The electrical engineer under NKVD investigation who became minister and delivered isotope separation for the atomic bomb
In the prison laboratory where he was held under NKVD investigation, he designed generators. Thirteen years later, the electromagnetic separation method he led gave the Soviet Union lithium-6 for the hydrogen bomb.
Born in St. Petersburg to a dental technician, he graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and devoted his career to electrical machine engineering at the Elektrosila plant. Placed under NKVD investigation in 1938, he continued designing generators inside a special prison laboratory; released at the outbreak of war, he became chief engineer and directed wartime production. Appointed Minister of the Electrical Industry in 1951, he oversaw electrical machinery, cables, radio equipment, and power apparatus at the height of late Stalinism, and crucially led the development of electromagnetic isotope separation and lithium-6 production technology for the Soviet nuclear weapons program. A four-time Stalin Prize and Lenin Prize laureate, he ended his career as deputy head of the Main Administration for Atomic Energy Utilization, managing the transition to peaceful nuclear applications.
Career Timeline
- 1924–1938Design engineer → Head of Electromechanical Laboratory → Head of Technical Department, Elektrosila plant (Leningrad)
- 1938–1941Under NKVD investigation; continued generator design as head of special research lab, 40th Department, Elektrosila
- 1941–1947Chief Engineer → Deputy Director, Elektrosila; concurrently head of Special Design Bureau (1945–1946)
- 1947–1948Deputy Minister of Electrical Industry, USSR — Head of Technical Administration and Chairman of Scientific-Technical Council
- 1948–1951First Deputy Minister of the Electrical Industry, USSR
- 1951–1953Minister of the Electrical Industry, USSR
- 1953–1954First Deputy Minister of Power Stations and Electrical Industry, USSR
- 1954–1956Deputy Chairman, Bureau for Chemistry and Electrical Energy, Council of Ministers, USSR
- 1956–1960Deputy Head, Main Administration for Atomic Energy Utilization, Council of Ministers, USSR