Holding demonstrations on the steps of the Lenin Library was a traditional practice for Jewish activists since the mid-1970s. There was a break during the first half of the 1980s, but during perestroika they resumed. What does the USSR’s largest library have to do with conscientious objectors? The choice of place was not accidental. First, the library is situated in the center of the city where there are many foreign tourists. Second, the steps of the library form a natural podium. But the main reason is that this place is situated in front of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Among its functions was the deprivation of citizenship of those who had emigrated from the USSR. Usually not more than a couple dozen people picketed with slogans such as “visas instead of prisons”. Moreover, a number of demonstrations were devoted to “prisoners of Zion,” including the defendants in the famous “hijacking affair” of 1970 (when a group of Jews attempted to hijack a plane).
The picketing lasted for just a few minutes, and afterwards the participants were detained and in some cases taken into custody for 10–15 days. In most cases, however, everything was resolved through discussion.
Demands to leave the USSR were not only particular to Jews. In 1981, a group of women belonging to a Pentecostal movement (one of the branches of Protestantism) organized a thematic protest.
Of course, our audio tour could not include all places of protest. You can read more about the places picketed by conscientious objectors and about what happened on Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy gory) on the website topos.memo.ru.
