Sakharov Wins Nobel: Voice Against Nuclear Arms
Andrei Sakharov designed the Soviet hydrogen bomb in the 1950s, then spent the rest of his life trying to stop anyone from using it. The physicist became the Soviet Union's most prominent dissident, publicly opposing nuclear testing, defending political prisoners, and calling for democratic reforms. The Nobel Committee awarded him the 1975 Peace Prize on October 9 for his 'fearless personal commitment in upholding the fundamental principles of peace.' The Soviet government refused to let him travel to Oslo. His wife Elena Bonner accepted on his behalf. In 1980, the Kremlin exiled Sakharov to the closed city of Gorky, where he was kept under constant KGB surveillance for six years. Gorbachev personally called him in December 1986 to invite him back to Moscow. Sakharov died three years later, still fighting.
October 9, 1975
51 years ago
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