90th anniversary of human rights activist Yuri Orlov
On 13 August 2014, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Ella Pamfilova congratulated Yury Orlov, founder and the first chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), on his 90th anniversary.
Ms Pamfilova underlined the historical significance of the MHG and the direct role of Yury Orlov in the settlement and development of the human rights movement in Russia – from illegal organisations fighting for human rights and freedoms, persecuted by the state in the past, to the state institution nowadays.
The current chairperson of the MHG Lyudmila Alexeeva and other reputed representatives of the Russian and international human rights movement spoke about the problems the founders faced in 1976 when creating the Moscow Helsinki Group, and about the work they currently dealt with concerning implementation of the human rights constitutional norms.