Konstantin Rudnev (1911–1980) was a Soviet politician who held various cabinet and public posts. He was the long-term minister of instrument making, automated equipment, and control systems between 1965 and 1980. He played a significant role in the Soviet missile and

space programs This is a list of government agencies engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration. As of 2022, 77 different government space agencies are in existence, 16 of which have launch capabilities. Six government space agencies ...

Early life and education

Rudnev was born in

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

on 22 June 1911. He graduated from Tula Mechanics Institute in 1935.

Career

In 1940 Rudnev joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as the director of a

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

plant. On 8 August 1950 he was named as the head of a science and research institute, NII 88, replacing Major General Lev R. Gonor in the post. In May 1952 Rudnev was appointed deputy minister of armaments under

Dmitry Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (russian: Дмитрий Фёдорович Устинов; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee sec ...

. The

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

was renamed as the State Committee for Defense Technology in May 1958, and Rudnev was named as its chairman. In 1961 Rudnev became a member of the

central committee of the Communist Party Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

. In June 1961 he was appointed deputy premier responsible for research activities which he held until October 1965. Next he was appointed minister of instrument making, automated equipment, and control systems in October 1965. He held the post until his death in August 1980.

Death

Rudnev died in Moscow on 13 August 1980 while serving as the minister. He was buried in the

Novodevichy cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

Awards

Rudnev was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

on 17 June 1961. He was also named as the

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudnev, Konstantin 1911 births 1980 deaths Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union Soviet Ministers of Defence People from Tula, Russia Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Lenin Prize winners Heroes of Socialist Labour