Andrei Sakharov

Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Russian: Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров; 21 May 1921 – 14 December 1989) was a Soviet physicist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.

Although he spent his career in physics in the Soviet program of nuclear weapons, overseeing the development of very powerful weapons, Sakharov also did important work in understanding tiny particles, magnetism, and the universe. Sakharov is mostly known for his strong beliefs in individual freedom, human rights, civil liberties and changes in the Soviet Union. Because of his ideas, he was considered a dissident and faced trouble from the Soviet government.

In his memory, the Sakharov Prize was created and is given each year by the European Parliament to people and groups who work hard to protect human rights and freedoms.

Life and career

Family background and early life

Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was born in Moscow on 21 May 1921, to a Russian family. His father was a physics professor and an amateur pianist. His grandfather was a lawyer who believed in fair treatment for everyone. His mother came from a family with Greek heritage.

Sakharov’s parents and grandmother greatly influenced him. After school, he studied physics and later worked in a factory making weapons. In 1943, he married Klavdia, and they had three children together. He then joined a famous science institute in Moscow, where he began his important research.

Soviet program of nuclear weapons

After World War II, Sakharov joined the Soviet program to build nuclear weapons. He helped create powerful bombs, including one of the largest ever made. He later reflected on the dangers of such weapons and the need for peace.

Support for peaceful use of nuclear technology

In 1950, Sakharov proposed an idea for a controlled nuclear fusion reactor, which led to the development of a device called a tokamak.

Magneto-implosive generators

In 1951, he invented a way to create strong magnetic fields using explosives. He tested devices that could generate very high magnetic fields and pulsed electricity.

Particle physics and cosmology

After 1965, Sakharov returned to fundamental science and began working on particle physics and the study of the universe. He tried to explain why the universe has more matter than antimatter.

Turn to activism

Since the late 1950s Sakharov had become concerned about the moral and political implications of his work. He spoke out against unfair treatment of scientists and for better human rights in the Soviet Union. He became a well-known voice for change and freedom.

Nobel Peace Prize (1975)

Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his work emphasizing human rights around the world. He was not allowed to leave the Soviet Union to collect the prize, so his wife read his speech instead.

Internal exile (1980–1986)

Sakharov was arrested in 1980 for protesting against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and was sent to live in Gorky, now Nizhny Novgorod. He was kept under close watch and faced many difficulties, including hunger strikes to allow his wife medical treatment.

Political leader

In the late 1980s, Sakharov became involved in political opposition in the Soviet Union. He helped start independent groups and was elected to the new parliament.

Death

Sakharov passed away on 14 December 1989 at the age of 68. He is buried in Moscow.

Influence

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was created in 1988 by the European Parliament to honor people who work hard for human rights, just like Andrei Sakharov did. This award is given every year by the European Union.

There is also an Andrei Sakharov prize given by the American Physical Society every two years to scientists who support human rights. Additionally, there is the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage, started in 1990.

In 2004, a special prize for journalism was created in Russia, thanks to Yelena Bonner. It rewards reporters who show strong beliefs in their work. Famous writers like Anna Politkovskaya have won this prize.

The Andrei Sakharov Archives and Human Rights Center, begun at Brandeis University in 1993, is now at Harvard University. These archives include important letters and documents from 1968 to 1991, showing the activities of people who stood up for their beliefs during that time in the Soviet Union. The documents were published by the Yale University Press in 2005 and can be found online.

Legacy and remembrance

Places

• A public Sakharov Center operated in Moscow until 2023.
• During the 1980s, the block of 16th Street NW between L and M streets, in front of the Soviet embassy in Washington, D.C. (which later became the Russian ambassador's residence) was renamed "Andrei Sakharov Plaza" as a form of protest against his 1980 arrest and detention.
• In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Sakharov Square, located in the heart of the city, is named after him.
• The Sakharov Gardens (est. 1990) are located at the entrance to Jerusalem, Israel, off the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv Highway. There is also a street named after him in Haifa, near the Haifa Hof HaCarmel train station.
• In Nizhny Novgorod, there is a Sakharov Museum in the apartment on the first floor of the 12-storeyed house where the Sakharov family lived for seven years; in 2014 his monument was erected near the house.
• In Saint Petersburg, his monument stands in Sakharov Square, and there is a Sakharov Park.
• In 1979, an asteroid, 1979 Sakharov, was named after him.
• A public square in Vilnius in front of the Press House is named after Sakharov. The square was named on 16 March 1991, as the Press House was still occupied by the Soviet Army.
• Andreja Saharova iela in the district of Pļavnieki in Riga, Latvia, is named after Sakharov.
• Andreij-Sacharow-Platz in downtown Nuremberg is named in honour of Sakharov.
• In Belarus, International Sakharov Environmental University was named after him.
• Intersection of Ventura Blvd and Laurel Canyon Blvd in Studio City, Los Angeles, is named Andrei Sakharov Square.
• In Arnhem, the bridge over the Nederrijn is called the Andrej Sacharovbrug.
• The Andrej Sacharovweg is a street in Assen, Netherlands. There are also streets named in his honour in other places in the Netherlands such as Amsterdam, Amstelveen, The Hague, Hellevoetsluis, Leiden, Purmerend, Rotterdam, Utrecht
• A street in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Quai Andreï Sakharov in Tournai, Belgium, is named in honour of Sakharov.
• In Poland, streets named in his honour in Warsaw, Łódź and Kraków.
• Andreï Sakharov Boulevard in the district of Mladost in Sofia, Bulgaria, is named after him.
• In New York City, a street sign at the southwest corner of Third Avenue and 67th Street in Manhattan reads Sakharov-Bonner Corner, in honor of Sakharov and his wife, Yelena Bonner. The corner is just down the block from the Soviet Mission to the United Nations (which later became the Russian mission) and was the scene of repeated anti-Soviet demonstrations.
• In Chişinău, the capital of Moldova, there is Academician Andrei Sakharov street.

Media

• In the 1984 made-for-TV film Sakharov starring Jason Robards.
• In the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, one of the Enterprise-D's Shuttlecraft is named after Sakharov, and is featured prominently in several episodes. This follows the Star Trek tradition of naming Shuttlecraft after prominent scientists, and particularly in The Next Generation, physicists.
• The fictitious interplanetary spacecraft Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from the novel 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke is powered by a "Sakharov drive". The novel was published in 1982, when Sakharov was in exile in Nizhny Novgorod, and was dedicated both to Sakharov and to Alexei Leonov.
• Russian singer Alexander Gradsky wrote and performed the song "Памяти А. Д. Сахарова" ("In memory of Andrei Sakharov"), which features on his Live In "Russia" 2 (Живем в "России" 2) CD.
• The faction leader of the Ecologists in the PC game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and its prequel is a scientist named Professor Sakharov.

Honours and awards

Andrei Sakharov received many important awards for his work. He was named a Hero of Socialist Labour three times and won several high honors from the Soviet government, including the Lenin Prize and the Stalin Prize.

Later in his life, Sakharov was recognized internationally for his efforts. He became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. In 1975, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his support of human rights around the world. Even after the Soviet government took away his awards, Sakharov chose not to accept them back when they were offered during a time of openness in the country. He also received honors from other countries, including the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca and, after his passing, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis in 2003.