The VPK's chronicler, the historian who dissected the Soviet military-industrial complex
He wrote: "The history of the Soviet VPK is a continuous cycle of war and preparation for war — and in that sense, the history of the entire Soviet economy."
A Russian historian who first systematically mapped the Soviet military-industrial complex. His 1996 monograph on the VPK in the 1920s–1950s remains foundational, and his collaboration with Cambridge scholars Barber and Harrison earned international recognition. Born to a peasant family in the Kirov region, he taught village school before studying at Moscow State University and joining the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in 1988. After the Soviet collapse he continued at the Russian Academy of Sciences, interspersed with advisory roles in the Presidential Administration and banking posts at Sberbank.
Career Timeline
- 1959Born in Kirov Oblast
- 1981Graduated Kirov State Pedagogical Institute, history and English
- 1988PhD in history, Moscow State University
- 1988–1991Senior researcher, Institute of Marxism-Leninism, CPSU CC
- 1991–1997Senior researcher, Institute of Russian History, RAS
- 1999Dr. hab. in history, Russian Academy of State Service
- 1998–2000Consultant to Federation Council; adviser, Presidential Administration
- 2001–2010Deputy director at Sberbank; VP at Neftyanoy Alyans Bank
- 2011–2017Leading researcher, Institute of Russian History, RAS