Ilya Berezin

Ilya Vasilyevich Berezin (; 9 August 1923 – 5 June 1987) was a Soviet physical chemist and biochemist, a specialist in chemical kinetics, enzyme physical chemistry, micellar catalysis and enzyme engineering. He held the degree of Doctor of Chemical Sciences, was elected Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1970, served as Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry at Moscow State University (MSU) (1969-1981), headed the Department of Chemical Enzymology at MSU, and was Director of the Bach Institute of Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1981-1987).

Career Ilya Vasilyevich Berezin was born in Astrakhan into a family of physicians. His father, Vasily Ilyich Berezin, was a professor of pharmacology and the rector (the Russian equivalent of Chancellor) of the Astrakhan State Medical Academy, while his mother, Nina Ivanovna Ermakova, held a Doctor of Medical Science degree. In 1937, Berezin moved with his family to Moscow. In 1940 he graduated from school and entered the Moscow Aviation Institute named after S. Ordzhonikidze. In 1941 he was drafted into the army, where he initially served as a soldier, later attained the rank of political officer , and subsequently received an officer’s rank. During the Great Patriotic War, he participated in battles on the Western, Central, and 1st Belarusian Fronts. He was demobilised in 1946 and then entered the Chemistry Faculty of Moscow State University.

At Moscow State University he initiated a new academic programme “Physical Chemistry of Enzymatic Processes” and personally held lectures on the subject. In 1972 he was appointed Chairman of the Scientific Council of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR on “Enzymes and their Application in National Economy and Medicine.” In 1974 he founded the Department of Chemical Enzymology at the Chemistry Faculty of MSU, which he headed for over ten years. From 1981 he led the A. N. Bach Institute of Biochemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences. During his scientific career, he published over 500 research papers and articles, and was one of the most cited academics in Soviet science.

At the Department of Enzymology Berezin and his colleagues discovered the phenomenon of bio-electrocatalysis, developed new methods for stabilising catalysts and created enzyme-based systems activated by light, mechanical, or other stimuli.

He developed a method for the enzymatic synthesis of 6-aminopenicillanic acid, used in antibiotic production, which continues to be applied in Russia. Additionally with his team he developed theoretical, experimental, and clinical justifications for the use of immobilised enzymes in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Death Berezin died after suffering a cardiac arrest on 5 June 1987 in Moscow. He was buried at the Kuntsevo Cemetery.

Contribution to science After his death Berezin's role in the development of research in to biocatalysis was noted in a 2024 academic article authored by 64 fellow academics from 14 institutions: "Before I.V. Berezin’s works, biological catalysis was considered as a complex phenomenon bearing some features of vitalism. Meanwhile, owing to the studies carried out by I.V. Berezin and his followers, it became clear that enzyme catalysis can be quite simply and reliably interpreted in terms of physical chemistry and has a huge potential for technical implementation of many chemical reactions.". Some of these colleagues arranged for a memorial book of essays, printed on the hundredth anniversary year of his birth in 2023, entitled Our dear Ilya Vasilyevich Berezin.