The Most Famous
INVENTORS from Russia
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Russian Inventors of all time. This list of famous Russian Inventors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Russian Inventors.
1. Oleg Antonov (1906 - 1984)
With an HPI of 63.99, Oleg Antonov is the most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.
Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov (Russian: Олег Константинович Антонов; 7 February 1906 – 4 April 1984) was a Soviet aeroplane designer, and the founder of the Antonov Design Bureau in Kyiv, Ukraine, named in his honour. Antonov designed a number of Soviet aeroplanes (such as the Antonov An-2, Antonov An-12) and numerous gliders for both civilian and military use.
2. Alexander Stepanovich Popov (1859 - 1906)
With an HPI of 63.10, Alexander Stepanovich Popov is the 2nd most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.
Alexander Stepanovich Popov (sometimes spelled Popoff; Russian: Александр Степанович Попов; March 16 [O.S. March 4] 1859 – January 13 [O.S. December 31, 1905] 1906) was a Russian physicist who was one of the first people to invent a radio receiving device. Popov's work as a teacher at a Russian naval school led him to explore high-frequency electrical phenomena. On 7 May 1895, he presented a paper on a wireless lightning detector he had built that worked via using a coherer to detect radio noise from lightning strikes. This day is celebrated today in Russia as Radio Day. In a 24 March 1896 demonstration, he transmitted radio signals 250 meters between different campus buildings in St. Petersburg. His work was based on that of another physicist, Oliver Lodge, and contemporaneous with the work of Guglielmo Marconi.
3. Léon Theremin (1896 - 1993)
With an HPI of 61.18, Léon Theremin is the 3rd most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.
Lev Sergeyevich Termen (Russian: Лев Сергеевич Термен, IPA: [ˈlʲef sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ tʲɪrˈmʲen]; 27 August [O.S. 15 August] 1896 – 3 November 1993), better known as Leon Theremin, was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments and the first to be mass-produced. He also worked on early television research. His secret listening device, "The Thing", hung for seven years in plain view in the United States ambassador's Moscow office and enabled Soviet agents to eavesdrop on secret conversations.
4. Vladimir K. Zworykin (1888 - 1982)
With an HPI of 60.48, Vladimir K. Zworykin is the 4th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.
Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (1888/1889 – July 29, 1982) was a Russian-American inventor, engineer, and pioneer of television technology. Zworykin invented a television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode ray tubes. He played a role in the practical development of television from the early thirties, including charge storage-type tubes, infrared image tubes and the electron microscope.
5. Nikolai Kardashev (1932 - 2019)
With an HPI of 57.39, Nikolai Kardashev is the 5th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
Nikolai Semyonovich Kardashev (Russian: Никола́й Семёнович Кардашёв, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ kərdɐˈʂof]; 25 April 1932 – 3 August 2019) was a Soviet and Russian astrophysicist, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and the deputy director of the Astro Space Center of PN Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
6. Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (1862 - 1919)
With an HPI of 55.35, Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky is the 6th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (Russian: Михаи́л О́сипович Доли́во-Доброво́льский; German: Michail von Dolivo-Dobrowolsky or Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski; 2 January [O.S. 21 December 1861] 1862 – 15 November [O.S. 3 November] 1919) was a Russian Empire-born engineer, electrician, and inventor of Polish-Russian origins, active in the German Empire and also in Switzerland. After studying in Germany and while working in Berlin for Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), he became one of the founders (the others were Nikola Tesla, Galileo Ferraris and Jonas Wenström) of polyphase electrical systems, developing the three-phase electrical generator and a three-phase electrical motor (1888) and studying star and delta connections. The triumph of the three-phase system was displayed in Europe at the International Electro-Technical Exhibition of 1891, where Dolivo-Dobrovolsky used this system to transmit electric power at the distance of 176 km with 75% efficiency. In 1891 he also created a three-phase transformer and short-circuited (squirrel-cage) induction motor. He designed the world's first three-phase hydroelectric power plant in 1891.
7. Lucien Olivier (1838 - 1883)
With an HPI of 52.75, Lucien Olivier is the 7th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Lucien Olivier (Russian: Люсьен Оливье) (1838–14 November 1883) was a Russian chef of Belgian and French descent and owner of the Hermitage restaurant in the center of Moscow, Russian Empire, in the early 1860s. He was born in Moscow. Olivier is known for the creation of Olivier salad, also known as "Russian salad". The secret of the recipe was not disclosed until his death. Lucien Olivier died in Yalta from heart disease at the age of 45 in 1883 and was buried at Vvedenskoye Cemetery. His tomb was lost until 2008. The current salad has numerous variations which are a mixture of every component Olivier used to add to his famous dish, as well as ingredients that he did not use himself, with a mayonnaise dressing.
8. Pavel Yablochkov (1847 - 1894)
With an HPI of 51.49, Pavel Yablochkov is the 8th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov (also transliterated as Jablochkoff; Russian: Павел Николаевич Яблочков; September 14 [O.S. September 2] 1847 – March 31 [O.S. March 19] 1894) was a Russian electrical engineer, businessman and the inventor of the Yablochkov candle (a type of electric carbon arc lamp) and the transformer.
9. Ivan Kulibin (1735 - 1818)
With an HPI of 49.17, Ivan Kulibin is the 9th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Ivan Petrovich Kulibin (April 21, 1735 – August 11, 1818) was a Russian mechanic and inventor. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod in the family of a trader. From childhood, Kulibin displayed an interest in constructing mechanical tools. Soon, clock mechanisms became a special interest of his. His realizations as well as his prolific imagination inspired the work of many.
10. Rostislav Alexeyev (1916 - 1980)
With an HPI of 49.02, Rostislav Alexeyev is the 10th most famous Russian Inventor. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev (Russian: Ростисла́в Евге́ньевич Алексе́ев; December 18, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was a Russian Soviet Director & Chief of Design known for his pioneering work on hydrofoil ships and ground-effect vehicles. Alexeyev was an accomplished designer of hydrofoil ships, such as the Raketa, and became a prominent developer of ground-effect vehicles, particularly the Caspian Sea Monster and the A-90 Orlyonok.
Pantheon has 13 people classified as inventors born between 1728 and 1932. Of these 13, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased inventors include Oleg Antonov, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, and Léon Theremin. As of April 2022, 3 new inventors have been added to Pantheon including Lucien Olivier, Oleg Losev, and Alexandre Alexeieff.
Deceased Inventors
Go to all Rankings
Oleg Antonov
1906 - 1984
HPI: 63.99
Alexander Stepanovich Popov
1859 - 1906
HPI: 63.10
Léon Theremin
1896 - 1993
HPI: 61.18
Vladimir K. Zworykin
1888 - 1982
HPI: 60.48
Nikolai Kardashev
1932 - 2019
HPI: 57.39
Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky
1862 - 1919
HPI: 55.35
Lucien Olivier
1838 - 1883
HPI: 52.75
Pavel Yablochkov
1847 - 1894
HPI: 51.49
Ivan Kulibin
1735 - 1818
HPI: 49.17
Rostislav Alexeyev
1916 - 1980
HPI: 49.02
Ivan Polzunov
1728 - 1766
HPI: 47.79
Oleg Losev
1903 - 1942
HPI: 46.80
Newly Added Inventors (2022)
Go to all RankingsLucien Olivier
1838 - 1883
HPI: 52.75
Oleg Losev
1903 - 1942
HPI: 46.80
Alexandre Alexeieff
1901 - 1982
HPI: 46.68
Which Inventors were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 12 most globally memorable Inventors since 1700.
