Last Soviet Dissidents Stand with Today's Opponents of Putin's Fascism, Aleksandr Skobov Says

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 29 – Aleksandr Skobov, one of the last Soviet dissidents alive and unlikely to leave the Russian prison camp where he has been confined since being convicted of “justifying terrorism” has sent a letter to his wife which he clearly sees as his testament and a message to those fighting against Putin’s fascism.

            Novaya Gazeta has now published that letter with an introduction by opposition politician Leonid Gozman who describes Skobov as “not simply a hero but a sainting the direct Biblical sense” and his letter as “a fantastic document” that everyone concerned about Russia must read (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2024/07/30/podvig-skobova).

            In Gozman’s words, Skobov “avoids pathos and does not say that he has sacrificed his life for his principles although that is the case. He isn’t thinking about his influence on others … but he does want today’s young people who bear the brunt of the regime’s repression know that the Soviet dissidents are standing alongside them.”

            In short, Skobov “wants that his generation – and he is one of the last – is completed its path without betraying itself and wants to preserve his dignity and remain a human being until the last. In fact, he has already achieved that: the Russian powers that be have not destroyed him. He is the victor.”

            The key passages of Skobov’s  letter are as follows”

I belong to the generation of Soviet political dissidents. Despite its small numbers, it became a significant historical phenomenon. It has become a symbol of human resistance to violence. Influenced the international agenda.

And although I have always been a “black sheep” in this generation due to the fact that I myself am “a red,” for me, belonging to it has been the most important thing in life. There were different people in it: good and not so good, strong and weak. It had its own “wrong side”, as in any opposition “get-together” at all times. But its face was represented by large-scale personalities who became the standard of fortitude and morality.

They have all already passed away. There were only a few of us, but now there are only a few left. Our generation is in its historical place for completely natural reasons. And against the background of a new unfolding historical drama, it found herself completely on the sidelines.

They didn't touch us for a long time. They say they will die themselves. Or they will go and live on the interest from the political and moral capital they once acquired (quite deservedly). The blow fell on other people, most of them much younger.

I am skeptical about pretentious phrases about the transfer of traditions and experience. In reality, this mechanism has always worked extremely poorly. Each new generation prefers to fill its own bumps. But I want those young people who took the blow to know: the last Soviet dissidents stood next to them, were with them, shared their path with them.

I don’t know what practical benefit this will bring from the point of view of the tactical and strategic objectives of the moment. I just want this to make someone feel a little warmer. I want my generation to complete their story with this.