Yelena Bonner
Yelena Bonner 
| |
|---|---|
 Bonner and Sakharov in 1989 | |
| Birth name | Lusik Georgievna Alikhanova |
| Name in Armenian | Ելենա Բոներ |
| Birthplace | Merv |
| Birth date | 15 February 1923 |
| Lived in | Mary, St. Petersburg, Moscow |
| Resides in | Moscow |
| Death place | Boston |
| Death date | 2011/06/18 |
| Languages | Russian |
| Ethnicities | Armenian, Jewish |
| Spouses | Ivan Semyonov, Andrei Sakharov |
| Children | Tatiana, Alexey |
Yelena Georgievna Bonner (Russian: Еле́на Гео́ргиевна Бо́ннэр; 15 February 1923 – 18 June 2011) was a human rights activist in the former Soviet Union and wife of the physicist Andrei Sakharov. During her decades as a dissident, Bonner was noted for her characteristic blunt honesty and courage.
Bonner was born Lusik Georgievna Alikhanova in Merv, Turkmen SSR, USSR (now Mary, Turkmenistan). Her father, Georgy Alikhanov (Armenian name Gevork Alikhanyan), was an Armenian who founded the Soviet Armenian Communist Party,[3] and was a highly placed member of the Comintern; her mother, Ruf (Ruth Bonner), was a Jewish Communist activist. She had a younger brother, Igor, who became a career naval officer. Her family had a summer dacha in Sestroretsk and Bonner had fond memories there.