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PARTISAN REVIEW
ditions of extraordinary tension and secrecy, at first in Moscow and
then in a special research center. We were all convinced of the vital
importance of our work for establishing a worldwide military equi–
librium, and we were attracted by its scope.
In 1950 I collaborated with Igor Tamm in some of the first re–
search on controlled thermonuclear reactions. We proposed princi–
ples for the magnetic thermal isolation of plasma. I also suggested as
an immediate technical objective the use of a thermonuclear reactor
to produce fissionable materials as fuel for atomic power plants. Re–
search on controlled thermonuclear reactions is now receiving prior–
ity everywhere. The Tokomak system which is under intensive study
in many countries, is most closely related to our early ideas.
In 1952 I initiated experimental work on magnetic-explosive
generators (devices to transform the energy of a chemical or nuclear
explosion into the energy of a magnetic field). A record magnetic
field of 25,000,000 gauss was achieved during these experiments in
1964.
In 1953 I was elected a member of the USSR Academy of
Sciences.
My social and political views underwent a major evolution over
the fifteen years from 1953 to 1968. In particular, my role in the de–
velopment of thermonuclear weapons from 1953 to 1962, and in the
preparation and execution of thermonuclear tests, led to an in–
creased awareness of the moral problems engendered by such activi–
ties. In the late 1950s I began a campaign to halt or to limit the test–
ing of nuclear weapons. This brought me into conflict first with
Nikita Khrushchev in 1961, and then with the Minister of Medium
Machine Building, Efim Slavsky, in 1962. I helped to promote the
1963 Moscow Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the
Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water. From 1964 when I
spoke out on problems of biology, and especially from 1967, I have
been interested in an ever-expanding circle of questions. In 1967 I
joined the Committee for Lake Baikal. My first appeals for victims
of repression date from 1966-67.
The time came in 1968 for the more detailed, public and candid
statement of my views contained in the essay "Progress, Coexistence
and Intellectu.'l.l Freedom.» These same ideas were echoed seven
years later in the title of my Nobel lecture: "Peace, Progress and
Human Rights.» I consider the themes of fundamental importance
and closely interconnected. My 1968 essay was a turning point in my
life. It quickly gained worldwide publicity. The Soviet press was
