Remembering Sakharov

Joshua Rubenstein, co-editor with Alexander Gribanov, of the "KGB file of Andrei Sakharov."

From 1966, when he emerged as a dissident, to his death in 1989 Andrei Sakharov was a stinging critic of Soviet repression. His status as a Nobel Prize winning scientist gave him international prestige and heightened official concern over his influence beyond the USSR. Seven years of exile in the city of Gorky did not silence him. When he was freed he lent his support to the reformist agenda of Mikhail Gorbachev and was a vital factor in Russia's transformation. Through it all the KGB kept a close watch on Sakharov but never understood his motivation or his method. Joshua Rubenstein, co-editor of the KGB file of Andrei Sakharov, recounts the history of KGB surveillance.