Ivan Terentyevich Kleymyonov (last name also spelled Kleymenov; ; Staraya Surava,

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, and the Russian SFSR, with its capital in Tambov. It was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north latitude, north and betwee ...

; April 11, 1899 – January 10, 1938) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

scientist and one of the founders of Soviet

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

ry. Ivan Kleymyonov graduated from the

Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the fol ...

in 1928. In 1932–1933, he headed the

Gas Dynamics Laboratory Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) () was the first Soviet research and development laboratory to focus on rocket technology. Its activities were initially devoted to the development of Solid-propellant rocket, solid propellant rockets, which becam ...

and then was appointed director of the

Reactive Scientific Research Institute Reactive Scientific Research Institute (commonly known by the joint initialism RNII; ) was one of the first Soviet research and development institutions to focus on rocket technology. RNII developed the Katyusha rocket launcher and its researc ...

. In 1937, during Stalin's "

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

," he was arrested on unknown grounds, sentenced to death and executed based on false confessions coerced from others, including

Georgy Langemak Georgy Erikhovich Langemak (; – 11 January 1938) was a Soviet engineer, working on rocket design applications. He is chiefly remembered for being the co-designer and directing the development of the aircraft unguided rockets, such as the RS ...

. In 1955, he was rehabilitated "due to the lack of a criminal matter" and awarded

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 ...

(1991). A crater on the

far side of the Moon The far side of the Moon is the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing away from Earth, the opposite hemisphere is the near side. It always has the same surface oriented away from Earth because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. C ...

is named after him.

External links

Biography of Kleymyonov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleymyonov, Ivan 1899 births 1938 deaths People from Tambovsky District, Tambov Oblast People from Tambovsky Uyezd Russian inventors Soviet engineers Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet rehabilitations