Andrei Sakharov

Andrei Sakharov was a key physicist in the Soviet Union who played a central role in developing the USSR's first true hydrogen bomb, specifically the RDS-6s design. Later in life, he became a prominent political dissident and human rights activist, earning the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize.

He was exiled to the closed city of Gorky in 1980 by the KGB due to his vocal opposition to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He spent seven years in internal exile, during which he went on several hunger strikes to protest his treatment and the government's refusal to let his wife travel abroad.

Sakharov married Yelena Bonner, a human rights activist who played a massive role in internationalizing his struggles. She remained by his side and cared for him during his exile in Gorky until Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev permitted them to return to Moscow in 1986.

The European Parliament established the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1988 to honor individuals dedicated to the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It remains one of the most prestigious human rights awards in the European Union.