Vasily Degtyaryov

Vasily Degtyaryov

Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov (Russian: Васи́лий Алексе́евич Дегтярёв; January 2, 1880, Tula – January 16, 1949, Moscow) was a Russian weapons designer, Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1940), and Hero of Socialist Labor (1940; he received the second such award in its history just two weeks after Joseph Stalin himself). He became a CPSU member in 1941.

Vasily Degtyaryov headed the first Soviet firearms design bureau. He created several types of machine guns, submachine guns and anti-tank guns.

Vasily Degtyaryov was awarded the USSR's State Stalin Prize in 1941, 1942, 1944, and 1949 (posthumously). He was also awarded three Orders of Lenin, four other orders and different medals.