Naum Semyonovich Sorkin (russian: Наум Семёнович Соркин; 11 February 1899 – 16 January 1980) was a

Soviet 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 nation ...

military officer and diplomat. 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, afte ...

veteran of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, Sorkin was sent to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

as an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

instructor for the

Mongolian People's Army The Mongolian People's Army ( Mongolian: ''Монголын Ардын Арми''), also known as the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army ( Mongolian: ''Монгол Ардын Хувьсгалт Цэрэг'') or the Mongolian Red Army ( Mong ...

in 1923, where he later served as a

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

official in Altanbulag and first secretary at the Soviet embassy in

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

in 1926-1931. The chief of the Soviet General Staff's Special Operations Department in 1939-1941, he served as intelligence chief for the

Far Eastern Front The Far Eastern Front ( Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was a front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the Second World War. Early war service Тhe Far Eastern Front ...

in 1941-1945 and the

1st Far Eastern Front The Far Eastern Front (Russian language, Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was a Front (Soviet Army), front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the World War II, Second Wor ...

following the Soviet declaration of war on the Japanese Empire in August 1945. Promoted to

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 ...

in 1944, he graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and was an instructor at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering until his retirement in 1958.

Life and military career

Naum Sorkin was born in Alexandrovsk (now

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populatio ...

), a town in the

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

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Zaporizhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) to

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish parents.Lurye, V. M. & V. Ya. Kochik (2002). ''GRU: Dela i Lyudi''. Moscow: OLMA. p. 184. . The town fell into the southeastern part of the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement (russian: Черта́ осе́длости, '; yi, דער תּחום-המושבֿ, '; he, תְּחוּם הַמּוֹשָב, ') was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 19 ...

, the westernmost region of the empire where Jews were permitted permanent residence, and Naum's father was a local official. Naum Sorkin joined the

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

and

in 1919 and took part in the

. He graduated from an

commanders' course in

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

in 1920 and attended the Higher Artillery School in 1922-1923. Sorkin was dispatched to Soviet-allied

in 1923, where he was an artillery instructor until 1926. He next held posts in Mongolia as a Soviet

official in Altanbulag and first secretary at the Soviet embassy in

from 1926 to 1931. His later assignments in the Soviet Union were with the

People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs The People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs of the Soviet Union was the central Military administration, body of military command and control of the Soviet Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Soviet Union from November 12, 1923, to Marc ...

and Revolutionary Military Council from June 1933 to June 1935 and with the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs from June 1935 to June 1936, and he was appointed deputy chief of the 9th Department of the Red Army's Intelligence Directorate (responsible for information concerning Mongolia and

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

) until May 1939. The Intelligence Directorate's 9th Department became the Red Army General Staff's Department of Special Tasks, with Sorkin selected to serve as acting head from May 1939 to February 1941. Moved to the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

, where he was promoted to

in 1944, Sorkin was the chief of the intelligence section of the staff of the

in 1941-1945. He was assigned as intelligence section chief for the staff of the

at the time of the Far Eastern Front's temporary division into

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

Kirill Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (russian: Кири́лл Афана́сьевич Мерецко́в; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During th ...

's 1st Far Eastern Front and Army General Maxim Purkayev's

2nd Far Eastern Front __NOTOC__ The 2nd Far Eastern Front (russian: 2-й Дальневосточный фронт) was a Front—a formation equivalent to a Western Army Group—of the Soviet Army. It was formed just prior to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was ...

on the day of the Soviet entry into the Asian Theatre of World War II in August 1945. Major-General Sorkin was again appointed intelligence chief for the staff of the Far Eastern Front following its post-war recreation in 1945, then transferred to teach at the Military Diplomatic Academy from 1947 to 1950. He graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and subsequently worked at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering from 1952 until 1958. Major-General Sorkin retired from the Mozhaysky Academy and active service in 1958, having spent nearly forty years in the Soviet military. He published a memoir about his 1920s experiences in Mongolia in 1970. He died in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, having bequeathed nineteen

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

pieces by Russian painters from his personal collection to the Smolensk State Museum and Preserve."Kolektsiya Sorokina Nauma Semyonovicha".
Smolensk State Museum and Preserve. Retrieved 29 September 2011. His military decorations included 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 ...

, as well as two

Red Banner Red Banner (russian: Красное знамя) was a symbol of revolutionary struggle used late Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia, and in the USSR and the background of the Soviet state flag and other similar flags. Military units, ins ...

and three Red Star orders.

Works

Memoir: * «В начале пути: Записки инструктора монгольской армии»
(''Starting the Journey: Notes of an Instructor of the Mongolian Army'', ''V nachale puti: Zapiski instruktora mongolskoy armii''). Moscow: Nauka, 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorkin, Naum 1899 births 1980 deaths Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Military personnel from Zaporizhzhia People of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet diplomats Soviet major generals Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jews Ukrainian Jews Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet non-fiction writers Soviet male writers 20th-century male writers Soviet Jews in the military 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers