But alas, as ever so often, the article turns this into a hyperbole. The premise from the title does not check out at all.
>The Russian who invented semiconductors 25 years before the USA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor#Early_history_of...
has quite a bit on it checking out:
> He used these junctions to build solid-state versions of amplifiers, oscillators, and TRF and regenerative radio receivers, at frequencies up to 5 MHz, 25 years before the transistor. He even built a superheterodyne receiver.
That one calls them "negative resistance diodes" but I don't see how you can make a functional solid state amplifier and the like without it being a transistor.
Maybe Wikipedia needs some edits.
Yeah, that pattern can be seen everywhere in semiconductors. E.g. the transistor invention vs. Lilienfeld, Heil, Matare etc. So the scope is more narrow than "Inventend Semiconductors".
Generally, there seems to be a tendency to disregard discoveries from outside the US. I think this pattern can still be observed today...
Other examples: Invention of light bulb, telephone.