The shipbuilding minister who built the Soviet Navy's strategic parity
On 4 December 1974, a 'closed' decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet awarded him the title Hero of Socialist Labour. That even the state's highest civilian honour was classified speaks to the secrecy enveloping the strategic submarine programme he directed.
Igor Belousov was a shipbuilding engineer and statesman who rose from the shop floor of the Baltic Shipyard to become the Soviet Union's Minister of the Shipbuilding Industry. As the official responsible for the design and construction of the Soviet Navy's strategic missile submarine force during the 1970s, he directed Project 667B/BD/BDR submarines and the Typhoon-class strategic system, built explicitly as the counterweight to the American Trident, making a decisive contribution to US–Soviet maritime strategic parity. From 1988 he served as Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and Chairman of the State Military-Industrial Commission (VPK), coordinating the entire defence sector during the perestroika conversion years.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1952–1963Baltic Shipyard: foreman, Komsomol secretary, assembly-welding shop chief, head of production department
- 1963–1967Chief Engineer, Baltic Shipyard
- 1967–1969Chief Engineer, Admiralty Shipyard
- 1969–1976Deputy Minister of Shipbuilding Industry of the USSR
- 1976–1984First Deputy Minister of Shipbuilding Industry of the USSR
- 1984–1988Minister of Shipbuilding Industry of the USSR
- 1988–1990Deputy Chairman, USSR Council of Ministers — Chairman, State Military-Industrial Commission (VPK)
- 2000–2005Chief Adviser, Rosoboronexport
Organizing strategic submarine construction
After becoming a deputy minister of shipbuilding in 1969, Belousov oversaw the construction of nuclear-powered and strategic-missile submarines. In 1969–1976 he was involved in building high-speed submarines with titanium hulls; from 1970 to 1974 he coordinated the integrated work on Projects 667B, 667BD and 667BDR, intended to establish parity between Soviet and US strategic sea-based missile forces. As first deputy minister from 1976 to 1984, he also took part in creating the Typhoon missile system as a counterweight to the American Trident system. These programmes required coordination of design and production across naval shipyards and related industries. On 4 December 1974, a closed decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet awarded him the title Hero of Socialist Labour; he received the Lenin Prize in 1984.