Andrei Sakharov was born in Moscow on May 21, 1921. He received his doctorate in physics from the Lebedev Institute in 1947 at the age of 26. A year later he conducted research, along with fellow Soviet physicist Igor Tamm, in controlled nuclear fusion. This work, conducted between the years 1948-56, eventually led to the creation of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb.

In 1968 he authored an essay calling for drastic reductions in nuclear arms. In 1970 he founded the Committee for Human Rights. Sakharov was awarded the Nobel