Iron defender of the USSR Dmitry Ustinov
110 years ago, 30 October 1908, the future Soviet statesman and military leader Dmitry Ustinov was born.Over the years 40 he was one of the most influential people in the USSR. The name of Dmitry Ustinov is directly related to the implementation of the atomic project, the rearmament of the army with nuclear missile weapons, the creation of a reliable air defense shield of the country, the deployment and operation of the ocean atomic fleet.
Dmitry Fedorovich was born 17 (30) in October 1908, in Samara, in a large working class family and learned working life early. In 1922, Dmitry began serving as a volunteer at the CHON (special purpose units), then served in the 12 Turkestan Rifle Regiment. He participated in combat clashes with gangsters basmachis. After demobilization, he worked at the Balakhna pulp and paper mill and at the same time studied at the Makarievo vocational school. Then he went to Ivanovo-Voznesensk, where he worked at the Ivanovo-Voznesensk textile factory. In 1929, he entered the mechanical faculty of the Polytechnic Institute, got into the Moscow Higher Technical School. Bauman. In 1932, he was first transferred to the engineering institute, and then the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute. There, Dmitry received a basic knowledge of the structure of the Soviet Armed Forces, the system of their material, technical and personnel support.
In 1934, he began work at the Leningrad Artillery Marine Research Institute as an engineer-designer. The rapid industrialization of the USSR opened the way for leading positions to people with excellent technical education. During this period, Dmitry Fedorovich received the necessary lessons of organization, efficiency, and a systematic approach from Academician A.N. Krylov. At the same time, Ustinov mastered the principle of combining fundamental scientific research, development work and production, which led to the timely updating of technological processes, technologies and equipment.
In 1937, Dmitry Fedorovich was transferred to the design office of the Bolshevik plant (former Obukhovsky plant). In 1938, he took over the business. Dmitry Ustinov worked hard on 12 — 14 hours a day, practically did not rest. I slept only 4-6 hours, it happened that I went to bed at 3 nights, and 6 was already working at one in the morning. And he worked tirelessly all day long, setting an example to those around him. This habit he will save all his life. Dmitry was noted as a talented organizer of production, quickly penetrated into all matters, participated in the design of new types of ship armaments, participated in trials. Already in 1939, the plant was awarded the Order of Lenin, 116 of its employees were awarded state awards. Dmitry Ustinov received his first Order of Lenin. In total, for his life filled with work, Ustinov became a knight of eleven orders of Lenin (there were only two such people).
It is also worth noting high human qualities of Dmitry Fedorovich. When Ustinov, already being Minister of Defense, traveled around the country, he always refused to take part in traditional feasts organized for the arrival of the high guest. He said: "You sit down, have a meal, and I will go talk to the soldiers and officers." Colonel-General Ivashov, who had been working alongside Ustinov for a long time, noted that after Dmitriy Fyodorovich became Minister of Defense, drunks, party games, hunting trips among defense personnel ceased (although they were a long-standing tradition). For Ustinov, there was nothing but public service. At the same time he was well versed in people, he sought to work with the best, which combine military, technical and human qualities. Therefore, the promotion of the personnel ladder at Ustinov went only on professional qualities. He was distinguished by the "Stalinist" demanding of people; the higher the post, the greater the responsibility.
Since June 9, 1941, Ustinov at the age of 33 headed the People's Commissariat of Armaments of the USSR. It was a responsible defense industry, which supplied its products not only to the army, but also tank, aviation and shipbuilding industries. The basis of the products of the People's Commissariat of Armament was artillery systems. Stalin personally controlled the activities of the People's Commissariat and attached great importance to the “God of War” (artillery).
Dmitry Fyodorovich made a great contribution to the general victory of the USSR over Hitler's Germany. Work had to be even more intensive than in the pre-war time. Sometimes they worked on 2-3 days in a row. The boundaries between day and night were erased. In the first months of the war, tremendous work had to be done to evacuate millions of people, hundreds of enterprises and tens of thousands of pieces of equipment. In these difficult days, the people's commissar Ustinov often visited factories and assisted in the deployment of factories to new places. So, 29 June began the evacuation of the largest in the industry enterprise "Arsenal". In August, just before the eyes of the Germans, the last train was sent. On the third day, the production started! The People's Commissariat was also evacuated to Perm. The task force led by Ustinov remained in Moscow, the other was sent to Kuybyshev, where the Soviet government was evacuated. At the same time it was necessary to increase and organize the release of weapons. Every day, the activities of the People's Commissariat of Weapons were reported personally to Stalin.
The work was arranged in such a way that in December 1941, the decline in production was halted, and from the beginning of 1942, the overall growth in armaments production was already evident. Nobody expected this in the West. The restructuring of the national economy on a war footing in the Soviet Union was completed as soon as possible. The plan for the end of 1942 of the year was not only fulfilled, but also exceeded. And this is a great merit of the Commissar himself, the designer, the organizer and the caring boss. Dmitry Fyodorovich knew every foreman at all enterprises, designers and the best workers, he knew well the production of the entire product range and problem areas in each department.
When by the beginning of December 1941, it was decided to create strategic reserves to strengthen the existing army, Ustinov accurately determined the amount of weapons and equipment for hundreds of rifle, artillery, anti-aircraft and tank formations of the RGK. To arm parts of the strategic reserve in a short time organized the production and supply of weapons with the plant, which were scattered throughout the Union. In 1942, Ustinov was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor.
It was a well-deserved reward. Ustinov was one of the "Soviet titans" who forged the victory of the USSR. As the head of the Main Artillery Directorate Nikolai Yakovlev noted, recalling those who ensured victory over Germany: “For some reason I remember the young people's commissar for weapons Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov: A mobile, with a keen gaze of smart eyes, a defiant head of golden hair. I do not know when he was sleeping, but it seemed that he was always on his feet. He was distinguished by invariable cheerfulness, the greatest goodwill towards people: He was a supporter of quick and bold decisions, thoroughly understood the most complex technical problems. And besides, he did not lose his human qualities for a minute. I remember that when we literally ran out of strength at long and frequent meetings, the bright smile and the relevant joke of Dmitry Fedorovich relieved the tension, infused new forces into the people around him. It seemed he was on the shoulder absolutely everything! ".
Thanks to Ustinov and other workers, Soviet industry surpassed the German one in terms of volume and quality of products. The correspondence duel between the German imperial minister A. Speer and D. F. Ustinov ended in favor of Stalin’s “iron commissar”. Thus, on average for the year, the enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Weapons gave the Red Army one and a half times more guns and 5 times more mortars than the industry of the German Empire and the countries occupied by it.
After the war, Dmitry Fedorovich kept his post, he only changed his name in 1946, the people's commissariat was transformed into a ministry. Ustinov became the USSR Minister of Armaments and held this post until 1953. In this period Dmitry Ustinov played an important role in the development of the rocket project, thanks to which Russia is still a great power, with which other powers are forced to reckon. Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed that the masters of the West are ready to use the most destructive weapons against the enemy - atomic bombs, and only the possession of advanced weapons will keep the security of the peoples of the USSR. Ustinov, coordinating the work of research institutes, design bureaus, industrial enterprises for the needs of the country's defense, played an extremely important role in creating a fundamentally new type of strategic weapons - ballistic missiles. The People's Commissariat of Armaments had no direct relation to rocket technology, but already in 1945, Dmitry Ustinov gave a correct prediction to the development of military equipment and weapons. Largely due to his perseverance, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of 13 in May of 1946 was issued, which provided for the establishment of the rocket industry, rocket range and specialized rocket units. No wonder that the Deputy Chairman of the State Commission 18 in October 1948 on the first launch of the A-4 ballistic missile from the Kapustin Yar launch site was Dmitry Ustinov.
In 1953, Mr. Ustinov becomes Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR, the old department was enlarged. During this period, being an ardent admirer of the development of advanced weapons, Ustinov played a major role in strengthening the nuclear missile potential of the Soviet Union. Supporting Khrushchev and moving up the administrative ladder - having received the post of chairman of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR, and deputy (from 1963 of the year - first deputy) chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Dmitry Ustinov pushed the interests of the military-industrial complex and the nuclear-missile industry. What is interesting, while Ustinov did not renounce Stalin the years of debunking the "personality cult".
In the year 1957, Ustinov became the head of acceptance of the first nuclear submarine. Dmitry Fedorovich played a prominent role in the creation and deployment of the ocean nuclear fleet. Ustinov became the “godfather” of many nuclear powered ships, including heavy strategic missile submarines of the 941 “Shark” project. Ustinov played a big role in the development of the electronic industry, which is necessary for the development of the defense complex, primarily rocket weapons. On his initiative, Zelenograd was founded, focused on the development of electronics and microelectronics.
Khrushchev, who himself was an active supporter of the development of the missile sphere, supported Ustinov. True, the process of strengthening the nuclear missile potential of the USSR was to the detriment of conventional weapons, during the Khrushchev rule many non-nuclear projects suffered great damage, sharply reduced conventional armed forces with the disposal of a huge amount of modern weapons. Serious damage during this period suffered the Soviet fleet. It must be said that Ustinov shared the popular opinion among the top Soviet leaders on the moral obsolescence of large surface ships.
After the removal of Nikita Khrushchev from power, Ustinov, although he left the post in the Council of Ministers, retained influence in the military industry. It must be said that Ustinov, who initially supported Khrushchev, in particular, during the speech of the so-called. The anti-party group eventually became an active participant in the anti-Khrushchev conspiracy. Obviously, over time, he saw the sabotage of Khrushchev in the country's defense. From 1976, Ustinov headed the USSR Ministry of Defense and became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. In the political sphere, Ustinov until the last supported Brezhnev.
At the exhibition of aviation weapons. From left to right: D. F. Ustinov - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, P. S. Kutahov - Deputy Commander of the Air Force, M. N. Mishuk - Deputy Commander of the Air Force, L. I. Brezhnev - General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, L. V. Smirnov - Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, P. S. Dementiev - Minister of the USSR Aviation Industry
Having a huge influence in the military industrial complex, Ustinov, although he removed a number of obvious distortions in the development of the Soviet military machine, but could not change the general trend. As a result, the interests of the military industrial complex most often stood above the interests of the Armed Forces, the defense order was formed on the basis of the interests of industry. Among the most well-known examples of this bias are: adopting in the 1960-1970-ies three close in combat capabilities, but seriously differing in design tanks (T-64, T-72, T-80); the heterogeneity of the naval missile complexes with a tendency to build new ships for each new complex, instead of upgrading the previous ones. In addition, Ustinov was one of the main opponents of the construction of aircraft carriers of the classical type, which led to the emergence of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers.
After becoming Minister of Defense of the USSR, Ustinov radically changed the military doctrine. Before him, the USSR armed forces were preparing for a high intensity non-nuclear conflict in Europe and the Far East, where powerful armored forces were to play the main role. Dmitry Fyodorovich made the main emphasis on a sharp increase and modernization of the operational-tactical nuclear potential of the Soviet troops in the European sector. The medium-range missile system RSD-10 "Pioneer" (SS-20) and the operational-tactical complexes OTP-22 and OTP-23 "Oka" were supposed to pave the way for the tank divisions of the USSR in Europe. Ustinov completed the creation of a strategic management system for the Armed Forces and their groups with the introduction of the latest systems and means of automated control. Also, his merit is the creation in the countries of the Warsaw Pact of its own military industry and equipping the allied armies with the latest military equipment and weapons.
Many contemporaries noted the ability of Marshal of the Soviet Union Ustinov to select from the existing projects the best and most distinguished ones. So, a whole stratum of life of a great statesman was associated with the organization of air defense of the USSR. Back in 1948, Joseph Stalin set the task to organize a reliable defense of Moscow. In 1950, the Third Main Directorate of the USSR Council of Ministers (TSU) was created. In the shortest possible time - for four and a half years, they created the Moscow air defense system, where C-25 systems were on duty. For its time, it was a technical masterpiece - the first multi-channel anti-aircraft missile system. With the support of Ustinov in 1961, they adopted the short-range anti-aircraft missile system C-125. Ustinov was also an active supporter of adopting the C-200 long-range anti-aircraft missile system. Under his control, the C-300 air defense system was created. Knowing perfectly all the preceding complexes, Dmitry Fedorovich delved into the smallest details and made the most stringent requirements for the new anti-aircraft missile system.
It must be said that in fact under the leadership of Ustinovwho became the only national leader of such a rank who held key positions in the defense complex of the USSR under Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko, such an effective and durable defense system was created in the country that it allowed Russia to remain safe for a long time after the collapse of the USSR. Under the leadership of Ustinov, almost all types of main weapons, which are now in service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, were developed and put into production. These are the T-72 and T-80 tanks, the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, the Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, the Tu-160 strategic bomber, the C-300 air defense missile system and many other weapons and equipment that have still been used in combat. efficiency and forcing the world around us to restrain their aggression towards Russian civilization. These types of weapons and their modifications will protect Russia for a long time. And this is the merit of the “Stalinist people's commissar” Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov. Thanks to such titanium people, the Soviet Union was a superpower that preserved peace throughout the world. When the last titans like Ustinov left, they were able to destroy the Soviet Union.
Ustinov headed the Ministry of Defense until his death 20 December 1984 g. He died at the post. DF Ustinov - Hero of the Soviet Union and twice Hero of Socialist Labor, awarded 11 with the Order of Lenin, the Order of Suvorov 1-th Art., The Order of Kutuzov 1-th Art., Medals of the USSR, orders and medals of foreign states. Winner of the Lenin and two State Prizes of the USSR.
Marshals of the Soviet Union N. V. Ogarkov, D. F. Ustinov and Army General A. A. Epishev together with paratroopers during the West-81 exercises. Photo source: https://ru.wikipedia.org
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