About four hundred people took part in "Sakharov's May-Day" in Moscow

"Sakharov's May-Day" passed off in Moscow near the Museum and Social Center named after academician Andrey Sakharov. It was on open-air party: "Freedom Day", a meeting and a concert.

The action was the last stage of the international conference "Andrey Sakharov: Concern and Hope, 2011" devoted to the 90th anniversary of Sakharov's birthday held in Moscow.

By different estimations, about 400 people gathered near Sakharov's Center in Moscow. The area encircled with ribbons and balloons was safeguarded by about ten policemen. Symbolically, there were no radio-metal locators or inspections at the entrance of the area.

Russian and foreign human rights activists were present at "Sakharov's May-Day", among them Ludmila Alexeeva, Chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group, Mikhail Kriger, Leader of the Committee of Anti-war Actions, Anna Karetnikova, Coordinator of the Association of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, Alexander Verkhovsky, Director of Informational and Analytic Center "SOVA" and many others.

Human rights activist Valentine Gefter who was also present an "Sakharov's May-Day" emphasized that Russia today lacked such leaders as Andrey Sakharov.

The concert was devoted to support of political prisoners in today's Russia. Voluntary fund-raising for them was organized in several places. Signatures were collected for opening a museum of Stalin's repression in Moscow. Besides, human rights and historic printed matter was on sale during the celebration and the money collected will be transferred to the Fund of support of political prisoners.

Poets Mikhail Aizenberg, Elena Fanailova, Vera Polozkova and many others declaimed their poems. The last to declaim was satirist writer Victor Shenderovich. One of the poems was devoted to a soldier of contract service who had returned from the war in Chechnya. After the concert a film "My Husband Andrey Sakharov" was shown.

It was already the fifth "Sakharov's May-Day" in Moscow.

On Monday, May, 23, French physicist Andre Neveu will deliver a public lecture devoted to academician Andrey Sakharov in the Moscow Institute of Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences as an additional part of Sakharov's conference.