Ogorodnikov Alexander

Witness of the Gulag Deportations, Russian Federation

Was born in Russia in1950. Since he was young, he has committed himself to defending human rights and freedom of conscience.
In 1974 he founded a “Christian Seminar for Religious Renaissance Issues”, a first attempt to give life to an independent Christian social movement. For that reason, he was arrested by the Council for State Security(KGB). Sentenced for anti-Soviet propaganda and agitation, he was convict in a prison camp.
After his liberation in 1987, he has been intensively campaigning for human rights and freedom of conscience. He has set up various social projects and solidarity activities in aid of the poor living in Moscow, such as street children, homeless people, abandoned youth in difficulty.