Yuri Schmidt

Yuri Markovich Schmidt (Russian: Ю́рий Ма́ркович Шмидт; 10 May 1937 – 12 January 2013) was a Russian human rights lawyer known for defending dissidents since the 1970s.

Schmidt was born in Leningrad. He was a member of the Mikhail Khodorkovsky defense team from 2004, and headed the legal team for several years. He died in 2013 in St. Petersburg[1] following a long battle with cancer. He was 75 years old.[1]

Early life

Yuri Schmidt was born in Leningrad on May 10, 1937, while the USSR was going through the period of the Stalinist great purge. His father, declared as the "enemy of the people", was imprisoned in the gulag for 19 years shortly after Schmidt was born.[1] Schmidt began studying law and graduated from Saint Petersburg State University in 1960.[1]

Career

He was not one of the lawyers considered "reliable" by the regime and pleaded in criminal proceedings for 30 years. In 1986, Schmidt was struck off the bar association. After pleading his case, he was reinstated a year later.[2]

References
  1. Roth, Andrew (2013-01-17). "Yuri M. Schmidt, Rights Lawyer in Russia, Dies at 75". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  2. Mort de Iouri Schmidt, avocat russe des droits de l'homme


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