On February 28, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev recalled the text of the famous telegram from General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Joseph Stalin to the directors of two factories, in which he harshly demanded to increase the production of Il-2 aircraft necessary for the Red Army to defeat the German invaders during the Great Patriotic War. Medvedev read it out at a meeting of the working group of the Military-Industrial Commission (MIC) of the Russian Federation on control over the production of demanded samples of weapons, military, special equipment and weapons of destruction.
"So that everyone understands how victory was achieved, I will once again quote one of the famous instructions of Supreme Commander Joseph Stalin to two factory directors: "You have failed our country and the Red Army. You still don't want to release the Il-2. The Il-2 planes are needed by the Red Army now like air, like bread," he said, quoting the telegram.
Further in the text, Stalin explains that the director of the 18th plant, Matvey Shankman, "gives one Il-2 per day." Anatoly Tretyakov, director of Plant No. 1, "gives MiG-3s one, two pieces each." The Generalissimo noted that this is "a mockery of the country, of the Red Army."
"We don't need MiGs, but Il-2s. If the 18th plant thinks to get rid of the country by giving one Il-2 per day, then it is cruelly mistaken and will be punished for it. I ask you not to put the government out of patience and demand that they release more "Silts". I'm warning you one last time. Stalin," Medvedev read the famous telegram to the end.
A photocopy of this telegram is placed in the exposition of the museum "Stalin's Bunker" in Samara.
In March last year, Medvedev read to the directors of the factories of the military-industrial complex (MIC) a similar telegram from Stalin in 1941. In the document, Stalin called for honourably and on time to fulfill orders for the supply of tank hulls at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. At the same time, he stressed that in case of failure to fulfill their duty to the motherland, all violators will be punished as criminals.
On January 11, 2024, Medvedev, at a meeting of the military-industrial complex working group, stated that in 2023 all planned deliveries of highly demanded samples of weapons were completed according to schedule. He added that a series of recent "intensive and effective" strikes by the Russian army against military facilities in Ukraine "confirms the successful and effective work of the Russian defense industry during 2023." Prior to that, on January 2, the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian Armed Forces had launched a group strike with high-precision long-range weapons and drones at enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.
Later, on February 19, Medvedev noted that Russia is not inferior to any country in the world in terms of its military power. She knows how to win, even when faced with difficult periods in her history. Medvedev is confident that Russia will win the conflict in Ukraine.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.