Who Is Andrei Sakharov? Age, Biography, and Wiki
Andrei Sakharov was born on May 21, 1921, in Moscow, Russia. He was a renowned Soviet nuclear physicist best known for his significant contributions to the development of nuclear weapons during the Cold War and his subsequent advocacy for human rights and anti-nuclear sentiments. He passed away on December 14, 1989, but his impact continues to resonate in both the scientific community and human rights activism.
In 2025, Sakharov’s legacy remains significant, remembered not only for his scientific achievements but for his courageous stance against government oppression and his call for civil liberties in the Soviet Union.
| Occupation | Human Rights Activists |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | May 21, 1921 |
| Age | 68 Years |
| Birth Place | Moscow, Russia |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Country | Russia |
| Date of death | 14 December, 1989 |
| Died Place | Moscow, Soviet Union |
Popularity
Andrei Sakharov's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Although physical attributes such as height and weight may not be widely documented for historical figures like Sakharov, he is often described as having a commanding presence in both his scientific and activist endeavors, standing at approximately 6 feet tall. His robust intellectual stature was amplified by his unwavering commitment to human rights.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Andrei Sakharov was married twice. His first wife was Zinaida Zyuzina, with whom he had a child. After their divorce, he married Elena Bonner in 1972, who was also a prominent human rights activist. Their marriage was a partnership of mutual respect and shared beliefs in activism. Together, they faced governmental oppression and championed human rights both in the Soviet Union and globally.
His father, Dmitri Ivanovich Sakharov, was a physics professor at the Second Moscow State University and an amateur pianist. His grandfather, Ivan, was a lawyer in the former Russian Empire who had displayed respect for social awareness and humanitarian principles (including advocating the abolition of capital punishment).
Sakharov's mother, Yekaterina Alekseevna Sofiano, was a daughter of Aleksey Semenovich Sofiano, a general in the Tsarist Russian Army with Greek heritage.
Net Worth and Salary
While specific numbers regarding Andrei Sakharov's net worth are challenging to determine, it is known that, as a prominent physicist and activist, he had a modest lifestyle often dedicated to his principles rather than wealth accumulation. His legacy primarily lies in the values he fought for rather than financial success. Estimates of his earned income during his scientific career suggest he received a typical salary for a Soviet nuclear scientist, but precise figures remain speculative.
Career, Business, and Investments
Sakharov’s career started in the 1940s, where he worked on the Soviet hydrogen bomb project. His scientific contributions were groundbreaking; however, he later became increasingly vocal about the moral implications of his work, advocating against nuclear proliferation and for human rights.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Sakharov faced significant challenges, including persecution from the Soviet government due to his activism, resulting in periods of internal exile. His career transitioned from a focus on physics to one of a human rights advocate, where he wrote extensively, participated in protests, and collaborated with other dissidents.
Although he spent his career in physics in the Soviet program of nuclear weapons, overseeing the development of thermonuclear weapons, Sakharov also did fundamental work in understanding particle physics, magnetism, and physical cosmology.
Sakharov is mostly known for his political activism for individual freedom, human rights, civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union, for which he was deemed a dissident and faced persecution from the Soviet establishment.
Social Network
Sakharov's work and advocacy drew attention not only in the Soviet Union but also internationally. He gained support from various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights. His contributions were recognized with numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975, highlighting the global impact of his efforts.
Sakharov was also involved in an event with political consequences in 1964, when the Soviet Academy of Sciences nominated for full membership Nikolai Nuzhdin, a follower of Trofim Lysenko (initiator of the Stalin-supported anti-genetics campaign Lysenkoism).
Contrary to normal practice, Sakharov, a member of the academy, publicly spoke out against full membership for Nuzhdin and held him responsible for "the defamation, firing, arrest, even death, of many genuine scientists." In the end, Nuzhdin was not elected, but the episode prompted Nikita Khrushchev to order the KGB to gather compromising material
on Sakharov.
In 1966 Sakharov was one of the signatories on the Letter of the Twenty Five regarding the inadmissibility of "partial or indirect rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin".
Education
Andrei Sakharov pursued his education at Moscow State University, where he studied physics and began his journey into the scientific realm. His academic achievements laid the groundwork for his later contributions to nuclear physics and his staunch advocacy for peace.
After schooling, Sakharov studied physics at the Moscow State University in 1938 and, following evacuation in 1941 during the Eastern Front with Germany, he graduated in Aşgabat in Turkmenistan. In 1943, he married Klavdia Alekseyevna Vikhireva, with whom he raised two daughters and a son. Klavdia would later die in 1969.
In 1945, he joined the Theoretical Department of Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences under Igor Tamm in Moscow. In 1947, Sakharov was successful in defending his thesis for the Doctor of Sciences (lit. Doktor Nauk), which covered the topic of nuclear transmutation.
