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Ludmila Alexeeva, 82 years old, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group
Moscow, Russia
March 31, 2010
After placing flowers at the Park Kultura subway station where 12 people where killed by a terrorist bomb the day before Ludmila Alexeeva, 82 is struck in the head by Konstantin Pereverzev 31 year old Orthodox Patriot who yelled, "Are you still alive bitch", before hitting her.
She is Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, is the doyenne of Russia's human rights community. Thirty years ago, she was one of the original Soviet-era dissidents who spoke out against repression. Today, she is not afraid to raise her voice in the renewed fight for rights in Russia, including criticizing policies on hate crimes as well as the war in Chechnya, and is a mentor to the new generation of dissidents. Alexeeva published the seminal book Soviet Dissent in 1985. She also served as President of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights - an umbrella group of human rights organizations from 38 countries -- from 1999 to 2004.
