Smelyakov Nikolay Nikolayevich (April 1 [14], 1911, the city of Spassk, Ryazan Governorate — April 1, 1995, Moscow) was a Soviet economic and Party official, director of the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant (1950–1955), First Secretary of the Gorky Regional Committee of the CPSU (December 1957 – August 1958), Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade of the USSR, and a Lenin Prize laureate.[1][3]
Early Years and Education
He was born into the family of a white-collar employee. After finishing secondary school in 1929, he worked as a teacher at the Third International Children's Home in the village of Staraya Ryazan in the Spassky District. From May 1930 he was a student at the Kalinin Moscow Machine-Building Institute, from which he graduated in 1934 with a degree in foundry engineering.[1] From December 1934 he did military service as a cadet in Chita, and in November 1935 he returned to the Kuibyshev Plant in Kolomna, where he successively held the positions of process engineer, head of the first section, and deputy shop head.[1] In September 1939 he was mobilized into the Red Army and took part in the Soviet-Finnish War as a tank platoon commander in the 97th Separate Tank Battalion of the 39th Light Tank Brigade of the Northwestern Front, and later as the battalion's ammunition supply chief.[1][3] In October 1940 he was demobilized and returned to the Kuibyshev Plant as a shop head. In June–July 1941 he was in Germany as an equipment acceptance inspector.[1]
At the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant
From 1942 Smelyakov worked in Gorky at the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant: first as deputy chief metallurgist, from March 1943 as shop head, from October 1945 as chief metallurgist, and from October 1950 as plant director.[1][2] He held this post, running the enterprise, until 1955. In 1958 he was awarded the Lenin Prize for his part in creating the USSR's first industrial continuous steel casting unit.[1][3]
Party and Government Career
From December 1955 to January 1956, Smelyakov served as First Secretary of the Gorky City Committee of the CPSU, after which, from January to May 1956, he was appointed Minister of Machine Building of the USSR.[1] From June 1957, he headed the Council of National Economy of the Gorky Economic Administrative Region, and from December 23, 1957, to August 24, 1958, he was First Secretary of the Gorky Regional Committee of the CPSU.[1][3] He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 5th convocation (1958–1962) and a delegate to the 19th (1952) and 20th (1956) Congresses of the CPSU.[3]
Foreign Trade Work and Literature
From October 1958 to 1959, he headed the Soviet trading company Amtorg in New York. From October 1959 to January 1987, he held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade of the USSR.[1][3] From 1981, he was a member of the Writers' Union of the USSR. He was the author of the books "Where the Motherland Begins" (1975), "Business America" (1970), and "Lessons of Life: Memoirs" (1988).[3]
Awards and Memory
Smelyakov was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, six Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, the Order of the Red Star, and the Badge of Honor.[1][3]
He died in Moscow on April 1, 1995. In accordance with his will, the urn with his ashes was transported and buried in the town of Spassk in Ryazan Region.[3] In March 1997, the dry cargo ship Nikolay Smelyakov (Project 17310) was launched from the slipways of the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant; it was later renamed Ufa and changed its flag to that of Malta.[3]
Sources
- opentextnn.ru — 12/23/1957–8/24/1958 Smelyakov Nikolay Nikolayevich — OPEN TEXT (archive)
- sormlib.nnov.ru — Plant Managers — Centralized Library System of Sormovo District, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- names52.ru — Smelyakov Nikolay Nikolayevich (archive)