the Congress, with Senator Robert Dole also supporting the prisoner.

Release and life after it

In 1988 Kukabaka was the last prisoner convicted under the article "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda". He was ultimately pardoned and released on 2 December of that year. He continued his human rights activities after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, in particular, was critical of the political regimes in Russia and Belarus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukabaka, Michaš 1936 births Living people People from Babruysk Political prisoners in former countries Belarusian prisoners and detainees Belarusian dissidents