List of Russian physicists

This list of Russian physicists includes the famous physicists from the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.

A

 * Alexei Abrikosov, discovered how magnetic flux can penetrate a superconductor (the Abrikosov vortex), Nobel Prize winner
 * Franz Aepinus, related electricity and magnetism, proved the electric nature of pyroelectricity, explained electric polarization and electrostatic induction, invented achromatic microscope
 * Zhores Alferov, inventor of modern heterotransistor, Nobel Prize winner
 * Sergey Alekseenko, director of the Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, Global Energy Prize recipient
 * Artem Alikhanian, a prominent researcher of cosmic rays, inventor of wide-gap track spark chamber
 * Abram Alikhanov, nuclear physicist, a prominent researcher of cosmic rays, built the first nuclear reactors in the USSR, founder of Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP)
 * Semen Altshuler, researched EPR and NMR, predicted acoustic paramagnetic resonance
 * Lev Artsimovich, builder of the first tokamak, researcher of high temperature plasma
 * Gurgen Askaryan, predicted self focusing of light, discovered Askaryan effect in the particle physicsZhores Alferov.jpg''']]

B

 * Nikolay Basov, physicist, co-inventor of laser and maser, Nobel Prize winner
 * Nikolay Bogolyubov, mathematician and theoretical physicist, co-developed the BBGKY hierarchy, formulated a microscopic theory of superconductivity, suggested a triplet quark model, introduced a new quantum degree of freedom (color charge)
 * Matvei Petrovich Bronstein, theoretical physicist, a pioneer of quantum gravity, author of works in astrophysics, semiconductors, quantum electrodynamics and cosmology.
 * Gersh Budker, inventor of electron cooling, co-inventor of collider

C

 * Sergey Chaplygin, a founder of aero- and hydrodynamics, formulated the Chaplygin's equations and Chaplygin gas conceptBasov.jpg''']]
 * Pavel Cherenkov, discoverer of Cherenkov radiation, Nobel Prize winner

D

 * Yuri Denisyuk, inventor of 3D holography

F

 * Ludvig Faddeev, discoverer of Faddeev–Popov ghosts and Faddeev equations in quantum physics
 * Georgy Flyorov, nuclear physicist, one of the initiators of the Soviet atomic bomb project, co-discoverer of seaborgium and bohrium, founder of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
 * Vladimir Fock, developed the Fock space, Fock state and the Hartree–Fock method in quantum mechanics
 * Ilya Frank, explained the phenomenon of Cherenkov radiation, Nobel Prize winner
 * Vsevolod Frederiks (Fréedericksz), discovered the Fréedericksz transition, the Fréedericksz critical field in liquid crystals
 * Yakov Frenkel, coined the term electron hole, discovered the Frenkel defect of a crystal lattice, described the Poole–Frenkel effect in solid-state physics

G

 * Andre Geim, inventor of graphene, developer of gecko tape, Nobel Prize winner and at the same time Ig Nobel Prize winner for diamagnetic levitation of a living frog
 * Vitaly Ginzburg, co-author of the Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity, a developer of hydrogen bomb, Nobel Prize winner
 * Vladimir Gribov, introduced pomeron, DGLAP equations and Gribov ambiguity
 * Aleksandr Gurevich, author of the runaway breakdown theory of lightning

I

 * Abram Ioffe, founder of the Soviet physics school, tutor of many prominent scientists
 * Dmitri Ivanenko, pioneered the modelling of nuclear shell and nuclear forces, predicted synchrotron radiation, suggested the quark stars existenceCerenkov.jpg''']]

J

 * Boris Jacobi, formulated the Maximum power theorem in electrical engineering, invented electroplating, electrotyping, galvanoplastic sculpture and electric boat

K

 * Pyotr Kapitsa, originated the techniques for creating ultrastrong magnetic fields, co-discovered a way to measure the magnetic field of an atomic nucleus discovered superfluidity, Nobel Prize winner
 * Yuly Khariton, chief designer of the Soviet atomic bomb, co-developer of the Tsar Bomb
 * Orest Khvolson, first to study the Chwolson ring effect of gravitational lensing
 * Nicolai Kopnin, Simon Memorial Prize winner for his work on the forces acting on quantum vortices in superfluids and superconductors
 * Sergey Krasnikov, developer of the Krasnikov tube, a speculative mechanism for space travelLandau.jpg''']]
 * Igor Kurchatov, builder of the first nuclear power plant, developer of the first nuclear reactors for surface ships

L

 * Lev Landau, theoretical physicist, developed the Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity, explained the Landau damping in plasma physics, pointed out the Landau pole in quantum electrodynamics, co-author of the famous Course of Theoretical Physics, Nobel Prize winner
 * Grigory Landsberg, co-discoverer of Raman scattering of light
 * Mikhail Lavrentyev, physicist and mathematician, founded the Siberian Division of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and Akademgorodok in Novosibirsk
 * Pyotr Lebedev, first to measure the radiation pressure on a solid body, thus proving the Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism
 * Heinrich Lenz, discovered the Lenz's law of electromagnetism
 * Aleksandr Il'ich Leipunskii, pioneered the development of fast breeder reactors in the USSR.
 * Evgeny Lifshitz, an author of the BKL singularity model of the Universe evolution, co-author of the famous Course of Theoretical PhysicsEmil Lenz.jpg''']]
 * Mikhail Lomonosov, polymath scientist, artist and inventor, proposed the law of conservation of matter, disproved the phlogiston theory
 * Oleg Losev, inventor of light-emitting diode and crystadine

M

 * Alexander Makarov, inventor of orbitrap
 * Boris Mamyrin, inventor of reflectron
 * Leonid Mandelshtam, co-discoverer of the Raman effect
 * Stanislav Mikheyev, co-discoverer of the Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein effect of neutrino oscillations

N

 * Konstantin Novoselov, inventor of graphene, developer of gecko tape, Nobel Prize winner

O

 * Yuri Oganessian, nuclear physicist in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), co-discoverer of the heaviest elements in the periodic table; element Oganesson

P

 * Vasily Petrov, discoverer of electric arc, proposed arc lamp and arc welding
 * Boris Podolsky, an author of EPR Paradox in quantum physics
 * Alexander Polyakov, developed the concepts of Polyakov action, 't Hooft–Polyakov monopole and BPST instanton
 * Isaak Pomeranchuk, predicted synchrotron radiation
 * Bruno Pontecorvo, a founder of neutrino high energy physics, his work led to the discovery of PMNS matrix
 * Alexander Popov, inventor of lightning detector, one of the inventors of radio, recorded the first experimental radiolocation at sea
 * Victor Popov, co-discoverer of Faddeev–Popov ghosts in quantum field theory
 * Alexander Prokhorov, co-inventor of laser and maser, Nobel Prize winnerAleksandr Prokhorov.jpg''']]

R

 * Georg Wilhelm Richmann, inventor of electrometer, pioneer researcher of atmospheric electricity, killed by a ball lightning in experiment

S

 * Andrei Sakharov, co-developer of tokamak and the Tsar Bomb, inventor of explosively pumped flux compression generator, Nobel Peace Prize winner
 * Nikolay Semyonov, physical chemist, co-discovered a way to measure the magnetic field of an atomic nucleus, Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner
 * Lev Shubnikov, discoverer of Shubnikov–de Haas effect, one of the first researchers of solid hydrogen and liquid helium
 * Dmitri Skobeltsyn, first to use cloud chamber for studying cosmic rays, the first to observe positrons
 * Alexei Smirnov, co-discoverer of Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein effect of neutrino oscillations
 * Arseny Sokolov, co-discoverer of Sokolov–Ternov effect, a developer of synchrotron radiation theory
 * Mark Stockman, optical physicist, co-discoverer of spaser
 * Aleksandr Stoletov, inventor of photoelectric cell, built the Stoletov curve and pioneered the research of ferromagnetism

T

 * Igor Tamm, explained the phenomenon of Cherenkov radiation, co-developer of tokamak, Nobel Prize winner
 * Karen Ter-Martirosian, theoretical physicist, known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, founder of the Elementary Particle Physics chair of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
 * Igor Ternov, co-discoverer of Sokolov–Ternov effect of synchrotron radiation

U

 * Nikolay Umov, discovered the Umov-Poynting vector and Umov effect, the first to propose the formula $E=kmc^2$
 * Petr Ufimtsev, developed the theory that led to modern stealth technology

V

 * Sergey Vavilov, co-discoverer of Cherenkov radiation, formulated the Kasha–Vavilov rule of quantum yieldsAlexander stoletov.jpg''']]
 * Vladimir Veksler, inventor of synchrophasotron, co-inventor of synchrotron
 * Evgeny Velikhov, leader of the international program ITER (thermonuclear experimental tokamak)
 * Anatoly Vlasov, developed the Vlasov equation in plasma physics

Y

 * Alexey Yekimov, discoverer of quantum dots

Z

 * Yevgeny Zavoisky, inventor of EPR spectroscopy, co-developer of NMR spectroscopy
 * Yakov Zel'dovich, physicist and cosmologist, predicted the beta decay of a pi meson and the muon catalysis, co-predicted the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect of CMB distortionNikolaiYegorovichZhukovsky.jpg''']]
 * Nikolai Zhukovsky, a founder of aero- and hydrodynamics, the first to study airflow, author of Joukowsky transform and Kutta–Joukowski theorem, founder of TsAGI and pioneer of aviation