Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov (russian: Игорь Иванович Африкантов; 1916 – 1969) was a Soviet designer and manager of building nuclear reactors and components for the Russian nuclear industry, civil fleet, and navy.

Life and career

Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov was born in Pushkarka, a village in the Arzamas District of

Gorky Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...

, Russia. He attended secondary school in Gorky from 1924 to 1934 and attended Gorky Polytechnic Institute from 1934 to 1938, receiving his degree as a shipbuilder and heat engineer.Богуненко Н. Н., Пелипенко А. Д., Соснин Г. А. Белов Анатолий Сергеевич // Герои атомного проекта. — Саров: Росатом, 2005. — С. 52 — 53. — . From 1939 to 1942 - Head of the Design Bureau of the Stalingrad Shipyard (Plant No. 246). Since 1942 he worked in the city of Gorky at the plant number 92 ( Gorky Machine-Building Plant - GMZ): * 1942-1951 - head of the department, deputy head of the workshop, head of the tool shop, deputy chief technologist, deputy chief of the Special Design Bureau for Experimental Works, deputy chief - chief designer of the

OKBM Afrikantov OKBM Afrikantov (full name: OAO I. I. Afrikantov OKB Mechanical Engineering, russian: Опытное конструкторское бюро машиностроения им. И. И. Африкантова) is a nuclear engineering com ...

; * 1951-1954 - Chief Designer of the Design Bureau; * 1954-1964 - Chief and Chief Designer of Design Bureau; * 1964-1969 - Chief and Chief Designer

. In 1953 he was awarded the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

for the development and commissioning of the diffusion plants that provided the production of highly enriched uranium, in 1958 - the Lenin Prize. II Afrikantov supervised the design of 9 industrial uranium-graphite reactors and 5 heavy water reactors. He headed the work of OKBM to design and master the production of the world's first fast neutron power reactor with sodium coolant BN-350 and

BN-600 The BN-600 reactor is a Liquid metal cooled reactor, sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor, built at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, in Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Designed to generate electrical power of 600 Watt (unit), MW in t ...

Memorial

In 1998, Afrikantov was named after FSUE OKBM (now the Federal Research and Production Center for Nuclear Engineering

Awards and Titles

In 1960 he was awarded the

Hero of Socialist Labor The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

. He was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(in 1951, 1959, and 1960), the

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1954), the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

(1945), the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1944) and the

Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: медаль «За доблестный труд в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») was a World War II civilian labour awar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afrikantov, Igor 1916 births 1969 deaths People from Arzamas Heroes of Socialist Labour Stalin Prize winners Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Soviet designers Soviet engineers Soviet inventors