Yelena Bonner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yelena Bonner
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| Елена Боннэр | |
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Bonner in 1989
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| Born |
Lusik Georgiyevna Alikhanova
15 February 1923 Merv, Turkestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
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| Died | 18 June 2011 (aged 88) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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| Alma mater | Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Peterburg |
| Occupation | nurse during World War II, physician, human right activist |
| Known for | Human rights activism, participation in the Moscow Helsinki Group |
| Movement | Dissident movement in the Soviet Union |
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Yelena Georgiyevna Bonner (Russian: Елена Георгиевна Боннэр; 15 February 1923 – 18 June 2011) was a brave human rights activist in the former Soviet Union. She was also the wife of the famous scientist Andrei Sakharov. Yelena Bonner was known for her honesty and courage during her many years of speaking out against injustice.
Contents
Yelena Bonner: A Champion for Rights
Her Early Life and Family
Yelena Bonner was born Lusik Georgiyevna Alikhanova in Merv, a city in what was then the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now Mary, Turkmenistan). Her mother, Ruf Bonner, was a Jewish communist activist. Her father, Levon Kacharyan, was Armenian.
After her father died, her mother married Gevork Alikhanyan. He was an important leader in the Communist Party of Armenia. Yelena also had a younger brother named Igor.
In 1937, during a difficult time in Soviet history called the Great Purge, Yelena's stepfather was arrested and sadly died. Her mother was arrested a few days later. She spent ten years in a labor camp called the Gulag and then nine years in exile. Yelena's uncle and his wife also faced similar hardships. After the leader Stalin died in 1953, her family members were officially cleared of any wrongdoing.
Serving in World War II
When World War II began in 1941, Yelena volunteered to help. She joined the Red Army's Hospital and became a head nurse. She was wounded twice while serving. In 1946, she was honorably discharged from the army because of her injuries.
After the war, Yelena went to medical school in Leningrad. She earned a degree in pediatrics, which means she became a doctor who cares for children.
Marriage and Family Life
While in medical school, Yelena met her first husband, Ivan Semyonov. They had a daughter, Tatiana, in 1950, and a son, Alexey, in 1956. Her children later moved to the United States in the late 1970s. Yelena and Ivan separated in 1965.
In 1970, Yelena met Andrei Sakharov. He was a brilliant nuclear physicist and also a strong human rights activist. They got married in 1972. Sakharov had been a widower since 1969.
Becoming an Activist
Yelena Bonner started helping political prisoners and their families as early as the 1940s. She joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1964 while working as a doctor. However, just a few years later, she became very active in the Soviet human rights movement.
Her decision to become a "dissident" (someone who speaks out against the government) grew stronger in 1968. This was when Soviet tanks entered Czechoslovakia to stop the Prague Spring movement. This event made her believe that the government system could not be changed from the inside.
Fighting for Human Rights
In 1970, Yelena and Andrei Sakharov met Natan Sharansky. They worked together to help Jewish people who were sentenced to death for trying to leave the USSR.
Because of pressure from Sakharov, the Soviet government allowed Yelena Bonner to travel to other countries in 1975, 1977, and 1979. She needed treatment for an eye injury she got during the war.
Andrei Sakharov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. However, the Soviet authorities would not let him travel to the ceremony. So, Yelena, who was in Italy for treatment, bravely represented him at the award ceremony in Oslo.
In 1976, Bonner became a founding member of the Moscow Helsinki Group. This group worked to make sure the Soviet Union followed international agreements on human rights.
Exile and Return
In January 1980, Sakharov was sent away to Gorky, a city that was closed to foreigners. Yelena became his main link to the outside world. She traveled between Gorky and Moscow to share his writings and messages.
In April 1984, Yelena was arrested for "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" and sentenced to five years of exile in Gorky herself. This was a very difficult time for them. Sakharov went on several hunger strikes to protest. Finally, the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, allowed Yelena to travel to the U.S. in 1985 for heart surgery.
Before that, in 1981, Bonner and Sakharov went on a dangerous but successful hunger strike. They wanted Soviet officials to let their daughter-in-law, Yelizaveta Alexeyeva, get a visa to join her husband (Yelena's son Alexey) in the United States.
In December 1986, Gorbachev allowed Sakharov and Bonner to return to Moscow. After Sakharov's death in 1989, Yelena created the Andrei Sakharov Foundation. This foundation helps keep his memory and work alive.
Continuing Her Fight
Yelena Bonner continued to speak out for democracy and human rights in Russia and around the world. She supported those who defended the Russian parliament during the Soviet coup attempt of 1991. She also supported Boris Yeltsin during a political crisis in 1993.
In 1994, Yelena resigned from Yeltsin's Human Rights Commission. She was very upset about what she called the "genocide of the Chechen people." She strongly opposed Russia's military actions in Chechnya. She also criticized the government under Vladimir Putin, saying it was becoming too controlling.
Yelena Bonner received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom in 1999. In 2010, she was one of the first people to sign an online statement called "Putin must go" which called for political change.
Her Last Years
From 2006, Yelena Bonner spent her time between Moscow and the United States. Her two children, five grandchildren, and great-grandchildren lived in the U.S. She passed away on 18 June 2011, in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 88. Her daughter said she died of heart failure.
Her Works and Awards
Yelena Bonner wrote two books: Alone Together (1987) and Mothers and Daughters (1992). She also wrote many articles about Russia and human rights.
She received many international awards for her work, including:
- The Rafto Prize in 1991
- The European Parliament's Robert Schuman Medal in 2001
- The Giuseppe Motta Medal in 2004
In 2005, Yelena Bonner was featured in "They Chose Freedom." This was a TV documentary about the history of people who spoke out against the Soviet government.
Images for kids
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Bonner in 1989
See also
In Spanish: Yelena Bónner para niños
