An organiser of the secret atomic administration
When the first Soviet atomic bomb needed a name, Makhnev is said to have added the initial 'С' to 'РД' (jet engine), producing 'РДС', i.e. 'Stalin's jet engine'.
Vasily Makhnev was a Soviet control and armaments administrator who linked the wartime mobilisation apparatus to the post-war atomic project. In 1945 he became one of the nine members and the secretary of the Special Committee established by GKO decree 9887, managing its apparatus and translating scientific and industrial tasks into state administration. His work shows how the Soviet atomic project depended not only on scientific discovery but also on secrecy, concentrated authority, and administrative coordination.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1926–1934Worked in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection system
- 1934–1940Regional plenipotentiary of the Soviet Control Commission
- 1940–1941Deputy chair of the Soviet Control Commission and deputy people’s commissar of state control
- 1941–1945Deputy people’s commissar for armaments and deputy member of the GKO
- 1945–1953Member and secretary of the Special Committee under the Soviet Council of Ministers
- 1953–1956Head of scientific-technical information and international relations at the Ministry of Medium Machine Building
- 1956–1965Head of scientific-technical information and exhibitions at the State Committee for Atomic Energy Use
Related historical events
Administration of the atomic project and participation in the test
When the atomic project's governing structures were established in August 1945, Makhnev was appointed a member and secretary of the Special Committee under the Soviet Council of Ministers and also served on its Technical Council. The committee oversaw the project as a whole, including uranium mining and processing, construction of nuclear facilities, and development and production of an atomic bomb. At its first meeting, Makhnev proposed a resolution providing the First Main Directorate with premises, equipment, transport, and supply resources. In January 1946 he authored a report to Stalin on the state of work to obtain and use atomic energy. These activities illustrate his role in translating scientific work into administrative measures and allocation of resources.
At the Semipalatinsk test site, where the first Soviet nuclear explosion took place on 29 August 1949, Makhnev inspected preparations with Beria, Pervukhin, and others, and was at the command post during the explosion, according to the account. He is recorded as a direct participant in the test and received the title Hero of Socialist Labour in 1949 after its success.