Minister of Communications Equipment Industry who oversaw Soviet military C3 infrastructure
At an April 1976 exhibition of the Ministry of Electronics Industry, fellow minister Valentin Proleyko noted: "He was stung that his own work was falling behind, caustic at every opportunity, and interested only in lodging complaints."
A communications engineer by training, Pervyshin graduated from the Moscow Electrical Engineering Institute of Communications and began his career on installation sites in Siberia before rising to head the All-Union Design and Assembly Trust. From 1974 to 1989, he served fifteen years as USSR Minister of the Communications Equipment Industry, overseeing production of secure communications, radio relay, and radar equipment that formed the backbone of Soviet military command, control and communications (C3) infrastructure. He became a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1976 and a full member in 1986, later serving as Minister of Communications (1989–1990), and after the Soviet collapse he led telecommunications companies during Russia's transition to a private telecom market.
Career Timeline
- 1955–1957Engineer, Tomsk installation section, Design and Assembly Trust No. 5
- 1957–1959Head, Krasnoyarsk installation section, Design and Assembly Trust No. 5
- 1959–1961Deputy Chief Engineer, Design and Assembly Trust No. 5, Moscow
- 1965–1969Administrator, All-Union Design and Assembly Trust, USSR Ministry of the Radio Industry
- 1970–1974Deputy Minister of the Radio Industry of the USSR
- 1974–1989Minister of the Communications Equipment Industry of the USSR
- 1989–1990Minister of Communications of the USSR
- 1991–1992Chairman of the Board, Telecom concern