"Sharashki"

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"SHARASHKI", the name of secret research institutes or design institutions (Special Design Bureau, Technical Bureau, etc.), that functioned in 1931-55 in the system of the Joint State Political Administration Board of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs. The staff was comprised of convicted professionals. Until 1938, Sharashki were subordinated to the People's Commissar of Home Affairs. In 1938, these institutions passed under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Special Department of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs. Leningrad sharashki included Special Design Technical Bureau No. 12 (1931-32, housed in the detention centre; specialised in architectural designing Bolshoy Dom (Big House, KGB offices), reconstruction of Joint State Political Administration Board garage on Manezhnaya Square, etc.; authors of these projects were prisoners N.E. Lansere, B.K. Roerich, et al.); Experimental Design Bureau of Leningrad Region Department of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs (since 1942 – Experimental Design Bureau No. 172) in the building of Kresty prison (specialised in artillery design, designing 130 mm B-2-LM two-gun turret mount; 45 mm M-42 antitank cannon and other arms, developed by design engineer S.I. Lodkin, Professor V.R. Bursian, Professor A.M. Zhuravsky, Professor I.V. Tokov, et al.; Experimental Design Bureau No. 5 at Shipyard of Coast Guard of People's Commissariat of Home Affairs (1933-40s, 19 Uralskaya Street; today Almaz Plant), which employed doctor of technical sciences E.E. Papmel, design engineer V.L. Brodsky and others; Special Technical Bureau of Leningrad Department of Giproniislyuda Institute of Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (1953-55, Metallostroy village; employed engineers V.K. Akulov, R.Y. Kolberg and others); Experimental Design Bureau No.196 (submarine design; today Rubin Central Design Bureau; employing, among others, design engineers P.G. Goynkis, and P.Y. Oras); and Experimental Design Bureau of the Kirovsky Plant (coast artillery, employing Candidate of Technical Sciences V.N. Yavorsky, M.M. Mordukhovich and others).

References: Жук В. И. Разработки ОКБ-172 // Вестн. "Мемориала". 2001. Вып. 6. С. 54-59; Крук Н. С. Орудия победы // Там же. С. 46-54.

O. A. Reznikova. Akulov Valentin Konstantinovich
Brodsky Viktor Leonidovich
Bursian Viktor Robertovich
Goynkis Pavel Gustavovich
Kolberg Robert Yakovlevich
Lansere Nikolay Evgenievich
Lodkin Sergey Ivanovich
Mordukhovich M.M.
Oras Paul Yurievich
Papmel Eduard Eduardovich
Roerich Boris Konstantinovich
Tokov Ivan Vasilievich
Yavorsky Vasily Nikolaevich
Zhuravsky Andrey Mitrofanovich
Manezhnaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Крук Н. С. Орудия победы // Вестн. "Мемориала", 2001
Жук В. И. Разработки ОКБ-172 // Вестн. "Мемориала", 2001 Kresty Prison.
Almaz Central Design Bureau
Rubin, Central Design Office of Naval Equipment of the Russian Agency for Shipbuilding
Kirovsky Plant