Roald Sagdeev
Encyclopedia
Roald Zinnurovich Sagdeev is a Soviet and Russia
n expert in plasma physics and former director of the Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences
. He was also a science advisor to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
. Sagdeev graduated from Moscow State University
. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
. He has worked at the University of Maryland, College Park
since 1989. He is also currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group
, a global strategy firm, where he assists clients with issues involving Russia and countries in the former Soviet Union. Sagdeev was married to, and divorced from, Susan Eisenhower
, granddaughter of the late American president
. Sagdeev was the recipient of the 2003 Carl Sagan Memorial Award
.
. He was born in Moscow
on December 26, 1932, soon after the arrival of his young parents from Tatarstan
. The family used to speak Russian
at home. Nonetheless, the parents also communicated in Tatar
between adults when secrecy was needed. He lived with them until the age of four near the Nikitsky Gates. His father was then a post-graduate student. He spent the following years in Kazan
where he graduated from high school. The young Roald was not only a quite outstanding student who was awarded the Silver medal, but also champion of chess
for boy of his city. His brother Renad Zinnurovich Sagdeev was (born December 13, 1941) would later study chemistry. He returned to Moscow to study at the Moscow State University. Sagdeev was one of a few of Lev Landau
's students, the best theoretical physicist in the Soviet Union. In the dormitory he lived next to Mikhail Gorbachev
, a law student, and Raisa Gorbachyova
, a sociology student.
in Physics and Mathematics, he worked at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy
as a member of the Controlled Fusion team, with Igor Kurchatov
as director from 1956 to 1961. From 1961 until 1970, he worked as head of the Laboratory at the Institute of Nuclear Physics
of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk
.
At the age of 35, he was the youngest person ever to be elected as a full academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. From 1970 until 1973, he worked at the Institute of Physics of high temperatures of the USSR Academy of Sciences
. His work on the behavior of hot plasma
and controlled thermonuclear fusion
in both the Institute of Atomic Energy and later at the Institute of Nuclear Physics have won international recognition.
. He will stay at this post from 1973 until 1988. Then the USSR just lost the race for the Moon
, with Yuri Gagarin
and Sergei Pavlovich Korolev
all dead. There he supervised several research projects such as the Cosmos, Forecast, Intercosmos
, Meteor
, Astron
programs.
He managed or was a principal participant in many space projects including the Venera
probes to Venus, the joint Soviet-U.S. Soyuz Apollo Test Project and headed the International Space Project Venus-Halley (Vega
) and Phobos
projects.
He is the author of studies on plasma physics and magnetofluiddynamics
. In 1984, he was awarded the most prestigious Lenin Prize
for his outstanding achievements in the founding of neoclassical theory of transport processes in toroidal plasma
.
. The authorities initiated repressions against the signatories, including those who worked at research establishments of Akademgorodok
in Novosibirsk
. Then 36-year old Sagdeev suggested that these persons should be dismissed from Akademgorodok and sent to "load chunks of lead".
became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, Sagdeev participated in the work of a think tank with Gorbachev as the head, which was mandated to find scientific justifications for the nuclear disarmament
. Later, as Gorbachev became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, following Ronald Reagan
's Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), they advised the Soviet leadership not to worry and not to respond by creating a similar program.
He was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor
for his role in the international research program of the comet Halley in 1986.
He was elected at the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1987 and worked until 1991 as an adviser on issues related to civil and military space for Mikhail Gorbachev
and Eduard Shevardnadze
on summits, which were held in Geneva
(1985), Washington, D.C.
(1987) and Moscow
(1988).
Sagdeev met Susan Eisenhower
, a step-grandmother and the twice divorced mother of three daughters in 1987 at a US-USSR forum in New York
. She is the granddaughter of the 34th president of the US and a political scientist by profession. They rendezvoused later in Russia, the US and various European countries
before they married in 1990. Thus, he moved to live in the US. As of 2008 they are divorced.
, member of the US National Academy
and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
. Sagdeev is also a member of the Supervisory Council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
. He is also currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group
, a global strategy firm, where he assists clients with issues involving Russia and countries in the former Soviet Union .
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n expert in plasma physics and former director of the Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Russian Space Research Institute
The Russian Space Research Institute is the leading organization of the Russian Academy of Sciences on space exploration to benefit fundamental science....
. He was also a science advisor to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
. Sagdeev graduated from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. He has worked at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
since 1989. He is also currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group
Albright Stonebridge Group
The Albright Stonebridge Group is a global strategy company led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albrightand former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger, and former Senator Warren Rudman...
, a global strategy firm, where he assists clients with issues involving Russia and countries in the former Soviet Union. Sagdeev was married to, and divorced from, Susan Eisenhower
Susan Eisenhower
Susan Elaine Eisenhower is a consultant, author, and expert on international security and relations between the Russian Federation and the United States of America. She is the daughter of John Eisenhower, and the granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower...
, granddaughter of the late American president
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. Sagdeev was the recipient of the 2003 Carl Sagan Memorial Award
Carl Sagan Memorial Award
The Carl Sagan Memorial Award is an award presented jointly by the American Astronautical Society and The Planetary Society to an individual or group "who has demonstrated leadership in research or policies advancing exploration of the Cosmos." The annual award, first presented in 1997, was created...
.
Early years
Roald Sagdeev is ethnic Tatar. His maternal grandfather was a secular man teaching mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. He was born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on December 26, 1932, soon after the arrival of his young parents from Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
. The family used to speak Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
at home. Nonetheless, the parents also communicated in Tatar
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
between adults when secrecy was needed. He lived with them until the age of four near the Nikitsky Gates. His father was then a post-graduate student. He spent the following years in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
where he graduated from high school. The young Roald was not only a quite outstanding student who was awarded the Silver medal, but also champion of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
for boy of his city. His brother Renad Zinnurovich Sagdeev was (born December 13, 1941) would later study chemistry. He returned to Moscow to study at the Moscow State University. Sagdeev was one of a few of Lev Landau
Lev Landau
Lev Davidovich Landau was a prominent Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics...
's students, the best theoretical physicist in the Soviet Union. In the dormitory he lived next to Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, a law student, and Raisa Gorbachyova
Raisa Gorbachyova
Raisa Maximovna Gorbachova was a major fundraiser for preservation of the Russian heritage, for new talents' education and for children's blood cancer treatment programs in Russia....
, a sociology student.
As a researcher
In 1955, after graduating from the Moscow State University in nuclear science, DoctorateDoctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Physics and Mathematics, he worked at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy
Kurchatov Institute
The Kurchatov Institute is Russia's leading research and development institution in the field of nuclear energy. In the Soviet Union it was known as I. V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy , abbreviated KIAE . It is named after Igor Kurchatov....
as a member of the Controlled Fusion team, with Igor Kurchatov
Igor Kurchatov
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov , was a Soviet nuclear physicist who is widely known as the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Along with Georgy Flyorov and Andrei Sakharov, Kurchatov is widely remembered and dubbed as the "father of the Soviet atomic bomb" for his directorial role in the...
as director from 1956 to 1961. From 1961 until 1970, he worked as head of the Laboratory at the Institute of Nuclear Physics
Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics
The Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics is one of the major centres of advanced study of nuclear physics in Russia. It is located in the Siberian town Akademgorodok, on Academician Lavrentiev Avenue. The institute was founded by Gersh Itskovich Budker in 1959...
of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
.
At the age of 35, he was the youngest person ever to be elected as a full academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. From 1970 until 1973, he worked at the Institute of Physics of high temperatures of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. His work on the behavior of hot plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
and controlled thermonuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
in both the Institute of Atomic Energy and later at the Institute of Nuclear Physics have won international recognition.
Director of the Space Research Institute
Upon his return to Moscow, he was appointed director of the Space Research Institute of the USSR Academy of SciencesRussian Space Research Institute
The Russian Space Research Institute is the leading organization of the Russian Academy of Sciences on space exploration to benefit fundamental science....
. He will stay at this post from 1973 until 1988. Then the USSR just lost the race for the Moon
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
, with Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
and Sergei Pavlovich Korolev
Sergey Korolyov
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev ; died 14 January 1966 in Moscow, Russia) was the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s...
all dead. There he supervised several research projects such as the Cosmos, Forecast, Intercosmos
Intercosmos
Interkosmos was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions...
, Meteor
Meteor (satellite)
The Meteor craft are weather observation satellites launched by the USSR. The Meteor satellites were designed to monitor atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity, radiation, sea ice conditions, snow-cover, and clouds.-Meteor 2-21:...
, Astron
Astron (spacecraft)
Astron was a Soviet spacecraft launched on 23 March 1983 at 12:45:06 UTC, using Proton launcher, which was designed to fulfill an astrophysics mission. It was based on the Venera spacecraft design and was operational for six years as the largest ultraviolet space telescope during its lifetime...
programs.
He managed or was a principal participant in many space projects including the Venera
Venera
The Venera series probes were developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather data from Venus, Venera being the Russian name for Venus...
probes to Venus, the joint Soviet-U.S. Soyuz Apollo Test Project and headed the International Space Project Venus-Halley (Vega
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...
) and Phobos
Phobos program
The Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos 2 became a Mars orbiter and returned 38 images with a resolution of up to 40 meters...
projects.
He is the author of studies on plasma physics and magnetofluiddynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics is an academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such fluids include plasmas, liquid metals, and salt water or electrolytes...
. In 1984, he was awarded the most prestigious Lenin Prize
Lenin Prize
The Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
for his outstanding achievements in the founding of neoclassical theory of transport processes in toroidal plasma
Zonal flow (plasma)
In toroidally confined fusion plasma experiments the term zonal flow means a plasma flow within a magnetic surface primarily in the poloidal direction...
.
Role in repressions against dissidents
In 1968 a few dozen of Soviet citizens signed a number of letters addressed to the Soviet government in which the authors protested against human rights violations by the authorities in connection with the trials of Soviet dissidentsSoviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were citizens of the Soviet Union who disagreed with the policies and actions of their government and actively protested against these actions through either violent or non-violent means...
. The authorities initiated repressions against the signatories, including those who worked at research establishments of Akademgorodok
Akademgorodok
Akademgorodok , is a part of the Russian city Novosibirsk, located 20 km south of the city center. It is the educational and scientific centre of Siberia...
in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
. Then 36-year old Sagdeev suggested that these persons should be dismissed from Akademgorodok and sent to "load chunks of lead".
Role in politics
As Yuri AndropovYuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
, Sagdeev participated in the work of a think tank with Gorbachev as the head, which was mandated to find scientific justifications for the nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
. Later, as Gorbachev became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
, following Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
(SDI), they advised the Soviet leadership not to worry and not to respond by creating a similar program.
He was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
for his role in the international research program of the comet Halley in 1986.
He was elected at the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1987 and worked until 1991 as an adviser on issues related to civil and military space for Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
on summits, which were held in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
(1985), Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1987) and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(1988).
Sagdeev met Susan Eisenhower
Susan Eisenhower
Susan Elaine Eisenhower is a consultant, author, and expert on international security and relations between the Russian Federation and the United States of America. She is the daughter of John Eisenhower, and the granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower...
, a step-grandmother and the twice divorced mother of three daughters in 1987 at a US-USSR forum in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She is the granddaughter of the 34th president of the US and a political scientist by profession. They rendezvoused later in Russia, the US and various European countries
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
before they married in 1990. Thus, he moved to live in the US. As of 2008 they are divorced.
Post Cold War
Today, Sagdeev is a Distinguished Professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, member of the US National Academy
United States National Academies
The United States National Academies comprises four organizations:* National Academy of Sciences * National Academy of Engineering * Institute of Medicine * National Research Council...
and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
. Sagdeev is also a member of the Supervisory Council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
The International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe — is an international non-governmental organisation uniting leading world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and delivery vehicles.The Forum was established pursuant to a decision passed by the...
. He is also currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group
Albright Stonebridge Group
The Albright Stonebridge Group is a global strategy company led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albrightand former National Security Advisor Samuel Berger, and former Senator Warren Rudman...
, a global strategy firm, where he assists clients with issues involving Russia and countries in the former Soviet Union .