Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Photo: Alexei Troshin (Алексей Трошин), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lefortovo_mei.jpg)
Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Photo: Alexei Troshin (Алексей Трошин), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lefortovo_mei.jpg)
Yuri Izrailevich Feldman was a Russian engineer, professor, executive, musician, and Master of Sports of the USSR. He led major electrical-equipment operations at Dynamo, served as president and general director of its joint-stock company, and contributed to the development of a sports school associated with gymnast Larisa Latynina.
Background
Yuri Izrailevich Feldman was born on February 27, 1938, in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Russia. His father, Israel Yankelevich Feldman, was an engineer-constructor, and his mother, Evgenia Georgievna Feldman, was a teacher.
His family moved several times during his childhood because of engineering and industrial work connected with wartime and postwar reconstruction. He entered school in Ukraine in 1945 and later moved to Moscow, where he completed his secondary education and developed interests in engineering, sport, and music.
Education
Feldman studied at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute from 1956 to 1963. The institute, founded in 1930, became one of the Soviet Union's principal centers for training specialists in electrical power, electromechanics, automation, and related technologies. During his final year, Feldman participated in designing the ER-9p electric train.
He later pursued scientific work in electrical engineering and defended a dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences in 1972. He subsequently received the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences and was recognized as a professor and academician of Russian and international academies of electrical engineering.
Feldman began his engineering career in research and industrial design. He worked with laboratories concerned with electrical equipment and conducted tests of trams and trolleybuses, rising to the positions of senior researcher and head of a laboratory. In 1973 he joined the All-Union Scientific Research Design and Technological Institute of Crane and Traction Electrical Equipment of the Dynamo scientific-production association.
In 1979 he moved from research into industrial management and became head of the first hardware department of the Dynamo association. He subsequently headed the production of crane motors from 1981 to 1984, served as deputy general director for production and marketing from 1984 to 1987, and was chief engineer from 1987 to 1993. Dynamo's enterprises produced electrical motors, control equipment, and traction systems for industrial and urban transport applications.
In 1993 Feldman was elected president and general director of the Joint-Stock Electrotechnical Company Dynamo. He held the managing-director position until 1999, returned to direct the associated research institute from 1999 to 2002, and from 2001 served as an adviser on scientific matters to the general director of JSEC Dynamo.
Feldman also chaired the board of trustees of the Larisa Latynina Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve in Obninsk. The school, opened in 2004 and named for the nine-time Olympic champion, was established to provide specialized training in artistic gymnastics. Feldman supported the development of its modern training facilities and remained associated with the institution until his death in 2020.
Achievements
Feldman developed and organized laboratories for electrical-equipment research and participated in testing trams, trolleybuses, and related systems.
He rose from scientific research positions to senior engineering and executive posts in the Dynamo electrical-equipment system, including president and general director of its joint-stock company.
As chairman of the board of trustees of the Larisa Latynina Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve, he helped support the creation of modern facilities for artistic-gymnastics training.
Feldman was a member and frontman of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute vocal-instrumental ensemble Seekers, performing vocals and playing several instruments.
Personality
Feldman was described in biographical accounts as an energetic organizer and industrial leader. His career included both scientific research and the management of large manufacturing operations.
Interests
Science fiction and music.
Artists
Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Menshov, Olga Ostroumova, Valentin Gaft, and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan.
Sport & Clubs
Feldman practiced sport and held the title Master of Sports of the USSR. He was also associated with tennis and competitive athletic activities during his student years.
Music & Bands
Feldman was associated with classical jazz and performed popular and folk music as a vocalist and instrumentalist.
Connections
Feldman was the husband of Larisa Semyonovna Latynina, the Soviet gymnast, coach, and nine-time Olympic champion. Their marriage connected Feldman's engineering and industrial career with Latynina's work in elite sports and sports education.
His parents were Israel Yankelevich Feldman, an engineer-constructor, and Evgenia Georgievna Feldman, a teacher. His son was Sergey Yurievich Sultanov. A grandson named Yuri is also documented in the family record.
Father:
Israel Yankelevich Feldman
Engineer-constructor.
Mother:
Evgenia Georgievna Feldman
Teacher.
Wife:
Larisa Semyonovna Latynina
Soviet gymnast, coach, and nine-time Olympic champion.
