LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Andrei Sakharov: Exile
built 235 days ago
In 1979, when the Soviet Union intervened in the civil war in Afghanistan, Sakharov spoke out strongly against this action. In January, 1980, he was arrested on the street, informed that by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet he had been deprived of the title of Hero of Socialist Labour and all other awards and honours, and was put on a special flight to exile in Gorky (now called Nizhni Novgorod), a city which at that time was closed to foreigners. His wife was allowed to go with him.
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In marked contrast, Andrei Sakharov was genuinely unselfish, in that he subordinated his personal ambitions, comfort, and even safety, to his principles. For his principles, he risked physical torture and death, and willingly endured fasting and exile. His strength came, not from bombast and intimidation, but by example. His power was not that of a Hitler or a Bonaparte, but of a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King.
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This action by the authorities was of course quite illegal: Sakharov was not charged with any crime. In exile, he was subjected to constant surveillance, had to report regularly to the local police, and was expressly forbidden to leave the city limits or to have any meetings, correspondence or even telephone calls with foreigners, including personal communication with his children and grandchildren in the USA.
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