Larisa Arap (russian: Лари́са Ива́новна Ара́п; born in 1958) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

who became a

victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

involuntary commitment Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qualified agent to have symptoms of severe mental disorder is detained in a psychiatric hos ...

in the psychiatric facilities of

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

and

Apatity Apatity ( rus, Апатиты, p=əpɐˈtʲitɨ, lit. apatites) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located along the Murman Railway, west of Kirovsk and south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. The town is named after one o ...

, soon after publishing her article about mistreatment of patients in the same hospital where she was committed in July, 2007. She was released after 46 days of confinement, on August 20, 2007.

Publication

Arap’s story, entitled “Durdom” (“Madhouse”), was prepared by journalist Ilona Novikova and published on June 8, 2007 in the

edition of the newspaper "Marsh Nesoglasnykh" (named after the "

Dissenters' March The Dissenters' March (russian: Марш несогласных) was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14 for t ...

"). The newspaper is a part of the

United Civil Front United Civil Front (UCF; russian: Объединённый гражданский фронт; ОГФ; ''Obyedinonnyy grazhdanskiy front'', ''OGF'') is a social movement in Russia founded and led by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. In 2006–20 ...

, an opposition coalition led by former world chess champion

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

. Her story described crimes that allegedly took place at the

psychiatric facility, including the following:Ilona Novikova "Madhouse"

br>Илона Новикова. "Дурдом": Рассказ Ларисы Арап о карательной медицине
(''tr. "Ilona Novikova. "Madhouse": Larisa Arap's story about punitive medicine "'') ''www.kasparov.ru'' Putin critic tells of her mental hospital ordeal
By Alastair Gee,

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 22 August 2007 * Murder of mental patients in order to harvest their organs for transplantation. * Forcing children to kiss and massage the legs of staff members at the hospital; children who refused were punished by

electroshock Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...

'therapy'. *

Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

of people in the psychiatric wards. * Keeping sane but 'inconvenient' people in the hospital, such as a woman who complained about the rape of her daughter, or another woman who was imprisoned in the Apatity

psikhushka Psikhushka (russian: психу́шка; ) is a Russian ironic diminutive for psychiatric hospital. In Russia, the word entered everyday vocabulary. This word has been occasionally used in English, since the Soviet dissident movement and diaspora ...

to enable confiscation of her property.

Involuntary hospitalization

On July 5, 2007, Arap went to a clinic in the

closed city A closed city or closed town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research ins ...

Severomorsk Severomorsk (russian: Северомо́рск), known as Vayenga () until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast ...

for the results of a

medical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally consists of a series of questions about the patient ...

, which she had passed a month earlier to renew her

driver’s license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

. Doctor Olga Reshet asked her whether she was the author of the "Madhouse" article. After receiving a confirmation from Arap that she was indeed the author, Dr. Reshet told her to wait outside and called

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...

(Russian police), who detained Arap until the arrival of a psychiatric ambulance. Arap was injected with drugs that caused her tongue to swell, weakened her, and affected her vision and balance, according to her relatives. The detention was illegal, since a decision of a judge authorizing her detention and treatment was issued subsequently, thirteen days later. Using her mobile phone, Arap called her husband, Dmitri Tereshin, who came from

to help her, but she had already been moved to

. The personnel of the facility refused to give her husband information regarding the reason for the hospitalization. That same evening, their daughter Taisiya came to the facility with her husband. The duty medic, Yulya Kopyia, told them that publication of the article "Madhouse" proved Arap's

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

. Kopyia also said that Taisiya would be put into the psychiatric hospital, too, if she insisted on obtaining documents relating to Arap's hospitalization. Taisiya was later fired from her job in a local bank for "giving too many interviews about her mother." Two days later, on July 7, 2007, Arap’s husband and daughter were allowed to visit her at the hospital. Arap claimed that she was severely beaten by the medical personnel and had bruises all over her body. She was tied to her bed and treated with unidentified '

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

s'. To protest, Arap went on a five-day

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

, and was eventually fed by force.

Court decision

On July 18, 2007, a court in Murmansk sanctioned hospitalization of Arap. The court ignored requests from Arap's husband and daughter to release her. Relatives insisted that she was not a danger to herself or society. Svetlana Lukicheva, Arap's advocate, submitted the complaint to the Regional Court. Arap's husband forwarded the complaint to the regional court and regional health care institutions.

Commission

On July 30, 2007,

Vladimir Lukin Senator Vladimir Petrovich Lukin, sometimes (rarely and erroneously) Lokin, (russian: Влади́мир Петро́вич Луки́н; born 13 July 1937, in Omsk) is a Russian politician who served as Human Rights Commissioner of Russia from F ...

chose an "expert commission" headed by

Yuri Savenko Yuri Sergeevich Savenko (russian: Ю́рий Серге́евич Саве́нко) is a Russian psychiatrist, the president since 1989 of the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia. He is also a member of the Council of Experts of the Rus ...

, president of the

Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia The Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia (IPA) (russian: Незави́симая психиатри́ческая ассоциа́ция Росси́и) is the sole Russian non-governmental professional organization that makes non-forens ...

, to investigate Arap's hospitalization. According to Yuri Savenko, the forceful hospitalization of Arap was completely unwarranted. At the same time he said that Arap "showed signs of mental instability" and that Arap admitted to being briefly hospitalized for

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

and

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

in 2004. Savenko explained his assessment of the situation as follows: "We studied medical documents and materials related to the case, and spent an hour and a half with her. The result was that we came to the conclusion that we're dealing with a person who is in fact ill. There are no 'politics' behind this. However, the politicization of our entire life is such that these patients become the first victims of the situation." He also said that "We're returning to this Soviet scenario when psychiatric institutions are used as punitive instruments," and added that "I call this not even punitive psychiatry but police psychiatry, when the main aim is to protect the state rather than to treat sick people."Grigory Pasko: You Can't Understand Russia with the Mind, Part 2
,

Grigory Pasko Grigory Mikhailovich Pasko (''Григо́рий Миха́йлович Пасько'', born 19 May 1962, Kreshchenovka, Ukraine) is a military Russian journalist, Amnesty International-designated prisoner of conscience, and founding editor of ' ...

, March 26, 2008

Release

Arap was released from the hospital on August 20, but she was forced to sign an agreement to continue medical treatment, and wait for the next decision of the court. According to her, she was severely beaten and suffered spine damage in the hospital.Arap's story of spinal damage
21 August 2007 ''www.grani.ru'' accessed 13 March 2022 She was told by doctors during her release that ''"Everything in the court is under our control. Doctors, police, and prosecutors are the same team. You have nowhere to go. ... We are letting you go, but you must think about your family."'' The decision of court about the involuntary hospitalization of Arap remains in force. After her release, Arap, who had previously suffered only from mild depression, described her ordeal:

References

External links

CPJ.org
- 'Writer forcibly hospitalized in Russia', an official statement by the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

(August 14, 2007)
E1.ru (Russian language)
- Photo copied documents in the case of Larisa Arap
EJ.ru (original publication, in Russian)
- 'The triumph of punitive psychiatry in Murmansk', Alexandr Podrabinek, ''Ezhednevnyj Zhurnal'' (August 9, 2007)
Activist tells about torture and captivity
By David R. Sands, October 16, 2007,

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

Rights Activist Tells of Detention In Russian Psychiatric Institutions
By Nora Boustany,

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, October 22, 2007 *
EVasiljeva.LiveJournal.com (Russian)
- E. Vasilyev, a confidant of Larissa Arap
FSUMonitor.com
- 'Soviet Practice Of Institutionalizing Dissidents Revived', an official statement by the

Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (UCSJ) is a non-governmental organization that reports on the human rights conditions in countries throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, exposing hate crimes and assisting communities in ...

, ''Bigotry Monitor'' (August 10, 2007)
Grani.ru (Russian)
- List of publications related to Larisa Arap :

- 'Slowgoing crime', Valeria Novodvorskaya
Msk.ru (Russian)
- Julija Latynina "access code" radio ''Echo of Moscow''
Telegraph.co.uk
- 'Labelled mad for daring to criticise the Kremlin', Adrian Blomfield, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' (August 14, 2007)
Times.co.uk
- 'Putin brings back mental ward torment', Mark Franchetti (August 26, 2007)
Larisa Arap ''Unprovable''
- Her story

Agentura.ru
- Psychiatric abuse in the USSR (Historical survey, in Russian)
Advances in the History of Psychology
- Psychiatric abuse in the USSR (Historical survey, in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Arap, Larisa 1958 births Living people Political abuse of psychiatry in Russia Russian political activists Scandals in Russia Violence against women in Russia