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Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov. Photo by David.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Andrei Sakharov

Andrey Sakharov, full name Andrey Dmitriyevich Sakharov, was a Soviet nuclear theoretical physicist who was an outspoken advocate of human rights, civil liberties, and reform in the Soviet Union as well as rapprochement with non-communist nations.

Sakharov was born into Russia’s intellectual elite. Dmitry Sakharov, his father, taught physics at a number of Moscow schools and institutes and wrote popular scientific works and textbooks.

Dmitry Sakharov had a huge influence on his son because he was a man of principle. Ekaterina, his mother, stayed at home and cared for the family. Andrey Sakharov was tutored at home for several years before enrolling in school in the fall of 1933.

1. Andrei Sakharov, participated in the Soviet atomic bomb project

Tamm was appointed by the Soviet leadership. He was to head a special scientific group at FIAN in 1948. They were to research and develop nuclear weapons and determine the feasibility of a thermonuclear bomb.

Sakharov was recruited by his former professor for the top-secret project. He co-invented a controlled hydrogen reaction and proposed the Sloika, or “Layer Cake,” design for a hydrogen bomb. His design was similar to that of American physicist Edward Teller’s “Alarm Clock,” in which the stable hydrogen isotopes deuterium and uranium are placed in alternating layers to ignite a fusion reaction.

Sakharov began working at the Arzamas-16 nuclear facility in 1950. After Tamm returned to Moscow in 1953, he took over as head of the facility’s theoretical department.

Later that year, on August 12, the Soviet Union conducted the “Joe-4” test, which was based on the “Layer Cake” model. That year, Sakharov became the Soviet Academy of Sciences’ youngest member. 

2. Sakharov turned into an activist, against nuclear testing 

Sakharov became increasingly concerned about the dangers of nuclear testing and proliferation by the late 1950s. He felt increasingly responsible for the bomb’s destructive power, especially after the Soviet Union tested “Tsar Bomba” on October 30, 1961.

As a result, Sakharov began writing letters to Soviet leaders urging them to discontinue atmospheric nuclear testing, as well as articles in scientific journals about the dangers of radioactive fallout.

Sakharov feared that continued proliferation would exacerbate the Cold War nuclear arms race between the US and the USSR. His concern influenced top Soviet officials and aided the Soviet Union’s decision to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

3. Sakharov criticized Soviet leadership through a written article

Andrei Sakharov. Photo by Rob Croes for Anefo.

Sakharov wrote an article titled “Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, and Intellectual Freedom.”  This piece, publicly criticized the Soviet leadership’s policies and instead advocated for cooperation with the United States.

In an attack on the Soviet political system, he advocated for a “democratic, pluralistic society free of intolerance and dogmatism. Smuggled out of the Soviet Union, a copy of his article was published in the New York Times.

By the end of 1969, more than 18 million copies of the essay had been distributed worldwide, earning him international acclaim and prestige.

4. Sakharov was pulled out from Soviet scientific projects

Andrei Sakharov at a conference. Photo by Ivtorov.

Following the publication of his article, Sakharov was relieved of his duties on Soviet scientific research and development projects, as well as dismissed from the Soviet Atomic Energy Commission.

He returned to the Lebedev Institute of FIAN in Moscow in the summer of 1969, where he continued scientific research outside the public eye.

5. Sakharov received the Nobel Peace Prize

In 1970, he established the Moscow Human Rights Committee, and in 1975, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.  Soviet authorities refused him permission to travel to Oslo, Norway, to accept his award, his wife spoke on his behalf. “I intend to hold fast to my belief in the hidden strength of the human spirit now and forever,” Sakharov wrote.

6. Both Andrei Sakharov and his wife were exiled

Andrei Sakharov and wife. Photo by Rob Croes for Anefo.

In 1980, Andrei Sakharov was sentenced to internal exile for his criticisms of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Over time, Sakharov became a symbol of Soviet dissidents.

Gorbachev, who promised to ease Soviet political restrictions, recognized that releasing Sakharov and his wife would legitimize his “glasnost,” or political openness, program. For his part, Sakharov was pleased with Gorbachev’s efforts to soften Russia’s harsh communist rule.

Andrei Sakharov and his wife, Elena Bonner, were released from their internal exile in Gorky. The move was hailed as proof of Gorbachev’s determination to reduce political repression within the Soviet Union. 

7. Sakharov went on a huger strike while in exile

When Sakharov’s wife, Yelena Bonner, was arrested in May 1984, he went on a hunger strike to demand that she be allowed to travel to the United States for heart surgery. He was compelled to be hospitalized and force-fed.

For four months, he was kept in isolation. Bonner was sentenced to five years in exile in Gorky by a court in August 1984.

Sakharov began a new hunger strike in April 1985 to allow his wife to travel abroad for medical treatment. Once again, he was taken to the hospital and force-fed. 

He was admitted to hospital until October 1985, when his wife was permitted to travel to the United States.

8. Sakharov was released from exile 6 years later 

Sakharov was finally allowed to return to Moscow in December 1986 by Mikhail Gorbachev. Mikhail had initiated the perestroika and glasnost policies. He called Sakharov to tell him that he and his wife could return to Moscow.

9. Sakharov was elected new Soviet Legislature

Sakharov was elected to the new Soviet legislature, holding one of 12 new posts reserved for members of the Academy of Sciences.

For the rest of his life, he was a tireless advocate for political reform and human rights.

10. A center was established in Moscow in honor of Sakharov 

Andrei Sakharov museum in Moscow. Photo by panoramio.com/user/55593.

The Sakharov Center is a museum and cultural center in Moscow dedicated to the protection of human rights in Russia and the preservation of the legacy of prominent physicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov.

It was founded by the “Public Commission to Protect the Legacy of Andrei Sakharov”, an international non-governmental organization established in 1990.