Fyodor Isidorovich Kuznetsov (russian: Фёдор Иси́дорович Кузнецо́в; 29 September 1898 – 22 March 1961) was a

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 military commander in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Biography

Born to a peasant family in

Mogilev Governorate The Mogilev Governorate () or Government of Mogilev was a governorate () of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev, referred to as Mogilev-on-the-Dnieper, or Mogilev Gubernskiy. The area of the ...

(present-day

Horki Raion Horki District ( be, Горацкі раён, russian: Горецкий район, Goretsky raion) is a raion (district) in Mogilev Region, Belarus, the administrative center is the town of Horki Horki ( be, Горкі, , pl, Horki) or Gorki ...

Mogilev Oblast Mogilev Region or Mogilev Oblast or Mahiliow Voblasts ( be, link=no, Магілёўская вобласць; ''Mahiloŭskaja voblasć''; russian: link=no, Могилёвская область; ''Mogilyovskaya Oblast''), is a region (''oblast'' ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

), Kuznetsov served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and continued his service in the Bolsheviks'

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 ...

. During the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, he initially commanded the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cre ...

during the Baltic Strategic Defensive Operation until 30 June 1941, but was relieved in early August 1941 (replaced by General Major

Pyotr Sobennikov Pyotr Petrovich Sobennikov (russian: Пётр Петрович Собенников; 13 July 1894 – 1960) was a Soviet general and Army commander. He was a veteran of World War I and the Russian Civil War. He was stationed at the Northwestern ...

). At a

Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, a ...

session on 12 August 1941, he was given command of the new 51st Independent Army, but he was replaced by

Pavel Batov Pavel Ivanovich Batov (russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ба́тов; – April 19, 1985) was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Batov fought in World War I, where he ...

in October 1941 during the defense of the Crimea. Later he served as the temporary commander of the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during th ...

(July–August 1941), Chief of Staff of the 28th Army, Deputy Commander of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, and commander of the 61st Army. From March 1942 to June 1943, he served as the commanding officer of the Academy of General Staff, and from August 1943 to February 1944 as the Deputy Commander of the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...

and

Karelian Front The Karelian Front russian: Карельский фронт) was a front (a formation of Army Group size) of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia. Wartime The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when ...

. From 1945-1948, he commanded the

Ural Military District The Red Banner Ural Military DistrictHistory of the Ural Military District / Edited by Alexander Egorovsky, Ivan Tutarinov – 1 – Moscow: Voenizdat, Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, 1970 – 352 Pages ...

, retiring due to illness. He is buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

in Moscow.

References

*Erickson, ''The Road to Stalingrad'', 2003 Cassel Military Paperbacks edition, p. 198-9, 256 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov, Fyodor 1898 births 1961 deaths People from Horki District People from Chaussky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet colonel generals Imperial Russian Army officers Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery