Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Encyclopedia
Catherine Ann "Cathy" Fitzpatrick (born 1956), also known under her virtual worlds pseudonym "Prokofy Neva", is an American human rights activist, Russian-English translator, journalist, blogger on human rights issues, Russia and virtual worlds, anti-communist, and critic of the open source
movement. She has a emerged as a critic of Wikileaks
. She is based in New York.
She has worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where she was the editor of the weekly radio magazine "(Un)Civil Societies" from 2003 She has been the Executive Director of the International League for Human Rights
, the program director for the former Soviet countries, as well as the UN representative of the International League for Human Rights.
In the 1990s, she worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists
, the Soros Foundation
(Open Society Institute), the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
, and the Ford Foundation
in Moscow. She was research director for what is now Human Rights Watch
' European and Central Asian Division from 1981 to 1990.
She studied at the University of Toronto
, St. Michael's College
and Leningrad State University, where she graduated in 1979.
Fitzpatrick lectures on civil society, political movements and humanitarian issues in Eurasia. She is a strong critic of human rights abuses in the former Soviet Union, and of communism, which she likens to fascism. She is currently a freelance writer and translator specializing in human rights issues in the former Soviet Union.
Catherine Fitzpatrick has also been involved with virtual world
s for several years. She was a resident of the city of Alphaville in The Sims Online
, under the avatar name "Dyerbrook". Since 2004, she has been a resident of Second Life
, under the avatar name "Prokofy Neva". She has also been a journalist for The Alphaville Herald
, a blogger on virtual worlds (particularly Second Life), and an outspoken critic of Linden Lab
, the company that runs Second Life, and was the Alphaville Herald "Avatar of the Year" in 2005. Fitzpatrick owns a large number of simulators in Second Life and rents out virtual land As a blogger on virtual worlds, she is strongly critical of the open source
movement, which she describes as "technocommunism". Fitzpatrick was also a strong critic of the Second Life presence of Woodbury University
, a California university maintaining a virtual campus in Second Life, and whose students and professors she accused of being "griefers".
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
movement. She has a emerged as a critic of Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
. She is based in New York.
She has worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where she was the editor of the weekly radio magazine "(Un)Civil Societies" from 2003 She has been the Executive Director of the International League for Human Rights
International League for Human Rights
The International League for Human Rights is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City.Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human rights advocates who risk their lives to promote the ideals of a...
, the program director for the former Soviet countries, as well as the UN representative of the International League for Human Rights.
In the 1990s, she worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
, the Soros Foundation
Soros Foundation
A Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundations, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, which fund volunteer socio-political activity, created by George Soros, international financier and self-proclaimed philanthropist, and coordinated since early 1994 by a management team called the...
(Open Society Institute), the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a charitable foundation founded in 1926 by Charles Stewart Mott of Flint, Michigan. Mott was the leading industrialist in Flint through his association with General Motors....
, and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
in Moscow. She was research director for what is now Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
' European and Central Asian Division from 1981 to 1990.
She studied at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, St. Michael's College
St. Michael's College
St. Michael's College may refer to:* Saint Michael's College, a private liberal arts college located in Colchester, Vermont, USA* St Michael's College, Adelaide, Australia, a private Roman Catholic primary and secondary school founded by the Lasallian Brothers* St...
and Leningrad State University, where she graduated in 1979.
Fitzpatrick lectures on civil society, political movements and humanitarian issues in Eurasia. She is a strong critic of human rights abuses in the former Soviet Union, and of communism, which she likens to fascism. She is currently a freelance writer and translator specializing in human rights issues in the former Soviet Union.
Catherine Fitzpatrick has also been involved with virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
s for several years. She was a resident of the city of Alphaville in The Sims Online
The Sims Online
The Sims Online was a massively multiplayer online variation on Maxis's highly popular computer game The Sims. It was published by Electronic Arts and released on December 17, 2002 for Microsoft Windows. In March 2007, EA announced that the product would be re-branded as EA-Land and major...
, under the avatar name "Dyerbrook". Since 2004, she has been a resident of Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
, under the avatar name "Prokofy Neva". She has also been a journalist for The Alphaville Herald
The Alphaville Herald
The Alphaville Herald is a newspaper covering virtual worlds, founded by Northwestern University philosophy professor Peter Ludlow on October 23, 2003....
, a blogger on virtual worlds (particularly Second Life), and an outspoken critic of Linden Lab
Linden Lab
Linden Research, Inc., d/b/a Linden Lab, is a privately held American Internet company that is best known as the creator of Second Life....
, the company that runs Second Life, and was the Alphaville Herald "Avatar of the Year" in 2005. Fitzpatrick owns a large number of simulators in Second Life and rents out virtual land As a blogger on virtual worlds, she is strongly critical of the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
movement, which she describes as "technocommunism". Fitzpatrick was also a strong critic of the Second Life presence of Woodbury University
Woodbury University
Woodbury University, founded as "Woodbury Business College", is a private, non-profit, coeducational, nonsectarian university located in Burbank, California.-History:...
, a California university maintaining a virtual campus in Second Life, and whose students and professors she accused of being "griefers".
Publications
- Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, Moscow's independent peace movement, U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee, 1982
- Mary Jane Camejo & Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, Violations of the Helsinki accords, Yugoslavia, Helsinki Watch report, Human Rights Watch, 1986, ISBN 0938579770, ISBN 9780938579779
- Ludmila Alekseeva & Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, Nyeformaly: Civil society in the USSR, Helsinki Watch report, 1990, ISBN 092969242X, ISBN 9780929692425
- Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, USSR: human rights under glasnost, Human Rights Watch, 1989
- Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, Psychiatric Abuse in the Soviet Union, Human Rights Watch, 1990, ISBN 1564320065, ISBN 9781564320063
Translations
- Tatyana Mamonova (ed.), Women and Russia : feminist writings from the Soviet Union, Beacon Press, 1984, trans. by Rebecca Park and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, ISBN 0807067091, ISBN 978-0807067093
- Leo Timofeyev, Russia's Secret Rulers, Alfred A. Knopf, 1992, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
- Alexander Yakovlev, The Fate of Marxism in Russia, Yale University Press, 1993, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
- Evgeniia Alats, The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia—Past, Present, and Future, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1994, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
- Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
, The Struggle for Russia, Random House, 1994, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick - Michael Scammell (ed.), The Solzhenitsyn Files, IL Edition Q, 1995, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
- The unknown Lenin, Yale University Press, 1996, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, ISBN 0300069197, ISBN 9780300069198
- First person: an astonishingly frank self-portrait by Russia's president, PublicAffairs, 2000, trans. by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, ISBN 1586480189, ISBN 9781586480189