Svetlana Alekseevna Gannushkina (Russian: Светла́на Алексе́евна Га́ннушкина, born 6 March 1942) is a mathematician and human rights activist in Russia who was reported to have been a serious contender for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.[1]

Svetlana Gannushkina in 2019

Gannushkina became well-known in Russia as a human rights defender in 1990s when many conflicts broke in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Her human rights work dedicated especially to help refugees, internally displaced persons, victims of war.[2]

Early life and education

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Gannushkina was born in Moscow on March 6, 1942. She graduated from the Moscow State University's Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics.[3]

Work

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Gannushkina worked for many years as a professor of mathematics at the Russian State University for the Humanities.[3] In 1990, she helped to found the Civic Assistance Committee (Komitet Grazhdanskoe Sodeistvie), an NGO which campaigns for human rights, particularly with regard to immigrants and refugees in Russian society.[4] Since 2015, the organization is labelled a "foreign agent" by the Russian government.[4]

Gannushkina was a member of Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights until 2011.[3][5] She is also on the council of Memorial, a society dedicated to the remembrance of victims of Soviet repression.

Gannushkina is a member of the Yabloko Federal Political Committee.[6]

Awards

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  • 2016 Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as "Alternative Nobel Prize", in Stockholm, Sweden, "for her decades-long commitment to promoting human rights and justice for refugees and forced migrants, and tolerance among different ethnic groups".[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Internet 'in running' for Nobel Peace Prize". BBC News. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  2. ^ Liubakova, Hanna (20 December 2018). ""We don't need the State Department to hold a revolution"". opendemocracy.net. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Светлана Ганнушкина: «У меня, что называется, дурная привычка лезть в чужие дела»". president-sovet.ru. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b The Nobel Peace Prize: Who will win this year?, BBC News (6 October 2016)
  5. ^ "Human Rights Defender in Russia: Svetlana Alekseevna Gannushkina". Amnesty International. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Федеральный политический комитет". Партия Яблоко (in Russian). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Previous Recipients of the Homo Homini Award". People in Need. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Svetlana Gannushkina | The Right Livelihood Award". www.rightlivelihoodaward.org. Retrieved 14 May 2018.