Andrei Sakharov's Return...

Nothing in recent developments in the Soviet Union has been as exciting and pleasing as the release of Andrei Sakharov after nearly seven years in exile. His return was long overdue, and the exile (which was illegal even by Soviet standards) was entirely unnecessary. It cost dearly the health of Sakharov and his wife, Yelena Bonner, and inevitably damaged scientific cooperation between the East and West. I have known Sakharov since the summer of 1964, when he made his short but strong speech at

| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

I have known Sakharov since the summer of 1964, when he made his short but strong speech at the general meeting of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences against Lysenko's domination of Soviet biology. His speech set the Academy on a collision course with Khrushchev's government and led to threats of severe reprimands. A few months later, Lysenko's fall (which followed that of Khrushchev) proved that Sakharov was right and the government wrong.

Sakharov's statement in 1979 that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a tragic mistake was also proved right, but this time it took seven long years and three changes of leadership in the Soviet Union to do so.

Indeed, the release of Sakharov, along with the prisoner exchange of Anatoly Shcharansky and Yuri Orlov and the unconditional release of poet Irina Ratushinskaya, proves that Western campaigns on behalf of individual Soviet political prisoners do make a difference, even ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Zhores Medvedev

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio