Yuri Andreyevich Zhdanov (russian: Ю́рий Андре́евич Жда́нов; 20 August 1919 – 19 December 2006) was a Soviet and Russian chemistry professor and rector of the University of Rostov. He was the son of Soviet politician

Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов, p=ɐnˈdrej ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐdanəf, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician and cultural ideologist. After World War ...

and a former husband of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva.

Biography

Yuri Zhdanov was born on August 20, 1919 in

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

. He graduated from

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in 1941 with a degree in organic chemistry and served with the Red Army during World War II. He received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1948. He married Svetlana Alliluyeva in the spring of 1949 "as a matter of hard common sense but without any special love or affection".

respected the Zhdanov family and had always hoped the two families would be linked in marriage. They soon divorced in 1952. They had a daughter Yekaterina in 1950.Alliluyeva, S. (1967, September 22). Part II The Intimate Recollections of Stalin's Daughter. Life, 91-105. Retrieved 27 May 2016 He joined

Rostov State University Southern Federal University (), abbreviated as SFedU () and formerly known as Rostov State University (1957–2006), is a public university in Rostov Oblast, Russia with campuses in Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганр� ...

in 1953, becoming a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and eventually Rector of the University. He was the author of numerous papers on organic chemistry. In 1950 as the member of Soviet political leadership Zhdanov took active role in the implementation of the national policy of antisemitism. In his later year while being the Rector of Rostov State University and the Chair of the North-Caucasian Scientific Center of Higher Education he established the atmosphere of ethnic and religious tolerance. At that time most Soviet colleges and universities had severe quota on Jewish students and faculty. Many Jewish students from different regions of the Soviet Union were coming to Rostov-on-Don knowing that they would be admitted to local colleges and university. Most colleges and universities of the Rostov-on-Don region under the leadership of Zhdanov employed Jewish faculty and staff. Three out of five scientific research institutes of Rostov State University were headed by Jews. He died on 19 December 2006 in Rostov-on-Don.

Awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...

, 4th class *Two

Orders 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 ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisa ...

, 2nd class * Order of the Red Star *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

*Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour * Medal of Zhukov *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

References

Sources

External links

* http://www.peoples.ru/science/professor/zhdanov/ page in Russian {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhdanov, Yuri 1919 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Russian chemists People from Tver Stalin family Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Moscow State University alumni Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of Southern Federal University Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Organic chemists Philosophers of science Russian chemists Russian memoirists Soviet chemists Soviet memoirists