Genrikh Graftio

[1][2][3] Genrikh Graftio graduated from the Imperial Novorossiya University in Odessa in 1892 and the Petersburg Institute of Transport Engineers in 1896, where he was teaching since 1907.

In 1906, he was charged with developing an electric tram network in Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire, which was opened in 1907.

He was one of the eight experts appointed to lead the 200 scientists gathered in February 1920 into the "State Commission for Electrification of Russia" (GOELRO)[5] This was the program which aimed provide sufficient electric power needed for future industrialization of Soviet Russia and, eventually, the Soviet Union.

[1] On 21 March 1921 he was arrested on the charges of counterrevolutionary activity, but was freed after several months due to intervention of Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, who needed Graftio to continue working on the construction.

Between 1938 and 1945 Graftio was the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Energy, tasked with the power plant construction.