Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov (; 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 () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,119,115 as of the 2021 Census. From 1932 to 1990 it was known as Gorky Oblast (). The oblast ...

, 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, ) is a nuclear engineering company located in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is a subsidiary of Rosatom. The company is named after Igor Afrikantov, and is best kno ...

; * 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 for the development and commissioning of the diffusion plants that provided the production of highly enriched uranium, in 1958 - the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

. 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. It has a 600 MWe gross capacity and a 560 MWe net capacity, provided ...

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 () was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievements in Soviet ...

. He was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(in 1951, 1959, and 1960), the

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1954), the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () 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 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

(1945), the

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour () 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 achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

(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" () was a World War II civilian labour award of the Soviet Union established on June 6, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to recognise the valian ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afrikantov, Igor 1916 births 1969 deaths People from Arzamas Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Lenin Prize 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