The Gosplan economist who co-signed wartime decrees with Stalin
On the evening of June 21, 1941, Poskrebyshev whispered: 'The boss just had an agitated talk with Timoshenko... It's coming — a German attack.' Chadayev asked, 'On us?' 'Who else?'
A Soviet economist and state official who served as Deputy Chairman of Gosplan (1938–1949) while simultaneously managing the entire government document apparatus as Administrator of Affairs of the Sovnarkom (1940–1949). His signature appeared alongside Stalin's on thousands of wartime decrees, and he helped coordinate evacuation planning and early resource allocation for the atomic project. After the war he chaired Gosplan RSFSR and later served as Deputy Chairman of Gosplan USSR (1962–1975), spending his entire career inside the planning apparatus and authoring the major study 'The Economy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.'
Career Timeline
- 1930–1932Deputy Chairman, Gosplan of the Udmurt ASSR
- 1933–1937Senior economist, deputy sector chief of production economics, Gosplan USSR
- 1937–1939Deputy Chairman, Gosplan RSFSR → Deputy Premier RSFSR and Chairman, Gosplan RSFSR
- 1939–1940Deputy Chairman, Commission of Soviet Control, Sovnarkom USSR
- 1940–1949Administrator of Affairs, Sovnarkom (Council of Ministers) USSR
- 1949–1962Deputy Chairman, Gosplan RSFSR → Deputy Premier RSFSR and Chairman, Gosplan RSFSR → First Deputy Chairman, Gosplan RSFSR
- 1962–1975Deputy Chairman, Gosplan (State Planning Committee) USSR