Sakharov Network

Anatoli Marchenko (1938-1986), one of the former Soviet Union's best-known dissidents, died in Chistopol prison in December 1986 as the result of a hunger strike after more than 20 years in prison. He was a member of the group founded in 1975 to campaign for compliance with the Helsinki Final Act, particularly the clauses relating to the human dimension, security and cooperation.

He revealed the truth about the Soviet labour camps and prisons, but this earned him a prison sentence for anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda.

'The only way to fight the prevailing evil and illegality is, in my view, to know the truth.'