Aleksandr Petrovich Chumakov (; ; born on 26 November 1941) is a retired Belarusian Army

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

and former

Minister of Defence of Belarus The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus (russian: Министерство обороны Республики Беларусь; be, Мiнiстэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь) is the government organi ...

. Chumakov commanded the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division from 1980. In June 1986, he became commander of the

20th Guards Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...

. In August 1988, he became chief of staff of the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (russian: Белорусский военный округ, translit=Belorusskiy Voyenyi Okrug; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before Wor ...

. After serving as a Soviet adviser in North Korea, Chumakov was a member of the Russian military contingent in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

. Between December 1995 and October 1996, he was chief of the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = , seal = Эмблема Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь.png , seal_width = 150px , seal_caption = Emblem of the General ...

. He was the Minister of Defence of Belarus from 1 November 1996 to 28 March 2001. Chumakov's term took place between

Leonid Maltsev Colonel General Leonid Semenovich Maltsev ( Belarusian:Леанід Сямёнавіч Мальцаў; born August 29, 1949) was the Minister of Defence of Belarus from 1995–96 and 2001–09. Biography He served in the Soviet Army from 1967 aft ...

's two non-consecutive terms as Minister of Defence.

Early life

Chumakov was born on 26 November 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to Pyotr Grigoryevich Chumakov and Marya Grigoryevna Chumakova in the village of in

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

. His father, a

Gosbank Gosbank (russian: Госбанк, Государственный банк СССР, ''Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR''—the State Bank of the USSR) was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank in the entire country from 1922 to 1991. ...

inspector, served with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

and survived the war, reaching the rank of

Senior Lieutenant Senior lieutenant is a military grade between a lieutenant and a captain, often used by countries from the former Eastern Bloc. It is comparable to first lieutenant. Finland ( sv, premiärlöjtnant) is a Finnish military rank above ( sv, löjt ...

. Chumakov spent the war in Ilyinka, living with his mother and grandparents. After German troops occupied the village, the family was evicted from their home and had to live in a shed. He entered the ten-year Dubovsky Secondary School No. 1 in 1948, graduating in 1958. Chumakov then went to

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, where his uncle was the local

military commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...

, hoping to enter a nautical school, but was rejected because he was too young. His uncle recommended that he instead attend the Odessa Higher Combined Arms Command School, and arranged a birth certificate increasing Chumakov's age by one year. He was thus accepted to the four-year school.

Military service

Graduating from the school in 1962, Chumakov became a motor rifle platoon commander in the 333rd Motor Rifle Regiment of the 118th Motor Rifle Division in September, stationed in Cahul. In 1963 he married local woman Aksenia Rufa, and in 1965 his daughter Irina was born. Chumakov successively served as a training platoon commander, deputy training company commander, and motor rifle company commander in the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

. In August 1967 he entered the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

, graduating in June 1970. From then until July 1978 Chumakov served in the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

as a motor rifle battalion commander, chief of staff and deputy commander of a motor rifle regiment, commander of a motor rifle regiment, and chief of staff and deputy commander of a motor rifle division. His son Viktor was born in 1971. Chumakov entered the Military Academy of the General Staff in July 1978, graduating in 1980. In August of that year he took command of the

's 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division at Uruchche, leading the division during the Zapad-81 exercises. Chumakov continued to command the division when it was expanded into the 5th Guards Separate Army Corps in June 1982. In June 1986, he was transferred to command the

of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

. On 16 February 1988, he was promoted to lieutenant general. Chumakov returned to Belarus in August of that year to become the Belorussian Military District's chief of staff and first deputy commander. In June 1991 he was sent as an advisor to North Korea, and served with the Russian military contingent in

until July 1995. In December of that year, Chumakov became Chief of the General Staff of the

Armed Forces of Belarus The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (, ) consist of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Republic of Belarus Ministry of Defence. Being a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy. In 20 ...

and First Deputy Minister of Defence. In October 1996, Chumakov became acting Minister of Defense. The position was made permanent in January 1997. On 18 March, he was promoted to

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

. Along with then-Prime Minister

Vladimir Yermoshin Vladimir Vasilyevich Yermoshin ( be, Уладзі́мір Васі́левіч Ярмо́шын, tr. ''Uladzimir Vasilevich Yarmoshyn''; russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Ермо́шин; born 26 October 1942) is a politician f ...

and the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Chumakov made up a group of ethnic Russians in key Belarusian government positions. In February 2000, he discussed a plan for cooperation between Armenia and Belarus with his Armenian counterpart,

Vagharshak Harutiunyan Vagharshak Varnazi Harutiunyan ( hy, Վաղարշակ Վառնազի Հարությունյան; born 28 April 1956) is an Armenian military figure and politician currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Russia. He previously served as the De ...

during the latter's visit to Belarus focused around Armenian use of Belarusian military plants for upgrading Armenian military equipment. On 28 March 2001 he was replaced by

. Chumakov retired due to his age in December of that year. Chumakov was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic for its tenth convocation. Between 1982 and 1984, he was a deputy of the

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

City Soviet. During his military career, he was awarded the

Order for Service to the Homeland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

1st class, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

, and the

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

2nd and 3rd class.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chumakov, Aleksandr Petrovich 1941 births Defence ministers of Belarus Living people Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class People from Dubovsky District, Rostov Oblast Soviet lieutenant generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Belarusian generals