S. S. Alexeyev on Law and Human Rights in the Era of Drastic Changes

The author reviews S. S. Alexeyev’s scholarly views concerning the relations between the individual and the Soviet state from the power and submission perspective, and also assurance of individual’s and citizen’s rights and legitimate interests. Taking into account that the state’s key functions are exercise of power and governance in the society, i.e. making an impact on the society in a certain way to achieve specific results, the purpose of the intended research is identifying the relation between the legal impact made by the state and the individual’s legal position in such a state and a society, as well as assessing the actual assurance of human rights and freedoms. To achieve the established goal, systemic and historical method of legal research were applied. The research findings demonstrate that the political and legal regime implemented in the Soviet Russia did not achieve the originally declared goals, while the actual legal conditions under which Soviet citizens had to exist only suppressed and infringed upon the individual, whose rights and freedom had no actual assurance. It is argued that transformations of political and legal nature in the last decade of the 20th century are a legitimate consequence of the preceding events, since it is the law that makes human freedom real and assured.