Semen Gluzman Has Died
Ukrainian human rights defender, psychiatrist, and former political prisoner Semen Fishilevich Gluzman died on February 16, 2026, at the age of 80. His passing was announced by his friend Lesia Kharchenko. Gluzman was born in 1946 in Kyiv into a family of doctors. His death marks the loss of a pivotal figure in the struggle against Soviet-era oppression.
Legacy in the Human Rights Movement
Gluzman first gained international recognition in 1972 when he was sentenced to seven years in a strict-regime labor camp and three years of exile for exposing the Soviet Union's systematic use of punitive psychiatry to silence dissent. While imprisoned, he served his sentence alongside prominent dissidents, including:
- Vasyl Stus
- Ivan Svitlychny
- Levko Lukyanenko
One of his most significant achievements was an independent, long-distance forensic psychiatric examination in the case of General Petro Grigorenko, through which Gluzman conclusively proved that Grigorenko was mentally sound. This work was instrumental in a global campaign that led to the expulsion of the Soviet psychiatric association from the World Psychiatric Association, a landmark victory for human rights. His courageous activism forced the international community to confront the truth about systematic abuses within the Soviet system.
Gluzman's passing has resonated deeply within human rights circles and among those engaged with Ukraine's history. His lifelong fight for human dignity and his exposure of the Soviet psychiatric system's crimes will be remembered as a crucial chapter in the development of democratic values in Ukraine. A symbol of resilience and unwavering principle in the face of repression, his legacy will continue to inspire new generations of activists worldwide.