Švenčiame A. Sacharovo gyvenimą 1921–2021

Abstract

The centenary of the birth of Nobel Peace Prize winner, human rights activist and physicist Andrei Sakharov was celebrated in many countries, including Lithuania. The Andrei Sakharov Centre for Research on the Development of Democracy, based at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, organised a conference to mark the occasion, which took place in Vilnius Town Hall. A one-day conference with participation of seven famous international speakers, devoted to the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which formed the basic of cooperation and security in Europe and eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and freedom for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the republics that were part of the USSR. The Helsinki Accords were signed in the same year when Andrei Sakharov was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize. His thoughts were largely reflected in Helsinki Accords. Speakers also focused on the role of dissident groups in the process of opening totalitarian societies in Eastern Europe and on the challenges that Europe faces today.