Nikolai Vasilyevich Kalinin (

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 ...

: Николай Васильевич Калинин; 10 March 1937 – 7 March 2008) 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 ...

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 ...

. He commanded the

Soviet airborne The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno-Parachuting, desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a military branch, separate troops branch of the Soviet A ...

from August 1987 to January 1989, after which Kalinin became the commander of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

. In August 1991, he supported the coup d'état attempt and was relieved of command after the coup failed. After retiring in 1993, Kalinin died on 7 March 2008.

Early life

Kalinin was born on 10 March 1937 in Malye Kurashki village in the

Lyskovsky District Lyskovsky District (russian: Лы́сковский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the forty in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia.Order #3-od Municipally, it is incorporated as Lyskovsky Municipal District.Resolution #670 ...

Gorky Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...

Military service

In 1958, Kalinin graduated from the Leningrad Suvrov Officer School. He was a platoon and company commander. In 1968, he graduated from 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 ...

. From 1968 to 1969, Kalinin was a battalion commander in the 111th Guards Airborne Regiment. In 1970, he became chief of staff of the regiment, and its commander in 1972. In the same year, he transferred to become deputy commander of the

105th Guards Airborne Division The 105th Guards Airborne Division () was an airborne division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. The division was originally formed as the 12th Guards Airborne Division as part of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps in December 1943. In December 1944, i ...

. Kalinin commanded the

7th Guards Airborne Division , image = Great emblem of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division great emblem , dates ...

between 1973 and 1975. In 1977, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, after which Kalinin became a corps commander. In 1979, he became an army commander. From 1983 to 1985, he was the deputy commander of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. Kalin was appointed deputy commander of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

in 1985. In 1986, he was transferred to lead the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

. In August 1987, he became the commander of the

. In January 1989, Kalinin became the commander of the

. After assisting the

State Committee on the State of Emergency The State Committee on the State of Emergency (), abbreviated as SCSE (), was a group of eight high-level Soviet officials within the Soviet government, the Communist Party, and the KGB, who attempted a coup d'état against Mikhail Gorbachev on ...

during the

August Coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

in 1991, Kalinin was replaced by

Vladimir Mikhailovich Toporov Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukra ...

. On 20 August, Kalinin declared a curfew in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Later life

Kalinin died on 7 March 2008 at the age of 70, three days before his 71st birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalinin, Nikolai Vasilyevich 1937 births 2008 deaths Soviet colonel generals People from Lyskovsky District Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class Frunze Military Academy alumni Commanders of the Soviet Airborne Forces Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni