Semyon Ginzburg

Semyon Alexandrovich Ginzburg (1900-1943) was a Soviet tank designer. He was born in Lugansk, Russian Empire. He enrolled in business school in 1918, but then volunteered for the Red Army in 1919 and served in the light artillery squadron of the 3rd Rifle Division. After the division had retreated to Voronezh, Ginzburg enrolled in the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy and graduated in 1920. He was appointed as a platoon commander in the 52nd Rifle Division and fought at Kakhovka and in Crimea. He continued his studies at the Dzerzhinsky Military Technology Academy in 1926 and graduated in 1929 after specializing in tank designs. He was one of the earliest tank designers in the Soviet Union who expressly studied to become one.