Совет главных конструкторов · 1946–1966

Council of Chief Designers

수석설계자회의

An informal supreme coordinating body that directed Soviet rocket and space development, formed by Sergei Korolev in 1946 by bringing together the heads of the principal design bureaus. It began as a core six (Korolev, Glushko, Barmin, Pilyugin, Ryazansky, and Kuznetsov, known as the 'magnificent six') and later expanded to include Keldysh, Bogomolov, and others. In 1961 Vladimir Chelomey, backed by Khrushchev, replaced Korolev as chairman, but after Khrushchev's fall in 1964 and Korolev's death in 1966 the Council lost its independent influence and was absorbed as an advisory body under the military-industrial complex.

Related people

Sergei Korolev Vladimir Chelomey Vladimir Barmin

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (RU) Russian Wikipedia: complete history, membership, Korolev→Chelomey transition, and dissolution of the Council of Chief Designers.
  2. Wikipedia (RU) Russian Wikipedia: the Chelomey-led Council (1960–1966), its formalization, membership, and absorption into the VPK.
  3. Wikipedia (EN) English Wikipedia: Korolev 'organised a Council of Chief Designers which assisted in circumnavigating the bureaucratic hierarchy of the Soviet missile industry.'
  4. vikent.ru Vikent.ru: detailed account (based on published memoirs) of how Korolev ran Council sessions, the origin of the term 'Совет главных', and his 'theatre director' approach to preparation.
← Glossary