29 Facts About Aleksandr Starovoitov

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Starovoitov was an officer of the Soviet and Russian security services and academic, specialising in communications technologies.

Aleksandr Starovoitov reached the rank of army general, and was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was briefly chairman of the Government Communications Committee prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and then became general director of FAPSI, the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information.

Aleksandr Starovoitov remained active in commercial fields related to his service, in senior leadership positions in businesses and enterprises, as well as in research and academia.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was a member of numerous scientific bodies and academies, and had received a number of academic and governmental distinctions prior to his death in 2021.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was born on 18 October 1940 into a Russian family in the town of Balashov, Saratov Oblast, in the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union.

Aleksandr Starovoitov moved with his family, which had military connections, to Kamenka, Penza Oblast in 1952.

Aleksandr Starovoitov studied at the faculty of encryption and coding technology at Penza Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1962 with a degree in electromechanical communication equipment, and the qualification of an electrical engineer.

Aleksandr Starovoitov began his career as an engineer at the Kalugapribor plant, working as a senior tuning engineer and the deputy head of workshop number 8.

In 1983 Aleksandr Starovoitov was appointed general director of the "Krystal" Research and Production Association, a post he continued to hold alongside his position as director of the Penza Scientific Electrotechnical Research Institute.

Aleksandr Starovoitov received the Order of the Badge of Honour in 1981 for the scientific development and organisation of large-scale production of special communications equipment, and in 1986 received the Order of the Red Banner of Labour for "the creation and organisation of the serial production of data transmission services for frontline automated control systems".

Aleksandr Starovoitov was granted the rank of major general, having previously been a lieutenant colonel in the KGB reserve.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was appointed deputy head for technological equipment of the KGB's Government Communications Department, serving in the KGB's central offices.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was promoted to lieutenant general on 11 April 1991, and in September 1991 he was appointed chairman of the Government Communications Committee, a post he held through the last months of the Soviet Union.

On 24 December 1991 Aleksandr Starovoitov was appointed general director of FAPSI, the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information.

Aleksandr Starovoitov had connections with leading businesses and enterprises involved in telecommunications, sitting on the board of directors of Rostelecom and Svyazinvest, and was chairman of the Security Council of Russia's Interdepartmental Commission on Information Security, as well as chairman of the Commonwealth of Independent States's coordinating council on communications and encryption security.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was dismissed as director of FAPSI on 7 December 1998, ostensibly to allow his transfer to another position.

Aleksandr Starovoitov continued to work in commercial fields related to his expertise.

Aleksandr Starovoitov authored over 170 scientific works, including 8 monographs, and held 48 patents.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was chairman of the National Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation with Latin American Countries, and in 2009 was appointed chairman of the Russia-Chile Business Council.

Aleksandr Starovoitov lived and worked in Moscow, dying there on 17 July 2021 at the age of 80.

Besides the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr Starovoitov had received numerous awards and honours over his long career.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Fourth Class on 9 April 1996, and the Third Class in 2020.

Aleksandr Starovoitov had received the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 11 June 2016, and the Soviet-era awards of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour on 8 August 1986, and the Order of the Badge of Honour on 10 March 1981.

Aleksandr Starovoitov held several professional awards and distinctions, including the titles of Honoured Scientific and Technical Worker of the RSFSR on 21 October 1993, Honoured State Security Officer in 1991, Honoured Communications Industry Worker, and Honoured Radio Operator.

Aleksandr Starovoitov had been awarded the thanks of the President of Russia on 12 July 1996.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was an academician of the Academy of Cryptography of the Russian Federation, academician and first vice president of the AM Prokhorov Academy of Engineering Sciences, and academician of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, the Russian Academy of Electrical Sciences, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and the International Academy of Communications.

Aleksandr Starovoitov was a board member of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission's Scientific and Technical Council, and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences's Defence Research Council.

Aleksandr Starovoitov had received the Russian Academy of Sciences's Popov Medal in 2020 for his works on the "Creation of scientific foundations and development of design methods and software and hardware implementation of promising information transmission systems".