Shcharansky, Anatoly (Borisovich)

or Natan Sharansky

(born Jan. 20, 1948, Stalino, Ukraine, U.S.S.R.) Soviet dissident and Israeli politician. He studied mathematics and computer programming at the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute (1966–72) and then worked in Moscow as a computer specialist for the Institute of Oil and Gas. A Jew, he applied for permission to emigrate to Israel in 1973 but was refused and discharged from his job. With an excellent command of English, he became a spokesperson for the dissidents and refuseniks in contacting Western correspondents to publicize their cause. In 1977 he was arrested by the KGB for treason and espionage, sentenced to 13 years in prison, and sent to the Siberian Gulag. His wife, Avital, who had emigrated to Israel in 1974, championed his cause. Released in 1986, he settled in Israel, where he founded a party stressing the concerns of Russian immigrants, and he was appointed to the cabinet as minister of industry and trade in 1996. He later served as interior minister in Ehud Barak's government and as housing and construction minister in Ariel Sharon's government.