Grigori Tokaty
Encyclopedia
Dr Grigori Tokaty was a rocket scientist and long-standing critic of Stalin's USSR. During World War II
he served as Head of Aeronautics Laboratory, Zhukovsky Academy 1938-41. After receiving his doctorate in technical sciences in 1941, he continued to lecture at the Zhukovsky Academy while simultaneously working as Acting Head of the Department of Aviation at the Moscow Engineering Institute. One of his tasks was to study the possibility of developing a medium-range winged rocket, but when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa
in 1941 and rapidly overran the Soviet front-line forces, the Academy's staff was evacuated to Sverdlovsk in the Urals.
, and later flew in bombing raids over Stalingrad, using American bombers delivered through lend-lease. By the end of the Second World War, he had become a leading Party representative and academic at the Zhukovsky Academy (now back in Moscow) and the Moscow Engineering Institute.
Shortly after the German capitulation in May 1945 , the following month in June, he was sent to Berlin in order to serve on the Soviet Control
Commission, working directly under Marshals Georgi Zhukov and Vasily Sokolovsky. As such, he gained access to top-secret communications between the General Staff and the Kremlin.
magazine. He also appeared in the now famous TV series The World at War where he gives a recollection of his experiences.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served as Head of Aeronautics Laboratory, Zhukovsky Academy 1938-41. After receiving his doctorate in technical sciences in 1941, he continued to lecture at the Zhukovsky Academy while simultaneously working as Acting Head of the Department of Aviation at the Moscow Engineering Institute. One of his tasks was to study the possibility of developing a medium-range winged rocket, but when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941 and rapidly overran the Soviet front-line forces, the Academy's staff was evacuated to Sverdlovsk in the Urals.
Great Patriotic War
Tokaty returned to Moscow during the Battle of MoscowBattle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
, and later flew in bombing raids over Stalingrad, using American bombers delivered through lend-lease. By the end of the Second World War, he had become a leading Party representative and academic at the Zhukovsky Academy (now back in Moscow) and the Moscow Engineering Institute.
Shortly after the German capitulation in May 1945 , the following month in June, he was sent to Berlin in order to serve on the Soviet Control
Commission, working directly under Marshals Georgi Zhukov and Vasily Sokolovsky. As such, he gained access to top-secret communications between the General Staff and the Kremlin.
Later life
He moved to Britain shortly after the war in 1948 and later became Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Space Technology at the City University in London from 1967 to 1975. He regularly appeared in the New ScientistNew Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
magazine. He also appeared in the now famous TV series The World at War where he gives a recollection of his experiences.