The Andrei Sakharov Foundation mourns the death of Yuri Fedorovich Orlov, World War II veteran, accomplished physicist, leading activist for human rights, founder and the first head of Moscow Helsinki Group, member of Amnesty International Moscow Branch, and for nine years, prisoner of conscience in a Soviet labor camp.
Orlov described his life as “a journey through practically every layer of Soviet society,” a journey that culminated in his expulsion from his native country and transfer him to Ithaca where he continued his mission as a scientist, teacher, and human rights advocate during more than three decades. Sakharov praised him as “a man of exceptional courage, industry, and intelligence.” Orlov’s leadership of the Moscow Helsinki Group was memorable, as “it was Orlov’s bold vision that made our efforts so effective — and so intolerable from the Soviet point of view”, according to Anatoly Sharansky. The Andrei Sakharov Foundation extends its deepest condolences to Professor Orlov’s family, friends, and colleagues around the world.