Creator of the Naval Component of the Nuclear Triad Vladimir N. Peregudov: Archives open the Veil of Secrecy

The book “Chief Designer” is being reviewed. It was written by V. N. Tokarev and tells the story of the creator of the first Soviet nuclear submarine, Vladimir Nikolaevich Peregudov (1902-1967), Hero of Socialist Labor, director and chief designer of Special Design Bureau № 143 (now "Malachite"). The high level of research that formed the basis of the book is due to the fact that the author, director of the State Archives of the Saratov Region and captain of the 2nd rank in the reserve, has the competencies of a naval submarine officer and a specialist in working with documentary heritage. The management of departmental archives not only of the navy, but also of Federal Security Service (FSB) also met halfway in the provision and publication of information which was necessary to complete the assigned research tasks. Published sources were also used in the work, for example, the three-volume book “USSR Atomic Project: Documents and Materials”. The author's research methods can be defined as modern techniques of “biographical history” and “intellectual history”. The life and work of the outstanding inventor and engineer, the creative developments of the teams in which he worked and which he led, are inscribed in the outline of the difficult history of our country in different eras. The time boundaries cover the years of revolution, Civil War, socialist construction, the “Great Terror”, the Great Patriotic War, post-war reconstruction and development of the USSR to the level of a world superpower. The book touches on various aspects of the creative and organizational work of Soviet scientists, engineers, managers, their social and personal relationships, their daily practices, service and career trajectories, and “survival strategies” in difficult emergency situations. The contents of the book fully confirm the opinion to rank the names of A. N. Tupolev, S. P. Korolev, V. N. Peregudov as the leading designers of the three components of the “nuclear triads”: strategic bombers, ground-based intercontinental missiles, nuclear missile submarines. From the point of view of the modern military theory, it is the presence of this triad, which is possessed by only two powers in the world, Russia and the United States, that creates the parity in their strategic weapons. At the same time, most Russians do not know the name of the creator of the domestic nuclear submarine cruiser K-3. The book under review helps to fill this gap in collective memory of our people.