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.

Andrei Sakharov
Андрей Сахаров
Sakharov in 1989
Born(1921-05-21)21 May 1921
Died14 December 1989(1989-12-14) (aged 68)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting placeVostryakovskoye Cemetery
NationalityRussian
CitizenshipSoviet Union
Alma mater
Known for
Spouses
  • Klavdia Vikhireva (1943–1969; her death)
  • Yelena Bonner (1972–1989; his death)
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
ThesisТеория ядерных переходов типа 0→0 (1947)
Doctoral advisorIgor Tamm
Doctoral studentsErast Gliner

Although he spent his career in physics in the Soviet program of nuclear weapons, overseeing the development of thermonuclear weapons, Sakharov also did fundamental work in understanding particle physics, magnetism, and physical cosmology. Sakharov is mostly known for his political activism for individual freedom, human rights, civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union, for which he was deemed a dissident and faced persecution from the Soviet establishment.

In his memory, the Sakharov Prize was established and is awarded annually by the European Parliament for people and organizations dedicated to human rights and freedoms.

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