Semen Fisheliovych Gluzman

Semen Fisheliovych Gluzman, a courageous Ukrainian psychiatrist and unwavering human rights activist, passed away on February 16, 2026, at the age of 79 in Kyiv, Ukraine. His life was a testament to the power of conscience against totalitarianism, as he famously challenged the Soviet Union's political abuse of psychiatry. Gluzman's principled stand, which led to his own imprisonment, cemented his legacy as a moral authority and a tireless advocate for human dignity and ethical medical practice.

Born in Kyiv, Gluzman graduated from the Kyiv Medical Institute in 1968. His early career was marked by a profound commitment to medical ethics, which soon put him at odds with the Soviet regime. In 1971, he authored a groundbreaking in-absentia psychiatric report on General Petro Grigorenko, a prominent dissident, concluding that Grigorenko was mentally sane and had been confined for political reasons. This act of professional integrity was a direct challenge to the state's weaponization of psychiatry.

His defiance came at a great personal cost. In May 1972, Gluzman was arrested and subsequently sentenced to seven years in a strict-regime labor camp and three years in Siberian exile for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda." Even while imprisoned, he continued his resistance, notably co-authoring "A Manual on Psychiatry for Dissidents" with Vladimir Bukovsky between 1973 and 1974, a crucial guide exposing the mechanisms of repressive psychiatry.

Following his release from exile in 1982, Gluzman remained in Ukraine, continuing his fight for human rights despite ongoing harassment. With the fall of the Soviet Union, he became a pivotal figure in reforming Ukrainian psychiatry. In 1991, he founded the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, serving as its president and working to integrate Ukrainian psychiatry into the international professional community and establish ethical standards.

Throughout his life, Gluzman received numerous accolades for his unwavering commitment to ethical psychiatry and human rights, including being named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1980, even while still imprisoned. In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Geneva Prize for Human Rights in Psychiatry. Semen Gluzman's life stands as a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit and the vital importance of professional integrity in the face of oppression.