Kuzma Yevdokimovich Grebennik (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Кузьма Евдокимович Гребенник; 18 February 1900 – 22 September 1974) 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 ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and

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 ...

. Grebennik served in the

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops (russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR) were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Di ...

both before and after

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 ...

. During World War II, he commanded the 15th and 37th Guards Rifle Divisions.

Early life

Kuzma Grebennik was born on 18 February 1900 in the village of

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

in Slavyanoserbsk Uyezd in the

Yekaterinoslav Governorate The Yekaterinoslav Governorate (russian: Екатеринославская губерния, Yekaterinoslavskaya guberniya; uk, Катеринославська губернія, translit=Katerynoslavska huberniia) or Government of Yekaterinos ...

in a working-class family of

ethnicity. His father worked as a miner in the coal mines of the

Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

. Grebennik graduated from elementary school and became a sorter at the coal mine at the age of 10. In 1914, his family moved to the village of Kremen in

Kharkov Governorate The Kharkov Governorate ( pre-reform Russian: , tr. ''Khárkovskaya gubérniya'', IPA: �xarʲkəfskəjə ɡʊˈbʲernʲɪjə ) was a governorate of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From ...

, where Grebennik graduated from a two-year college in 1915. In 1916, he became a worker at the Donets-Rubezhnyi Factory. Grebennik returned to the Donbass and became a worker at a coal mine in 1918. In May 1919, Grebennik was drafted into the

and served with the

42nd Rifle Division The 42nd Rifle Division was a unit of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. The division, first formed in 1940, was nearly destroyed in the opening days of the Operation Barbarossa defending the Brest Fortress. Disbanded in late Decembe ...

. He caught

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

and after recovery in January 1920 became a clerk at the Ekaterinoslav Governorate recruiting office. Grebennik joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

in September. In October, he transferred to the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

and served in the Krasny Kommunistychesky Battalion of the Cheka Donetsk Division's 1st Regiment. With the regiment, Grebennik fought against the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

commanded by

Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (russian: Пётр Никола́евич барон Вра́нгель, translit=Pëtr Nikoláevič Vrángel', p=ˈvranɡʲɪlʲ, german: Freiherr Peter Nikolaus von Wrangel; April 25, 1928), also known by his ni ...

Interwar

In April 1922, Grebennik became an instructor with the 455th Rogozhsko-Simonovsky Regiment of the 51st Rifle Division. He transferred to the border troops of the

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...

in October 1922 as a commissar of the Ochakovo Border battalion. Grebennik graduated from the Graduate School of the USSR Border Troops in 1924. In September, he became a platoon commander of the Odessa School of border troops regiment. He became the head of border troops at the Polish border and the motorized group of the Moldovan border detachment. In November 1929, he became the assistant chief of the drill for the 21st Yampolsky Border Detachment. Grebennik was appointed commander of the 5th Mechanized Regiment of the Order of Lenin Separate Mechanized Division of special purpose troops in December 1931. In July 1935, he graduated from the courses at the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army. Grebennik was promoted to colonel in April 1936. Grebennik became the commander of the 59th Border Detachment of the NKVD Border Troops in the

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...

near

Posyet Posyet (russian: Посье́т) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai, Russia, and an ice-free port on the Possiet Bay. Population: Etymology It is named after the Russian navigator Konstanti ...

in November 1937. In August 1938, he led the border detachment in repelling the first Japanese attacks during the

Battle of Lake Khasan The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incurs ...

. For his leadership in the battle, Grebennik was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

World War II

Grebennik continued to command the border detachment until November 1942, when he was appointed deputy commander of the Far Eastern NKVD Rifle Division in the

Urals Military District The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

. In February 1943, the division was renamed the 102nd Rifle Division and was sent to 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 ...

as part of the

70th Army The 70th Army was a Soviet field army during World War II. It was the highest-numbered combined arms army to be formed by the ''Stavka'' during the war. It was active at the Battle of Kursk, the Lublin–Brest Offensive, and the Berlin Strategic ...

. He served with the division during the Sevsk offensive in

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German '' He ...

. In August, Grebennik became the commander of the 15th Rifle Division. The division advanced during the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive during August and September. During the fall, it fought in the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. In January 1944, the division fought in the Kalinkovichi-Mozyr Offensive. In June,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

was launched and the division advanced through Belorussia. During the East Prussian Offensive in early 1945, the division fought as part of 65th Army's 18th Rifle Corps. Around this time, Grebennik's son Vladimir joined the division as a lieutenant in the medical battalion. On 30 March, Grebennik took over command of the 37th Guards Rifle Division from acting commander Colonel

Nikolai Onoprienko Nikolai Nikolayevich Onoprienko (russian: Николай Николаевич Оноприенко, uk, Микола Миколайович Онопрієнко; 19 December 1911 – 12 November 1979) was a Red Army colonel and World War II Hero o ...

after Major General

Sobir Rakhimov Sabir Umaruly Rakhimov (25 January 1902 – 26 March 1945) was a Red Army Major general and posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union. Rakhimov fought in World War II and commanded the 37th Guards Rifle Division from November 1944. Rahimov was killed by ...

was killed during the assault on Danzig. Grebennik led the division through the rest of the East Pomeranian Offensive. He organized the division's crossing of the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

on 20 April and established a bridgehead over the river during the

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. The division captured

Kołbaskowo Kołbaskowo (formerly german: Kolbitzow, (historically): ''Colbitzow'') is a village in Police County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland, close to the German border. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called ...

, southwest of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

. By 2 May, the division had advanced 150 kilometers and was on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

northeast of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. Grebennik was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union 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 29 May for his actions during the Berlin Offensive.

Postwar

On 1 December, the division became the 27th Mechanized Division. It was reduced to regimental strength a year later. In 1946, he served as a witness at the

Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conv ...

. Grebennik continued to command the division throughout these changes but returned to the Border Troops in August 1947. He was appointed deputy head of the Border Troops in the Transcarpathian Border District. Grebennik was appointed head of the Border Troops of the Ukrainian Border District in December. While in that position, he participated in the fighting against the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

. Between 1950 and 1954, he was a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

. In November 1951, Grebennik was appointed head of the border troops of the Leningrad District. He became a senior advisor to the Albanian Ministry of Interior Affairs in October 1953. Grebennik became the head of the 1st Department of the Main Directorate of Border and Internal Troops of the USSR in October 1956. During the crushing of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

in Operation Whirlwind, Grebennik commanded the Soviet forces in the Budapest region and was wounded. From April 1957, he was the chief of staff and first deputy chief of the KGB Border Troops. In July, he was promoted to

and became the head of the KGB Border Troops in the Southwestern Frontier District. From January 1960, Grebennik was the head of the operational group of the KGB Border Troops in the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. In December 1961, Grebennik was discharged. He lived in Kiev and was a member of the Ukrainian People's Control Committee. He died on 22 September 1974. Grebennik is buried in the

Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery ( uk, Байкове кладовище) is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiiv Raion of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Landmark of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. It was established in ...

. In 1978, his writings were posthumously published as "''Хасанский дневник''", or ''Khasan Diary'' in English.

Awards and honors

;USSR *Honorary State Security Officer (8 April 1934) ;Foreign

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grebennik, Kuzma 1900 births 1974 deaths People from Brianka People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Russians in Ukraine Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Third convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Soviet lieutenant generals Russian coal miners Soviet coal miners Soviet border guards Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Commanders of the Virtuti Militari Burials at Baikove Cemetery