Sagadat Kozhakhmetovich Nurmagambetov ( kz, Сағадат Қожахметұлы Нұрмағамбетов, ''Sağadat Qojahmetūly Nūrmağambetov'', ساعادات قوجاحمەتۇلى نۇرماعامبەتوۆ; russian: Сагадат Кожахметович Нурмагамбе́тов, ''Sagadat Kozhakhmetovich Nurmagambetov''; 25 May 1924 – 24 September 2013) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Kazakh

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

who served as Chairman of Kazakhstan's State Defense Committee in 1991-1992 and Kazakhstan's first

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991, holding the office of Defense Minister from May 1992 to November 1995. He was an adviser to Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1995-1996. Nurmagambetov began his military career as a machine gun platoon commander in the

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 ...

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 ...

. He was promoted to machine gun company and infantry battalion commander, earning the honorary title of

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 February 1945. His battalion went on to storm the Reich Chancellory at the

Battle of Berlin 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– ...

in April 1945. Nurmagambetov 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 ...

after World War II and rose to become one of the highest-ranked Kazakh officers in the peacetime

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, attaining the rank of colonel-general. He retired from the military of Kazakhstan as an army general in 1995. Nurmagambetov was named a

Hero of Kazakhstan The title of People's Hero of Kazakhstan ( kk, Халық қаһарманы, Halyq qaharmany) is the highest distinction conferred by the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with the Order of the Golden Eagle. Overview According to the Law on State Aw ...

in 1994, becoming the first Kazakh to receive this honour.

Biography

Early life and war service

Nurmagambetov was born on 25 May 1924 in the settlement of Kosym in the

Kazak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (russian: Казахская Автономная Социалистическая Советская Республика; kk, Qazaq Aptonom Sotsijalistik Sovettik Respublikasь), abbreviated as K ...

of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

(later Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic), now in

Aqmola Region Akmola Region ( kz, Ақмола облысы, translit=Aqmola oblysy; russian: Акмолинская область, Akmolinskaya oblast) is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kokshetau. The national capital, Astana, is en ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

."Nurmagambetov, Sagadat Kozhakhmetovich".
CentrAsia. Retrieved 30 September 2011. He joined the

in 1942. He received accelerated

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

officer's training at the 1st Turkestan Machine Gun School in Kushka, Turkmen SSR (now Serhetabat in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

) and was sent to the front lines of the Eastern Front of World War II in April 1943. He led a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

, a machine gun

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, and

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

and was awarded the honorary title of

with the

Gold Star of the 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 ...

(medal no. 5214) 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 ...

by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 27 February 1945. He fought in the

and led his battalion's troops in the storming of Berlin's

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...

in April 1945.

Post-war

Nurmagambetov attended the

from June 1946 until his graduation from the Academy in November 1949, continuing his military career as a senior operations section officer for the Turkestan Military District staff, a motorized rifle division's commanding officer and

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, Civil Defense Forces of the Kazakh SSR chief of staff, a deputy commanding officer of the Central Asian Military District, and first deputy commander of the Soviet Union's Southern Group of Forces in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. He was elected to serve as a deputy of Kazakhstan's

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) ...

from 1971 until 1994, and chosen to lead its committee on the disabled and military veterans' affairs in 1989.

Post-independence career

He was appointed to head Kazakhstan's State Defense Committee by Nursultan Nazarbayev in October 1991. He was named Kazakhstan's first

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

following the State Defense Committee's reorganization as the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan in May 1992 and remained as Defense Minister in Nazarbayev's cabinet until retiring from the armed forces as an army general in November 1995. Nazarbayev later recalled that "After gaining independence, I was looking for a general to lead the troops, and I found one - Nurmagambetov". He was awarded Kazakhstan's highest official award, the newly established honorary title of

, in 1994the first Kazakh to attain the honor."Nurmagambetov, Sagadat Kozhakhmetovich".
Biografia.kz. Retrieved 30 September 2011. He was an adviser to Nazarbayev from 1995 to 1996. He died on 24 September 2013.

Family

He had two children. His son Talgat (1952-2020) was a major-general in the reserve. He was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

while his father served as an officer for the Turkestan Military District. His military career saw him take part in the recovery efforts after the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

and the

Spitak Earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

, and from 2000-2001, serve as Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense.

Legacy

* The Astana Zhas Ulan Republican School is named after Nurmagambetov. * Every year on 25 May (his birthday), flowers are laid at the plaque at his house on Tulebaev-Dzhambul. * A museum in his honor was opened in the city of

Akkol Akkol ( kz, Ақкөл, ''Aqköl'', zh, 阿科尔), formerly known as ''Alexeyevka'' (russian: italic=yes, Алексеевка, until 1997), is a town in northern Kazakhstan. It is located north of the national capital Nur-Sultan along the hig ...

on 19 July 2007. * In September 2022, a monument to Sagadat Nurmagambetov was opened in

Ust-Kamenogorsk Oskemen ( kk, Өскемен, translit=Öskemen ), or Ust-Kamenogorsk (russian: Усть-Каменого́рск), is the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Population: Name The city has two official names. In the ...

Honours and Awards

;Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

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 ...

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 and 2nd class *

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 ...

, twice * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

, twice * Order of the Badge of Honour *

Medal for Combat Service A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

* Medal "For Military Valour. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of VI Lenin" * Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military de ...

* Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" *

Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «Сорок лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a s ...

Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" The Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (russian: Медаль «За взятие Берлина») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to s ...

Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" The Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw" (russian: Медаль «За освобождение Варшавы») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on June 9, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Медаль «Ветеран Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a long service award of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union established on May 20, 1976 by decree of the P ...

Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «40 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 18, ...

* Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" *

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «60 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established and bestowed to m ...

* Medal "For Impeccable Service" 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes ;Republic of Kazakhstan: *

Order of Otan The Order of Otan ( Kazakh: ''Отан ордені'', trans. ''Otan ordeni'', ''Order of the Fatherland'') is one of the highest orders of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The order is usually awarded to citizens for the following, but there have been ...

* Medal "Astana" * Medal "10 Years of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan" * Medal "10 years of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan" *

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (Russian: Юбилейная медаль «60 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

;Russian Federation: * Order of Friendship, twice *

Zhukov Medal The Medal of Zhukov (russian: медаль Жукова) is a state award of the Russian Federation initially awarded to veterans of the Great Patriotic War but now awarded to serving members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is ...

;Ukraine: *

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ( uk, Орден Богдана Хмельницького, Orden Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho) is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was establi ...

, 3rd class (2004)''"Prezident nagradil ordenom Bogdana Khmelnitskogo eks-ministra oborony Kazakhstana"''.
Retrieved 30 September 2011. * Honour of the President of Ukraine * Medal "Defender of the Motherland" * Jubilee medal "60 years of Ukraine's liberation from Nazi invaders" ;Bulgaria: * Order "September 9, 1944", 1st class with swords. ;Poland: * Golden Cross of Merit *

Medal Pro Memoria The Pro Memoria Medal is a Polish civil state decoration awarded by the head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. Established 25 January 2005, the medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in perpetuating the memory of th ...

;Mongolia: * Medal "30 Years of Victory over Japan's militarists" Honorary Citizen of Astana,

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

and

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurmagambetov, Sagadat 1924 births 2013 deaths Government ministers of Kazakhstan Kazakhstani generals People from Akmola Region Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Heroes of Kazakhstan Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Soviet colonel generals Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet politicians Frunze Military Academy alumni Ministers of Defence of Kazakhstan Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni