Vinter Olexandr Vasylyovych

Alexander Winter was born on the 10th of October, 1878 in Grodno province, in the village of Starosiltsi - Bialystok district. His father was a railway engineer. As Vinter later recalled, he was extremely amused with locomotive, and he several times a day, eight-nine-year-old boy ran to the workshops and depots to admire the "amazing" machines.

After finishing secondary school in 1899 Vinter entered the mechanical department of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute and combined training with a private teaching and the work at the department. In 1901, as a second-year student Vinter was arrested for taking part in spreading revolutionary May Day proclamation, and spent four months in prison, and was later expelled from the institute for political unreliability and sentenced to exile from Kyiv to Baku under the secret police surveillance.

That time energy sector of oil fields in Baku was rapidly developing. By a letter of recommendation from institute professor, which was addressed to R.E. Klasson and L.B. Krasin, who worked then in Baku, Alexander was adopted as the trainee to the city of Bilohorodska power station. Klasson and Krasin, under whose start Vinter was working, attracted him to the research, which in the following years was regarded as a necessary component of practical engineering. In his memoirs, Alexander Vasylyovych wrote: "I spend fourteen, sixteen hours a day in the boiler house, learning how the boiler works, adjusting measuring instruments, measuring the oil controlling combustion. I watched the water purification and desalination, climbed into the air ducts and channels. The question of loss of water of machines was investigated, etc. ". By 1905 a talented engineer, having passed the conventional ladder service, was appointed as a Chief of Bilohorodskiy city power station.

Vinter deals with the expansion and reconstruction of power plants, participating in all stages - from building a house to installing new machines. Under his leadership, first team turbine, first in RI transmission of electricity at a voltage of 20 kV, were established in the Russian Empire at the Bilohorodskiy plant.

With rich experience, Alexander felt a lack of theoretical knowledge. During his tenure in Baku, he twice attempted to resume studies at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, but to no avail - obstacle remained his political unreliability. In 1907, with the assistance of Professor M. Chatel, the dean of the electromechanical department of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, Vinter came to the office and graduated in 1912. Simultaneously with the training he conducted practical work in the Moscow power station named "Society electric lighting in 1886" (now HPP-1 Mosenergo) and participated in the rebuilding the Moscow electrical grid.

After graduation, Vinter was invited as chief assistant of district for the construction of the first power station in peat "power" (now is known as Klasson R.E. power station), and soon he was appointed as the head of power station. Here Alexander worked with R.E. Klasson, G.M. Krzyzanowski and I.I. Radchenko. The station was put into operation in 1914. Its construction allowed to accumulate a unique experience which was used later, during the Soviet era, while the construction of Shatura district power station.

In 1918 he was appointed as a manager of the Elektrobud – which is thr Management of electrical installations of construction of regional power station. Vinter made being at Elektrobudi central electrical board, composed of specialists such power as G.M. Krzyzanowski, I.G. Alexandrov, G.A. Graftio, R.E. Klasson. In April 1919, he reported to the head of People's Commissars V. I. Lenin on the formation of building of four departments: Svirsky, Volkhov, Shatursky and Kashyrsky. But the main work Vinter gat at Shaturstroy where he was appointed as the head of construction of Shatura power station and on the 23d of September, 1925 Shatursky regional power station, which was planned by electrification, had given the current from the first machine, and on the 13th of November the second machine was launched.

On the 7th of February 1927 Vinter was appointed as chief engineer and later as chief of the Dnieper station.

Alexander Vasylyovych has taken all the steps in order the building as soon as possible was put on the path of intensive work. And from the very beginning he launched the construction of ancillary facilities and housing. As it was earlier, during the years of construction of the "power-transmissions" and Shatura power station near Moscow, the chief of the building primarily takes care of the household and cultural conditions of builders. Take care to have the right to request , - this rule was his main logo during the whole building process. Comfortable houses, kitchens, bakeries, nurseries, dining room, baths were built, trees, flowers and bushes were planted, water supply and sewerage was constructed. Many Soviet and foreign visitors admired Dnieprostroi due to its new settlements on the banks of the Dnieper.

When Vinter began to hold a socially oriented policies on the Dnieper, complaints to Moscow started to be sent that instead of building the dam, he took the wrong direction, for the sake of what he was appointed as a manager. However Vinter was supported by Commissar Ordzhonikidze. The calculations made by Alexander Vasylyovych were true: solid rear building was created that allowed to arrange drill work at the highest level of productivity. Construction was thoroughly mechanized, equipped with auxiliary industries - machine shops, wood, concrete, oxygen plants, compressor stations, transport management. In those days Dniprobud was the model of building and the first school of highly mechanized construction.

In this major construction brilliantly traditional style of Vinter activities was proven: thorough design of projects and plans, preparation measures, perfect organization of work, high mechanization of work, personal continuous monitoring of all areas of work, serious study of best experience and its immediate distribution. In 1930, due to the successful progress of construction, Vinter was appointed as a head of both the constructional and all civil projects of Dnieper industrial station, and soon he managed the mounting plants department.

After the construction of the Dnieperbud in 1932 Alexander Vinter was elected as a real member of the Academy of Sciences. In the same year he was appointed as a chief of Holovenerho and Deputy Chief of People's Commissar of Heavy Industry. Directing Holovenerho, Vinter dealt with primarily issues of power construction, putting the task to significant increase its capacity. Much attention he paid to bringing order to the operation of power station and its networks, according to anti-accident rate.

In 1934, Vinter was the chief in the created in the system of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry Holovhidroenerhobud where he worked until 1938. Under his leadership, large-scale construction of Rybinsk and Uglich hydroelectric station on the Volga started; preparations for the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station also began. During Vinter operation as a chief of Holovhidroenerhobud, large design institute Hidroelektroproekt was organized, specialized construction and installation companies were created.

During World War II Vinter was in Kuibyshev. He organized the construction of temporary power stations, initiates scientific analysis of operating experience of tremendous power and energy systems. The aim of this work was mobilizing reserves, increasing efficiency, streamlining the structure of the energy sector of the country in the period of war. This rationalization, which was associated with increased culture of exploitation by the introduction of new technological developments and best usage of staff grids, was scheduled by him before the war started. In addition, he solved the problem of how to improve the use of existing basic equipment of power station, made the task of summarizing the experience of operation of powerful plants in order to develop certain technical requirements for new equipment, manufactured in domestic energy machine factories.

From 1943 to 1949 A. V. Vinter was a deputy chairman of the Technical Council of the Ministry of power stations of the USSR. He advised all the projects from all new powerful stations. Simultaneously he conducted research in the Krzyzanowski Energy Institute of the USSR, where he held the position of Deputy Director for Science. Here he worked until his death in 1958.

During his work in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Vinter was one of the leaders of the basic research in the field of energy resources of the USSR. He always emphasized that proper accounting of energy had affected the extent and rational distribution of productive forces, specialization areas, the pace of development of the socialist economy as a whole.

Alexander Vasylyovych was always actively working on the problem of the full development of low energy - wind turbines, small hydropower generator units, mobile power stations, etc. He had consistently held the view that you had to use all energy potential, ranging from a simple windmill and ending with a great modern automated plant. Under his leadership, research and techno-economic analysis in the field of alternative energy was conducted. He had given also a great importance to energy efficiency. In 1956, he spoke of the need "to certainly make full use of waste energy and raw materials in some industries with more than 50% of consumption"

The history of the life of Alexander Vinter, a prominent scientist, head of the landmark buildings of power station in the first half of the XX century, a brilliant organizer of energy building in USSR, deserves to have great respect among scientists and engineers working in the energy sector today.

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