Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Russian nuclear physicist, dissident, and activist for disarmament, peace and human rights. [source: Wikipedia] This essay was a turning point for Sakharov, who was stripped of his status as respected nuclear physicist, Translation by The New York Times staff of Razmyshleniia o progresse, mirnom sosushchestvovanii i intellektual'noi svobode. Includes Introduction, Afterword, and notes by Harrison E. Salisbury.