Konstantin Ivanovich Rakutin (; – 7 October 1941) was a

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 ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served in

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 ...

. A veteran of the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

and

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

, Rakutin became an officer in the Border Troops during the interwar period, rising to chief of staff of the Leningrad Border District in the late 1930s. He was chief of the Baltic Border District when

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, and was swiftly appointed commander of the 31st Army. Rakutin led the 24th Army in the costly but successful Yelnya Offensive during

, shortly before the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

. During the latter's first days he fell in combat. Rakutin was posthumously awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

for his leadership during the offensive in 1990.

Early life and Russian Civil War

Rakutin was born on 3 June 1902 in the village of Novinki, Yakovtsevskoy volost, Vladimir Governorate. In 1917 he graduated from a realschule in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

and worked at the Nizhny Novgorod executive committee as a ledger clerk. He served in the Red Army from July 1919, graduating from the Tambov Infantry Courses for Red Commanders in December of that year. Appointed military commissar of the training school of the 9th Volga Regiment, Rakutin fought in the

on the Eastern Front against the forces of

Alexander Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...

. During the

he became an assistant company commander in the 473rd Rifle Regiment of the

53rd Rifle Division The 53rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army that served from the early 1930s to the immediate postwar period following World War II. Interwar period The 53rd was formed in 1931 as a territorial division; Ivan Boldin became it ...

, fighting on 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 ...

. Rakutin's unit was forced to retreat into East Prussia with the 4th Army by the Polish counteroffensive of August 1920 and in 1921 he returned to the Soviet Union from an internment camp there. Later that year, Rakutin fought against White and Japanese forces with the People's Revolutionary Army of the

Far Eastern Republic The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосто́чная Респу́блика, ДВР, r=Dalnevostochnaya Respublika, DVR, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə), sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally indep ...

, serving as a company commander of the 5th Chita Regiment. In February 1922 he distinguished himself in the storming of Volochayevka.

Interwar period

Rakutin transferred to the OGPU Border Troops after the end of the Russian Civil War in 1922, becoming political officer of the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

Border Cavalry Squadron. He became commandant of a sector of the Bikin Border Detachment in 1924 and chief of the border commandant's service in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur in 1925. Appointed chief of the Separate Okhotsk Border Commandant's Service and simultaneous deputy chairman of the Okhotsky District Executive Committee in 1927, he distinguished himself in the suppression of the

Yakut revolt The Yakut revolt (Russian: Якутский мятеж, ''Yakutskiy myatezh'') or the Yakut expedition (Russian: Якутский поход, ''Yakutskiy pokhod'') was the last episode of the Russian Civil War. The hostilities took place betwee ...

that year. After graduating from the Higher Border School of the OGPU in 1931, Rakutin was appointed assistant chief of the training department of the 1st Novo-Peterhof School of Border and Internal Guards of the OGPU. From November 1936 he served as chief of the training department of the 2nd Kharkov School of Border and Internal Guards of the NKVD, and in 1937 graduated from the night school faculty of 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 ...

. Appointed chief of the 13th

Berezino Byerazino ( be, Беразіно́, Bierazino), or Berezino (russian: Березино́, pl, Berezyna, lt, Berezinas), also known as Biarezan (Бярэзань, yi, בערעזין, Berezin), is a town on the Berezina River in Minsk Region o ...

Border Detachment in Belarus in 1937, Rakutin advanced to become chief of staff of the Leningrad Border District in 1939. Appointed chief of staff of the Directorate of NKVD Border Troops of the Leningrad District in September of that year, he served as assistant commander of the forces of the 15th Army for rear protection during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. Promoted to kombrig in February 1940, Rakutin became a

when the Red Army introduced general officer ranks on 4 June 1940. He was appointed chief of the Baltic Border District in July of that year.

World War II

After the beginning of

in June 1941, Rakutin was appointed commander of the 31st Army of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...

in late June, forming in the Moscow Military District. This proved brief as he transferred to command the 24th Army of the Reserve Front in July, leading it in the Battle of Smolensk. The 24th Army conducted near-constant assaults on German defenses at Yelnya from 8 August, but the attacks had to be halted due to heavy losses on 20 August. The Yelnya Offensive resumed on 30 August and on 8 September 1941 the army captured Yelnya. For their actions, five divisions of the army became the first Guards units as the victory was trumpeted in Soviet propaganda. However, the opposing German forces were allowed to retreat, albeit suffering losses that could not be easily replaced. In early October the 24th Army was surrounded in the Vyazma Pocket, created by the Operation Typhoon. During the attempted breakout of the army from the encirclement, Rakutin was killed in action near the village of Semlyovo, Smolensk Oblast on 7 October. One of the last to see him alive was Red Army man A. Suslov of the army headquarters guard battalion, who recalled that Rakutin ordered the burning of the army documents after the failure of the breakout attempt. Rakutin was removed from the rolls of the Red Army in 1943 as missing in action. He was declared dead postwar in 1946, but the location and circumstances of his death remained unknown. His place of death was discovered by members of the Search Movement and in 1996 his remains were reburied at the military cemetery in Snegiri. For his "courage and heroism displayed in the struggle against the German Fascist invaders during the Great Patriotic War," Rakutin was posthumously awarded the title

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

on 5 May 1990.

Awards and honors

Rakutin received the following awards and decorations: *

(5 May 1990) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st class (1965) *

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 ...

(1941) *

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

(1938) * Honorary weapon

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rakutin, Konstantin 1902 births 1940s missing person cases 1941 deaths Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Missing in action of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet major generals NKVD officers Frunze Military Academy alumni Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People of the Polish–Soviet War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin People from Vachsky District People from Muromsky Uyezd Soviet border guards