Ustinov Dmitry Fedorovich (10/17/1908, Samara - 12/20/1984, Moscow), military leader. Marshal of the Soviet Union (1976), twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1942, 1961), laureate of the Stalin Prize (1953).

The worker's son. Educated at the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute (1934). From 1927 he worked as a mechanic in factories (Balakhna, Ivanovo-Voznesensk). In 1927 he joined the CPSU(b). Since 1934 an engineer at the Artillery Research Naval Institute (Leningrad). In 1937 he was transferred to the Bolshevik plant, where, in the conditions of mass arrests of the engineering and administrative staff, he made a brilliant career, going from engineer to director, which he was in 1938-41. On June 9, 1941, he was appointed People's Commissar (since 1946 - Minister) of Armaments of the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, he led a sharp increase in military production for the needs of the Red Army. After the war, he played a decisive role in using German rocket science to develop the Soviet rocket and space programs. During the transformation of the government after the death of I.V. Stalin, 15.3.1953 his Ministry was merged with the Ministry of Aviation Industry into the Ministry of Defense Industry of the USSR, and Ustinov became the Minister. In 1946-50 and since 1954 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Since 1952 he has been a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Later he held high positions in the government: deputy. (Dec. 1957 - March 1963), 1st Deputy. (March 1963 - March 1965) prev. Council of Ministers of the USSR, before. Supreme Economic Council of the USSR Council of Ministers of the USSR (March 1963 - March 1965). After the fall of N.S. Khrushchev became one of the central figures of the new government, Secretary of the Central Committee (March 1965 - Oct. 1976) and Minister of Defense of the USSR (from April 1976). Since 1965, a candidate member of the Presidium (since 1966 - the Politburo) of the Central Committee, since 1976 a member of the Politburo. In 1982 he received the Lenin Prize, in 1983 - the State Prize. Under Brezhnev, for many years he was almost the most influential member of the top leadership of the USSR, having unquestioned authority in the army and the Politburo. According to rumors, it was Ustinov who insisted on the appointment of Yu.V. Andropov, breaking the resistance of the party group that nominated K.U. Chernenko. Author of the memoirs "Serving the Motherland, the cause of Communism" (M., 1982). The ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall.

It is not for nothing that Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov is called "the most Stalinist minister": the marshal gained respect already in the post-war years. However, the death of the Minister of Defense of the USSR gave rise to a lot of rumors, the most popular of which were versions about the liquidation of Ustinov.

The mysterious death of Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov, which overtook him on December 20, 1984, right after the major maneuvers of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, still remains a mystery to all historians and conspiracy theorists around the world. Why did Ustinov, who was called "the most Stalinist minister", die under mysterious circumstances immediately after the military exercises? Why did GDR Minister of Defense Hoffmann (December 2, 1984), Hungarian Defense Minister Olah (December 15, 1984) and Czechoslovak Defense Minister Dzur (December 16, 1984) die after him with the same symptoms? Wasn't this chain of deaths the first "bell" of the overthrow of the socialist system in the countries of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR?

Dmitry Ustinov was appointed to the post of People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR on June 9, 1941. Already in 1953, he became the Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR, since 1953 he held high positions in the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and in 1965 he became Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The peak of Ustinov's career came in 1976: he was appointed Minister of Defense of the Union, and it was in this position that he served until his death.

Ustinov, among others, is involved in the development of unique Moscow air defense systems. It was he who took the most active part in the development and modernization of defense systems. Ustinov also worked daily to improve the defense capability of the USSR, increase the combat readiness of the Armed Forces and develop military science in general. It was Ustinov who was an ardent opponent of the sliding of the world to a thermonuclear war.

People who knew Ustinov noted that four hours was enough for him to sleep, and at the same time he was always cheerful and energetic. Colonel-General Igor Illarionov, who worked as Ustinov’s assistant for almost 30 years, recalls: “Ustinov came to the plant for the creation of air defense systems at ten o’clock in the evening. "But he rested during the day. But Ustinov never. He slept two or three hours a day. For years! Somehow they found out about his visits in advance, and all the bosses remained in their places. He arrives - and went to all the shops. Then he collects all the bosses in the director's office. And it's already three o'clock in the morning. He will listen to everyone, speak himself, suggest something sensible. Then he will look at the clock, and it's already four, and say: "Yes, well ... We sat up today. You still need to go home, sleep well. Go and be back by eight o'clock."

In the last years of his life, Ustinov was much and seriously ill - age affected. So, the Minister of Defense of the USSR underwent a urological operation, as well as two surgical interventions to remove malignant tumors. He also once had a myocardial infarction. The imprint on the general condition of Ustinov was postponed by the illness and the subsequent death of his wife. However, immediately after undergoing operations and illnesses, Ustinov, out of old habit, got up from his hospital bed and, as if nothing had happened, continued his work at the usual military pace and with soldierly clarity.

Many experts, historians and conspiracy theorists have linked the deaths of Ustinov, Hoffmann, Olah and Dzur into a single chain of events. It is not surprising: all four ministers of the countries of the socialist camp died in a fairly short period of time. According to one version, all of them were eliminated with the help of a "terrorist operation", since there was an agreement between them on the need for an early introduction of troops into Poland, where, despite the internment of the opposition and the introduction of martial law, the political situation continued to escalate. This was pointed out by Colonel of the General Staff of the Polish Army Ryszard Kuchlinski, who is also a recruited CIA agent. At the same time, opponents of this version believe that the decision of the four military ministers would not have been made without the permission of the Politburo and Gorbachev personally. It is also noted that there was no need to kill Olah and Hoffmann, since Gorbachev had already become General Secretary in the USSR, and, thus, the destruction of the socialist bloc had already begun.

Another conspiracy version of the death of "Stalin's minister himself" says that Ustinov planned to ... destroy socialism through the "Chilean scenario" - that is, by creating a military junta in the Warsaw Pact countries similar to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, established in 1973 as a result of the overthrow of Socialist rule led by Salvador Allende. One of the main ideologists of Perestroika, Alexander Yakovlev, spoke about this version as follows: “There is a lot of evidence that the highest military generals were thinking about a military coup in the socialist camp (in one form or another). I was fascinated by the experience of other countries when on the way from totalitarianism to democracy, a temporary autocracy of the military was established. The conspiracy then failed." At the same time, experts urge not to consider Yakovlev's words as truth, since they very often did not correlate with reality.

One way or another, it was Dmitry Ustinov who in the war and post-war years became the personification of the defense capability of the USSR and the military power of the state. In December 1984, Ustinov, after returning from a major military exercise, suddenly felt unwell and was hospitalized. Subsequently, doctors diagnosed changes in the lungs and the onset of a fever.

Colonel General Igor Illarionov does not connect the death of the USSR Minister of Defense with any conspiracy theories: “There was nothing strange about this. The 40th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising of 1944 was celebrated. All the defense ministers of the socialist camp were invited. Ustinov spoke a lot there, and the weather was not very important. After the rally, everyone was taken to the mountains, where a banquet was held in the residence on the open terrace. A cold wind was blowing, and Dmitry Fedorovich caught a cold. He was very ill, but still got out. And soon the annual final meetings were held in the Ministry of Defense. And he usually spoke We began to tell Dmitri Fedorovich that this was not necessary, after all, the first deputy, Marshal Sergei Sokolov, can speak. But he doesn't, that's all. We connected the head of the Central Military Medical Directorate Fyodor Komarov. He injected supportive drugs, and Ustinov began to perform. For about thirty minutes he spoke normally, and then he began to make mistakes, I feel that things are bad ... After the meeting, Dmitry Fedorovich was urgently hospitalized at the Central Clinical Hospital. It turned out that it was bad with the heart. Both age and wear and tear affected ... As I was told, the Central Clinical Hospital determined that an operation should be performed. And earlier, when Ustinov was ill, he was prescribed a lot of aspirin and analgin. And the blood didn't clot. What they didn't do! Approximately 30 people - his security, hospital workers, other people with a suitable group - gave him blood. Transferred directly. This went on for a whole day. But the blood never started to clot...

Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov died on December 20, 1984. All Soviet radio and television stations broadcast live for more than an hour from Red Square, where the funeral procession took place, and the newspapers took the first pages of this ceremony. After Ustinov's death, many predicted Gorbachev's quick decline in his political career, but history decided otherwise.

After the death of the marshal, the capital of Udmurtia was renamed the city of Ustinov. Even under Gorbachev, the city was returned to its former name - Izhevsk, the city has retained this name to this day.

1922 - He volunteered for the Red Army (CHON units) in Samarkand.

1923 - He volunteered for the 12th Turkestan Regiment. Participated in hostilities with the Basmachi.

After demobilization in 1923, he went from a locksmith to a factory director.

In November 1927 he joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

1927-1929 - a mechanic at the Balakhna paper mill, then at a factory in Ivanovo-Voznesensk.

In the autumn of 1929 he became a student of the mechanical faculty of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Polytechnic Institute. He worked as a secretary of the Komsomol organization, was a member of the party bureau of the institute.

In 1932, the group in which D. Ustinov studied was sent in full strength to Leningrad to staff the newly created Military Mechanical Institute (now BSTU "Voenmekh" named after D. F. Ustinov)

1934 - successful graduation from the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute.

Since 1934 - engineer, head of the bureau of operation and experimental work at the Leningrad Artillery Research Marine Institute.

Since 1937 - design engineer, deputy chief designer, director of the Leningrad plant "Bolshevik". According to N.V. Kochetov, chief designer of the plant, D.F. Ustinov, heading the "Bolshevik", constantly used obscene language. This "tradition" was preserved on the "Bolshevik" after the transfer of D. F. Ustinov to Moscow.

In 1955, by order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR, he was recognized as being in active military service from the moment he was awarded a military rank.

December 14, 1957 - March 13, 1963 - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Chairman of the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues

March 13, 1963 - March 26, 1965 - First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR Council of Ministers of the USSR

Member of the CPSU(b)-CPSU since 1927. Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1952-84, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1976-84 (candidate member of the Presidium-Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1965-76). Delegate of the XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV and XXVI Congresses of the CPSU(b)-CPSU.

Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1946-1950. and in 1954-1984. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1967-1984.

Marshal Dmitry Ustinov was a member of the unofficial, “small” Politburo, which included the oldest and most influential members of the USSR leadership: Brezhnev, the main ideologist and second person in the party and the state Suslov, KGB chairman Andropov, Foreign Minister Gromyko. In the "small" Politburo, the most important decisions were made, which were then formally approved by the vote of the main composition of the Politburo, where they sometimes voted in absentia. When deciding on the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, Ustinov supported Brezhnev, Andropov and Gromyko, and the entry of troops into Afghanistan was decided.

In addition, Dmitry Ustinov supported the candidacy of Yuri Andropov for the post of General Secretary, overcoming the resistance of intra-party groups who wanted to see the old and sick Chernenko in this post. However, Andropov, after serving as General Secretary for a year and 3 months, died. But, ironically, the sick Chernenko managed to outlive the strong and energetic Ustinov beyond his years. D. F. Ustinov, having caught a cold during a demonstration of new military equipment, died on December 20, 1984 from transient severe pneumonia.

Among the members of the Politburo of the 1970-1980s. differed in that he slept for 4-4.5 hours. He was extremely energetic, enterprising, very quickly solved the problems of managing and managing enterprises.

He was buried in Red Square (cremated, the urn with the ashes was immured in the Kremlin wall).

"Ustinov Doctrine"

The appointment of D. F. Ustinov as Minister of Defense of the USSR in 1976 led to significant advances in the Soviet Army and in Soviet military doctrine. Previously, the main emphasis was on the creation of powerful armored forces in accordance with the scenarios of "high-intensity non-nuclear conflict" in Central Europe and the Far East.

Under D. F. Ustinov, more emphasis is placed on tactical and operational-tactical nuclear weapons (the theory of “strengthening the Eurostrategic direction”). In accordance with it, in 1976, the planned replacement of single-block medium-range missiles R-12 (SS-4) and R-14 (SS-5) with the latest Pioneer RSD-10 (SS-20) began. In 1983-1984 in addition to them, the USSR deployed on the territory of Czechoslovakia and the GDR operational-tactical complexes OTR-22 and OTR-23 "Oka", which made it possible to shoot through the entire territory of the FRG. On this basis, US and NATO analysts concluded that the USSR was preparing for a limited nuclear conflict in Europe.

Opinions and ratings

Memory

• Ustinov was the last one whose ashes were placed in an urn in the Kremlin wall (more than two months before the last funeral at the Kremlin wall - K. U. Chernenko).
• In 1984 the city of Izhevsk was renamed Ustinov; the renaming of the capital of the autonomous republic became unusual (earlier, only regional centers - Naberezhnye Chelny and Rybinsk - were renamed in honor of Brezhnev and Andropov). This renaming was perceived by the townspeople sharply negatively, and already on June 19, 1987, the former name was returned to Izhevsk.
• At the same time, the name of Marshal of the Soviet Union D.F. Ustinov was given to the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute. At present, the university, having undergone changes in the name, still bears the name of D. F. Ustinov, but without mentioning the military rank.
• In 1985, in honor of Ustinov, they renamed Autumn Boulevard in Moscow, which became Marshal Ustinov Street, but in 1990 it was returned to its former name.
• In the homeland of Ustinov - in Samara - a square in the historical part of the city is named in his honor; A bust of Ustinov is installed in the square.
• In St. Petersburg, a street in the Rybatskoye microdistrict is named after him.
• The Northern Fleet includes the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov.

Military ranks

• January 24, 1944 - lieutenant general of the engineering and artillery service.
• November 18, 1944 - Colonel General of the Engineering and Artillery Service.
• April 29, 1976 - General of the Army.
• July 30, 1976 - Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Awards

USSR awards

• Hero of the Soviet Union (1978)
• Twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1942, 1961)
• 11 orders of Lenin (1939, 1942, 1944, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1983)
• Order of Suvorov, 1st class (1945)
• Order of Kutuzov, 1st class (1944)
• 17 USSR medals
• Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1982)
• Laureate of the Stalin Prize, I degree (1953)
• Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1983)

MPR awards

• Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (6.08.1981)
• 3 Orders of Sukhbaatar (1975, 1978, 1981)
• Order of the Red Banner of War (1983)
• 6 MPR medals

Czechoslovakia awards

• Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (6.10.1982)
• 2 orders of Klement Gottwald (1978, 1983)
• Order of the White Lion, 1st class (1977)
• 2 medals of Czechoslovakia

Vietnam award

• Order of Ho Chi Minh (1983)

NRB Awards

• 2 Orders of Georgy Dimitrov (1976, 1983)
• 7 NRB medals

Poland award

• Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class (1976)

Peru award

• Order of Merit for the Air Force

HNR Awards

• 2 Orders of the Banner of Hungary with rubies (1978, 1983)
• Hungarian medal

DRA Award

• Order of the Sun of Freedom (1982)

GDR awards

• 2 orders of Karl Marx (1978, 1983)
• Order of Scharnhorst (1977)
• Medal of the GDR

Future military Dmitry Ustinov was born in Samara in an ordinary working-class family. Despite the fact that he was born in 1908 (quite shortly before the start of the Revolution), he managed to take part in the Civil War - at its very end. The teenager did not even have time to finish his studies.

Service in the Red Army

In 1922 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. He was assigned to the so-called special purpose units (CHOZ). They were created in the early years of the Soviet state. These were "military-party" detachments, appearing at party cells and regional committees in order to fight the counter-revolution.

Young Dmitry Ustinov was sent to Central Asia. In Turkestan, he had to make war with the Basmachi, who were one of the last strongholds of resistance to the new communist government.

Studies

The following year, 1923, the volunteer is demobilized and sent to the Kostroma province. There he studies at a vocational school. In the last year, Dmitry Ustinov joins the CPSU (b). After graduation, he works a little as a locksmith. First in Balakhna at a paper mill, then at a factory in Ivanovo-Voznesensk.

In the new year 1929, the young man enters the local polytechnic institute. There he quickly makes his way up the Komsomol ladder and becomes one of the members of the party bureau. The makings of a leader allowed him to go to Leningrad, where at that time the Military Mechanical Institute was being staffed.

It existed back in tsarist times and after the revolution it changed many times, including in a secondary educational institution. Now the faculties of artillery and ammunition have been opened there. In 1934, Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov graduated from there with a degree in engineering. Today the university bears his name.

"Bolshevik"

Immediately, a talented engineer got into the Leningrad Artillery Research Marine Institute. Professors of many years of hardening and titanic experience worked here. The head of Ustinov was the famous Alexei Nikolaevich Krylov, a mechanic, mathematician and shipbuilder. He was known for numerous theoretical works, for which he received awards from both the tsarist and the Soviet state. According to Ustinov himself, this was his main teacher, who instilled in him organization and inquisitiveness in his own research.

During these years, mass repressions took place in the ranks of the nomenklatura and the technical elite of the Soviet Union. Old cadres perished in the Gulag, they were replaced by new names. Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov was from this very "young" call.

He gets to the Bolshevik, where very quickly (in 1938) he becomes a director. This enterprise was the successor of the famous and important strategic object. The first Soviet tractors and tanks appeared here a little earlier.

Dmitry Ustinov got here under the patronage of the first secretary of the Leningrad regional committee and the city committee. He demanded maximum return from his subordinate. The planned economy worked with might and main, everyone was required to comply with the norms. Ustinov accepted the enterprise in a sad state. But he was not afraid to take risky measures: he changed equipment for imported samples, retrained workers, etc. As a result, the plant began to supply high-quality tools. The State Planning Commission was overfulfilled, and the young director received the Order of Lenin.

Ustinov, like many of his galaxy, remained a firm Stalinist until the end of his life. When the repressions affected his entourage, including Nikolai Voznesensky, he attributed these events to the intrigues of the leader's entourage.

People's Commissar of Arms

Two weeks before the start of the war, the young and promising director was appointed People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR. Stalin believed that a direct conflict with the Reich was inevitable, but it would not happen before a year or two. During this time, he hoped to rearm the country, relying on the abilities and devotion of the Ustinov generation.

It is believed that the appointment of the director of "Bolshevik" to the post of people's commissar was patronized by Lavrenty Beria. At this time, he was Stalin's main confidant, and his voice was decisive in personnel matters.

No sooner had the appointed one delved into the affairs of the entrusted department, when on June 22 the chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR Nikolai Voznesensky woke him up and said that the war had begun. The time has come for laborious daily work to evacuate the entire military-industrial complex to the east of the country, away from the impending front.

It is unlikely that Stalin had "untouchables", so the very fact that the future marshal of the Soviet Union remained alive and in his post already speaks volumes. However, his success was obvious even without such comparisons. The well-established work of enterprises in the rear helped in many ways to defeat Germany in the war of attrition. Later, already in the Brezhnev era, the Marshal of the Soviet Union was especially respected precisely for the successful evacuation of production.

There were some funny incidents at work. For example, Ustinov broke his leg while riding a motorcycle (he generally loved motorcycles). Fearing punishment from his superiors, he arrived at the Kremlin. But Stalin, according to his peculiar sense of humor, ordered to give the People's Commissar a new car so that he would not break any more limbs.

Later career

After the war, Ustinov remained in his post. In 1946, the people's commissariats were reformed. They were renamed ministries (Dmitry Fedorovich's department became the Ministry of Armaments of the USSR). In 1953, he changed his chair and began to lead the state's defense industry.

For six years (from 1957 to 1963) he worked in the Council of Ministers, where he headed the commission in his field. As one of those involved in Gagarin's flight into space, he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Minister of Defense

Ustinov was opposed to Khrushchev and joined the ranks of the conspirators who deposed him. When Brezhnev came to power, Dmitry Fedorovich naturally retained his place in the state elite. Since 1976, he has been a member of the Politburo. He will retain these posts until his death.

During the Brezhnev years, he was one of the few who took part in the discussion of key issues of Soviet politics. This small group also included Leonid Ilyich himself, Suslov, Andropov, Gromyko and Chernenko.

As Minister of Defense, Ustinov is primarily known for his doctrine. According to it, the Soviet troops were re-equipped and received new equipment. This concerned nuclear (RSD-10) and non-nuclear weapons (armored forces).

Ustinov was one of the initiators of the war in Afghanistan, including the very first landing operations. In many ways, it was his activity that led to this decision of the Politburo. So Ustinov opposed the Chief of the General Staff Ogarkov, who, on the contrary, did not want the troops to enter.

Ustinov led one of the largest military exercises in Soviet history. They received the code name "West-81". Then, for the first time, automated control systems and several types of precision weapons were tested in the Soviet army.

The minister's decisions were largely dictated by the country's participation in the Cold War, when relations between the USSR and the USA were either restored or cooled down again.

Death

The last person whose ashes were buried in an urn in the Kremlin wall was Dmitry Ustinov. The family received their pension. He died at the end of 1984 after he caught a cold at the next review of military equipment. At that time, Chernenko was already living out his last days. The generation of Soviet leaders of the period of stagnation imperceptibly faded away due to old age. The people called this series of deaths the “carriage race”. Ustinov was 76 years old.

In honor of the marshal, Izhevsk, the city of gunsmiths, was briefly renamed. However, the citizens did not approve of the change, and after three cities the historical name was returned.

Awards

Ustinov's biography includes receiving many awards, including the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor (twice), as well as 11 Orders of Lenin and one more and Kutuzov (both first degree).

In addition, it was celebrated several times by the governments of the Warsaw Pact countries and the entire communist axis: Mongolia, Czechoslovakia, Vietnam, Bulgaria, etc.

In Soviet times, they talked about him as a secret people's commissar (later - a minister), then - about a party and economic figure responsible for the state of the entire weapons system of our country. In 1976, he, who had never served in the army, unexpectedly for many military men, was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. And in the post-perestroika period, steel speaks of him as one of the most effective managers of the Stalinist command and administrative system. One way or another, but now we know that Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov, both during the war years and in the difficult post-war period, carried on his shoulders an incredible load of weight - the nuclear missile shield of the Soviet state (Fig. 1).

Working bone

He was born on October 17 (according to the new style on October 30), 1908 in Samara, in a working class family. His parents were Fedor Sysoevich and Efrosinya Martynovna Ustinov. The family lived in poverty, and therefore, already at the age of 10, Dima went with his father to the workshop to study as a locksmith (Fig. 2).

But then dashing revolutionary times came, and after them - a civil war. At the age of 14, Dmitry Ustinov volunteered for the Red Army, and since 1923 he served as a clerk in the 12th Turkestan regiment, which participated in battles with the Basmachi. Here the young fighter joined the ranks of the CPSU (b), and after graduating from a technical school in 1927, he began working as a mechanic at the Balakhna paper mill, then at a factory in Ivanovo-Voznesensk.

Work hardening helped Ustinov in 1929 to enter the mechanical faculty of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Polytechnic Institute. Here he was soon elected secretary of the Komsomol organization and a member of the party bureau of the institute. And in 1932, a group of students, in which Ustinov studied, was sent in full force to Leningrad to staff the newly created Military Mechanical Institute (now BSTU "Voenmekh" named after D.F. Ustinov). In 1934, Dmitry successfully graduated from it, and almost immediately was appointed head of the Bureau of Operation and Experimental Work at the Leningrad Artillery Research Marine Institute.

The talent of the leader in the young engineer manifested itself almost immediately. This was quickly noticed "at the top", and as a result, Ustinov made a rapid ascent through the ranks in just one year. If at the beginning of 1937 he was only a design engineer, he soon became deputy chief designer, and at the end of that year - director of the Leningrad Bolshevik plant.

I.V. himself soon drew attention to the young and energetic head of a large defense enterprise. Stalin. At one of the meetings of the Politburo, where Ustinov was also summoned along with other plant directors, they discussed the shortcomings in the use of imported equipment, which was purchased abroad for foreign currency, but was not installed on time at the workplace. At the same time, Stalin was much pleased with the fact that Ustinov, after this meeting, the very next day reported that at his plant all the machines purchased, which the day before were in packages in the yard, had already been installed in the shops and were giving out products.

Stalinist People's Commissar

Just two weeks before the start of the Great Patriotic War (June 9, 1941), D.F. Ustinov was appointed to the post of People's Commissar of Armaments of the USSR. At the same time, he knew that Boris Lvovich Vannikov, his predecessor in this post, had been arrested by the NKVD on the eve of the standard charge - "sabotage, sabotage of government instructions and decisions, espionage in favor of foreign powers." Already in the post-Soviet period, it became known from declassified documents that D.F. Ustinov recommended to appoint L.P. Beria. However, I.V. Stalin already had the best opinion about the business and managerial qualities of the new people's commissar, who by the time he took this position was not even 33 years old. And subsequent events showed the correctness of this appointment.

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Ustinov was fully responsible for the evacuation of Soviet industry from the western regions to the east of the country. At the same time, the fact that on July 20, 1941 B.L. Vannikov was suddenly released from the Lefortovo prison and appointed as his deputy. Modern historians write that Vannikov's release was due to the fact that after a month of the war, there were tangible interruptions in the supply of ammunition at the front, and therefore Stalin had to return the former people's commissar back to duty. Vannikov worked in tandem with Ustinov until February 1942, and then he was appointed head of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition, which was created back in 1939.

The blackest time in Ustinov's work as People's Commissar was the autumn and early winter of 1941, when factories from the western part of the country were just moving east, and then right off the wheels, often in an open field, they began to produce their products. During these months, Stalin almost daily demanded Ustinov to report to him, and he had to report on every rifle issued, not to mention howitzers. When, for example, it was not possible to fulfill the daily norm for the production of rifles, Ustinov honestly named the figure: 9997 instead of 10,000. production failures.

A half-legend, half-tale has survived that Ustinov, in order to have time to visit several factories in a day, traveled between them on a motorcycle. Once he unsuccessfully fit into a turn and badly injured his leg. He had to hold meetings of the board of the people's commissariat several times in the hospital ward. When Ustinov more or less recovered, he was summoned to the Kremlin, to a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars. Here he heard from Stalin the following words: “Do you know, Comrade People's Commissar, what happens in a war for damage to state property?” Ustinov began to explain that he had already repaired the motorcycle at his own expense, but Stalin stopped him: “This is not about a motorcycle, but about you. You personally are the most valuable state property for our people, and you should be severely punished for your careless attitude to your own life and health. Well, okay. Have you been given a car yet? I will take care of this." This meant that there would be no punishment. From the next day, Ustinov was already touring the factories not on a motorcycle, but in a government car.

During the war, D.F. Ustinov gathered at the factories entrusted to him a galaxy of talented engineers, designers and arms production managers. It is difficult to overestimate his work as People's Commissar during this period - Ustinov, in the most difficult time for the country, proved himself to be a knowledgeable leader who was well versed in the work entrusted to him. Largely thanks to his efforts, our army was uninterruptedly supplied with the most modern weapons at that time, and in the amount that ensured the complete defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites in the Great Patriotic War.

For services in organizing the work of the defense industry of the USSR D.F. Ustinov in 1942 was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (Fig. 3).

At the origins of the rocket industry

The post-war side of D.F. Ustinov on the leadership of the Soviet defense industry ceased to be fully secret only in the post-Soviet period. In particular, it became known that he stood at the very origins of the Soviet rocket and space industry, the beginning of which was signed by I.V. Stalin, the top secret resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated May 13, 1946 No. 1017-419ss, entitled "Issues of jet weapons." According to this document, a Special Committee on Jet Technology under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (the so-called “Committee No. 2”) was created in the country, in which G.M. Malenkov, and in fact it was managed by his deputy D.F. Ustinov. In the same years, the Ministry of Armaments of the USSR was transformed into the Ministry of Defense Industry of the USSR, which D.F. Ustinov headed until December 1957. After that, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Chairman of the Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues (Fig. 4, 5).

In these responsible positions, D.F. Ustinov was responsible for testing all types of rocket technology, for space flights of the first Soviet orbital satellites, then satellite ships with animals on board, and, finally, for the first manned space flights.

Here is how D.I. Kozlov, permanent head of the TsSKB enterprise, Twice Hero of Socialist Labor (Fig. 6).

Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov visited us in Kuibyshev, at the Progress plant and at the Central Design Bureau, quite often, sometimes several times a year. In general, he repeatedly came to us back in the late 50s, when he was the Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR, and after Khrushchev appointed him his first deputy. Ustinov paid great attention to our enterprise in the 60s and 70s, when, under Brezhnev, he first served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and then as Minister of Defense of the USSR. At the same time, Dmitry Fedorovich always came to Kuibyshev not for an hour or two, as some high-ranking people did after him, but stayed with us for several days, especially at a time when a new military facility was to be launched. At the same time, Ustinov did not sit in the offices of factory managers - he walked around the shops a lot, talked with workers, wrote down practical proposals from engineers, designers and technical employees. Such was the style of work of most of the country's top officials in those years, and we, economic leaders, of course, tried to adopt this style in its best manifestations.

Now much has also become known about the role of D.F. Ustinov, which he played in the spring of 1961, on the eve of the manned space age of mankind. By that time, news agencies had already reported on the last two launches of the American Mercury spacecraft, which took place on February 21 and March 24, 1961. Both of them turned out to be successful, after Wernher von Braun, inspired by the prospects that came off, appointed the first flight into space of an American astronaut on April 24, and he sent out invitations to the US President, members of the government, as well as heads of major firms and banks, editors of newspapers and television channels. .

In connection with such reports, on March 29, 1961, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR D.F. Ustinov held an emergency meeting of the State Commission. By that time, the results of the flights of Soviet satellite ships with dogs on board were already known, which passed without comment. And now Ustinov felt the historical significance of the upcoming decision, since it depended on him whether the USSR could outrun the USA in this intense space race.

First, the minister asked each chief designer to express his opinion about the planned orbital flight of the Soviet cosmonaut. Having received assurances about the full readiness of all systems, D.F. Ustinov formulated the general opinion as follows: "Accept the proposal of the chief designers." Further, based on the results of this meeting, the State Commission decided on the possibility of the first ever manned flight into space on the Vostok spacecraft (3KA). After that, the members of the commission prepared a memorandum to the Central Committee of the CPSU and the government of the USSR, in which they asked to approve both this date and the further program of the first manned launches, which included flights of six spacecraft of the 3KA type, including formation flights of two spacecraft and the dispatch of into the orbit of a female astronaut.

Already on March 30, 1961, this document signed by D.F. Ustinov and all the chief designers was transferred to the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Here are just some excerpts from it: “A large amount of research, development and testing work has been carried out both on the ground and in flight conditions ... In total, seven launches of Vostok satellite ships were carried out: five launches of Vostok-1K objects and two launches of the Vostok-3KA facility. The results of the work carried out to develop the design of the spacecraft, the means of descent to the Earth, and the training of cosmonauts make it possible at present to carry out a manned flight into outer space.

For this, two Vostok-3KA satellites have been prepared. The first ship is at the training ground, and the second is being prepared for shipment. Six cosmonauts are prepared for the flight. The launch of a satellite ship with a person will be made for one revolution around the Earth, with a landing on the territory of the Soviet Union on the Rostov-Kuibyshev-Perm line ...

We consider it expedient to publish the first TASS message immediately after the satellite enters orbit for the following reasons:

a) if necessary, this will facilitate the rapid organization of the rescue;

b) this will exclude the declaration by any foreign state of the cosmonaut as a reconnaissance officer for military purposes ... "

On April 3, 1961, the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On the launch of a manned spacecraft-satellite" was adopted. It contained the following items:

"one. Approve the proposal ... on the launch of the spacecraft-satellite "Vostok" with an astronaut on board.

2. Approve the draft TASS report on the launch of a spacecraft-satellite of the Earth with an astronaut on board and grant the right to the Launch Commission, if necessary, to make clarifications on the results of the launch, and the Commission of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues to publish it.

Now nothing else prevented the entry of mankind into the era of manned astronautics, and therefore on April 8, 1961, a historic meeting of the State Commission took place. It was decided to appoint Yu.A. Gagarin as the main candidate for the first manned flight on the Vostok satellite, and G.S. Titov. The first orbital flight of a Soviet cosmonaut was scheduled for April 12, 1961. Now this date is celebrated all over the world as Cosmonautics Day.

For merits in organizing the world's first manned flight into space, D.F. Ustinov in 1961 was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor for the second time (Fig. 7, 8).

About one more case connected with D.F. Ustinov, in his memoirs, the author of these lines was told by D.I. Kozlov.

In 1965 D.F. Ustinov took the post of Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU for defense, and then he helped our company to receive not one, but two State Prizes in one year. Before that, as the head of branch No. 3 of OKB-1 (later renamed TsSKB - V.E.), I submitted applications to Moscow for two such awards. The first one is for a new generation observation satellite, and the second one is for a set of unique special equipment installed on it. However, the Central Committee of the CPSU told us right away that we could count on only one of the applications, since, according to the then existing situation, one team could not be awarded two such high awards at once in one year. But then it turned out that soon after my telephone conversation with an employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Ustinov came to our branch number 3. Having chosen the moment, I complained to him that our enterprise was refusing to accept an application for the second State Prize of the USSR. Dmitry Fedorovich, without saying a word, picked up the HF receiver, asked to be connected to the industry department of the Central Committee of the CPSU and ordered the head to immediately draw up the necessary documents. The very next day I got a call from Moscow and offered to urgently submit a list of employees nominated for the second State Prize.

"The Case of the Demolitionists"

In April 1976, D.F. Ustinov was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR, and soon he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. And on the eve of Victory Day, on May 9, 1977, in Kuibyshev, on Samarskaya Square, a bronze bust of D.F. Ustinov, as a native of our city, awarded by that time the title of Twice Hero of Socialist Labor. And to the 70th anniversary of D.F. Ustinov, in October 1978, he was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Fig. 9-11).

Unfortunately, the history of the bust of D.F. Ustinov, a year after its installation, was overshadowed by a criminal incident. Shortly after the publication of the message about conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to our countryman, on the night of November 4, 1978, a powerful explosion was heard at the foot of this monument. The bust of Ustinov did not fall from the pedestal, but the explosion cut off the four anchor bolts holding it, due to which the bust turned 30 degrees, and a piece of the slab was chipped off the pedestal.

Three months later, the perpetrators were found and detained by the investigative-operational group of the Directorate of the State Security Committee for the Kuibyshev region. They turned out to be 20-year-old Ivan Izvekov, who does not work anywhere, and Andrey Kalishin, a laboratory engineer at the Kuibyshev Polytechnic Institute. It turned out that a few months before the incident they had made several improvised explosive devices based on ammonium nitrate and tetryl. The first of them was installed by the “demolitionists” on the night of September 4, 1978 at the doors of the Oktyabrsky district military commissariat and brought it into action. No one was hurt, but the building suffered significant damage.

Encouraged by the successful testing of their bomb, the young people, two months later, as already mentioned, tried to blow up the bust of D.F. Ustinov. After their detention, they told the investigator that they personally had nothing against our famous fellow countryman, and by their act they protested against the entire Soviet system, to which, according to them, they felt hostility. At the same time, only the criminal case against Izvekov reached the court, because the forensic psychiatric examination recognized Kalishin as insane.

By the decision of the Kuibyshev Regional Court of December 10, 1979, Ivan Izvekov was found guilty under articles 68 (sabotage) and 218 (illegal manufacture and possession of an explosive device) of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, and sentenced to 8 years in prison in a strict regime colony. As for Andrei Kalishin, he was assigned for compulsory treatment in the Kazan Psychiatric Hospital, where he spent almost 11 years.

Our answer to Star Wars

As for D.F. Ustinov, even after his appointment to the post of Minister of Defense of the USSR, he regularly came to the Kuibyshev rocket and space enterprises, but most often he had to visit here in the early 80s. At this time, the development of fundamentally new space systems began at TsSKB on the direct instructions of the USSR leadership. This was due to serious changes in the international political situation, and first of all, with the next aggravation of relations between the USSR and the USA (Fig. 12).

As you know, in 1976, Jimmy Carter became President of the United States of America, who, after coming to power, almost immediately set a course to abandon the main provisions of the SALT-1 treaty and to strengthen the American military presence in space. And the new US President Ronald Reagan, who replaced him in 1980, further increased the tension between our countries by proclaiming the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program with space-based elements (Fig. 13, 14).

In the media, this project was called the "Star Wars Plan". Its adoption by the American administration actually meant that the military confrontation between the two world superpowers had reached a fundamentally new level - the cosmic level, thereby bringing humanity close to the terrible threat of a third world war.

The international situation forced the leadership of the USSR to look for effective ways to counter the projects of overseas "hawks". According to the now declassified plans of the leadership of the Soviet Union of those years, one of the main counterbalances to the Star Wars program was to be the development of specialists from the Kuibyshev enterprise TsSKB. Here, since 1979, work has been carried out to create a structural layout and hardware base for a fundamentally new space complex (SC), which was called "Sapphire" in the documentation.

To get acquainted with these developments of TsSKB, and first of all - with KK "Sapphire", on August 11, 1981, a large party and government delegation visited Kuibyshev. It included a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union D.F. Ustinov, Minister of General Machine Building of the USSR S.A. Afanasiev, his first deputy B.V. Balmont, head of the 3rd Main Directorate of this ministry Yu.N. Koptev, representative of the customer, Colonel-General A.A. Maksimov, a number of other responsible workers. The delegation was accompanied by the first secretary of the Kuibyshev regional committee of the CPSU E.F. Ants (Fig. 15-18).

Those present highly appreciated the work of the enterprise on the Sapphire-K space complex, which in 1981 became one of the main activities for TsSKB. It was assumed that on the basis of these developments a long-term program for the development of the enterprise until the year 2000 would be formed. According to this program, the Sapphire-K multi-purpose reconnaissance space system was supposed to become an effective counterbalance to the American SDI project, while ensuring the solution of four groups of target tasks. The first of these is planned and periodic observation of the earth's surface, the systematic collection of special information on stationary objects of a potential enemy and on areas where military equipment is concentrated. The same group of satellites was supposed to study the natural resources of the Earth. The second task is operational global surveillance, which includes control of the dynamics of the functioning of stationary military facilities in vast areas of the globe, depending on the military-political situation that is developing here, as well as control over mobile carriers of nuclear weapons. The third task was called operational control over local areas of crisis situations, and the fourth - global mapping.

The project for the creation of the Sapphire space system was approved on November 20, 1981 at a joint meeting of six allied ministers (defense, general engineering, defense industry, electronic industry, industrial communications and chemical industry). At the meeting, the ministers decided to transfer the topic of the Sapphire-V space system from the category of scientific research work (R&D) to the category of especially important state developments, with the submission of all technical proposals for the program to the mentioned ministries in 1982. At the same time, the Kuibyshev enterprise TsSKB of the USSR Ministry of General Engineering was determined as the lead developer for the Sapfir-V space system.

Unfortunately, the events of subsequent years, including the death of D.F. Ustinov, which followed in December 1984, as well as the perestroika processes that began soon and the collapse of the Soviet Union, did not allow the completion of this grandiose project, which was far ahead of its time (Fig. 19-21).

In modern historical reviews they write that, starting from the end of the 70s, D.F. Ustinov was a member of the unofficial, so-called "small" Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. It was attended by the oldest and most influential leaders of the USSR: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L.I. Brezhnev, secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the main ideologist of the CPSU M.A. Suslov, Chairman of the KGB, and later Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yu.V. Andropov, Minister of Foreign Affairs A.A. Gromyko, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU K.U. Chernenko. In the "small" Politburo, the most important decisions were made, which were then formally approved by the vote of the main composition of the Politburo, where they sometimes voted in absentia. So, when deciding on the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in December 1979, Ustinov supported Brezhnev, Andropov and Gromyko, and the entry of troops into Afghanistan soon took place (Fig. 22, 23).

In addition, after the death of L.I. Brezhnev, which followed on November 10, 1982, D.F. Ustinov supported the candidacy of Yu.V. Andropov to the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, overcoming the resistance of intra-party groups who wanted to see K.U. Chernenko. However, Andropov, having served as General Secretary for only one year and three months, died on February 9, 1984. And on December 20 of the same year, Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov himself died, who caught a cold on an open parade ground during a demonstration of new military equipment. He was buried on Red Square in the Kremlin wall (Fig. 24).

D.F. Ustinov was a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1952-1984, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1976-1984, a delegate to the XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV and XXVI Congresses of the CPSU (b) - CPSU. He was also a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1946-1950 and in 1954-1984, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1967-1984.

During his life, D.F. Ustinov was awarded many of the highest Soviet state awards, including the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (awarded in 1978 in connection with his 70th birthday) and the title of Twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1942 and 1961). He was also awarded 11 Orders of Lenin (1939, 1942, 1944, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1971, 1978 and 1983), the Order of Suvorov I degree (1945), the Order of Kutuzov I degree (1944). ), 17 medals of the USSR. In addition, D.F. Ustinov was awarded awards from 11 more states of the world.

Valery EROFEEV.

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