The Trial of the Four
| Native name | Процесс четырех |
|---|---|
| Date | January 8–12, 1968 |
| Location | Moscow |
| Also known as | Galanskov–Ginzburg trial |
| Cause | Samizdat publications |
| Participants |
Yuri Galanskov Alexander Ginzburg Alexey Dobrovolsky Vera Lashkova |
| Charges | Anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda (Article 70 of the RSFSR Criminal Code) |
| Verdict | Sentenced to labour camps: Galanskov (7 years); Ginzburg (5 years); Dobrovolsky (2 years); Lashkova (1 year) |
The Trial of the Four, also Galanskov–Ginzburg trial, was the 1968 trial of Yuri Galanskov, Alexander Ginzburg, Alexey Dobrovolsky and Vera Lahkova for their involvement in samizdat publications. The trial took place in Moscow City Court on January 8–12. All four defendants were sentenced to terms in labour camps. The trial played a major part in consolidating the emerging human rights movement in the Soviet Union.
Yury Galanskov was a second-year student at the Historical Archives Institute and worked at the State Literary Museum in Moscow. From 1959 onwards he took part in readings by young poets in Mayakovsky Square. His poems were published in Sintaksis, a typescript poetry anthology edited by Alexander Ginzburg. In 1966, Galanskov compiled and issued the typewritten literary collection Phoenix-66.
Alexander Ginzburg was a first-year student at the Historical Archives Institute who also worked at the State Literary Museum. In 1959–1960 he helped to organize several unofficial exhibitions of young artists. In 1960, Ginzburg had been sentenced to two years in labour camps in connection with issuing three issues of his Sintaksis poetry collections. Ginzburg put together a collection of materials on the case and trial of writers Sinyavsky and Daniel (later called White Book), and in November 1966 sent copies to deputies of the USSR Supreme Soviet and to the KGB.
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