Viktor Alekseyevich Popkov Виктор Алексеевич Попков (June 17, 1946 - June 2, 2001) was a Russian christian, dissident, humanitarian, human rights activist and journalist. He spent the last 15 years of his life in the hot spots of the falling Soviet Union, including the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the war in Chechnya. A deeply religious Old Believer and pacifist, Popkov taught non-violence.