Natan Sharansky was born in 1948 in Stalino, now Donetsk, Ukraine. He was involved in the human rights movement in the USSR and one of the leaders of the struggle for the right of Soviet Jews to repatriate to Israel. In 1976, Sharansky co-founded the Helsinki Accords Observance Group, which monitored violations of these agreements, including in relation to various religious and national groups in the Soviet Union. In 1977, he was arrested on charges of treason and espionage. After nine years in prison, he was released on February 11, 1986. 1996–2005 — minister and deputy prime minister of four Israeli governments.

Alexei Navalny: “I really can’t imagine how he survived... Reading his book, I sometimes shake my head to get rid of the feeling that I’m reading my personal file. For example, the punishment cell/PKT building is a separate barracks behind barbed wire. The maximum sentence in a punishment cell is 15 days. And I wasn't surprised when, after several consecutive 15-day sentences, I was transferred to the PKT for six months as a repeat offender. Same old story.'