Aleksandr Ivanovich Blagonravov

Life & Legacy

Aleksandr Ivanovich Blagonravov (Russian: Александр Иванович Благонравов; 1 August [O.S. 19 July] 1906 – 28 May 1962) was a Soviet military engineer and designer who worked on the designs of armoured vehicles prior to, during, and after the Second World War.
Blagonravov began his military career by joining the Red Army and studied at the F. E. Dzerzhinsky Military Technical Academy, afterwards embarking on a career working in teaching and the designs of armoured vehicles. His work included the epicyclic gearing mechanisms employed on the T-34 and IS-2 tank designs, the latter work winning him the Stalin Prize in 1943. He took up leadership roles in the People's Commissariat of Defence of the Soviet Union towards the end of the war, later serving in the Scientific-Tank Committee in the Ministry of Defence's Main Armoured Directorate, and as Head of the Tank Department of the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army.
Blagonravov wrote a number of academic works, was a Candidate of Technical Sciences, and a docent, while reaching the rank of Engineer Lieutenant General. He was also a corresponding member of the Academy of Artillery Science. He had received several awards, including the Order of the Red Star, the Order of Lenin, and the Medal "For Battle Merit", prior to his death in 1962. His son, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blagonravov, followed in his father's footsteps, serving as chief designer of Kurganmashzavod and playing an important role in the development of the BMP-2 and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles.