III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 239 

Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Andrei Dmitrievich 

Sakharov. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 26, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. RISCH) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Andrei 

Dmitrievich Sakharov. 

Whereas 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of 

Dr. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘Dr. Sakharov’’), who was born on May 21, 

1921; 

Whereas, although the work of Dr. Sakharov as a nuclear 

physicist earned him international respect and renown, 

his great genius and gift to history was to give voice to 

a global yearning for human rights and fundamental 

freedoms; 

Whereas, in 1968, in an act of great courage and conscience, 

Dr. Sakharov published his treatise, ‘‘Thoughts On 

Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, And Intellectual Freedom’’, in which he— 


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•SRES 239 IS 

(1) offered a comprehensive vision for peace and 

progress; 

(2) broke with the Soviet establishment over human 

rights; and 

(3) opened himself up to years of official and statesponsored retaliation; 

Whereas, in 1970, Dr. Sakharov helped found the Committee 

on Human Rights in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘USSR’’), which 

documented human rights abuses in the USSR; 

Whereas the advocacy of Dr. Sakharov for human rights at 

home and abroad was grounded in, and emerged from, 

his work for peace and against nuclear weapons proliferation; 

Whereas, in his 1975 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, delivered by his wife Yelena Bonner because the USSR had 

barred him from attending the ceremony, Dr. Sakharov 

expressed his ‘‘hope in a final victory of the principles of 

peace and human rights’’ and the ‘‘liberation of all prisoners of conscience everywhere’’; 

Whereas the Nobel Peace Prize Committee called Dr. 

Sakharov ‘‘the spokesman for the conscience of mankind’’; 

Whereas the Government of the USSR exiled Dr. Sakharov 

and Yelena Bonner to the ‘‘closed city’’ of Gorky (now 

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) in retaliation for the advocacy 

of Dr. Sakharov against the USSR invasion of Afghanistan, which he later called ‘‘a war of annihilation, a terrible sin’’; 

Whereas President Reagan proclaimed May 21, 1983, as National Andrei Sakharov Day, an occasion for the people 


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of the United States to ‘‘reaffirm that, despite attempts 

at repression, the ideals of peace and freedom will endure 

and ultimately triumph’’; 

Whereas Mikhail Gorbachev released Dr. Sakharov and 

Yelena Bonner from exile in December 1986, one of the 

most significant steps in implementing a loosening of political controls under perestroika and glasnost; 

Whereas, in 1989, Dr. Sakharov became a deputy of the Congress of People Deputies, the first legislative body in the 

USSR that permitted debate, which used the moral authority of Dr. Sakharov to try to democratize Soviet political processes, including an end to 1-party rule; 

Whereas the courageous efforts of Dr. Sakharov against totalitarian repression in the USSR inspired political reforms that swept Europe throughout 1989; 

Whereas, on his death in 1989, the White House noted that 

the voice of Dr. Sakharov ‘‘was an important dimension 

in the contemporary changes under way in Soviet society’’, changes that would culminate 2 years later in the 

collapse of the USSR and Soviet Communism; and 

Whereas the work Dr. Sakharov began remains unfinished, 

which is evidenced by the May 18, 2021, cancellation by 

authorities of the Moscow Sakharov Center’s exhibit 

marking the centenary of the life of Dr. Sakharov: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the historical significance of the 

3 contributions made by Dr. Andrei Dmitrievich 

4 Sakharov (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘Dr. 

5 Sakharov’’) in the promotion of human dignity and 


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1 political freedom in his own country and around the 

2 world; 

3 (2) recognizes that the example set by Dr. 

4 Sakharov has inspired millions around the world 

5 working to promote democratic principles; and 

6 (3) expresses support for democracy and human 

7 rights activists around the world, especially in Rus8 sia, who embody the principles and values practiced 

9 by Dr. Sakharov. 

Æ 


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