[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 239 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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--

    (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 state-sponsored 
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 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the historical significance of the 
        contributions made by Dr. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (referred 
        to in this resolution as ``Dr. Sakharov'') in the promotion of 
        human dignity and political freedom in his own country and 
        around the world;
            (2) recognizes that the example set by Dr. Sakharov has 
        inspired millions around the world working to promote 
        democratic principles; and
            (3) expresses support for democracy and human rights 
        activists around the world, especially in Russia, who embody 
        the principles and values practiced by Dr. Sakharov.
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