Academician Sakharov: what was the creator of the hydrogen bomb & nbsp. What was the creator of the hydrogen bomb Academician Sakharov

“Recently, in the Soviet Union, for test purposes, an explosion of one of the types hydrogen bomb. The test showed that the power of the hydrogen bomb is many times greater than the power of atomic bombs”, - such a message appeared on August 20, 1953 in Pravda.

It was the end of summer, the Soviet people were busy with their everyday life- only a few months had passed since the death of Joseph Stalin, the country was entering a new post-Stalin era. However, the military confrontation between the former allies - the USSR and the USA - did not stop, but broke out with new force. The world was expecting a new war, perhaps more terrible than the previous ones, and a new formidable weapon was supposed - so, at least, its creators hoped - to keep the peace.

The new weapon is the hydrogen bomb, which was worked on by outstanding Soviet physicists. It was named RDS-6. The country has mastered military technologies that until recently seemed unthinkable.

Success in the creation of the hydrogen bomb followed the success in the creation of the atomic bomb, which was tested in the USSR in 1949. But it was impossible to stop - a year later, the US President signed a memorandum on the creation of more powerful and advanced weapons.

The fact that the former allies are working on a thermonuclear program was learned in the USSR from various sources: hints of this appeared both in the open press and were confirmed by intelligence data. True, when one of the Soviet physicists asked the Danish physicist Niels Bohr about the "superbomb", he seemed to not immediately understand what was at stake, and suggested that the creation of a bomb from the "new substance" seemed "unreal" to him.

At the same time, the USSR thought differently - at the end of 1945, after the war, a team of scientists led by the outstanding physicist Yakov Zeldovich wrote the first proposals on thermonuclear topics. This topic was also of interest to the young physicist Andrey, who in 1948 completed his first work on the study of thermonuclear fusion.

In the same year, in his research, Sakharov came up with the first revolutionary ideas, which would later become the basis for the creation of the hydrogen bomb.

It was about the famous Sakharov puff, where cheap uranium 238 was used as one of the main materials for the bomb. The main source of energy release in the puff was the process of fission of U-238 nuclei by thermonuclear neutrons, the scientists wrote.

Sakharov's proposals were reported to the chief political curator of the Soviet atomic project, Lavrenty Beria. He approved the idea, as the scientists very clearly explained to him the principle of the puff. In 1950, Sakharov began working in the team of physicist Igor Tamm on the creation of the first Soviet "superbomb".

Work proceeded at an accelerated pace, as evidenced by the constant reports of scientists to their formidable curator Beria. In November 1952, the United States tested its own hydrogen bomb - its power was 1,000 times greater than the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. However, despite this, the American bomb was useless as a military weapon - it was not suitable for transportation, as it had an enormous weight.

At the same time, the American tests worried Stalin, who showed an active interest in working on the RDS-6 - ironically, the first bomb tests were to take place in March 1953, this was the last month for the Soviet leader.

“For all people on earth, this was the year of Stalin's death and the important events that followed it, which led to great changes in our country and around the world. For us at the facility, this was also the year of completion of preparations for the first thermonuclear test and the test itself, ”Sakharov himself wrote in his memoirs.

In June 1953, Beria, whose power only grew stronger after Stalin's death, signed a decree on the RDS-6 test program.

And shortly before them, Pravda published a statement by the USSR government, which in modern language can be quite called “trolling”: “The government considers it necessary to report to the Supreme Council that the United States is not a monopoly in the production of the hydrogen bomb either.”

The bomb tests took place at the Semipalatinsk test site - it took place at 7 hours 30 minutes - a powerful explosion of deafening power was heard for many kilometers. “I tore off my glasses and, although I was blinded by the change of darkness into light, I managed to see an expanding huge cloud, under which crimson dust spread. Then the cloud, which turned gray, began to quickly separate from the ground and rise up, swirling and sparkling with orange glimpses. Gradually, it formed, as it were, a “mushroom hat”. It was connected to the ground by a “mushroom stem”, incredibly thick compared to what we are used to seeing in photographs of ordinary atomic explosions,” academician Sakharov describes this terrible and grandiose moment in his memoirs.

Many years later, Sakharov would become one of the symbols of the dissident movement in the USSR and long years goes into exile in Gorky.

However, when criticizing the actions of the Politburo and discussing the problems of the Soviet system, he will always believe that he did the right thing when he became one of the main fathers of the hydrogen bomb:

“Today, thermonuclear weapons have never been used against people in war. My most passionate dream (deeper than anything else) is that this never happens, that thermonuclear weapons deter war but are never used.”

On August 12, 1953, the world's first hydrogen bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. It was the fourth Soviet test nuclear weapons. The power of the bomb, which had secret code"Product RDS-6s", reached 400 kilotons, 20 times more than the first atomic bombs in the USA and the USSR. After the test, Kurchatov turned to the 32-year-old Sakharov with a deep bow: “Thank you, the savior of Russia!”

Which is better - Bee Line or MTS? One of the most pressing issues of Russian everyday life. Half a century ago, in a narrow circle of nuclear physicists, the question was equally acute: which is better - an atomic bomb or a hydrogen bomb, which is also thermonuclear? The atomic bomb, which the Americans made in 1945, and we made in 1949, is built on the principle of releasing colossal energy by splitting heavy nuclei of uranium or artificial plutonium. A thermonuclear bomb is built on a different principle: energy is released by the fusion of light isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. Materials based on light elements do not have a critical mass, which was a major design challenge in the atomic bomb. In addition, the synthesis of deuterium and tritium releases 4.2 times more energy than the fission of nuclei of the same mass of uranium-235. In short, the hydrogen bomb is much more powerful weapon than an atomic bomb.

In those years, the destructive power of the hydrogen bomb did not scare away any of the scientists. The world entered the era of the Cold War, McCarthyism was raging in the United States, and another wave of revelations rose in the USSR. Only Pyotr Kapitsa allowed himself demarches, who did not even appear at the solemn meeting at the Academy of Sciences on the occasion of Stalin's 70th birthday. The question of his expulsion from the ranks of the academy was discussed, but the situation was saved by the president of the Academy of Sciences, Sergei Vavilov, who noted that the first to be expelled was the classic writer Sholokhov, who skimps on all meetings without exception.

In creating the atomic bomb, as you know, intelligence data helped scientists. But our agents almost ruined the hydrogen bomb. The information obtained from the famous Klaus Fuchs led to a dead end for both Americans and Soviet physicists. The group under the command of Zeldovich lost 6 years to check the erroneous data. Intelligence provided the opinion of the famous Niels Bohr about the unreality of the "superbomb". But the USSR had its own ideas, to prove the prospects of which to Stalin and Beria, who were "chasing" the atomic bomb with might and main, was not easy and risky. This circumstance should not be forgotten in fruitless and stupid disputes about who worked harder on nuclear weapons - Soviet intelligence or Soviet science.

The work on the hydrogen bomb was the first intellectual race in human history. To create an atomic bomb, it was important, first of all, to solve engineering problems, to launch large-scale work in mines and combines. The hydrogen bomb, on the other hand, led to the emergence of new scientific areas - the physics of high-temperature plasma, the physics of ultrahigh energy densities, and the physics of anomalous pressures. For the first time I had to resort to the help of mathematical modeling. Lagging behind the United States in the field of computers (von Neumann's devices were already in use overseas), our scientists compensated with ingenious computational methods on primitive adding machines.

In a word, it was the world's first battle of wits. And the USSR won this battle. Andrei Sakharov, an ordinary employee of the Zeldovich group, came up with an alternative scheme for the hydrogen bomb. Back in 1949, he proposed original idea so-called "puff", where as an effective nuclear material cheap uranium-238 was used, which was considered as garbage in the production of weapons-grade uranium. But if this "waste" is bombarded by fusion neutrons, which are 10 times more energy-intensive than fission neutrons, then uranium-238 begins to fission and the cost of producing each kiloton decreases many times over. The phenomenon of ionization compression of thermonuclear fuel, which became the basis of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb, is still called "saccharization". Vitaly Ginzburg proposed lithium deuteride as a fuel.

Work on the atomic and hydrogen bombs proceeded in parallel. Even before the atomic bomb tests in 1949, Vavilov and Khariton informed Beria about the "sloika". After the infamous directive of President Truman at the beginning of 1950, at a meeting of the Special Committee chaired by Beria, it was decided to speed up work on the Sakharov design with a TNT equivalent of 1 megaton and a test period in 1954.

On November 1, 1952, at Elugelub Atoll, the United States tested the Mike thermonuclear device with an energy release of 10 megatons, 500 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. However, "Mike" was not a bomb - a giant structure the size of a two-story house. But the power of the explosion was amazing. The neutron flux was so great that two new elements, einsteinium and fermium, were discovered.

All forces were thrown at the hydrogen bomb. The work was not slowed down either by the death of Stalin or by the arrest of Beria. Finally, on August 12, 1953, the world's first hydrogen bomb was tested in Semipalatinsk. Environmental consequences turned out to be horrendous. To share the first explosion of all time nuclear testing Semipalatinsk accounts for 82% of strontium-90 and 75% of cesium-137. But then no one thought about radioactive contamination, as well as about ecology in general.

The first hydrogen bomb was the reason for the rapid development of Soviet cosmonautics. After the nuclear tests, the Korolyov Design Bureau was given the task of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile for this charge. This rocket, called the "seven", launched the first artificial satellite of the Earth into space, and the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Gagarin, launched on it.

On November 6, 1955, the test of a hydrogen bomb dropped from a Tu-16 aircraft was carried out for the first time. In the United States, the drop of the hydrogen bomb did not take place until May 21, 1956. But it turned out that Andrei Sakharov's first bomb was also a dead end, and it was never tested again. Even earlier, on March 1, 1954, near Bikini Atoll, the United States blew up a charge of unheard of power - 15 megatons. It was based on the idea of ​​Teller and Ulam about the compression of a thermonuclear assembly not by mechanical energy and a neutron flux, but by the radiation of the first explosion, the so-called initiator. After the test, which turned into casualties among the civilian population, Igor Tamm demanded that his colleagues abandon all previous ideas, even national pride"puffs" and find fundamentally new way: “Everything that we have done so far is of no use to anyone. We are unemployed. I am sure that in a few months we will reach the goal.”

And already in the spring of 1954, Soviet physicists came up with the idea of ​​an explosive initiator. The authorship of the idea belongs to Zeldovich and Sakharov. On November 22, 1955, a Tu-16 dropped a bomb with a design capacity of 3.6 megatons over the Semipalatinsk test site. During these tests, there were dead, the radius of destruction reached 350 km, Semipalatinsk suffered.

General contribution to science

Even then, Sakharov's interests were not limited to nuclear physics. In 1958, he opposed N. S. Khrushchev's plans to reduce secondary education, and a few years later, together with other scientists, he managed to rid Soviet genetics of the influence of T. D. Lysenko. In 1964, Sakharov successfully spoke at the Academy of Sciences against the election of the biologist N. I. Nuzhdin as an academician, considering him, like Lysenko, responsible for "shameful, difficult pages in the development of Soviet science." In 1966, he signed the letter "25 Celebrities" to the 23rd Congress of the CPSU against the rehabilitation of Stalin. The letter noted that any attempt to revive the Stalinist policy of intolerance towards dissent "would be the greatest disaster" for the Soviet people. Acquaintance in the same year with R. A. Medvedev and his book about Stalin significantly influenced the evolution of the views of Andrei Dmitrievich. In February 1967, Sakharov sent the first letter to Leonid Brezhnev in defense of the four dissidents. The response of the authorities was to deprive him of one of the two positions held at the "object".

In June 1968, a large article appeared in the foreign press - Sakharov's manifesto "Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom" - about the dangers of thermonuclear destruction, ecological self-poisoning, dehumanization of mankind, the need for convergence between the socialist and capitalist systems, Stalin's crimes and the lack of democracy in the USSR. In his manifesto, Sakharov called for the abolition of censorship, political trials, and against keeping dissidents in psychiatric hospitals. The reaction of the authorities was not long in coming: Sakharov was completely suspended from work at the "object" and dismissed from all posts related to military secrets. On August 26, 1968, he met with AI Solzhenitsyn, which revealed the difference in their views on the necessary social transformations.

In the same years, Sakharov's public activity intensified, which was increasingly at odds with the policy of official circles. He initiated appeals for the release of human rights activists P. G. Grigorenko and Zh. A. Medvedev from psychiatric hospitals. Together with the physicist V. Turchin and R. A. Medvedev, he wrote the Memorandum on Democratization and Intellectual Freedom. He traveled to Kaluga to take part in the picketing of the courtroom, where the trial of dissidents R. Pimenov and B. Weil was taking place. In November 1970, together with physicists V. Chalidze and A. Tverdokhlebov, he organized the Human Rights Committee, which was supposed to embody the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1971, together with Academician M.A. Leontovich, he actively opposed the use of psychiatry for political purposes and at the same time - for the right to return the Crimean Tatars, freedom of religion, freedom to choose the country of residence, and, in particular, for Jewish and German emigration.

Intensifying the struggle for the right to emigrate, in September 1973 Sakharov sent a letter to the US Congress in support of the Jackson Amendment. In 1974, during the stay of President R. Nixon in Moscow, he held his first hunger strike and gave a television interview to draw the attention of the world community to the fate of political prisoners. Based on the French humanitarian award received by Sakharov, E. G. Bonner organized a fund to help the children of political prisoners. In 1975, Sakharov met with the German writer G. Bell, together with him wrote an appeal in defense of political prisoners, in the same year he published in the West the book "On the Country and the World", in which he developed the ideas of convergence, disarmament, democratization, strategic balance, political and economic reforms.

Conclusion

Summing up the results of this work, we note that in the formation and development of ethics, an outstanding place belongs to Likhachev. Likhachev preferred to express his ideas in oral students, listeners and opponents. Likhachev was one of the greatest and enigmatic philosophers of the Soviet era. He also made a significant contribution to the development of the study of ancient Russian literature. Some of the best research on such literary monuments as The Tale of Bygone Years, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, The Prayer of Daniil the Zatochnik, and others belong to his pen. Likhachev also took an active part in the reconstruction of the Mon Repos park near St. Petersburg. Likhachev largely contributed to the development of the book series "Literary Monuments", being the chairman of its editorial board since 1970. Famous actor, National artist Russian Federation Igor Dmitriev described the main significance of D. S. Likhachev in the development of Russian culture as follows

Sakharov's contribution to the development of science is significant. They complete the creation of the hydrogen bomb. But only a small part of them has received some development (this mainly concerns the problem of baryon asymmetry). He is the author of original works in elementary particle physics and cosmology: on the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, where he connected the baryon asymmetry with combined parity nonconservation, experimentally found in the decay of long-lived mesons, symmetry breaking during time reversal, and baryon charge nonconservation (Sakharov considered the decay of the proton).

A. D. Sakharov explained the origin of the inhomogeneity of the distribution of matter from the initial density perturbations in the early Universe, which had the nature of quantum fluctuations.

List of used literature

1. Bonner E. G. The bell is ringing. A year without Sakharov / E. G. Bonner. - M. : Interbruk, 1998. - 81 p.

2. Likhachev D. S. Letters about kindness / Likhachev D. S. - M. : Azbuka-Atticus, 2011. - 400 p.

3. Likhachev D. S. Remembering. About the past / Likhachev D.S. - M. Azbuka-Atticus, 2013. - 480 p.

4. Ryabev L. D. Atomic project of the USSR: Documents and materials. Hydrogen bomb / L. D. Rebyaev. - M. : Nauka, 2009. - 600 p.

5. Sakharov A. D. Anxiety and hope / A. D. Sakharov. - M. : INTER - VERSO, 1990. - 336 p.

The hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb became the cornerstone of the arms race between the US and the USSR. The two superpowers have been arguing for several years about who will be the first owner of a new type of destructive weapon.

thermonuclear weapons project

At the beginning of the Cold War, the test of the hydrogen bomb was the most important argument for the leadership of the USSR in the fight against the United States. Moscow wanted to achieve nuclear parity with Washington and invested heavily in the arms race. However, work on the creation of a hydrogen bomb began not thanks to generous funding, but because of reports from secret agents in America. In 1945, the Kremlin learned that the United States was preparing to create a new weapon. It was a super-bomb, the project of which was called Super.

The source of valuable information was Klaus Fuchs, an employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA. He gave the Soviet Union specific information that concerned the secret American developments of the superbomb. By 1950, the Super project was thrown into the trash, as it became clear to Western scientists that such a scheme for a new weapon could not be implemented. The head of this program was Edward Teller.

In 1946, Klaus Fuchs and John developed the ideas of the Super project and patented their own system. Fundamentally new in it was the principle of radioactive implosion. In the USSR, this scheme began to be considered a little later - in 1948. In general, we can say that at the initial stage it was completely based on American information received by intelligence. But, continuing research on the basis of these materials, Soviet scientists were noticeably ahead of their Western counterparts, which allowed the USSR to first obtain the first, and then the most powerful thermonuclear bomb.

On December 17, 1945, at a meeting of a special committee established under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, nuclear physicists Yakov Zel'dovich, Isaac Pomeranchuk and Julius Khartion made a report "Using nuclear energy light elements. This paper considered the possibility of using a deuterium bomb. This speech was the beginning of the Soviet nuclear program.

In 1946, theoretical studies of the hoist were carried out at the Institute of Chemical Physics. The first results of this work were discussed at one of the meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council in the First Main Directorate. Two years later, Lavrenty Beria instructed Kurchatov and Khariton to analyze the materials on the von Neumann system, which were delivered to Soviet Union thanks to secret agents in the west. The data from these documents gave an additional impetus to the research, thanks to which the RDS-6 project was born.

Evie Mike and Castle Bravo

On November 1, 1952, the Americans tested the world's first thermonuclear bomb. It was not yet a bomb, but already its most important component. The explosion occurred on the Enivotek Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. and Stanislav Ulam (each of them is actually the creator of the hydrogen bomb) shortly before developed a two-stage design, which the Americans tested. The device could not be used as a weapon, as it was produced using deuterium. In addition, it was distinguished by its enormous weight and dimensions. Such a projectile simply could not be dropped from an aircraft.

The test of the first hydrogen bomb was carried out by Soviet scientists. After the United States learned about the successful use of the RDS-6s, it became clear that it was necessary to close the gap with the Russians in the arms race as soon as possible. The American test passed on March 1, 1954. Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as the test site. The Pacific archipelagos were not chosen by chance. There was almost no population here (and those few people who lived on nearby islands were evicted on the eve of the experiment).

The most devastating American hydrogen bomb explosion became known as "Castle Bravo". The charge power turned out to be 2.5 times higher than expected. The explosion led to radiation contamination of a large area (many islands and the Pacific Ocean), which led to a scandal and a revision of the nuclear program.

Development of RDS-6s

The project of the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb was named RDS-6s. The plan was written by the outstanding physicist Andrei Sakharov. In 1950, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to concentrate work on the creation of new weapons in KB-11. According to this decision, a group of scientists led by Igor Tamm went to the closed Arzamas-16.

Especially for this grandiose project, the Semipalatinsk test site was prepared. Before the test of the hydrogen bomb began, numerous measuring, filming and recording devices were installed there. In addition, on behalf of scientists, almost two thousand indicators appeared there. The area affected by the hydrogen bomb test included 190 structures.

The Semipalatinsk experiment was unique not only because of the new type of weapon. Unique intakes designed for chemical and radioactive samples were used. Only a powerful shock wave could open them. Recording and filming devices were installed in specially prepared fortified structures on the surface and in underground bunkers.

alarm clock

Back in 1946, Edward Teller, who worked in the United States, developed the RDS-6s prototype. It was called Alarm Clock. Initially, the project of this device was proposed as an alternative to Super. In April 1947, a whole series of experiments began at the Los Alamos laboratory to investigate the nature of thermonuclear principles.

From the Alarm Clock, scientists expected the greatest energy release. In the fall, Teller decided to use lithium deuteride as fuel for the device. Researchers had not yet used this substance, but they expected that it would increase efficiency. Interestingly, Teller already noted in his memos the dependence of the nuclear program on the further development of computers. This technique was needed by scientists for more accurate and complex calculations.

Alarm Clock and RDS-6s had much in common, but they differed in many ways. The American version was not as practical as the Soviet one due to its size. Big sizes he inherited from the Super project. In the end, the Americans had to abandon this development. The last studies took place in 1954, after which it became clear that the project was unprofitable.

Explosion of the first thermonuclear bomb

The first test of a hydrogen bomb in human history took place on August 12, 1953. In the morning, a bright flash appeared on the horizon, which blinded even through goggles. The RDS-6s explosion turned out to be 20 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. The experiment was considered successful. Scientists were able to achieve important technological breakthrough. For the first time, lithium hydride was used as a fuel. Within a radius of 4 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the wave destroyed all the buildings.

Subsequent tests of the hydrogen bomb in the USSR were based on the experience gained using the RDS-6s. This destructive weapon was not only the most powerful. An important advantage of the bomb was its compactness. The projectile was placed in the Tu-16 bomber. Success allowed Soviet scientists to get ahead of the Americans. In the USA at that time there was a thermonuclear device, the size of a house. It was non-transportable.

When Moscow announced that the USSR's hydrogen bomb was ready, Washington disputed this information. The main argument of the Americans was the fact that the thermonuclear bomb should be manufactured according to the Teller-Ulam scheme. It was based on the principle of radiation implosion. This project will be implemented in the USSR in two years, in 1955.

The physicist Andrei Sakharov made the greatest contribution to the creation of the RDS-6s. The hydrogen bomb was his brainchild - it was he who proposed the revolutionary those technical solutions, which made it possible to successfully complete tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. Young Sakharov immediately became an academician at the USSR Academy of Sciences, a Hero of Socialist Labor and a laureate Stalin Prize. Other scientists also received awards and medals: Yuli Khariton, Kirill Shchelkin, Yakov Zeldovich, Nikolai Dukhov, etc. In 1953, the test of the hydrogen bomb showed that Soviet science could overcome what until recently seemed fiction and fantasy. Therefore, immediately after the successful explosion of the RDS-6s, the development of even more powerful projectiles began.

RDS-37

On November 20, 1955, another test of the hydrogen bomb took place in the USSR. This time it was two-stage and corresponded to the Teller-Ulam scheme. The RDS-37 bomb was about to be dropped from an aircraft. However, when he took to the air, it became clear that the tests would have to be carried out in an emergency. Contrary to forecasts of weather forecasters, the weather deteriorated noticeably, due to which dense clouds covered the test site.

For the first time, experts were forced to land a plane with a thermonuclear bomb on board. Some time on the Central command post There was a discussion about what to do next. A proposal was considered to drop the bomb on the mountains nearby, but this option was rejected as too risky. Meanwhile, the plane continued to circle near the landfill, producing fuel.

Zel'dovich and Sakharov received the decisive word. A hydrogen bomb that did not explode at a test site would have led to disaster. Scientists understood the full degree of risk and their own responsibility, and yet they gave written confirmation that the landing of the aircraft would be safe. Finally, the commander of the Tu-16 crew, Fyodor Golovashko, received the command to land. The landing was very smooth. The pilots showed all their skills and did not panic in a critical situation. The maneuver was perfect. The Central Command Post let out a breath of relief.

The creator of the hydrogen bomb Sakharov and his team have postponed the tests. The second attempt was scheduled for 22 November. On this day, everything went without emergency situations. The bomb was dropped from a height of 12 kilometers. While the projectile was falling, the plane managed to retire to a safe distance from the epicenter of the explosion. A few minutes later, the nuclear mushroom reached a height of 14 kilometers, and its diameter was 30 kilometers.

The explosion was not without tragic incidents. From the shock wave at a distance of 200 kilometers, glass was knocked out, because of which several people were injured. A girl who lived in a neighboring village also died, on which the ceiling collapsed. Another victim was a soldier who was in a special waiting area. The soldier fell asleep in the dugout, and he died of suffocation before his comrades could pull him out.

Development of the "Tsar bomb"

In 1954, the best nuclear physicists of the country, under the leadership, began the development of the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the history of mankind. Andrey Sakharov, Viktor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Smirnov, Yuri Trutnev, etc. also took part in this project. Due to its power and size, the bomb became known as the Tsar Bomba. Project participants later recalled that this phrase appeared after famous saying Khrushchev about "Kuzka's mother" at the UN. Officially, the project was called AN602.

Over the seven years of development, the bomb has gone through several reincarnations. At first, scientists planned to use uranium components and the Jekyll-Hyde reaction, but later this idea had to be abandoned due to the danger of radioactive contamination.

Trial on New Earth

For some time, the Tsar Bomba project was frozen, as Khrushchev was going to the United States, and there was a short pause in the Cold War. In 1961, the conflict between the countries flared up again and in Moscow they again remembered thermonuclear weapons. Khrushchev announced the upcoming tests in October 1961 during the XXII Congress of the CPSU.

On the 30th, a Tu-95V with a bomb on board took off from Olenya and headed for New Earth. The plane reached the target for two hours. Another Soviet hydrogen bomb was dropped at an altitude of 10.5 thousand meters above the Dry Nose nuclear test site. The shell exploded while still in the air. arose fire ball, which reached a diameter of three kilometers and almost touched the ground. According to scientists, the seismic wave from the explosion crossed the planet three times. The blow was felt a thousand kilometers away, and all living things at a distance of a hundred kilometers could receive third-degree burns (this did not happen, since the area was uninhabited).

At that time, the most powerful US thermonuclear bomb was four times less powerful than the Tsar Bomba. The Soviet leadership was pleased with the result of the experiment. In Moscow, they got what they wanted so much from the next hydrogen bomb. The test showed that the USSR has weapons much more powerful than the United States. In the future, the devastating record of the Tsar Bomba was never broken. The most powerful explosion of a hydrogen bomb was milestone in the history of science and the Cold War.

Thermonuclear weapons of other countries

British development of the hydrogen bomb began in 1954. The project leader was William Penney, who had previously been a member of the Manhattan Project in the United States. The British had crumbs of information about the structure of thermonuclear weapons. American allies did not share this information. Washington cited the 1946 Atomic Energy Act. The only exception for the British was permission to observe the tests. In addition, they used aircraft to collect samples left after the explosions of American shells.

At first, in London, they decided to limit themselves to the creation of a very powerful atomic bomb. Thus began the testing of the Orange Herald. During them, the most powerful of not thermonuclear bombs in the history of mankind. Its disadvantage was excessive cost. On November 8, 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested. The history of the creation of the British two-stage device is an example of successful progress in the conditions of lagging behind two superpowers arguing with each other.

In China, the hydrogen bomb appeared in 1967, in France - in 1968. Thus, there are five states in the club of countries possessing thermonuclear weapons today. Information about the hydrogen bomb in North Korea remains controversial. The head of the DPRK stated that his scientists were able to develop such a projectile. During the tests, seismologists different countries recorded seismic activity caused by a nuclear explosion. But there is still no specific information about the hydrogen bomb in the DPRK.

On August 12, 1953, at 7:30 am, the first Soviet hydrogen bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site, which had the service name "Product RDS-6c". It was the fourth Soviet test of a nuclear weapon.

The beginning of the first work on the thermonuclear program in the USSR dates back to 1945. Then information was received about the research being carried out in the United States on the thermonuclear problem. They were initiated by the American physicist Edward Teller in 1942. Teller's concept of thermonuclear weapons was taken as the basis, which received the name "pipe" in the circles of Soviet nuclear scientists - a cylindrical container with liquid deuterium, which was supposed to be heated by the explosion of an initiating device such as a conventional atomic bomb. Only in 1950, the Americans found that the "pipe" was unpromising, and they continued to develop other designs. But by this time, Soviet physicists had already independently developed another concept of thermonuclear weapons, which soon - in 1953 - led to success.

Andrei Sakharov came up with an alternative scheme for the hydrogen bomb. The bomb was based on the idea of ​​"puff" and the use of lithium-6 deuteride. Developed in KB-11 (today it is the city of Sarov, former Arzamas-16, Nizhny Novgorod region), the RDS-6s thermonuclear charge was a spherical system of layers of uranium and thermonuclear fuel surrounded by a chemical explosive.

To increase the energy release of the charge, tritium was used in its design. The main task in creating similar weapons was to use the energy released during the explosion of an atomic bomb to heat and set fire to heavy hydrogen - deuterium, to carry out thermonuclear reactions with the release of energy, capable of supporting themselves. To increase the proportion of "burnt" deuterium, Sakharov proposed to surround the deuterium with a shell of ordinary natural uranium, which was supposed to slow down the expansion and, most importantly, significantly increase the density of deuterium. The phenomenon of ionization compression of thermonuclear fuel, which became the basis of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb, is still called "saccharization".

According to the results of work on the first hydrogen bomb, Andrei Sakharov received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and laureate of the Stalin Prize.

"Product RDS-6s" was made in the form of a transportable bomb weighing 7 tons, which was placed in the bomb hatch of the Tu-16 bomber. For comparison, the bomb created by the Americans weighed 54 tons and was the size of a three-story house.

To assess the devastating effects of the new bomb, a city was built at the Semipalatinsk test site from industrial and administrative buildings. In total, there were 190 different structures on the field. In this test, for the first time, vacuum aspirators of radiochemical samples were used, which automatically opened under the influence of a shock wave. In total, 500 different measuring, recording and filming devices installed in underground casemates and solid ground structures were prepared for testing RDS-6s. Aviation and technical support of tests - measurement of the pressure of the shock wave on the aircraft in the air at the time of the explosion of the product, air sampling from the radioactive cloud, aerial photography of the area was carried out by a special flight unit. The bomb was detonated remotely, by giving a signal from the remote control, which was located in the bunker.

It was decided to make an explosion on a steel tower 40 meters high, the charge was located at a height of 30 meters. The radioactive soil from previous tests was removed to a safe distance, special structures were rebuilt in their own places on old foundations, a bunker was built 5 meters from the tower to install equipment developed at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which registers thermonuclear processes.

Military equipment of all types of troops was installed on the field. During the tests, all experimental structures within a radius of up to four kilometers were destroyed. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb could completely destroy a city 8 kilometers across. The environmental consequences of the explosion were horrendous: the first explosion accounted for 82% of strontium-90 and 75% of caesium-137.

The power of the bomb reached 400 kilotons, 20 times more than the first atomic bombs in the USA and the USSR.

The work on the creation of the hydrogen bomb was the world's first intellectual "battle of wits" on a truly global scale. The creation of the hydrogen bomb initiated the emergence of completely new scientific areas - the physics of high-temperature plasma, the physics of ultrahigh energy densities, and the physics of anomalous pressures. For the first time in the history of mankind, mathematical modeling was used on a large scale.

Work on the "RDS-6s product" created a scientific and technical reserve, which was then used in the development of an incomparably more advanced hydrogen bomb of a fundamentally new type - a hydrogen bomb of a two-stage design.

The Sakharov-designed hydrogen bomb not only became a serious counterargument in the political confrontation between the USA and the USSR, but also caused the rapid development of Soviet cosmonautics in those years. It was after successful nuclear tests that the Korolev Design Bureau received an important government task to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile to deliver the created charge to the target. Subsequently, the rocket, called the "seven", launched the first artificial satellite of the Earth into space, and it was on it that the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Gagarin, launched.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Sakharov Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov Andrey Dmitrievich

(1921-1989), theoretical physicist, public figure, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1953). One of the creators of the hydrogen bomb (1953) in the USSR. Proceedings on magnetic hydrodynamics, plasma physics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, elementary particles, astrophysics, gravitation. Proposed (together with I. E. Tamm) the idea of ​​magnetic confinement of high-temperature plasma. From the end of the 50s. actively campaigned for the cessation of nuclear weapons testing. From the late 60's - early 70's. one of the leaders of the human rights movement (see Dissidents). In Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (1968), Sakharov considered the threats to humanity associated with its disunity, the confrontation between the socialist and capitalist systems: nuclear war, hunger, ecological and demographic catastrophes, dehumanization of society, racism, nationalism, dictatorial terrorist regimes. In the democratization and demilitarization of society, the establishment of intellectual freedom, social and scientific and technological progress, leading to the convergence of the two systems, Sakharov saw an alternative to the death of mankind. The publication of this work in the West served as a pretext for Sakharov's removal from secret work; after protest against entry Soviet troops in Afghanistan Sakharov in January 1980 was deprived of the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1954, 1956, 1962), the State Prize of the USSR (1953), the Lenin Prize (1957) and other state awards and was exiled to the city of Gorky. Returned from exile in 1986, in 1989 he was elected a people's deputy of the USSR; proposed a draft of a new constitution for the country. "Memoirs" was published in 1990. In 1988, the European Parliament established the International Prize. Andrei Sakharov for humanitarian work in the field of human rights. Nobel Prize peace (1975).

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SAKHAROV Andrei Dmitrievich (1921-89), Russian physicist and public figure, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1953). One of the creators of the hydrogen bomb (1953) in the USSR. Proceedings on magnetic hydrodynamics, plasma physics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, elementary particles, astrophysics, gravitation. Proposed (together with I. E. Tamm) the idea of ​​magnetic confinement of high-temperature plasma. From con. 50s actively campaigned for the cessation of nuclear weapons testing. From the late 60s - early. 70s one of the leaders of the human rights movement (see Dissidents (cm. DISSIDENTS)). In Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (1968), Sakharov considered the threats to humanity associated with its disunity, the confrontation between socialist and capitalist systems: nuclear war, famine, environmental and demographic catastrophes, dehumanization of society, racism, nationalism, dictatorial terrorist regimes. In the democratization and demilitarization of society, the establishment of intellectual freedom, social and scientific and technological progress, leading to the convergence of the two systems, Sakharov saw an alternative to the death of mankind. The publication of this work in the West served as a pretext for Sakharov's removal from secret work; after protesting against the entry of troops into Afghanistan, Sakharov was deprived of all state awards in January 1980 (Hero of Socialist Labor (1954, 1956, 1962), Lenin Prize (1956), State Prize of the USSR (1953)) and exiled to the city of Gorky, where he continued human rights activities. Returned from exile in 1986. In 1989 he was elected a People's Deputy of the USSR; proposed a draft of the new Constitution of the country. "Memories" (1990). In 1988, the European Parliament established the International Prize. Andrei Sakharov for humanitarian work in the field of human rights. Nobel Peace Prize (1975).
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SAKHAROV Andrei Dmitrievich (May 21, 1921, Moscow - December 14, 1989, ibid.), Russian physicist and public figure, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1953), Nobel Peace Prize winner (1975), one of the authors of the first works on the implementation of a thermonuclear reaction (hydrogen bomb) and the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion.
Family. School years
Sakharov came from an intelligent family, in his own words, of a fairly high income. Father, Dmitry Ivanovich Sakharov (1889-1961), the son of a famous lawyer, was a musically gifted person, received a musical and physical and mathematical education. He taught physics at Moscow universities. Professor of Moscow Pedagogical Institute them. V. I. Lenin, author of popular books and a problem book in physics. Mother, Ekaterina Alekseevna, nee Sofiano (1893-1963), of noble origin, was the daughter of a military man. From her Andrei Dmitrievich inherited not only appearance, but also some character traits, for example, perseverance, non-contact.
Sakharov's childhood was spent in a large, crowded Moscow apartment, "soaked in the traditional family spirit." For the first five years he studied at home. This contributed to the formation of independence and the ability to work, but led to lack of sociability, from which Sakharov suffered almost all his life. He was deeply influenced by Oleg Kudryavtsev, who studied with him, who introduced a humanitarian principle into Sakharov's worldview and opened up entire branches of knowledge and art for him. In the next five years of study at school, Andrei, under the guidance of his father, studied physics in depth, did many physical experiments.
University. Evacuation. First invention
In 1938 Sakharov entered the Physics Department of Moscow State University. The first attempt at independent scientific work in the second year ended unsuccessfully, but Sakharov did not experience disappointment in his abilities. After the start of the war, he, along with the university, was evacuated to Ashgabat; seriously studied quantum mechanics (cm. QUANTUM MECHANICS) and the theory of relativity (cm. RELATIVITY THEORY). Upon graduation in 1942 with honors from Moscow State University, where he was considered the best student ever to study at the Faculty of Physics, he refused the proposal of Professor A. A. Vlasov (cm. VLASOV Anatoly Alexandrovich) stay in graduate school. Having received the specialty "defense metallurgy", he was sent to a military plant, first in the city of Kovrov, Vladimir Region, and then to Ulyanovsk. Working and living conditions were very difficult. However, Sakharov's first invention appeared here - a device for controlling the hardening of armor-piercing cores.
Marriage
In 1943 Sakharov married Claudia Alekseevna Vikhireva (1919-1969), a native of Ulyanovsk, a laboratory chemist at the same plant. They had three children - two daughters and a son. Because of the war, and then the birth of children, Klavdia Alekseevna did not complete her higher education, and after the family moved to Moscow and later to the “object”, she was depressed that it was difficult for her to find a suitable job. To some extent, this disorder, and perhaps also the temperament of their characters, caused the Sakharovs to be somewhat isolated from the families of their colleagues.
PhD, Fundamental Physics
Returning to Moscow after the war, Sakharov entered graduate school in 1945. Institute of Physics them. P. N. Lebedeva ( cm.) to the famous theoretical physicist I. E. Tamm (cm. TAMM Igor Evgenievich) to deal with fundamental problems. In his Ph.D. thesis on nonradiative nuclear transitions, presented in 1947, he proposed a new selection rule for charge parity and a method for taking into account the interaction of an electron and a positron during pair production. At the same time, he came to the conclusion (without publishing his research on this problem) that the small difference in the energies of the two levels of the hydrogen atom is caused by the difference in the interaction of the electron with its own field in the bound and free states. A similar fundamental idea and calculation was published by H. Bethe (cm. BETH Hans Albrecht) and were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1967. The idea proposed by Sakharov and the calculation of muon catalysis (cm. CATALYSIS) nuclear reaction in deuterium (cm. DEUTERIUM) saw the light and were published only in the form of a secret report.
Work on the hydrogen bomb
Apparently, this report (and, to some extent, the need to improve housing conditions) was the basis for Sakharov's inclusion in 1948 in Tamm's special group to test a specific hydrogen bomb project. (cm. H-BOMB), on which the group of Ya. B. Zeldovich worked (cm. ZELDOVICH Yakov Borisovich). Soon Sakharov proposed his own bomb project in the form of layers of deuterium and natural uranium around a conventional atomic charge. During the explosion of an atomic charge, ionized uranium significantly increases the density of deuterium, increases the rate of thermonuclear reaction (cm. thermonuclear reactions) and fissile under the action of fast neutrons (cm. FAST NEUTRONS). This "first idea" - ionization compression of deuterium - was significantly supplemented by V. L. Ginzburg (cm. GINZBURG Vitaly Lazarevich) The "second idea" is to use lithium-6 deuteride. Under the influence of slow neutrons (cm. SLOW NEUTRONS) tritium is formed from lithium-6 - a very active thermonuclear fuel. With these ideas in the spring of 1950, Tamm's group, almost in its entirety, was sent to the "object" - a top-secret nuclear enterprise with a center in the city of Sarov, where it increased markedly due to the influx of young theorists. The intensive work of the group and the entire enterprise culminated in the successful testing of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb on August 12, 1953. A month before the test, Sakharov defended his doctoral dissertation, in the same year he was elected an academician, awarded the medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor and the Stalin (State) Prize.
In the future, the group led by Sakharov worked on the implementation of the collective "third idea" - the compression of thermonuclear fuel by radiation from the explosion of an atomic charge. The successful test of such an advanced hydrogen bomb in November 1955 was overshadowed by the death of a girl and a soldier, as well as serious injuries to many people who were away from the test site.
Awareness of the danger of nuclear testing
This circumstance, as well as the mass resettlement of residents from the test site in 1953, forced Sakharov to think seriously about the tragic consequences of atomic explosions, about the possible exit of this terrible force out of control. A tangible impetus to such thoughts was an episode at a banquet, when, in response to his toast - "so that bombs explode only over training grounds and never over cities" - he heard the words of a prominent military leader, Marshal M. I. Nedelin (cm. NEDELIN Mitrofan Ivanovich), the meaning of which was that the task of scientists is to “strengthen” the weapon, and they (the military) themselves will be able to “direct” it. It was a biting blow to Sakharov's self-esteem, and at the same time to his hidden pacifism. Success in 1955 brought Sakharov a second medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor and the Lenin Prize.
Controlled thermonuclear fusion
In parallel with his work on bombs, Sakharov, together with Tamm, put forward the idea of ​​magnetic plasma confinement. (cm. PLASMA)(1950) and carried out basic calculations of facilities for controlled thermonuclear fusion. He also owns the idea and calculations for the creation of superstrong magnetic fields by compression magnetic flux conductive cylindrical shell (1952). In 1961, Sakharov proposed the use of laser compression to obtain a controlled thermonuclear reaction. These ideas marked the beginning of large-scale research into fusion energy.
In 1958, two articles by Sakharov appeared on the harmful effects of radioactivity. nuclear explosions on heredity and, as a result, a decrease in average life expectancy. According to the scientist, each megaton explosion leads to 10 thousand victims of cancer in the future. In the same year, Sakharov unsuccessfully tried to influence the extension of the moratorium on atomic explosions declared by the USSR. The next moratorium was interrupted in 1961 by testing a super-powerful 50-megaton hydrogen bomb, more political than military, for the creation of which Sakharov was awarded the third medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor. This controversial activity in the development of weapons and the prohibition of their tests, which led in 1962 to sharp conflicts with colleagues and public authorities, had a positive result in 1963 - the Moscow Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (cm. NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY) weapons in three environments.
Beginning of open public speaking
Even then, Sakharov's interests were not limited to nuclear physics. In 1958, he opposed N. S. Khrushchev’s plans to reduce secondary education, and a few years later, together with other scientists, he managed to save Soviet genetics from the influence of T. D. Lysenko (cm. LYSENKO Trofim Denisovich). In 1964, Sakharov successfully spoke at the Academy of Sciences against the election of the biologist N. I. Nuzhdin as an academician, considering him, like Lysenko, responsible for "shameful, difficult pages in the development of Soviet science." In 1966, he signed the letter "25 Celebrities" to the 23rd Congress of the CPSU against the rehabilitation of Stalin. The letter noted that any attempt to revive the Stalinist policy of intolerance towards dissent "would be the greatest disaster" for the Soviet people. Acquaintance in the same year with R. A. Medvedev (cm. MEDVEDEV Roy Alexandrovich) and his book about Stalin markedly influenced the evolution of the views of Andrei Dmitrievich. In February 1967, Sakharov sent the first letter to Leonid Brezhnev in defense of the four dissidents. The response of the authorities was to deprive him of one of the two positions held at the "object".
In June 1968, a large article appeared in the foreign press - Sakharov's manifesto "Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom" - about the dangers of thermonuclear destruction, ecological self-poisoning, dehumanization of mankind, the need for convergence between the socialist and capitalist systems, Stalin's crimes and the lack of democracy in the USSR. In his manifesto, Sakharov called for the abolition of censorship, political trials, and against keeping dissidents in psychiatric hospitals. The reaction of the authorities was not long in coming: Sakharov was completely suspended from work at the "object" and dismissed from all posts related to military secrets. On August 26, 1968, he met with A. I. Solzhenitsyn (cm. SOLZHENITSYN Alexander Isaevich) which revealed the difference in their views on the necessary social transformations.
Death of a wife. Return to FIAN. Baryon asymmetry of the world
In March 1969, the wife of Andrei Dmitrievich died, leaving him in a state of despair, which was then replaced by a long spiritual devastation. After a letter from I. E. Tamm (at that time head of the Theoretical Department of FIAN) to President of the Academy of Sciences M. V. Keldysh (cm. KELDYSH Mstislav Vsevolodovich) and, apparently, as a result of sanctions from above, Sakharov was enrolled on June 30, 1969 in the department of the institute, where his scientific work began, as a senior researcher- the lowest that a Soviet academician could occupy. From 1967 to 1980, he published more than 15 scientific papers: on the baryon asymmetry of the Universe with the prediction of proton decay (according to Sakharov, this is his best theoretical work that influenced the formation scientific opinion in the next decade), about cosmological models of the Universe, about the connection between gravity and vacuum quantum fluctuations, about mass formulas for mesons (cm. MESONS) and baryons (cm. BARYONS) and etc.
Activation of social activities
In the same years, Sakharov's public activity intensified, which was increasingly at odds with the policy of official circles. He initiated appeals for the release of human rights activists P. G. Grigorenko from psychiatric hospitals (cm. GRIGORENKO Petr Grigorievich) and Zh. A. Medvedev. Together with physicist V. Turchin and R. A. Medvedev (cm. MEDVEDEV Roy Alexandrovich) wrote the Memorandum on Democratization and Intellectual Freedom. He traveled to Kaluga to take part in the picketing of the courtroom, where the trial of dissidents R. Pimenov and B. Weil was taking place. In November 1970, together with physicists V. Chalidze and A. Tverdokhlebov, he organized the Human Rights Committee, which was supposed to embody the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (cm. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS). In 1971, together with academician M. A. Leontovich (cm. LEONTOVICH Mikhail Alexandrovich) actively opposed the use of psychiatry for political purposes and at the same time - for the right to return the Crimean Tatars, freedom of religion, freedom to choose the country of residence and, in particular, for Jewish and German emigration.
Second marriage. Further social activities
In 1972 Sakharov married E. G. Bonner (cm. BONNER Elena Georgievna)(b. 1923), whom he met in 1970 at a trial in Kaluga. Becoming true friend and an associate of her husband, she focused Sakharov's activities on protecting the rights of specific people. Program documents were now considered by him as a subject for discussion. However, in 1977 he signed a collective letter to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on amnesty and the abolition of death penalty, in 1973 gave an interview to the Swedish radio correspondent U. Stenholm about the nature of the Soviet system and, despite the warning of the Deputy Prosecutor General, held a press conference for 11 Western journalists, during which he condemned not only the threat of persecution, but also what he called "détente without democratization. The reaction to these statements was a letter published in the Pravda newspaper by 40 academicians, which provoked a vicious campaign condemning Sakharov's public activities, as well as statements on his side by human rights activists, Western politicians and scientists. AI Solzhenitsyn proposed to award Sakharov the Nobel Peace Prize.
Intensifying the struggle for the right to emigrate, in September 1973 Sakharov sent a letter to the US Congress in support of the Jackson Amendment. In 1974, during the stay of President R. Nixon (cm. NIXON Richard) in Moscow, held his first hunger strike and gave a television interview to draw the attention of the world community to the fate of political prisoners. Based on the French humanitarian award received by Sakharov, E. G. Bonner organized a fund to help the children of political prisoners. In 1975, Sakharov met with the German writer G. Bell, together with him wrote an appeal in defense of political prisoners, in the same year he published the book “On the Country and the World” in the West, in which he developed the ideas of convergence (see convergence theory (cm. CONVERGENCE THEORY)), disarmament, democratization, strategic equilibrium, political and economic reforms.
Nobel Peace Prize
In October 1975, Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which was received by his wife, who was being treated abroad. Bonner read Sakharov's speech to the audience, which called for "true détente and genuine disarmament", for "general political amnesty in the world" and "liberation of all prisoners of conscience everywhere". The next day, Bonner read her husband's Nobel Lecture, "Peace, Progress, Human Rights," in which Sakharov argued that these three goals were "inextricably linked to each other," demanded "freedom of conscience, the existence of an informed public opinion, pluralism in the education system, freedom press and access to sources of information”, and also put forward proposals for achieving detente and disarmament.
In April and August 1976, December 1977 and early 1979, Sakharov and his wife traveled to Omsk, Yakutia, Mordovia and Tashkent to support human rights activists. In 1977 and 1978, the children and grandchildren of Bonner, whom Andrei Dmitrievich considered hostages of his human rights activities, emigrated to the United States. In 1979, Sakharov sent a letter to L. Brezhnev in defense of the Crimean Tatars and the removal of secrecy from the case of the explosion in the Moscow metro. For 9 years before his deportation to Gorky, he received hundreds of letters asking for help, received more than a hundred visitors. In compiling the answers, he was assisted by lawyer S. V. Kalistratova.
Link to Gorky
Despite open opposition to the Soviet regime, Sakharov was not formally charged until 1980, when he strongly condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. On January 4, 1980, he gave an interview to The New York Times about the situation in Afghanistan and its correction, and on January 14, an ABC television interview. Sakharov was deprived of all government awards, including the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, and on January 22, without any trial, he was exiled to the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), closed to foreigners, where he was placed under house arrest. At the end of 1981, Sakharov and Bonner went on a hunger strike for the right of E. Alekseeva to travel to the United States to her fiancé, Bonner's son. The departure was allowed by Brezhnev after a conversation with the President of the Academy of Sciences A.P. Alexandrov (cm. ALEXANDROV Anatoly Petrovich). However, even those close to Andrei Dmitrievich believed that "personal happiness cannot be bought at the cost of the suffering of a great man." In June 1983, Sakharov published in the American journal Foreign Affairs a letter to the famous physicist S. Drell about the danger of thermonuclear war. The reaction to the letter was an article by four academicians in the newspaper Izvestia, portraying Sakharov as a supporter of thermonuclear war and an arms race and sparking a noisy newspaper campaign against him and his wife. In the summer of 1984, Sakharov held an unsuccessful hunger strike for his wife's right to travel to the United States to meet with her family and receive treatment. The hunger strike was accompanied by forced hospitalization and painful feeding. The motives and details of this hunger strike were reported by Sakharov in the fall in a letter to A.P. Alexandrov, in which he asked for assistance in obtaining permission for his wife's trip, and also announced his withdrawal from the Academy of Sciences in case of refusal.
April - September 1985 - Sakharov's last hunger strike with the same goals; re-hospitalization and force-feeding. Bonner's exit permit was issued only in July 1985 after Sakharov's letter to M. S. Gorbachev (cm. GORBACHEV Mikhail Sergeevich) with a promise to focus on scientific work and stop public speaking if his wife's travel is allowed. In a new letter to Gorbachev on October 22, 1986, Sakharov asks to stop his deportation and his wife's exile, again promising to end his social activities. On December 16, 1986, M. S. Gorbachev announced to Sakharov by telephone that the exile was over: “Go back and start your patriotic activities.” A week later, Sakharov returned to Moscow with Bonner.
Last years
In February 1987, Sakharov spoke at the international forum "For a nuclear-free world, for the survival of mankind" with a proposal to consider the reduction in the number of euromissiles separately from the problems of SDI (cm. SOI), about the reduction of the army, about security nuclear power plants. In 1988 he was elected honorary chairman of the Memorial Society, and in March 1989 - People's Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Thinking a lot about the reform of the political structure of the USSR, in November 1989 Sakharov presented a draft of a new constitution, which is based on the protection of individual rights and the right of all peoples to statehood.
Sakharov was a foreign member of the Academies of Sciences of the USA, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and an honorary doctor of many universities in Europe, America and Asia. He died on December 14, 1989, after a busy day of work at the Congress of People's Deputies. His heart, as shown by the autopsy, was completely worn out. Hundreds of thousands of people came to say goodbye to the great man. Sakharov is buried at the Vostryakovsky cemetery in Moscow.