Military-Industrial Commission of the USSR

The Military-Industrial Commission of the USSR or VPK (Russian: военно-промышленная комиссия) served as a central management body for the Soviet defence industry from 1957 to 1991. The VPK was a Commission of the Presidium of of the Council of Ministers, and a deputy chairman of the Council headed it. The Soviet VPK's primary function was to facilitate plan fulfillment by easing bottlenecks, enforcing inter-ministerial cooperation, and overseeing the availability of resources.^[1]

History

The VPK was officially formed in December 1957.^[2]

Chairmen of the VPK

• 1957-63 Dmitri Feodorovich Ustinov (Russian: Усти́нов, Дми́трий Фёдорович).^[3]
• 1963-85 Leonid Vasil’evich Smirnov (Russian: Смирнов, Леонид Васильевич).^[4]
• 1985-91 Yuri Dmitriyevich Maslyukov (Russian: Маслюков, Юрий Дмитриевич).

Footnotes

1. ^ Odom, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p20.
2. ^ Chertok, Rockets and People, Volume III: Hot Days of the Cold War, p2
3. ^ Encyclopedia Astronautica, Ustinov
4. ^ Encyclopedia Astronautica, Smirnov

References

• Rockets and People, Volume III: Hot Days of the Cold War, by Boris Evseevich Chertok, pub Government Printing Office, 2005, ISBN 0160817331.
• The Collapse of the Soviet Military, by General William E Odom, pub Yale University Press, 1998, ISBN 0300074697.