Aksel Berg

Aksel Ivanovich Berg (Orenburg 1893 – Moscow 1979) 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.

Honours and awards

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

• 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 Revolution
• Order of the Red Banner, twice
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
• Order of the Red Star, 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