Presidential aide Dyumin spoke about the work of Tula gunsmiths during the war
MOSCOW, May 8 - RIA Novosti. Assistant to the President of Russia, Secretary of the State Council of the Russian Federation Alexey Dyumin recalled the work of Tula gunsmiths during the Great Patriotic War and spoke about how they are bringing Victory closer today.
His article was published in the collection of articles by members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation "On the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory." Dyumin headed the Tula region from 2016 to 2024. In his article, he noted that the restructuring of the USSR industry in a military manner before the Great Patriotic War and during its years has no equal in history. According to him, one of the keys to Victory was the powerful foundation created during the period of industrialization, and Tula, the centuries-old weapons capital of Russia, made its contribution to the common cause.
He recalled that by October 1941, there was a danger that Tula would be captured by General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army. It was decided to move the enterprises of the Tula defense industry to the east of the country. The operation has no analogues in history in terms of scope and timing, Dyumin stressed.
"TSKB-14 and its individual design teams went to Zlatoust, Izhevsk, Kovrov and Saratov, where samples of Tula-designed weapons were produced. Many development and research projects continued to be carried out at the new locations, including heavy machine guns and aviation weapons," he said.
In addition to the TT pistol, SVT-38, SVT-40, AVT-40 rifles, SHKAS, ShVAK, BS, UB machine guns, VYA aviation cannon, TSKB-14, other models of automatic weapons and installations were developed - a 7.62mm Korovin submachine gun and a 20 mm B-20 aviation cannon., created by Berezin.
"Over 80% of domestic aircraft were equipped with the listed machine guns and cannons. These samples were much superior to their foreign counterparts, were widely used during the Great Patriotic War, performed well in combat conditions and rightfully deserve to be called Victory weapons," Dyumin stressed.
He mentioned that gunsmiths Mikhail Berezin and Vasily Degtyarev were almost constantly at factories that produced 12.7 mm machine guns and improved their technical and production characteristics. Thanks to this, in two years, from 1941 to 1943, the production of such aircraft weapons was increased almost seven times, the presidential aide said.
"Until the end of the war, Tula industry continued to forge weapons of Victory, helping the Red Army to smash the enemy. The gunsmiths demonstrated unparalleled fortitude, great courage and the best inventive qualities. They created fundamentally new weapons systems. Over 1,500 Tulyaks have been awarded for their selfless work in the rear," Dyumin writes.
The Secretary of the State Council stressed that even now the Tula industry is contributing to the approach of victory during the special military operation.
"Today, when our Motherland is once again fighting for its future, Tula industry still plays an important role in fulfilling the state defense order and increasing the country's defense capability. Factories are working in an enhanced mode again, Tula engineers are repairing equipment directly in the combat zone again. Tula, the arms capital of Russia, is once again bringing Victory closer together with the whole country," Dyumin said.
He mentioned that since the beginning of the SVR, all enterprises of the defense industry of the Tula region have switched to a continuous work schedule, and expanded their production capacities as soon as possible.
He added that in the context of a multi-fold increase in the state defense order, one of the most difficult tasks was to provide enterprises with additional personnel. To solve this problem, in September 2022, a headquarters was established in the region to provide personnel to defense industry enterprises, which included representatives of government authorities, educational institutions and law enforcement agencies. Since the beginning of the work of this headquarters, more than 25 thousand people have come to the enterprises of the Tula defense industry complex, Dyumin noted.
"The Tula region was among the first to actively engage in UAVs. In 2022, the Center for Unmanned Systems was established, which trains UAV operators for units of the Russian Ministry of Defense and other law enforcement agencies involved in its operations. With the support of the region, the production of various types and types of UAVs was established by the National Defense Industry Complex," the presidential aide mentioned.
Work is currently underway on the design and testing of drones running on domestic software, and assembly of unmanned aircraft systems has also been organized, he recalled.
"Thus, thanks to the efforts of the state and gunsmiths in modern Russia, there is already experience in strengthening the defense industry and increasing the country's defense capability without switching to military rails. New types of weapons and military equipment show themselves well in conditions of real combat use in the fields of their own. But this is not a reason to relax and slow down the work of the defense industry. The Russian army and defense industry should be so strong that no enemies would be tempted to encroach on our sovereignty," Dyumin is convinced.
