Branover was born in
Riga,
Latvia, into an
atheist Jewish family. His father was killed in
World War II by the withdrawing Red Army, but his mother managed to escape with him to Russia and survive. He earned his
Ph.D. from the
Moscow Aviation Institute specializing in magnetohydrodynamics, and completed a
D.Sc. degree in
physics and
mathematics at the
Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. Concurrently, he spent a substantial part of his time in the
National Library of Russia where he learned
Hebrew from whatever books he could find there. After finishing his studies in
Saint Petersburg he returned to Riga and started working in several scientific institutions while also making inroads into the
Chabad movement. When he had first applied for a permission to immigrate to
Israel, he lost his academic job and made his living by selling
clothing. As a young scientist in
Riga, Branover wrote philosophical essays questioning
atheism,
materialism, and
determinism and seeking God. He led a fifteen-year struggle to leave the Soviet Union (he was a
Refusenik), during which he initiated and directed a great number of activities advancing Jewish education and culture; he was among the initiators of the Jewish revival movement in Soviet Russia. He learned Hebrew secretly at great peril while a student in
Leningrad. Frequent arrests, interrogations, and harassment by the
KGB did not stop him from teaching
Jewish thought and
ethics to many individuals and groups. Branover was the first Jew holding a Doctor of Science degree and the title of Full Professor to receive an exit visa to leave the USSR. In Israel, Branover started a research and development company, Solmecs, In 1987 Branover founded
SATEC, which started out as a technological business incubator, soon after focusing on the development and manufacturing of power metering solutions, such as power meters and power quality analyzers. This move was inspired by the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, who predicted an influx of Jewish immigration from the Soviet Union, following
Perestroika. His aim was to create jobs in a fitting technological environment for these immigrants, many of them holding advanced scientific degrees and in-depth technological experience. In 1991, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences invited Branover to supervise its 8-volume
Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry. Covering 1000 years, the encyclopedia details the contribution of Jews to Russian and world
civilization. The late Sir
Isaiah Berlin of
Oxford was the first chief consultant of the encyclopedia, and the Israeli Ministry of Education helps support the project. Three volumes have been printed in Russian. An English translation of Volume One was published in 1998 by
Jason Aronson Publishers in the U.S., and a children's version is planned. Branover is president of the
SHAMIR Association of Religious Professionals from the USSR and
editor-in-chief of its
publishing house. The SHAMIR office in
Jerusalem runs a free employment placement service for immigrants, which boasts a 20-percent success rate. Under Branover's direction, SHAMIR established a well-accredited Jewish day school in
Saint Petersburg. SHAMIR also has sent Rabbi
Natan Barkan to Riga to serve as the Chief Rabbi of Riga and Latvia. Together with Rabbi Barkan and Prof.
Ruvin Ferber, Branover has organized four international conferences in Riga entitled “
Jews in a Changing World.” This is the only forum in the world where former Soviet Jews discuss spiritual and cultural problems on an
academic level. Most of the Russian-speaking participants are successful academics who have never before studied
Jewish Mysticism or thought of applying it to their lives. ==Works==