Aleksey Abrikosov was born into a wealthy family of factory owners, who were the official suppliers of chocolate confections to the Russian Imperial Court. His grandfather was the industrialist Aleksei Ivanovich Abrikosov, who was the founder of the company now known as Babayevsky. His father, Ivan Alekseevich Abrikosov, was expected to take over the family firm until his premature death from tuberculosis. His siblings included future Tsarist diplomat Dmitry Abrikosov and future Catholic Sainthood Candidate Anna Abrikosova.
Abrokosov published works on the subject of the pathological morphologyoftuberculosis and tumors, including the neuroectodermal tumor. This was described by Abrikosov as "myoblastomyoma." Based upon his work, this type of tumor was named "Abrikosov's tumor". He was the author of a multi-volume handbook in special pathology.
On the morning of January 23, 1924, Abrikosov was given the task of embalmingLenin’s body to keep it intact until his burial. The body is still on permanent display in the Lenin's MausoleuminMoscow.[2]
Aleksey Abrikosov is believed to be the inspiration for Professor Persikov, the protagonistofMikhail Bulgakov's novel Fatal Eggs. The character's name is a pun, as, in Russian, abrikos means "apricot" and persik means "peach".
Andreev, A.; Tsygankov, D. (2010). Sadovnichiĭ, V. A. (ed.). Imperatorskiĭ Moskovskiĭ universitet, 1755-1917: ėnt︠s︡iklopedicheskiĭ slovarʹ. Moskva: ROSSPĖN. p. 11. ISBN978-5-8243-1429-8.
