pliant, pluriist, tolerant community which selectively and tentatively can bring about a free, undogmatic use of the experience of all social systems." sakharov was relieved of all of his scientific duties and after denouncing the soviet invasion of afghanistan in 1980 was banished to ghorky, 250 miles east of moscow on the river to remove him from the public eye. his wife joined him in 1984 charged with anti-soviet slander and was prohibited from traveling abroad for medical treatment. sakharov began a hunger strike in protest. soviet authorities detained and force-fed him. in solidarity, president ronald reagan, who was then initiating his historic negotiations with the soviets, proclaimed may 18, 1983, "national andrei sakharov day" and the following year the united states congress passed a bipartisan measure renaming the mailing address of the soviet embassy from 1125 16th street to number 1 andrei sakharov plaza. every piece of mail delivered to or sent from the embassy would thus bear the name of the courageous dissident the soviets were trying to silence. the following year, the so