Banned, honoured, forgotten
Andrei Sakharov’s image in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The atomic physicist, dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989) was one of the most outstanding individuals of 20th century Russia. As one of the creators of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, he later campaigned for nuclear disarmament, peace and human rights. The Soviet regime defamed, criminalised and banished him to Gorki. During Perestroika, he became the face of the democratic movement. His intellectual brilliance and moral integrity were highly respected. Today, Sakharov has largely been suppressed from the collective memory in Russia. The Putin regime is fighting against the values, and the democratic and constitutional principles, for which Sakharov once unequivocally stood.
(Osteuropa 3/2021, pp. 71–90)