Matvey Kuzmich Shaposhnikov (russian: Матвей Кузьмич Шапошников; November 29, 1906, settlement Alexeyevka, Voronezh Province — June 25, 1994, Rostov-on-Don) was a Soviet military commander,

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 ...

. In World War II, he served in the Battle of Brody among other fronts. During the

Novocherkassk massacre The Novocherkassk massacre (russian: Новочеркасский расстрел, Novocherkasskiy rasstrel) was a massacre which was committed against unarmed civilians who were rallying on 2 June 1962 in the Soviet city of Novocherkassk by th ...

in 1962, as the first deputy commander of the

North Caucasian Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

, he refused to comply with the order to attack the demonstrators with tanks. Shaposhnikov later tried to publicize information about the Novocherkassk massacre by sending six letters to the Soviet Komsomol committee and a number of higher education institutions. In 1966 Shaposhnikov transferred to the reserve. In January 1967 he was expelled from the Communist Party. On August 26, 1967 the Rostov region KGB opened a criminal case of Anti-Sovietism (article 70 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR) against Shaposhnikov. This is when the letters and drafts of an appeal on the Novocherkassk massacre were revealed. On December 23, 1967 the criminal case was dismissed because of Shaposhnikov's rank and his apology. :''Personally, I am unable to conceal resentment or anger at those who committed these arbitrary and outrageous actions. I only regret not having been able to really fight this evil. In the fight against despotism and tyranny I did not have the ability to conduct a battle to the death. In the struggle with the evil that remains widespread and entrenched in the army, the tyranny of high-handedness, meanness, and hypocrisy, I did not have enough effective weapons, except the illusory belief that the truth, in and of itself, would win, and that justice would prevail.'' Shaposhnikov was reinstated in the Communist Party December 6, 1988. Site Heroes Countries
/ref> He lived in Rostov-on-Don. He died June 28, 1994, and was buried in the North Cemetery in Rostov-on-Don.

References

External links

Воззвание генерала Шапошникова // Донской временник / Донская государственная публичная библиотека. Ростов-на-Дону, 1993—2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaposhnikov, Matvey 1906 births 1994 deaths Soviet lieutenant generals Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Soviet people of World War II Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 2nd class Soviet rehabilitations