Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union () was a committee subordinated o the

Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946. As the government of the Soviet Union, the Council of People's Commissars of ...

. In accordance with a resolution of the

Council of Labor and Defense The Council of Labor and Defense ()Sovet truda i oborony, Latin acronym: STO), first established as the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense in November 1918, was an agency responsible for the central management of the economy and production ...

dated 12 February 1927 and a resolution of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

dated 24 February 1927, the Defense Commission was established and was subordinated to the Council of Labor and Defense. It was again reformed based on a decision of the Council of Labor and Defense issued on 24 December 1930. Its members included chairman (24.12.1930),

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

and Members (from 1931):

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, ; (born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze; 18 February 1937) was an Old Bolshevik and a Soviet statesman. Born and raised in Georgia, in the Russian Empire, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at an e ...

and

Valerian Kuybyshev Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (; – 25 January 1935) was a Russian revolutionary, Red Army officer, and prominent Soviet politician. Biography Early years Born in Omsk in Siberia on , Kuybyshev studied at the , a Cadet Corps in O ...

. In April 1937 the Council of Labor and Defense was abolished and the Defense Commission was reformed into the Defense Committee, directly subordinated to the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR with Vyacheslav Molotov retaining the chairmanship. In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars No. 983-372s of June 7, 1940, the apparatus of the Defense Committee was reorganized. On May 30, 1941, it was transformed into the Commission on Military and Naval Affairs under the Bureau of the Council of People's Commissars () (not to be confused with the

People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs The People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs of the Soviet Union was the central Military administration, body of military command and control of the Soviet Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Soviet Union from November 12, 1923, to Marc ...

). A month later, following the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

in June 1941, the committee was transformed into the

State Defense Committee The State Defense Committee () was an extraordinary organ of state power in the Soviet Union during the German-Soviet War, also called the Great Patriotic War, with complete state power in the country. General scope The Soviets set up the GKO ...

headed by Joseph Stalin. Throughout its existence it was involved in the development of the military industrial complex.

References

{{Russia-org-stub Defense Committee Military history of the Soviet Union 1937 establishments in Russia Government agencies established in 1937 1941 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Government agencies disestablished in 1941