Stepan Dmitrievich Rybalchenko (russian: Степа́н Дми́триевич Рыба́льченко; 11 July 1903 – 1986) 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, ...

military officer. He was active 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 ...

as a soldier during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, as a

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

general during the

Second World War 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 ...

, and later as a military instructor.

Biography

Rybalchenko was born on 11 July 1903 in the settlement of Novoyegorylskoye in the Don Host Oblast 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. ...

(in the present-day

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

).Grechko, Andrey Antonovich (Ed.). ''Советская Военная Энциклопедия''. (''The Soviet Military Encyclopedia''). Volume 7. Moscow: Voyennoye Izdatelstvo Ministerstva Oboronny SSSR, 1980. P. 202. A career military officer, he first joined the

in his teens in 1919, taking part in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

.Vronskaya, Jeanne & Vladimri Chuguev. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Soviet Union''. , . P. 361. He subsequently 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 1927 and graduated from

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 ...

in 1936.Ogarkov, N. V. (Ed.). "Рыбальченко Степан Дмитриевич" ("Rybalchenko, Stepan Dmitrievich"). ''Военный энциклопедический словарь'' (''A Military Encyclopedic Dictionary''). Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1983. P. 648. He served as chief of the intelligence department and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Air Force of the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. Hi ...

from 1938 to 1941. During World War II, Rybalchenko first served as a staff officer in Leningrad. He was appointed to lead the

13th Air Army The 76th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949–1980, and again from 1988–98. As the 13th Air Army, it was originally formed on 25 November 1942 and based on air units of the Leningrad Front. 13th Air Army's initial components ...

around

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 ...

in the Soviet defense of the area during the Nazi siege in November 1942 and was in charge of the force as a lieutenant general when the Thirteenth Air Army, then in possession of some 400 planes, provided support for the Soviet pushback in 1944. Glantz, David. ''The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944''. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2002. . P. 509. He was promoted to the rank of colonel-general in 1944.Ogarkov, N. V. (Ed.). "Рыбальченко Степан Дмитриевич" ("Rybalchenko, Stepan Dmitrievich"). ''Военный энциклопедический словарь'' (''A Military Encyclopedic Dictionary''). Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1983. P. 648. Rybalchenko served as a military instructor from 1956 to 1963, then retired from military service. He was awarded an

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 ...

by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1983.''Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик''. (''News of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics'') No. 28, 6 June 1983. Moscow: Verkhnovnyi Sovet, 1983. P. 477.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rybalchenko, Stepan Dmitrievich 1903 births 1986 deaths People from Rostov Oblast People from Don Host Oblast Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Air Force generals Soviet colonel generals People of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Frunze Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 1st class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class