Why did the KGB harass human rights advocates in the Soviet Union?

The KGB, established in 1954 as the "sword and shield of the Communist Party," harassed human rights advocates because it functioned as the regime's primary instrument of political control and surveillance.12

By the late 1960s, the agency was tasked with monitoring and suppressing individuals deemed disloyal to the Soviet system, including intellectuals, religious activists, and those advocating for human rights. The Soviet leadership, particularly under Leonid Brezhnev, feared that the activities of these dissidents—such as the distribution of samizdat literature or communication with the West regarding state abuses—would undermine the legitimacy of the Communist regime.23

To maintain this authority, the KGB systematically harassed, arrested, and exiled critics, often utilizing the legal system to commit them to psychiatric institutions or imprison them on false criminal charges. This repression was fundamentally an effort to silence opposition and preserve the ideological and bureaucratic purity of the state.24