Ukrainian Helsinki Group

The Ukrainian Helsinki Group (Ukrainian: Українська Гельсінська Група) was founded on November 9, 1976 as the “Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords on Human Rights” (Ukrainian: Українська громадська група сприяння виконанню гельсінських угод, Ukrayins’ka hromads’ka hrupa spryyannya vykonannyu hel’sins’kykh uhod) to monitor human rights in Ukraine. The group was active until 1981 when all members were jailed.

The group's goal was to monitor the Soviet Government's compliance with the Helsinki Accords, which ensure human rights. The members of the group based the group's legal viability on the provision in the Helsinki Final Act, Principle VII, which established the rights of individuals to know and act upon their rights and duties.

Since 1977 the Ukrainian Helsinki Group foreign affiliate began its activities with the participation of Petro Hryhorenko, Nadiya Svitlychna, Leonid Plyushch and later Nina Strokata-Karavanska Nadiya Svitlichna began to host the human rights themed radio programs on Svoboda radio.

From the very early days the group endured the repressions of Soviet authorities. In February 1977 the authorities began to arrest members of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, and within two years all the founding members were tried and sentenced to exile or imprisonment for 7 to 10 years.

At the end of 1979, six members of the group were forced to emigrate, while other Ukrainian dissidents were not allowed to do so. Soviet authorities used punitive medicine: some Ukrainian Helsinki Group members (Oksana Meshko, Vasyl Stus, Petro Sichko and his son Vasyl) were threatened with committal. Hanna Mykhailenko, who was a sympathizer of the Group, was detained in a psychiatric hospital in 1980. Bad conditions in Soviet camps and prisons caused the deaths of UHG members Oleksiy Tykhy and Vasyl Stus later on.