Aleksandr Aleksandrovič Dragunov (also known as Dragunoff, Chinese name Lóng Guǒfū 龍果夫) was a prominent Soviet Sinologist and linguist. He is mainly known for his studies in historical phonology in the West and for his works on various aspects of Chinese linguistics in Russia and China.

Dragunov was born in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, on February 21, 1900, to the family of an official. In 1925, he graduated from the Ethno-Linguistic Chair of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Leningrad (former Saint Petersburg, Petro…