Konstantin Rudnev

Konstantin Rudnev
Minister of Instrument Making, Automated Equipment, and Control Systems
In office October 1965 – 13 August 1980
Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union
In office June 1961 – October 1965
Chairman of State Committee for Defense Technology
In office May 1958 – June 1961
Personal details
Born	Konstantin Nikolaevich Rudnev 22 June 1911 Tula, Russian Empire
Died	13 August 1980(1980-08-13) (aged 69) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
Nationality	USSR
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Konstantin Nikolaevich Rudnev (Russian: Константин Николаевич Руднев; 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.[1]

Early life and education

Rudnev was born in Tula on 22 June 1911.[2] He graduated from Tula Mechanics Institute in 1935.[2]

Career

In 1940 Rudnev joined the Communist Party.[2] During World War II he served as the director of a munitions plant.[3] 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.[3] In May 1952 Rudnev was appointed deputy minister of armaments under Dmitry Ustinov.[3] The Ministry of Defense was renamed as the State Committee for Defense Technology in May 1958, and Rudnev was named as its chairman.[3]

In 1961 Rudnev became a member of the central committee of the Communist Party.[2] In June 1961 he was appointed deputy premier responsible for research activities which he held until October 1965.[2][4] Next he was appointed minister of instrument making, automated equipment, and control systems in October 1965.[5] He held the post until his death in August 1980.[5][6]

Death

Rudnev died in Moscow on 13 August 1980 while serving as the minister.[2] He was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.[2]

Awards

Rudnev was the recipient of the following:[2]

• Hero of Socialist Labour (17 June 1961)
• Six Orders of Lenin (5 August 1944, 20 April 1956, 21 December 1957, 17 June 1961, 2 July 1966, 21 June 1971)
• Order of the October Revolution (12 March 1976)
• Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class (16 September 1945)
• Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (3 June 1942, 1949)
• Medal "For Labour Valour" (8 June 1939)

References

1. Asif Siddiqi (12 April 2021). "Declassified Sources on Gagarin". Wilson Center. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
2. "Руднев Константин Николаевич" (in Russian). War Heroes. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
3. Asif A. Siddiqi (2000). Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 91, 113, 178. ISBN 978-0-16-061305-0.
4. "Soviet Science Aide Sees Closer Links With France". The New York Times. Paris. 17 February 1964. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
5. Benjamin Peters (2016). How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 217. doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262034180.001.0001. ISBN 9780262334198.
6. Evan Mawdsley; Stephen White (2000). The Soviet Elite from Lenin to Gorbachev: The Central Committee and its Members 1917-1991. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 262. doi:10.1093/0198297386.001.0001. ISBN 9780191599842.