Aksel Berg
Encyclopedia
Aksel Ivanovich Berg was a Soviet scientist and Navy Admiral (in Engineering).
Berg's father was General Johan (Ivan) Berg, of Finland-Swedish origin, and his mother was Italian. Aksel was 11 when his father died, and Aksel was matriculated to Saint Petersburg
navy school. Berg joined the Imperial Russian Navy in 1914 and served as junior navigating officer on the Russian battleship Tsesarevich and as liaison officer on the British submarine HMS E8
, which was operating in the Baltic in alliance with Russia
. After the revolution Berg served in the Red Navy 1918–22. In 1919 he was navigating officer on the submarine Pantera when it sank HMS Vittoria
. He subsequently commanded the submarines Rys, Volk and Zmeya
. From 1925 Berg was based onshore and completed his education at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University
. From 1927 he was assigned to the navy radio electronics department and from 1932 to 1937 he headed the Navy Communications Research Institute.
During Stalin's purges
, Berg was imprisoned for three years, but was freed and rehabilitated in 1940, when Stalin became interested in developing radar. Berg was immediately appointed as a minister of electronic technology of the USSR.
After the war Berg directed the Radioelectronics Institute 1947–57 and was a Deputy Minister of Defence 1953–57. His main interests were radio communications, microelectronics and cybernetics (i.e. computer science
and engineering
). He is particularly known for the development of radar
for the Soviet Union, and for the founding of Soviet cybernetics.
Berg died in Moscow in 1979 and is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery
.
Berg's father was General Johan (Ivan) Berg, of Finland-Swedish origin, and his mother was Italian. Aksel was 11 when his father died, and Aksel was matriculated to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
navy school. Berg joined the Imperial Russian Navy in 1914 and served as junior navigating officer on the Russian battleship Tsesarevich and as liaison officer on the British submarine HMS E8
HMS E8
HMS E8 was a British E class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard. She was laid down on 30 March 1912 and was commissioned on 18 June 1914. She cost £105,700. During World War I she was part of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic.-Service history:...
, which was operating in the Baltic in alliance with Russia
British submarine flotilla in the Baltic
A British submarine flotilla operated in the Baltic Sea for three years during the First World War. The squadron of nine submarines was attached to the Russian Baltic Fleet. The main task of the flotilla was to prevent the import of iron ore from Sweden to Imperial Germany...
. After the revolution Berg served in the Red Navy 1918–22. In 1919 he was navigating officer on the submarine Pantera when it sank HMS Vittoria
HMS Vittoria
HMS Vittoria was a British destroyer of the Admiralty V-class. She was converted to a minelayer, and was torpedoed by the Bolshevik submarine Pantera off the island of Seiskari in the Gulf of Finland on 31 August 1919....
. He subsequently commanded the submarines Rys, Volk and Zmeya
Bars class submarine (1915)
The Bars class were a group of submarines built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. A total of 24 boats were built between 1914 and 1917-Design:...
. From 1925 Berg was based onshore and completed his education at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University
Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Peter the Great Polytechnical Institute and Kalinin Polytechnical Institute .-Imperial Russia:...
. From 1927 he was assigned to the navy radio electronics department and from 1932 to 1937 he headed the Navy Communications Research Institute.
During Stalin's purges
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, Berg was imprisoned for three years, but was freed and rehabilitated in 1940, when Stalin became interested in developing radar. Berg was immediately appointed as a minister of electronic technology of the USSR.
After the war Berg directed the Radioelectronics Institute 1947–57 and was a Deputy Minister of Defence 1953–57. His main interests were radio communications, microelectronics and cybernetics (i.e. computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
). He is particularly known for the development of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
for the Soviet Union, and for the founding of Soviet cybernetics.
Berg died in Moscow in 1979 and is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
.
Honours and awards
- Hero of Socialist Labour (10 November 1963) Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet "for outstanding achievements in the development of radio engineering and in connection with the 70th anniversary of Aksel Ivanovich Berg"
- Four Orders of Lenin
- Order of the October RevolutionOrder of the October RevolutionThe Order of the October Revolution was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was awarded to individuals or groups for services furthering communism or the state, or in enhancing the defenses of the Soviet Union, military and civil...
- Order of the Red BannerOrder of the Red BannerThe Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, twice - Order of the Patriotic WarOrder of the Patriotic WarThe Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
, 1st class - Order of the Red StarOrder of the Red StarEstablished on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
, three times - Popov Gold Medal (13 April 1951)
- Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
- Medal 20 years of victory
- Medal «XX years, the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"
- Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
- Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Medal "50 Years of the USSR Armed Forces"
External links
- warheres.ru (Russian)
- Documentary by YLE, Finland's national broadcasting company