Aleksandr Ivanovich Blagonravov

tank. Blagonravov's work on the design won him the Stalin Prize in 1943. Blagonravov was born on in the village of Khitrovo, then part of Tambov Governorate, in the Russian Empire. He joined the Communist Party in 1929, and served in the Red Army from 1930. After studying at the , he graduated in 1932 and began teaching and carrying out research. Credited alongside Blagonravov, listed at this period of his career as an engineer-podpolkovnik and teacher at the I. V. Stalin Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization, were Nikolai Dukhov, , , Leonid Sychev, German Mikhailovich, Aleksandr Sternin, Yevgeny Dedov, and Abram Lesokhin. ==Leadership roles and teaching==

Blagonravov later became chairman of the Scientific-Tank Committee of the Main Armoured Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, and between 1959 and 1962 was head of the Directorate. He was a Candidate of Technical Sciences, and docent, reaching the rank of Engineer Lieutenant General. He was a corresponding member of the from 14 April 1947. Blagonravov died in Moscow on 28 May 1962 and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery. Over his career he had received the Order of the Red Star on 22 February 1941, the Order of Lenin on 13 September 1945, and the Medal "For Battle Merit". ==Family==

Blagonravov married Elizaveta Alekseevna Zvereva (1905–1991), a lieutenant colonel, head of production workshops, and a lecturer at the Military Armoured Forces Academy. On her death in 1991, she was buried beside her husband in the Novodevichy Cemetery. ==References==