The book is dedicated to the exploration of dignity, freedom and human rights as the heritage of all humanity. The work draws attention to the close relationship between the widespread affirmation of these values and the fate of an individual, ethnic group, and nation. At the same time, the author sees the reasons for the collapse of Tsarist Russia, the USSR, as well as the difficulties in establishing democracy in some post-Soviet republics in the complete disregard for human rights on the territory of the respective countries. It asserts the impossibility of building a civil society and the rule of law without respect for the dignity of a person, regardless of his ethnic origin, religious belief and language of communication. The book proposes a set of legal means to overcome the painful legacy of the past, which has received the general name “tradition of ignorance.” The growing role of the international community in the protection of human rights is analyzed. This time the cover is from the publisher.