Vitaliy Kalynychenko ( uk, Віталій Калиниченко, January 31, 1938 - April 27, 2017) was a member of the

Ukrainian Helsinki Group The Ukrainian Helsinki Group ( uk, 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" ( uk, Українс ...

. Kalynychenko's first transgression of Soviet law was his nonagreement to work for the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

. He was approached in 1964 to act as an informant, but his unwillingness to do so caused him to be arrested by a fellow student in 1965. He was released without charge, and worked in Leningrad as an electrical engineer.

Arrest and Sentencing

On July 20, 1966, Kalynychenko was caught trying to flee to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. He was taken to Moscow, where, according to standard Soviet procedure, his mental state was examined. He was ruled sane by the Serbsky Institute of General and Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow, and stood trial. On January 12, 1967, Kalynychenko was charged with "attempting to betray his homeland", and was sentenced to 10 years in a harsh regime labour camp. Kalynychenko protested to his sentence on the grounds that he had not been sentenced for trying to cross a border illegally, but rather that he was a political prisoner. In 1974, he sent an open letter in that effect to the presidium of the USSR (with a copy going to the United Nations).

Ukrainian Helsinki Group

Kalynychenko joined the

on October 3, 1977. Between October 17 and 27, 1977, Kalynychenko went on a hunger strike, demanding to be allowed to emigrate from the USSR. On October 23, 1977, Kalynychenko sent a letter to the Supreme Soviet denouncing Soviet citizenship, military ticket, and university degree. On April 7, 1978, Kalynychenko was arrested for Hooliganism. At the time, "hooliganism" was an umbrella term used by authorities to chastise non-membership in the communist party. Kalynychenko could not find work, and appealed to the authorities for assistance.

Second Arrest

On November 29, 1979, Kalynychenko was arrested a second time, and charged with distributing information of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, as well as Anti Soviet Agitation and Propaganda (for his denouncement of Soviet Citizenship)."Права человека в России"
''Human rights network'', in Russian On May 16, 1980, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Court ruled that Kalynychenko was a repeat offender and he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 5 years exile.

Pardon during Glasnost

On April 7, 1988, Kalynychenko was pardoned by the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR. He was released on April 18, 1988.

Emigration to the US

In 1989, Kalynychenko and his wife Yaryna emigrated to the United States. He lived in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, until his death on April 27, 2017, at a senior care facility in Silver Spring, Maryland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalynychenko, Vitaliy 1938 births 2017 deaths Soviet dissidents Ukrainian human rights activists Soviet human rights activists Soviet rehabilitations Ukrainian politicians before 1991 Recipients of Soviet pardons People from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Soviet emigrants to the United States Ukrainian Helsinki Group