The Nobel Prize Museum jointly with a journalist Anna Narinskaya curated an exhibit, which will open in Stockholm on February 6th and will be on display till March 29th.
A unique art piece at the center of the exhibition is formed by KGB surveillance footage, which was secretly filmed during the nearly seven years of Andrei Sakharov’s exile in the city of Gorky. The stunning art piece offers just one facet of the continuous and comprehensive surveillance, which Andrei Sakharov was subjected most of his life but especially during the exile in 1980 – 1986.
Anna Narinskaya provided the following narration:
“In Gorky, Sakharov and his wife Elena Bonner were placed in an apartment without a telephone. KGB officers were always on duty in the entrance hall. When no one was at home, the apartment was regularly searched. KGB cars followed Sakharov and his wife wherever they went.
But even this massive surveillance wasn’t enough. Sakharov was watched by lots of agents with hidden cameras who pretended to be ordinary passersby, shop assistants, and clinical staff. In addition, cameras were installed in many places that Sakharov visited regularly, such as the hospital.”
During the years of Perestroika, when the KGB archives were briefly made available, the surviving video footage was handed over to the Sakharov’s family.