Alexander Zakharievskiy
A method and collimator for optics equipment calibration
Alexander Zakharievskiy was born in 1894 in Pravdino, Yaroslavl Governorate (now Yaroslavl Oblast). In 1920, he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Petrograd State University (now St. Petersburg State University) and got a position of an assistant at the Vavilov State Optical Institute. Later, he headed the laboratory of the Leningrad optics glass factory, and after that became a senior physicist at the Vavilov State Optical Institute. There, Prof. Zakharievskiy founded the laboratory that hugely contributed to the production of distance meters in the country.
In 1930, Alexander Zakharievskiy joined LITMO (now ITMO), later defending his PhD and DSc theses and becoming a professor at the university. In six years, he headed the Department of Optical and Mechanic Devices and, at the start of WWII, became the Dean of the Faculty of Optics.
In that time, Prof. Zakharievskiy had become a major name in applied optics, distance meters, interferometer theory, and interference microscopy. In particular, he developed the theory of the periscope with an upper oscillating straight element, methods for alignment and inspection of optical instruments, and alignment-control equipment. He led the studies that enabled the country’s first industrial production of biological, metallographic, medical, mineralogical, and polarized microscopes.
In this newspaper clipping, Prof. Zakharievskiy discusses plans for the 1940 academic year – not all of which, unfortunately, came to fruition. Photo courtesy of ITMO’s Historical Museum
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Research Under Siege: How Leningrad Scientists Fought to Overcome Famine
During the war, Prof. Zakharievskiy also headed the optical workshop of a LITMO-based military hardware repair base. While there, he developed a projection-type collimator, which was used to align and test both new and repaired domestic and foreign binoculars, stereoscopic telescopes, artillery compasses, panoramic sights, and periscopes.
For the design of new optical devices, the professor received two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1943), an Order of the Red Star, and the State Stalin Prize (third degree, 1949).
From 1951, Prof. Zakharievskiy headed the microscopy laboratory at the Vavilov State Optical Institute.
Semyon Tsukkerman
Sighting devices for anti-aircraft and aviation artillery
Testing of a mechanical cardiograph developed at LITMO. Semyon Tsukkerman (second on the left) and colleagues. Photo courtesy of ITMO’s Historical Museum
Born in Vitebsk in 1902, Semyon Tsukkerman graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Technology (now St. Petersburg Institute of Technology) specializing in diesel engine manufacturing. During his studies, he started gaining practical experience and climbing up the career ladder. He started as an engineer at the Russian Diesel plant, then became the deputy head of the design office at the Russian Optical and Mechanical Factory, later – head of the design department of the optical production office, head of the design office at the National Optical Mechanical Production Association, and finally, leading engineer at the Vavilov State Optical Institute.
In 1932-1942, Prof. Tsukkerman worked at LITMO, where he became a professor. At the university, he developed sighting devices for anti-aircraft and aviation artillery. He is rightfully considered one of the “fathers” of the serially-produced gyroscopic ASP gunsight with automatic lead correction, which went on to be used in MiG fighter aircraft.
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Anti-aircraft sighting device ZP-1, developed by Prof. Tsukkerman and produced in the winter 1941-1942 at LITMO while the city was already under siege. Photo courtesy of ITMO’s Historical Museum
During WWII, Prof. Tsukkerman was the deputy head of LITMO’s military hardware repair base. At the time, labs were promptly turned into repair workshops for optical and other devices, while study workshops were repurposed for optics production. Headed by the professor, a team of designers conducted repair work and improvement of anti-aircraft sights in freezing winter temperatures (30-40 C below zero). In 1941, the team produced a total of six sights for the second anti-aircraft rocket regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Forces that defended Smolny Cathedral, as well as one for the Soviet Navy’s cruiser Maxim Gorky, which participated in the defense of Leningrad.
“As for the bombing and shelling, Leningrad citizens got used to them quickly; they didn’t use air-raid shelters. It was harder to get used to the absence of transport and water in ice-cold weather, and it was even worse with “getting used” to the hunger – eventually and unfortunately, not all of us at LITMO could do it. The strong and capable men were the first to go down. Even in such conditions, the repair base kept on working while daylight allowed. We also held classes for the remaining female students – all the male ones volunteered to fight for the city,” recalled Semyon Tsukkerman.
For his work, Prof. Tsukkerman was awarded an Order of the Badge of Honor (1942), an Order of the Red Star, a Medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” (1944), and an Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1989).
In 1947, the professor returned to LITMO, where he headed the department of military optical devices (later – the department of optical and electronic devices). There, Prof. Tsukkerman continued working until his last days in 1972.
Veniamin Meskin
Steel alternatives for artillery
Veniamin Meskin consults an engineer at a defense factory on metallurgy, 1943. Photo courtesy of ITMO’s Historical Museum
Born in 1904, Veniamin Meskin started working as an assistant three years after he graduated from Leningrad Institute of Technology. Later, he became a professor at the metallurgy department of the Leningrad Institute of Machine Engineering and in 1938, he headed the metallurgy department at LITMO.
In 1931, Veniamin Meskin received nationwide recognition for his discovery of non-magnetic cast iron, which was immediately described as a highly important invention. Starting from 1932, under the guidance of Prof. Meskin, the Soviet Union started developing methods for manufacturing parts using powder metallurgy and established industrial production of high-quality transformer and dynamo steel. At the age of 30, Veniamin Meskin was appointed professor and in 1.5 years – a DSc, without the need to defend a thesis.
At the onset of WWII, Prof. Meskin made several attempts to volunteer and defend the city. First, he was placed in the artillery regiment, but then he was summoned away with another volunteer, the famed composer Dmitry Shostakovich, with the comment: “You will do more good for the country at your workplace.”
Veniamin Meskin’s discoveries were covered in a report by Samara University's newspaper in 1964. Photo courtesy of ITMO’s Historical Museum
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As a result, in 1941 the scientist succeeded in creating and testing the main grades of substitute steel. Notably, they did not reduce the quality of artillery armaments – in some cases, they even improved their operational properties. This research was implemented in the production of structural components for artillery systems, barrels, and automatic weapon parts. Prof. Meskin’s invention made it possible to replace highly alloyed steels containing short-supply nickel and molybdenum with a more accessible equivalent, which could be processed even at non-military factories.
The professor’s works on steels with special physical properties became widely known both in the USSR and internationally. Prof. Meskin dedicated over 15 years to the field; his research laid the foundation for the production of transformer steel, steel for permanent magnets, non-magnetic and “magnetic” cast iron, as well as non-magnetic and other alloys used in the electrical engineering industry.
Prof. Meskin was awarded with an Order of the Red Star (1942) for his achievements in military materials science, the State Stalin Prize (1943) for the development and implementation in the military industry of low-alloyed steel brands, and an Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1944) for outstanding achievements in military metallurgy.
ITMO’s Historical Museum. Photo by ITMO University
You can discover even more stories of students, staff, and graduates of LITMO who defended their country during WWII in the ITMO Students Telegram channel (in Russian), on the page of ITMO’s Historical Museum (in Russian), or on the website Faces of Victory (in Russian). In June 2025, new materials will be made available on the museum’s website.
