May 21 marks the centennial of Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Sakharov’s birth. Known as the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb for his early involvement in nuclear weapons development, Sakharov later became a fierce critic of the Soviet Communist regime. Some commentators believe that despite the Putin regime’s dislike of such a figure as Sakharov, it is highly significant to honor him today.
Various events commemorate Sakharov, but exhibitions in the city center are forbidden
On May 21, the centennial of Sakharov’s birth, a series of events were held in Russia to commemorate the famous Soviet dissident. Russia’s largest official television channel, Channel One, broadcast a newly produced documentary on Sakharov that evening. Russian online cinemas also showed a film called “Sakharov, Two Lives”. The film covers the various stages of Sakharov’s life, from the development of the hydrogen bomb for the Soviet Union to his political activities. The film’s producer said it was the first documentary film to present the life of the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb on a large scale.
An exhibition, concert and other events were also held on the day. The Moscow city government earlier refused to hold an exhibition of Sakharov’s pictures in a square next to a subway station in the city center. The Yablus group, a democratic political party, decided to hold this exhibition in its offices. A similar exhibition opened the same day at the Yeltsin Center in Ekaterinburg.
In the city of Gorky, where Sakharov was exiled in those years, Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River, an international art festival named after Sakharov was inaugurated on the same day. A statue of Sakharov was unveiled in the city of Sarov in Nizhny Novgorod region.
The city of Sarov was a former Soviet and Russian base for nuclear weapons development and production of nuclear warheads. In his early years, Sakharov was involved in the development of the Soviet hydrogen bomb in this small city, which is not open to the public.
The Sakharov Center in Moscow began preparations for Sakharov’s centennial early on. The center has taken the lead in organizing a series of online international seminars on Sakharov, offline lectures and other events, and a few months ago launched a traveling exhibition on Sakharov in 70 cities across Russia. Similar exhibitions with English and German annotations are being held simultaneously in several European countries.
Putin pays lip service to admiration
Moscow, the capital, has long had a street named after Sakharov, but there is still no statue of him. Russian presidential press spokesman Vladimir Peskov, faced with queries from media reporters about it, shrugged off the fact that it was within the purview of the city of Moscow and the Kremlin was not aware of the situation and needed to verify the information. But he stressed that President Vladimir Putin admires Sakharov, and Putin himself has repeatedly elaborated on this.
Sakharov was the first leader of Russia’s famous Monument human rights organization. Today, however, both Monument and the Sakharov Center in Moscow are blacklisted by Putin’s authorities as foreign agents.
Russian society and official reaction to Sakharov’s centennial has generally been very low-key. Some commentators have argued that Sakharov, who pushed for civil society and freedom, is clearly an unpopular and inconvenient figure for today’s Putin regime, which was responsible for spying on dissidents during his early years in the Leningrad KGB. Political scientist Rogov says the Putin administration is hostile to many of Sakharov’s ideas, which could explain why the Moscow city government has banned the Sakharov Center from holding exhibitions in the square next to the main metro station.
In the city of Gorky, where Sakharov was exiled, the apartment house where he lived back then was converted into a Sakharov memorial a long time ago. Echo Radio Moscow and other media report that the exhibits at this memorial are dwindling, the staff of the memorial has been cut, and many staff members are worried about the future fate of the memorial.
Zubov, a prominent historian, said the authorities should be proud of Sakharov, but now hate him. That’s because Sakharov has been pushing for civil liberties.
Traven, another prominent Russian political scientist, said that compared to the Brezhnev era, in which Sakharov had lived, shamelessness and moral degradation far surpassed the former in the Putin era. Because of this, Russian society today is in particular need of a moral model like Sakharov.
The famous Russian media journalist Mingin recalls the scene when the citizens of Moscow buried Sakharov in the snow and ice after his death in December 1989. The late former Russian President Boris Yeltsin was also seen in the crowded funeral procession. Minkin called Sakharov the conscience of Russia.
Current affairs commentator Shapolov said the Soviet authorities gave Sakharov everything, including various awards, honors, housing, preferential treatment, etc., but Sakharov chose dignity and conscience. The various awards he received for his work in defense of human rights were withdrawn by the Soviet authorities, and he was then exiled to the city of Gorky in 1980.
Exile in Gorky: Three hunger strikes
According to human rights activist Likinsky, 1984 was the most difficult time of Sakharov’s exile, when Soviet authorities completely confined him to Gorky, a city closed to the public.
ACT-1, Likinsky: “Prior to 1984, Sakharov’s wife Bonaire had shuttled back and forth between Moscow and Gorky to deliver information and materials for Sakharov. But in 1984, a Soviet court ruled that Bonaire could only stay in Gorky. This left Sakharov virtually isolated from the world.”
The Sakharovs lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment during their exile in Gorky. The nearby apartment was then the site of surveillance of the Sakharovs by the secret police, the KGB. It was not until late 1986 that Sakharov ended his exile and returned to Moscow after then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev personally called him. The KGB installed Sakharov’s phone only a day before Gorbachev spoke with him on the phone.
Sakharov had gone on three hunger strikes in protest during Gorky’s exile, thus seriously damaging his health. But after Sakharov’s death, some in Russian society also questioned the real cause of his death.
Development of nuclear weapons in early years Later opposed to the arms race
Sakharov was involved in the development of the Soviet hydrogen bomb from the late 1940s until the 1960s. He later became an opponent of nuclear test explosions and the arms race. In the 1960s, he became involved in the dissident movement, which led Soviet authorities to ban Sakharov’s access to nuclear weapons development secrets in the late 1960s. Sakharov was also a staunch opponent of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The Soviet authorities organized several joint articles by members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and writers in Pravda and other propaganda mouthpieces to discredit and criticize Sakharov.
Sakharov was awarded the title of Hero of Soviet Socialist Labor three times, and he was also the recipient of numerous high Soviet honors, including the Lenin Prize and the Stalin Prize. Although all of these awards were later stripped, Sakharov remained a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
The leaders of Soviet science at the time warned that Hitler had revoked Einstein’s membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences that year, and if Sakharov were treated similarly, it would deal a heavy blow to the international image of the Soviet Union.
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