Andrej Sacharov, Russia (1921-1989)
Andrej Sacharov was born in Moscow, Russia in 1921. He began his career as a nuclear physicist carrying out research into controlled nuclear fusion. Together with Igor Tamm, Sacharov made a proposal that led to the construction of the Soviet Hydrogen bomb. By 1961 Sacharov became concerned about the potential use of the hydrogen bomb and made a formal protest against the atmospheric testing of the bomb.
By 1968 science had given way to politics and Sacharov became a spokesman for civil liberties in the USSR, for international disarmament and nuclear weapons control. For his work Sacharov was awarded the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize. His political activities eventually led him to be exiled in Gorkiy in 1980. He was allowed to return to Moscow in December 1986 and in April 1989 he was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies. He remained a leading spokesman for human rights and political and economic reform until his death in December 1989.