Born Mar. 1 (14), 1903, in St. Petersburg. Soviet artist. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1968).
Smirnov studied under I. A. Fomin in the faculty of architecture of the Leningrad Vkhutein (Higher Art and Technical Institute) from 1920 to 1928. He taught at the I. E. Repin Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture from 1946 to 1948 and at the V. I. Mukhina Leningrad Higher Industrial Arts School from 1952 to 1963. His students included G. A. Antonova, S. M. Beskinskaia, and A. M. Ostroumov.
In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Smirnov designed interiors and industrial and public buildings; he also did illustrations. Since 1948 he has specialized in decorative glassware and modern design in optical instruments. He has also arranged exhibitions. Later in his career he began working in ceramics and porcelain. Taking form and function into consideration, Smirnov incorporates pictorial, often topical, decorative elements into the articles he makes.