All-Union entity

Biopreparat was a massive Soviet state-run umbrella organization established in 1974 to oversee the development and production of biological agents, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines. While publicly focused on civilian medical research and the production of antibiotics and vaccines, it secretly managed a vast network of research institutes and manufacturing facilities dedicated to the Soviet Union's offensive biological weapons program. At its peak, it employed tens of thousands of scientists and technicians across dozens of sites, including the Vector Institute and the Stepnogorsk Scientific and Technical Institute for Microbiology. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the entity was largely dismantled, with its constituent parts either privatized, closed, or integrated into the Russian Ministry of Health and other state agencies.