Yuri Ovchinnikov (biochemist)

Yuri Anatolyevich Ovchinnikov was a Soviet chemist and biochemist who rose to prominence within the USSR Academy of Sciences, becoming its youngest vice president. He directed the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow and served as president of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Ovchinnikov was a leading advocate for applying molecular biology and genetics to biological weapons development, and he served on the secret Interdepartmental Scientific-Technical Council on Molecular Biology and Genetics, the nerve centre of the Soviet biological weapons programme. His political career included membership in the Communist Party and election as a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee.