Sergei Chakhotin

Sergei Stepanovich Chakhotin (13 September 1883, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire - 24 December 1973, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) was a Russian biologist, sociologist and social activist of Russian origin. He was one of the first thinkers to describe the effect of propaganda on the psychology of masses and warned against the techniques used by the Nazi Party. He was friends with Einstein and discussed his fears concerning the rise of Nazism with him.

Chakhotin was born in Istanbul, the son of Stepan Ivanovich Chakhotin. His father had previously been a private secretary to Ivan Turgenev, before pursuing a diplomatic career which led to him becoming a consular interpreter in Istanbul. His mother, Alexandra Motzo, was Greek and in 1893 he moved with her to Odessa.

Chakhotin enrolled at the Moscow State University and participated in the occupation staged there in 1902. This led to his arrest, imprisonment and a period of exile in Germany. He studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, going on to getting a doctorate in zoology. He developed the micropuncture microscope which enabled the ultraviolet examination of cells. This helped enable him to return to Russia in 1912. Here he worked at the Institute of Experimental Medicine under Ivan Pavlov in St Petersburg. In 1915 Chakhotin was involved with the Committee for Military-Technical Assistance (Komitet Voenno-Technicheskoi Pomoschi), which liaised with technical, industrial and scientific experts in order to mobilise them for the war effort. His role here was general secretary of the Bureau for Organizing Morale, a section dedicated to propaganda.

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