Boris Fiodorovich Lomov (1927-1989)
Boris Lomov died July 11, 1989, in Amsterdam while
attending the first meeting of European psychologists. The
cause of death was a brain thrombosis following a coro-
nary attack. It is meaningful that during the last few days
of his life he was pursuing the internationalization of So-
viet psychology--a theme that had recently dominated
much of his considerable energy.
Lomov was born in 1927 to peasant parents in Lower
Novgorad, which is now the modern city of Gorky, on
the Volga River. His youth was spent far away from the
savage war that was then raging in Eastern Europe and
Western Russia. Too young to be drawn into battle--he
was only 12 in 1939 when Russia was invaded--but old
enough to comprehend the ruthlessness of human con-
flict, he grew to manhood at a time and in a place in
which "The Great Patriotic War" was the topic of daily
concern. How these youthful impressions became im-
portant forces in his adult personality and professional
work is difficult to know precisely, but one sensed that
much of his interest in the internationalization of psy-
chology was influenced by his concern that perhaps psy-
chology, properly applied, might make the world a better
place.
After receiving his first academic degree at Leningrad
State University (LSU) in 1951, Lomov continued to work
at the university as a postgraduate student from 1951
until 1954. In a few years he developed a new set of lec-
tures on experimental and engineering psychology. He
was invited to organize the laboratory of engineering psy-
chology in 1957. In 1959 he established the first laboratory
of engineering psychology in the Soviet Union at LSU,
and in 1963 he was awarded a PhD degree from the same
university. Three years later he helped establish the faculty
of psychology at LSU, serving as its first dean, and in
1967, Lomov was elected correspondent member of Ped-
agogical Sciences.
In 1971 the Institute of Psychology within the Acad-
emy of Sciences, USSR, was founded in Moscow and
Lomov was appointed director--a position he held until
his death nearly two decades later. The founding of the
Institute--which is often called the Lomov Institute in
the Soviet Union--represented a significant departure
from the way psychology was viewed in postrevolutionary
Russia. The influence of Boris Lomov, in his effort to
establish the institute and shape its policies, led both to
the rise of modern psychology in the Soviet Union and
to the international reputation of its founder. Lomov
traveled widely during a period when few Soviets were
allowed outside of their borders. During the 1970s, Lomov
was the only Russian psychologist many Americans had
ever met.
March 1 9 9 1 * American Psychologist
Copyright 1991 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0003-066X/91/$2.00
Vol, 46, No. 3, 245
Following the establishment of the institute, Boris
Lomov was named correspondent member of the Acad-
emy of Sciences, USSR, in 1976. From 1968 until 1983
he was the president of the Society of Psychologists in the
Soviet Union, and in 1980 he founded the scientific pub-
lication PsychologicalJournal and served as its main ed-
itor until 1987. Two universities have granted him hon-
orary doctorates, and the Czechoslovakian Academy of
Sciences awarded him its gold medal for outstanding sci-
entitle achievement.
Although professionally Lomov is best remembered
for his outstanding organizational talent, he was also an
active writer and scientist. He wrote more than 300 papers
and authored or coauthored 15 books and monographs,
some of which have been translated into English. Among
the best known of Lomov's books are Man and Machine
Systems (1963) and Methodological and Theoretical
Problems of Psychology(1984). Professor Lomov was also
involved in the education of many students who worked
toward their advanced degrees at the institute.
A colleague described Lomov as a "man who liked
many sides of life." He cherished free days and holidays
at his small dacha near Moscow, where he enjoyed walks
and communing with nature. He and his wife had a son,
who is an engineer, and a daughter, who--after spending
some time teaching in Africa--is now an educator in
Moscow.
Boris Lomov was a controversial figure. Some dis-
agreed bitterly with his strong management of psychology
in the USSR. Others remember Boris Fiodorovich as an
individual who, out of his own sheer strength of character
and personal determination and dedication, built Soviet
psychology into its present state. Being an upper level
administrator in the Communist party and director of a
major research institute during the past 20 years in the
Soviet Union was one of the world's most difficult jobs.
The fact that he made it work at all is a testament to his
outstanding skill, commitment, and persistence. Lomov
ended an interview (with R. Solso), published in Soviet
Psychologyin 1986, by saying "I am optimistic about the
future of our science . . . . we must study society's prob-
lems as scientists." The 20th anniversary of the Institute
of Psychology will be celebrated in 1991 with a series of
Lomov lectures.
Robert L. Solso
University of Nevada, Reno
Andrew V. Brushlinsky
Institute of Psychology--Moscow
245