Yuri Anatolievich Ovchinnikov (russian: Юрий Анатольевич Овчинников; 2 August 1934 – 17 February 1988) was a Soviet bioorganic chemist. He was elected in 1970 as a full member of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

and subsequently became the youngest vice president of the academy in its history (1974-1988). He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1977. He was also president of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (1984-1986), Director of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow (1970-1988) and professor at Moscow State University. From 1972 through to 1984 he served concomitantly as head of the Laboratory of Protein Chemistry at the USSR Academy of Sciences
Institute of Protein
(Pushchino, Moscow ''oblast''). Ovchinnikov's political career mirrored his achievements within the USSR Academy of Sciences. It is highly unlikely that he would have advanced so far, so quickly, in the scientific arena without the full and enthusiastic engagement of the Soviet political system. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

) in 1962 and was then elected in March 1981 as a candidate member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

. This made him one of the youngest persons ever to take this first step toward full, voting membership in the Soviet policy-making group. He served as a member of the Central Auditing Commission of the CPSU from 1976 to 1980. From 1975 to 1988 he was a member of the Presidium of the

Higher Attestation Commission Higher Attestation Commission (russian: Высшая аттестационная комиссия, uk, Вища атестаційна комісія, abbreviated Cyrillic: ВАК, Latin: VAK) is a name of a national government agency in Russia, ...

of the USSR Council of Ministers. He attended the XXV, VVVI and XXVII Congresses of the CPSU as a delegate in 1976, 1981 and 1986 respectively. He was a leading proponent of using

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

for creating new types of

biological weapon A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterroris ...

s. It was in this latter context that Ovchinnikov was appointed to the highly secret Interdepartmental Scientific-Technical Council on Molecular Biology and Genetics - known also by the coded designation P.O. Box A-3092. The council was the nerve centre of the Soviet biological weapons programme. By stressing the potential military applications of the newly emerging techniques of molecular biology, Ovchinnikov was able to extract substantial resources for his research endeavours in the biological sciences. In 1984, for example, he was able to secure reported US$300 million funding from the Soviet government for the construction of palatial new quarters for his institute which consisted of thirteen interconnected seven-storey buildings which from above described a huge DNA double helix. Occupying an area of 85,000 square metres it was generously equipped and had an annual budget of a reported 100 million roubles. He contributed to the field of biophysics and biochemistry through research in

rhodopsin Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the RHO gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is the opsin of the rod cells in the retina and a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduction ...

and

structural biology Structural biology is a field that is many centuries old which, and as defined by the Journal of Structural Biology, deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every le ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovchinnikov, Yuri 1934 births 1988 deaths Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Soviet biochemists Russian biochemists Moscow State University alumni Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Academicians of the VASKhNIL Russian inventors Soviet biological weapons program Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the USSR State Prize Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin People related to biological warfare Members of the American Philosophical Society Foreign members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts