Sergey Yakovlevich Zhuk is one of the most famous engineers in hydraulic engineering. He was among the leaders of the largest "construction projects of communism." During his lifetime, Sergei Yakovlevich was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor.
Childhood, youth
Sergey Yakovlevich Zhuk was born on March 23, 1892 in Kiev. In his native city, he graduated from the second city gymnasium, and after the death of his father, he studied at the Oryol Cadet Corps. Sergei Yakovlevichâs childhood was difficult. He was drawn to knowledge and understood that only a good education would help him achieve something in life.
After the cadet corps, Zhuk entered the Petrograd Institute of Civil Engineers, and a year later he transferred to the Petrograd Institute of Railway Engineers. With the advent of World War I, Sergei Yakovlevich was transferred to a military institute due to a shortage of officers. In 1916, he graduated from a military school, and then successfully graduated from the Petrograd Institute in 1917.
Beetle took part in the Civil War. He began to fight on the side of the White Army, but after being in captivity fell under the influence of agitators and switched to the side of the Red Army.
Career
After the war, Zhuk taught at the Kamenov military school, and then served in artillery and infantry schools. In 1931, Sergei Yakovlevich worked as an engineer, after which he was transferred to the civil service. The beetle was distinguished by its solid character, exactingness to itself and subordinates. The people who worked with him spoke of his rigidity and unscrupulousness. But Sergey Yakovlevich was an excellent specialist, and personal qualities were an additional plus in some situations. His career was developing rapidly.
High authorities saw huge potential in Sergey Yakovlevich and he was sent to the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. There he quickly grew to the deputy chief engineer. Beetle led the design of hydraulic structures that were erected on the canal. In August 1933 he was awarded the Order of Lenin. Solzhenitsyn, in his writings on the Gulag Archipelago, called the engineer "the chief overseer of Belomor" and blamed the deaths of a large number of people. This statement was disputed, but the writer refused to discuss this topic, remaining with his opinion.
After the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal was completed, Zhuk was sent to the Moscow-Volga construction site. He was appointed deputy chief engineer of the project, and then promoted to chief engineer. In 1937, this facility was put into operation and gave Sergey Zakov a special ZIS car for special services. At that time he was in very good standing with the country's top leadership. He was respected and appreciated as a specialist.
The following projects in which the Beetle directly participated and supervised their construction were:
- Kuibyshevsky waterworks;
- Hydroelectric power station on Samarskaya Luka;
- Tsimlyansk hydroelectric station.
The construction of the Kuibyshev hub was of great economic importance for the country. The layout and construction projects were presented at an exhibition in New York. But when it was erected, one had to face many difficulties. Problems appeared both at the preparation stage and during construction. The coordination was carried out slowly, the workforce was not enough, but at the same time there were often downtime at the construction site, which was accompanied by large financial losses.
The first secretary of the Kuybyshev regional committee Ignatov wrote a letter in the name of the top leaders, which outlined all the problems that arose during the construction. Ignatov said that the reason for the slow construction of the hydroelectric complex is that the chief engineer is almost absent, spends a lot of time in Moscow, and entrusts his work to people who are not competent in this matter.
After receiving such a letter of letters, Sergei Yakovlevich was severely reprimanded, but he was not removed from the construction, but was only transferred to the post of assistant chief engineer. After some time, it became clear that things are going worse with the new leader. All errors were taken into account, organizational issues related to approvals were eliminated, and after Zhuk was again appointed chief engineer, the hydroelectric complex was completed in record time.
Sergey Yakovlevich Zhuk was awarded a number of state awards and medals:
- Hero of Socialist Labor (1952);
- Stalin Prize of the second degree (1950);
- Stalin Prize of the first degree (1952);
- Order of the Red Banner (1951).
The engineer was awarded the Order of Lenin 3 times. In 1948, he was recognized as an honored worker of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1942-1957, the Beetle was the director of the Hydroproject Institute. He became one of the initiators of the famous project for turning Siberian rivers into Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In 1943, he was awarded the title of Major General of the Engineering Troops. In 1953, a hydraulic engineer became an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. March 1, 1957 Sergei Yakovlevich died. His body was cremated, and an urn with ashes was placed on the Kremlin wall.
