Nikolaj Vladimirovich Timofeev-Resovskij, also Timofeyeff-Ressovsky was a Soviet biologist. He conducted research in radiation genetics, experimental population genetics, and microevolution. His life was highlighted by scientific achievements in the face of severe personal hardship, including his imprisonment and working in secret scientific facilities of Soviet Gulag.

Sharashkas were secret research and development laboratories operating from 1930 to the 1950s within the Soviet Gulag labor camp system, as well as in other facilities under the supervision of the Soviet secret service. Formally various secret R&D facilities were called "special design bureau" Russian: особое конструкторское бюро, ОКБ and similar terms. Etymologically, the word sharashka derives from a Russian slang expression sharashkina kontora,, an ironic, derogatory term to denote a poorly-organized, impromptu, or bluffing organization, which in its turn comes from the criminal argot term sharaga (шарага) for a band of thieves, hoodlums, etc.)