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The fate of academician Sakharov is paradoxical: first – the development of the hydrogen bomb, then – the Nobel Peace Prize. The outstanding Soviet physicist is remembered today not for his participation in the creation of deadly weapons of mass destruction, but for his uncompromising and consistent struggle for freedom and human rights.
Academician Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (1921–1989) is an outstanding Soviet physicist, one of the creators of the hydrogen bomb. An active fighter for peace, for the control of the spread of nuclear weapons, against violations of human rights. Nobel Peace Prize Winner. He was exiled for dissent and dissident activity. Returning from exile, he became a people’s deputy, advocated the release of political prisoners, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, and the liberation of the country from the political dictates of the Communist Party.
1. My fate was, in a sense, exceptional. Not out of false modesty, but out of a desire to be precise, I note that my fate turned out to be larger than my personality. I just tried to be at the level of my own destiny.
2. Speaking in defense of those who fell victim to lawlessness and cruelty, I tried to reflect the full extent of my pain, concern, indignation and persistent desire to help the suffering.
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3. I don’t belong to any church. But at the same time, I cannot consider myself a consistent materialist. I believe that some higher meaning exists both in the Universe and in human life.
4. I never considered myself the leader of any movement and did not claim to be. All my actions and statements were of a private nature, reflecting my convictions or doubts, my moral impulses.
5. Dissenters are not a party where they receive a membership card, and not an organization with a charter. This is not the point, but the meaning of the information that these selfless people supply the whole world, as well as the psychological upheaval that was caused by their activities in all countries and in the world as a whole.
6. I am convinced that the death penalty has no moral or practical justification and is a relic of the barbaric practices of revenge. Revenge carried out in cold blood and deliberately, without personal danger to the executioner and without affect from the judges, and therefore especially shameful and disgusting.
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7. We are now living through a moment in history when strong support for the principles of freedom of opinion, an open society, and human rights is an absolute necessity. The alternative is capitulation to totalitarianism, the loss of all values of freedom, political, economic and moral degradation.
8. In the future, I propose the creation of a worldwide information system (WIS), which will make available to everyone at any moment the content of any book, any article, getting any information. Even partial implementation of the IPO will have a profound impact on the life, leisure and development of every individual. Unlike television, which is the main source of information for many of our contemporaries, WIS will provide everyone with maximum freedom in choosing information and require individual activity.
9. It seems to me that scientists should be able to take a universal, global position – above the selfish interests of “their” state and “their” nation, above the prejudices of “their” social system and its ideology.
10. I am convinced that the ideology of protecting human rights is the only basis that can unite people regardless of their nationality, political beliefs, religion, position in society.
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* Prepared based on articles, interviews, letters, speeches and appeals.