Mikhail Petrovich Shumayev (22 April 1924 - 5 February 1995) was a Soviet

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. He was a co-developer of the

RDS-37 RDS-37 () was the Soviet Union's first two-stage hydrogen bomb, first tested on 22 November 1955. The weapon had a nominal yield of approximately 3 megatons. It was scaled down to 1.6 megatons for the live test. Leading to the RDS-37 The R ...

, the Soviet Union's first two-stage

thermonuclear bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

. He was born in Bol'shiye Alabukhi, Gribanovsky District,

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

. He left high school in 1941 and worked on a farm collective. From 1942, he fought on the

Eastern Front (World War II) The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

and was involved in the defence of

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

. He was discharged after being wounded in February 1943. Between 1944 and 1945, he studied at the Ivanovo Institute of Chemical Technology before transferring to

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

to study physics, graduating with honours in 1950. He was sent to KB-11, now the

All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF; ) is a research institute based in Sarov (formerly Arzamas-16), Russia and established in 1947. During the Soviet era, it was known as KB-11 and All-Soviet (All-Union) ...

in the closed city of

Sarov Sarov () is a closed city, closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It was known as Gorkiy-130 (Горький-130) and Arzamas-16 (), after a (somewhat) nearby town of Arzamas,SarovLabsCreation of Nuclear Center Arzamas-16/ref> from 194 ...

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

region, where he worked as a senior engineer on thermonuclear weapons in

Igor Tamm Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm (; 8 July 1895 – 12 April 1971) was a Soviet Union, Soviet physicist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov and Ilya Mikhailovich Frank, for their 1934 discovery and demon ...

's group. This group developed, tested and improved megatonne-yield thermonuclear weapons. In 1955, he transferred to the Scientific Research Institute-1011. Later, his working group developed nuclear charges for an aerial bomb, the R-13 rocket and the X-20M cruise missile. For this work in equipping bombs and missile systems, he and his colleagues received the Lenin Prize in addition to other state awards for their involvement in the development of his country's nuclear defences. He wrote a further degree thesis in 1960 and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1968. Later he became head of the theoretical department of the 1011 group, a role he remained in until 1990, when he became a chief researcher. He trained many scientists and was part of the committees and commissions which awarded state prizes, degrees and titles related to his areas of expertise. He retired in August 1991. He died in

Obninsk Obninsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Protva River southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Its population is 125,376 at the 2021 census. History The history of ...

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...

Awards

* 1953:

Medal "For Labour Valour" The Medal "For Labour Valour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or significant contributions in the fields of science, culture or t ...

& Stalin Prize 2nd Degree. * 1958:

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 ...

. * 1956, 1975, 1981:

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 ...

. * 1976:

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

. * 1971:

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, 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 achievem ...

. * 1985:

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

2nd Degree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumayev, Mikhail Petrovich Soviet nuclear physicists Soviet chemists Soviet engineers Moscow State University alumni Heroes of Socialist Labour 1924 births 1995 deaths