The KGB File of Andrei Sakharov

edited by Joshua Rubenstein and Alexander Gribanov



INDEX OF DOCUMENTS 
 

 
1 Andropov to the Central Committee. The Appearance of "Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom."
May 22, 1968
 
2 Andropov to the Central Committee. On the missing pages from Sakharov's manuscript.
May 27, 1968
 
3 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and the activity of other dissidents.
June 13, 1968
 
4 Andropov to the Central Committee. Moscow dissidents linked to Andrei Sakharov.
July 18, 1968
 
5 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and the dissident historian Roy Medvedev.
August 4, 1968
 
6 Tsvigun to the Central Committee. Growing Western interest in Soviet dissent.
August 26, 1968
 
7 Tsvigun to the Central Committee. How should the Kremlin respond to Sakharov’s memorandum?
August 26, 1968
 
8 Andropov to the Central Committee. The Demonstration in Red Square Against the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia.
September 20, 1968
 
9 Andropov to the Central Committee. The activities of Pyotr Grigorenko and his contacts with Sakharov.
April 16, 1969
 
10 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and the scientific bureaucracy.
September 8, 1969
 
11 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov visits the Installation for the final time.
September 15, 1969
 
12 Andropov to the Central Committee. The Second Memorandum.
March 30, 1970
 
13 Andropov to the Central Committee. The placing of eavesdropping equipment in Sakharov’s apartment.
April 20, 1970
 
14 Andropov to the Central Committee. Incidents during the trial of Natalia Gorbanevskaya and problems related to defense attorneys.
July 10, 1970
 
15 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and the Human Rights Committee.
October 5, 1970
 
16 Tsvigun to the Central Committee. Sakharov is approaching other scientists to support the Human Rights Committee.
November 18, 1970
 
17 Andropov to the Central Committee, The Human Rights Committee begins its work.
December 4, 1970
 
18 Andropov to the Central Committee. Alexander Solzhenitsyn and the Human Rights Committee.
December 16, 1970
 
19 Andropov to the Central Committee. The spread of samizdat.
December 21, 1970
 
20 Andropov to the Central Committee. Increased pressure on the Human Rights Committee.
December 30, 1970
 
21 Andropov to the Central Committee. Contacts between foreign journalists and dissidents in Moscow.
January 13, 1971
 
22 Andropov to the Central Committee. The trial of Angela Davis in the United States and the trial of Jewish would-be airplane hijackers in the Soviet Union.
January 13, 1971
 
23 Andropov to Brezhnev. Sakharov, the Human Rights Committee, and the need to meet with him.
January 18, 1971
 
24 Andropov to the Central Committee. Recommendation that a party leader meet with Sakharov.
February 12, 1971
 
25 Andropov to the Central Committee. Two dissidents discuss the question of violence against the regime.
February 19, 1971
 
26 Andropov to the Central Committee. The potential influence of the Human Rights Committee.
March 18, 1971
 
27 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee. The arrest of two Belgian tourists.
April 7, 1971
 
28 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov’s broadening activity.
April 17, 1971
 
29 Andropov to Suslov. An update on Sakharov and the Human Rights Committee.
May 13, 1971
 
30 Andropov to Suslov. Sakharov tested about violence against the regime.
May 21, 1971
 
31 Andropov to Suslov. Another update on the activities of the Human Rights Committee.
May 31, 1971
 
32 Andropov to Suslov. A conversation between Sakharov and his son.
June 7, 1971
 
33 Andropov to Suslov. A conversation between scientists.
July 6, 1971
 
34 Andropov to Suslov "personally." On the political abuse of psychiatry.
August 23, 1971
 
35 Andropov to the Central Committee. On the reported nomination of Sakharov for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
October 2, 1971
 
36 Andropov to Suslov. The impending marriage of Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner.
October 2, 1971
 
37 Andropov to Suslov, Sakharov's statement on the right to emigrate.
October 13, 1971
 
38 Andropov to the Central Committee. Cooperation between Moscow activists and Ukrainian nationalists.
December 15, 1971
 
39 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov’s criticism of the regime grows harsher.
December 20, 1971
 
40 Pirozhkov to the Central Committee. Contacts between the Human Rights Committee and groups in Europe.
December 28, 1971
 
41 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee. The trial of Vladimir Bukovsky.
January 7, 1972
 
42 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov intervenes for political prisoners.
May 26, 1972
 
43 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov's appeals to the Supreme Soviet.
May 26,1972
 
44 Andropov to the Central Committee. Andrei Sakharov and the case of Pyotr Yakir.
June 26, 1972
 
45 Andropov to the Central Committee. The dissidents approach other prominent figures.
July 10, 1972
 
46 Tsinev to the Central Committee. Moscow demonstration over the attack at the Munich Olympics.
September 7, 1972
 
47 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and the rally on Pushkin Square.
December 7, 1972
 
48 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and Bonner attend the trial of Vladimir Popov.
December 15, 1972
 
49 Andropov to the Central Committee. The first public denunciation of Andrei Sakharov.
February 18, 1973
 
50 Andropov to the Central Committee. Measures to compromise the work of the Human Rights Committee.
March 1, 1973
 
51 Andropov to the Central Committee. Sakharov and increased contact with the West.
March 13, 1973
 
52 Andropov to the Central Committee. The case of Yuri Shikhanovich.
March 28, 1973
 
53 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov tries to help the children of Elena Bonner.
April 12, 1973
 
54 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s interview with the Swedish correspondent, Olle Stenholm.
July 5, 1973
 
55 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; A sustained, public campaign against Sakharov.
August 2, 1973
 
56 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s call for democratization.
August 14, 1973
 
57 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; Sakharov is summoned to meet with a prosecutor.
August 21, 1973
 
58 Andropov to the Central Committee; Cover letter to accompany a research paper by the Library of Congress about samizdat.
August 31, 1973
 
59 Andropov to Kosygin; Cover letter which accompanied a transcript of the conversation between Malyarov and Sakharov, along with information on Sakharov; Sakharov's interview with Stenholm; Sakharov's interview with Dillon; two issues of the émigré journal Possev and an issue of the émigré newspaper Russkaya Mysl dated July 19, 1973.
September 4, 1973
 
60 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; A meeting between Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn.
September 8, 1973
 
61 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Sakharov holds a press conference.
September 9, 1973
 
62 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn.
September 17, 1973
 
63 Tsvigun to the Central Committee; Sakharov on the right to emigrate and the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
September 18, 1973
 
64 Chebrikov and Rudenko to Kosygin; Proposals on how to deal with Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn.
September 28, 1973
 
65 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov is growing harsher in his criticism.
October 19, 1973
 
66 Andropov to the Central Committee; The World Congress of Peace-loving Forces comes to Moscow.
October 21, 1973
 
67 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov meets with a foreign delegate to the World Congress of Peace-loving Forces.
November 11, 1973
 
68 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Lidia Chukovskaya.
November 14, 1973
 
69 Andropov to the Central Committee; An academic honor from the United States.
November 20, 1973
 
70 Andropov to Brezhnev; A cover letter to accompany the transcript of a conversation between Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn.
December 29, 1973
 
71 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov honored by an American human rights organization.
December 30, 1973
 
72 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Sakharov's election to the New York Academy of Sciences.
January 25, 1974
 
73 Andropov to the Central Committee; Leaflets in support of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov.
January 29, 1974
 
74 Andropov to the Central Committee; On the Western reaction to the expulsion of Solzhenitsyn.
February 20, 1974
 
75 Andropov to the Central Committee; The reaction of the Italian ambassador to Solzhenitsyn's expulsion.
February 22, 1974
 
76 Tsvigun to the Central Committee; On the investigation and arrest of people for distributing leaflets in Leningrad in defense of Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov.
February 25, 1974
 
77 Andropov to the Central Committee; Proposals on how to handle Sakharov.
March 7, 1974
 
78 Andropov to the Central Committee; Cover letter to accompany Sakharov’s stolen manuscript "The World in Fifty Years".
June 7, 1974
 
79 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov participates in a seminar for Jewish refusenik-scientists.
June 17, 1974
 
80 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov declares a hunger strike in support of Vladimir Bukovsky and other political prisoners.
July 1, 1974
 
81 Andropov to the Central Committee; On the award of the Cino del Duca Prize to Sakharov.
July 10, 1974
 
82 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Solzhenitsyn's assessment of Sakharov and other dissidents.
July 24, 1974
 
83 Andropov to the Central Committee; Elena Bonner invited to Italy for medical treatment.
October 10, 1974
 
84 Andropov to Gromyko; Protesting the behavior of Senator James Buckley.
November 11, 1974
 
85 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s contacts with the American Embassy.
November 19, 1974
 
86 Andropov to the Central Committee; The search of Andrei Tverdokhlebov's apartment.
November 30, 1974
 
87 Andropov to the Central Committee; Continuing concern over Sakharov’s contacts with American officials.
January 11, 1975
 
88 Andropov to the Central Committee; Invitations to Elena Bonner for medical treatment in Europe.
February 27, 1975
 
89 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov insists on his wife’s right to seek medical treatment in the West.
March 29, 1975
 
90 Andropov to the Central Committee; The attempt to establish an independent branch of the International PEN Club in Moscow.
April 5, 1975
 
91 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; To arrest and punish Andrei Tverdokhlebov.
April 12, 1975
 
92 Andropov to the Central Committee; On the right to leave one’s country.
April 30, 1975
 
93 Andropov to the Central Committee; On the activities of the ethnic German minority in the USSR.
June 12, 1975
 
94 Andropov to the Central Committee; Nobel laureates appeal on behalf of Elena Bonner.
June 22, 1975
 
95 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Sakharov's My Country and the World.
June 22, 1975
 
96 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov continues to insist on his wife’s right to seek medical treatment in Italy.
July 9, 1975
 
97 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's statement to the Pugwash Conference.
July 18, 1975
 
98 Andropov to the Central Committee; Bonner receives permission to travel abroad.
July 18, 1975
 
99 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's reaction to permission for Bonner to go to Italy.
July 21, 1975
 
100 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; The appearance of Sakharov’s collection of essays My Country and the World.
September 27, 1975
 
101 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov receives the Nobel Prize for Peace.
October 10, 1975
 
102 Andropov to the Central Committee; Response to the Nobel award.
October 28, 1975
 
103 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov is not permitted to travel to Oslo for the Nobel ceremony.
November 12, 1975
 
104 Andropov to the Central Committee; Press Conference by Elena Bonner in Italy.
November 13, 1975
 
105 Andropov, Ustinov, and Rudenko to the Central Committee; The broad challenge posed by Sakharov and a proposal to expel Sakharov and his wife from Moscow.
November 16, 1975
 
106 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's speech for the Nobel ceremony.
November 30, 1975
 
107 Andropov to the Central Committee; Demonstration in Moscow’s Pushkin Square.
December 8, 1975
 
108 Andropov to the Central Committee; Appeals to Western Communist parties and the need for continuing internal repression.
December 29, 1975
 
109 Andropov to the Central Committee; Leningrad demonstration in memory of the Decembrist uprising in 1825.
January 11, 1976
 
110 Andropov to the Central Committee; The challenge posed by ongoing dissent.
February 16, 1976
 
111 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov appeals on behalf of prisoners of conscience.
February 21, 1976
 
112 Andropov to the Central Committee; The trials of Andrei Tverdokhlebov and Mustafa Dzhemilev.
April 15, 1976
 
113 Andropov to the Central Committee; More on the trials of Tverdokhlebov and Dzhemilev.
April 16, 1976
 
114 Tsvigun to the Central Committee; The funeral of Konstantin Bogatyrev.
June 21, 1976
 
115 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakhrov and Bonner visit Andrei Tverdokhlebov in his place of exile.
August 26, 1976
 
116 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's conversations with visiting Dutch parliamentarians.
September 4, 1976
 
117 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's letters to Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter during the presidential campaign.
September 19, 1976
 
118 Andropov to the Central Committee; Establishment of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group.
November 15, 1976
 
119 Andropov to the Central Committee; Demonstration on Pushkin Square.
December 6, 1976
 
120 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Sakharov’s alleged reaction to an increase in the prices of basic goods.
December 23, 1976
 
121 Andropov, Gromyko, and Rudenko to the Central Committee; A bomb in the Moscow subway and the expulsion of George Krimsky.
 January 18, 1977
 
122 Andropov to the Central Committee; Correspondence between Andrei Sakharov and Jimmy Carter.
February 9, 1977
 
123 Andropov to the Central Committee; U. S. government activities in defense of human rights.
February 18, 1977
 
124 Andropov to the Central Committee; The arrest of Anatoly Shcharansky.
March 29, 1977
 
125 Andropov to the Central Committee; The holding of the first Sakharov Hearing in Copenhagen.
May 13, 1977
 
126 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's statement on the new Soviet Constitution.
June 4, 1977
 
127 Andropov to the Central Committee; Elena Bonner travels to Italy.
July 20, 1977
 
128 Andropov to the Central Committee; Demonstration in Moscow’s Pushkin Square.
December 11, 1977
 
129 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; Dissidents protest a PLO attack in Israel.
March 14, 1978
 
130 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov increases his contacts with foreign diplomats in Moscow.
March 26, 1978
 
131 Andropov to the Central Committee; Confrontations between Sakharov and the police.
May 26, 1978
 
132 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Western proposals to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Soviet human rights activists.
August 1978
 
133 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; The confiscation of Sakharov’s personal papers.
October 31, 1978
 
134 Andropov to the Central Committee; Elena Bonner travels to Italy.
December 14, 1978
 
135 Andropov to the Central Committee; Preparations for the Moscow Olympics.
April 25, 1979
 
136 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; The case against Andrei Sakharov.
December 26, 1979
 
137 Andropov and Rudenko to the Central Committee; Decrees on the Sakharov case by the Soviet government.
January 7, 1980
 
138 Andropov to the Central Committee; Cover letter to accompany the transcript of Sakharov's interview with Charles Bierbauer of ABC News.
January 18, 1980
 
139 Andropov to the Central Committee; Responses in the West to Sakharov’s banishment.
January 24, 1980
 
140 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s first days in Gorky.
February 7, 1980
 
141 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov and a meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
February 12, 1980
 
142 Andropov to the Central Committee; Attempts to visit Sakharov in Gorky.
April 2, 1980
 
143 Andropov to the Central Committee; On Bonner's unsuccesssful attempt to meet with KGB chairman Yuri Andropov.
April 24, 1980
 
144 Andropov to the Central Committee; The mental stability of Andrei Sakharov.
August 26, 1980
 
145 Andropov to the Central Committee; To isolate and harass Sakharov and Bonner.
March 11, 1981
 
146 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov's sixtieth birthday.
May 2, 1981
 
147 Andropov to the Central Committee; The effectiveness of banishing Sakharov to Gorky.
 June 26, 1981
 
148 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; The struggle to unite Liza Alexeyeva and Alexei Semyonov begins.
September 2, 1981
 
149 Andropov to the Central Committee; How Elena Bonner continues to incite Sakharov.
November 5, 1981
 
150 Andropov to the Central Committee; The impending hunger strike.
November 19, 1981
 
151 Andropov to the Central Committee; The hunger strike continues.
December 1981
 
152 Andropov to the Central Committee; The need to involve the Academy of Sciences.
December 9, 1981
 
153 KGB to the Central Committee; Permission to travel for Liza Alexeyeva and the health of Andrei Sakharov.
December 22 (?), 1981
 
154 Andropov to the Central Committee; Questions over Sakharov’s health.
March 28, 1982
 
155 Andropov and Rekunkov to the Central Committee; Contacts between Elena Bonner and the American Embassy.
March 31, 1982
 
156 Andropov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s "Open Letter to Soviet Scientists".
April 2, 1982
 
157  Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; The need to confiscate Sakharov’s memoirs.
August 13, 1982
 
 158 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s appeal to the Pugwash Conference.
August 31, 1982
 
159 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; The closing of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group.
September 12, 1982
 
160 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; The seizure of Sakharov’s memoirs.
November 1, 1982
 
161 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; An incident during a performance at the Moscow Art Theater.
November 15, 1982
 
162 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; A plan to search Elena Bonner.
December 4, 1982
 
163 Fedorchuk to the Central Committee; Confiscation of Sakharov’s papers from Elena Bonner.
December 8, 1982
 
164 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; More on the search of Elena Bonner.
December 22, 1982
 
165 Chebrikov to Anatoly Alexandrov, President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences; Cover letter to accompany the text of Sakharov's "Open Letter to Sidney Drell.
April 19, 1983
 
166 Tsinev to the Central Committee; On attempts by Sakharov to challenge his isolation in Gorky.
May 19, 1983
 
167 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Appeal from Sakharov to permit Elena Bonner to travel to the West.
January 23, 1984
 
168 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Efforts to isolate Sakharov more effectively.
March 5, 1984
 
169 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; A long and dangerous hunger strike is about to begin.
April 13, 1984
 
170 Gromyko, Chebrikov, and Rekunkov to the Central Committee; How the KGB will handle the hunger strike.
April 26, 1984
 
171 Gromyko and Chebrikov to the Central Committee; The hunger strike and official measures to thwart the plans of Sakharov and Bonner.
May 3, 1984
 
172 Chebrikov and Rekunkov to the Central Committee; The hunger strike continues.
May 12, 1984
 
173 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; How the KGB is handling the hunger strike.
May 20, 1984
 
174 Leonid Zamyatin to the Central Committee; A rumor that Sakharov has died.
June 5, 1984
 
175 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; The manipulation of international concern over Sakharov.
July 6, 1984
 
176 Chebrikov, Terebilov, and Bazhenov to the Central Committee; The trial of Elena Bonner.
August 13, 1984
 
177 Tsinev to the Central Committee; More effective isolation of Elena Bonner.
September 12, 1984
 
178 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s letter to the President of the Academy of Sciences.
February 14, 1985
 
179 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; A report for Gorbachev on the possibility of another hunger strike.
April 13, 1985
 
180 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Sakharov leaves the hospital.
July 20, 1985
 
181 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Sakharov resumes his hunger strike.
August 3, 1985
 
182 Chebrikov and Shevardnadze to Gorbachev; The KGB and Foreign Ministry recommend that Bonner be allowed to travel.
August 28, 1985
 
183 Chebrikov to Gorbachev; Pledges to Gorbachev from Sakharov and Bonner.
October 12, 1985
 
184 Chebrikov to Gorbachev; Bonner’s travel to the West.
November 26, 1985
 
185 Bobkov to Lukyanov; Cover letter to accompany two enclosed documents in response to a request from Lukyanov.
[sometime in] 1985
 
186 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Bonner extends her visit to the United States.
February 7, 1986
 
187 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; The impact of Bonner’s stay in the United States.
May 11, 1986
 
188 Chebrikov to Gorbachev; The KGB reports to Gorbachev on Sakharov and other prisoners of conscience.
June 17, 1986
 
189 Chebrikov to the Central Committee; Bonner in the West; Sakharov on the Chernobyl accident.
June 18, 1986
 
190 Chebrikov, Ligachev, and Marchuk to the Central Committee; The proposal to allow Sakharov and Bonner to return to Moscow.
December 9, 1986
 
191 Shevardnadze, Chebrikov, Yakovlev, and Dobrynin to the Central Committee; How to exploit Sakharov’s return to Moscow.
January 15, 1987
 
192 Chebrikov to Gorbachev; Sakharov and two American physicists discuss disarmament.
June 19, 1987
 
193 Politburo Meeting; The decision to restore Sakharov’s prizes and awards.
October 13, 1988
 
194 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; The establishment of Moscow Tribune.
October 15, 1988
 
195 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; The establishment of Memorial.
November 16, 1988
 
196 Kryuchkov to Gorbachev; More on Moscow Tribune.
June 30, 1989
 
197 Kryuchkov to Gorbachev; Sakharov's influence on the labor movement in the Vorkuta mining region.
November 14, 1989
 
198 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; Sakharov’s call for a general strike.
December 4, 1989
 
199 Kryuchkov to Gorbachev; Sakharov’s radical ideas and his growing support.
December 8, 1989
 
200 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; The impending general strike.
December 8, 1989
 
201 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; The funeral of Andrei Sakharov.
December 18, 1989
 
202 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; More on the funeral of Andrei Sakharov.
December 20, 1989
 
203 Kryuchkov to the Central Committee; The political consequences of Sakharov’s death.
December 23, 1989
 
204 Kryuchkov to Elena Bonner and Yuri Samodurov; Letter concerning preparations for the First International Sakharov Congress.
August 10, 1991
 
     

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