Late Lyudmila Alexeyeva Personified Freedom, Democratic Changes In Russia - Medvedev

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2018) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes that late Lyudmila Alexeyeva fought for her principles until the end and was not afraid to talk about taboo topics, being not just a human rights activist, but the personification of freedom and democratic changes in Russia.

Late on Saturday, the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights said that Alexeyeva, who was the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, had died at age 91 in Moscow.

"Her name was not simply associated with human rights activities - for many, Lyudmila Mikhailovna became the personification of freedom and democratic changes in Russia. She was not afraid to speak when others were silent. She fiercely fought for her principles when others gave up," the prime minister wrote on Facebook.

Medvedev noted that the human rights activist had to go through many hardships, but she always lived with her head held high and a crystal clear conscience.

For her, there were no taboo topics and any authority other than the authority of the law, he stressed.

"Lyudmila Mikhailovna is no longer with us. This is a great loss for relatives and friends, for the entire human rights movement of our country. My condolences," he concluded.

Russian Federation Council chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko sent a telegram with condolences to the Moscow Helsinki Group, calling the late activist a prominent public figure and a patriot of Russia.

"I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of one of our country's oldest human rights defenders, Lyudmila Alexeyeva. A bright public figure, a wise and decent person, Lyudmila Mikhailovna was a true patriot of Russia," Matviyenko said.

Alexeyeva has seen difficult times, but she was able to do a lot of important and good deeds, Matviyenko noted.

"She was strong, extremely responsible and sincere, and she will remain in our memory," the senator concluded.

The death of Lyudmila Alexeyeva is an irreplaceable loss for Russia and the human rights movement in the country, the head of the Russian State Duma's committee on legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov told Sputnik.

"I want to say that this is an irreplaceable loss, because this person is actually a whole epoch, many have not even been born yet, and she has already been involved in human rights activities since the 1970s, when they just began," he said.

She was always in a whirlwind of these events and defended fellow citizens all the time, Krasheninnikov concluded.

Alexeyeva was a prominent Soviet dissident and one of the founding members of the Moscow Helsinki Group, which was aimed at monitoring the Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. She continued to be an active rights defendant to her last day.