Petr Petrovich Lazarev (; 14 April 1878 – 24 April 1942) was a

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

and a founder of the Soviet Institute of Physics and Biophysics (now

Lebedev Physical Institute The Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LPI RAS or just LPI) (in ), situated in Moscow, is a Russian research institute specializing in physics. The institute was established in its present shape in 1934 by academician ...

). He also founded the journal ''Uspekhi fizicheskikh nauk'' (later ''

Physics-Uspekhi ''Physics-Uspekhi'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. It is an English translation of the Russian journal of physics, ''Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk'' (, ''Advances in Physical Sciences'') which was established in 1918. The journal publishes long ...

'').

Early life

Lazarev was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where his father worked as a civil engineer. After studies at a Moscow Gymnasium, he graduated from

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

in 1901 with a medical degree. After passing the examination to become a doctor of medicine in 1902 he worked at an ear clinic. He then became interested in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and passed the university examination in 1903 after studying the subjects entirely on his own.

Career

Lazarev's early research was on hearing and he noted that auditory sensations could be amplified by coordinated visual stimulation. He later studied other phenomena such as

synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...

and the effect of singing on vision. He began to collaborate with P.N. Lebedev from 1903 and in 1912 he obtained a doctorate with a thesis ''Vytsvetanie krasok i pigmentov v vidimom svete'' The Fading of Colors and Pigments in Visible Light" In 1911, he joined Lebedev in protest against the policies of L.A. Kasso and quit

to join Shanyavsky University. He began to study the

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

theory of nerve excitation and confirmed

Loeb Loeb or Löb may refer to: People * Loeb (surname), including a list of people surnamed Loeb or Löb * Löb Nevakhovich (between 1776 and 1778–1831), Russian writer * Löb Strauß, birth name of Levi Strauss (1829–1902), German-born Americ ...

's formula. During World War I, he was involved in producing medical equipment, including

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

s and mobile

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

systems. After the

1917 revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...

, he became a member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. In 1918, he was involved in the study of the

Kursk Magnetic Anomaly The Kursk Magnetic Anomaly () is recognized as the largest magnetic anomaly on Earth. It is a territory rich in iron ores located within the Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh oblasts in Russia, and constitutes a significant part of the Central Bla ...

and worked on geomagnetism with .

Arrest and exile

In 1929, a group of

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

s failed to be elected to the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

. Lazarev objected to re-balloting them. He also publicly criticized

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Imaginary unit The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number () is a mathematical constant that is a solution to the quadratic equation Although there is no real number with this property, can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex num ...

) who said that is "not only a contradiction, but even an absurd contradiction, a real absurdity." As a result of this Lazarev was arrested on 5 March 1931 and removed from all of his academic positions. His institute was transferred to the

Supreme Soviet of the National Economy Supreme Soviet of the National Economy, Superior Soviet of the People's Economy, (Высший совет народного хозяйства, ВСНХ, ''Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva'', VSNKh) was the superior state institution for mana ...

, the key personnel was sacked and most of the equipment destroyed. Lazarev's wife committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on 13 June 1931. In September 1931 Lazarev was exiled to Sverdlovsk. He returned to

in 1932.

Aleksandr Mints Alexander Lvovich Mints (; December 27, 1894 anuary 8, 1895 Rostov-on-Don - 29 December 1974, Moscow) was a Soviet Radiophysics, radiophysicist, engineer and organizer of science who was known for being a developer of communication and radar sy ...

was his student.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarev, Petr Petrovich 1878 births 1942 deaths Physicists from the Russian Empire Biophysicists Soviet physicists Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Political repression in the Soviet Union Graduates of the 4th Moscow Gymnasium