Human rights in the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was a socialist federation where members of the Communist Party held all key positions in the institutions of the state and other organizations. Civil and political rights were severely limited and the entire population was mobilized in support of the state ideology and policies. Independent political activities were not tolerated, including the involvement of people with free labour unions, private corporations, non-sanctioned churches or opposition political parties. The state's proclaimed adherence to Marxism-Leninism restricted any rights of citizens to private property. Yet this situation, as the Soviet human rights activists of the 1960s pointed out, was in direct contrast to the formal provisions of the 1936 Constitution, in operation until the late 1970s. This guaranteed, among others, the right to freedom of assembly and association.

The regime maintained itself in political power by means of the secret police, propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, personality cult, restriction of free discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, political purges and persecution of specific groups of people. In the new 1977 Constitution the Party was, for the first time, openly and formally declared the leading force in the country.

According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.", including the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.

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