Vladimir Makarovich Velichko (russian: Владимир Макарович Величко; Mozhayskoye Novousmanskogo, 23 April 1937) is a Soviet official and entrepreneur appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister of the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

in 1991.

Life and career

Velichko was born into a working-class family in the village of Mozhayskoye Novousmanskogo in

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census. Geography V ...

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

on 23 April 1937. According to

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Russian conservative political party. As the largest party in Russia, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the State Duma , havin ...

's homepage, Velichko started his career in the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. He began studying at the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute in 1955, graduating as a mechanical engineer in 1961.

Soviet politics

In 1963, Velichko joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and began work at a factory in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

belonging to the

Ministry of General Machine Building The Ministry of General Machine-Building Industry of the USSR (MOM) ( Russian: ''Министерство общего машиностроения СССР'') was a government ministry of the Soviet Union. The Ministry headquarters was located i ...

. He became Deputy Chief of the plant in 1965, and Deputy Director in 1971. Between 1973 and 1975, Velichko worked as the plant's manager and from 1985 to 1990, he served as a member of the

CPSU Central Committee The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directe ...

, later becoming a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Velichko became First Deputy Minister of Power Machine Building in 1975, and continued to work in this post until 1981 when he became the Minister of Power Machine Building. On 20 July 1987, the Ministry of Power Machine Building merged with the Ministry of Heavy and Transport Machine Building to become the Ministry of Heavy, Power and Transport Machine Building with Velichko becoming the Minister of Heavy, Power and Transport Machine Building. The Ministry of Heavy, Power and Transport Machine Building then merged with the Ministry of Construction, Road and Municipal Machine Building on 27 June 1989 to become the

Ministry of Heavy Machine Building The Ministry of Heavy Machine Building (Mintyazhmash; russian: Министерство тяжёлого машиностроения СССР) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. History The statute of the People's Commissariat of Heavy ...

. He was elected Minister of Heavy Machine Building by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union with only five abstentions or votes against him among about 400 delegates. He was a member of the

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presid ...

of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

during the premiership of

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov ( uk, Микола Іванович Рижков; russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков; born 28 September 1929) is a Soviet, and later Russian, politician. He served as the last Chairman of the Coun ...

, and later became a First Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers during

Valentin Pavlov Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov (russian: Валéнтин Серге́евич Па́влов; 27 September 1937 – 30 March 2003) was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Born in the c ...

's Prime Ministership.

Entrepreneurship

Since November 1990, Velichko has been chairman of the board joint-stock company Tyazhenergomash, and since 1996 worked as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tyazhenergomash, a financial-industrial group. As chairman of Velichko Tyazhenergomash he has overseen the reconstruction of several Soviet era plants as well as construction of new gas power stations with a generating capacity of more than 100

Megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

. Velichko was also active in the construction of the Novo-Voronezh, Ignalina and Balakovo nuclear power plants along with several others in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS). Velichko has been a member of the Council on Industrial Policy of the Russian Government since 1993, and became Chairman of the Council for Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of the Russian Government in 1994, an office he has held ever since. In 1994, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holdingtembanka. Since 1993, Velichko has been General Director of TENMA, and since 1996 the President of FPG. As of 2011 Velichko is a member of the Presidium of the

Russian Academy of Engineering The Russian Academy of Engineering (RAE) is a public academy of sciences, which unites leading Russian and foreign scientists, engineers, scientific-research organizations, higher educational institutions and enterprises. The Russian Academy of En ...

Recognition

In recognition of his work in developing Soviet industry during his tenure as minister of several ministries in the 1980s, Velichko was awarded two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

, two

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

s (1976 and 1978),

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

and

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...

of the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

, as well as several other decorations, awards and medals. Velichko also received the

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...

, 4th class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velichko, Vladimir 1937 births Living people People from Voronezh Oblast Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Russian communists Russian mechanical engineers Soviet mechanical engineers