Object of Observation

This book is a documentary story of the confrontation between the authorities and Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, who became a symbol of moral resistance to the totalitarian regime. The full force of the Soviet state machinery was unleashed against Sakharov: the... apparatus of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the KGB, and a whole army of party propagandists, but he endured and triumphed. The book presents reports and information notes, KGB memos, working records of Politburo meetings, and decisions of the Central Committee regarding Sakharov's human rights activities. Many documents are published for the first time. Aimed at the thoughtful reader, the book is richly illustrated and includes introductory articles that immerse the reader in the topic, extensive commentary on the texts of the documents, and an annotated index of names.