Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov (– 16 March 1919) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician who served as Chairman of the Secretariat of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) from 1918 until his death in 1919, and as Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (head of state of the Russian SFSR) from 1917 until his death.

Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili (– 14 April 1943) was the eldest son of Joseph Stalin, and the only child of Stalin's first wife, Kato Svanidze, who died nine months after his birth.

Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky (Unless otherwise noted, all dates used in this article are of the Gregorian Calendar, as opposed to the Julian Calendar which was used in Russia prior to .

Yakov Naumovich Pokhis (born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Jewish Soviet-American comedian, actor and writer.

Yakov Vladimirovich Rezantsev (4 January 1973) is a Russian lieutenant general (two-star rank).

Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov (17 October 191728 September 1981) was a Soviet Red Army soldier who became a Hero of the Soviet Union for his role in defending the eponymous "Pavlov's House" during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich (8 March 1914 – 2 December 1987), also known as YaB, was a leading Soviet physicist of Belarusian origin, who is known for his prolific contributions in physical cosmology, physics of thermonuclear reactions, combustion, and hydrodynamical phenomena.

Yakov Grigorevich Sinai (born September 21, 1935) is a Russian–American mathematician known for his work on dynamical systems.

Yakov Hanecki (known in Russia as Yakov Stanislavovich Ganetsky - Яков Станиславович Ганецкий), real name Jakub Fürstenberg (Fuerstenberg) also known as Kuba (15 March 1879 — 26 November 1937) was a prominent Polish communist and close associate of Vladimir Lenin, (Zalesskiy K.A. Stalin's Empire.

Yakov Saulovich Agranov (born Yankel Samuilovich Sorenson; 12 October 1893 – 1 August 1938) was the first chief of the Soviet Main Directorate of State Security and a deputy of NKVD chief Genrikh Yagoda.

Yakov Petrovich Kulnev (5 August 1763 – 1 August 1812) was, along with Pyotr Bagration and Aleksey Yermolov, one of the most popular Russian military leaders at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Yakov Grigoryevich Blumkin (12 March 1900 – 3 November 1929) was a Left Socialist-Revolutionary, a Bolshevik, and an agent of the Cheka and the Joint State Political Directorate.

(born Yakov Mayevich Bychkov, 24 October 1959 – 15 March 2011) a Russian-born American conductor.