How were fabricated criminal charges used against Soviet dissidents in the 1960s?

Beginning in the 1960s, Soviet authorities frequently utilized the criminal justice system to suppress dissent by punishing dissidents for ordinary crimes under fabricated charges. This tactic served as a mechanism to discredit and silence those who challenged the state, moving beyond the specific political charge of "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" often used against those who published works abroad.1

By framing political opponents for common criminal offenses, the state could bypass the complexities of prosecuting ideological dissent while still effectively removing critics from society through imprisonment. This approach was part of a broader pattern of persecution against intellectuals, artists, and students who advocated for human rights and freedom of speech during the post-Stalin era. Such actions were fundamentally unjust, as they weaponized the legal system to violate the basic human rights of individuals whose only "crime" was exercising their conscience against state repression.12