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Physicist, born in Moscow, He studied in Moscow, joined the nuclear weapons research group (1948), and is usually credited with a critical role in developing the Soviet hydrogen bomb. He became a full member of the Academy of Sciences in 1953. In 1958 he openly opposed nuclear weapon tests, thereafter supporting East--West co-operation and human rights, and in 1975 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Exiled to Nizhni Novgorod (formerly, Gorky) in 1980 as a leading dissident, he lived under poor conditions until released in 1986 and restored to favour. He was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies in 1989