Vladimir Vasilevich Kirpichnikov (russian: Владимир Васильевич Кирпичников; 7 July 1903 – 10 October 1950) 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, ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

. During

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 served as commander of 43rd Rifle Division. Kirpichnikov was the only Soviet general captured by the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

Early life

Kirpichnikov graduated from the Ulyanovsk Infantry Military Academy in 1925. He served as a

platoon leader {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth militaries and the United States Marine Corps, US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This pers ...

and later as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the 11th Rifle Division in

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 ...

. In 1937 Kirpichnikov served as

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 ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and was awarded the

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 ...

. He was named commander of the 43rd Rifle Division in 1939. In the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

Kirpichnikov was awarded with the

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 ...

. After the war he studied at 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 ...

.Lars Westerlund: "Sotavangit ja internoidut" (page 543)
(in Finnish) Retrieved 3 September 2013.

World War II

Kirpichnikov was captured by the Finns at the

Battle of Porlampi The Battle of Porlampi, also known as the Battle of Porlammi, was a military engagement fought between the Finnish Army and Red Army from 30 August to 1 September 1941 on the Karelian Isthmus. The battle was fought near the town of Porlampi duri ...

on 1 September 1941. He was first

interrogated Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...

in the village of Karisalmi and later moved to Finnish Army headquarters in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...

. The Finns wanted to use Kirpichnikov for

propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

purposes since they knew he had some opinions that were critical of the Soviet regime. However, Kirpichnikov did not agree to work for the Finns. In December 1941 he was moved to Sotavankileiri 1 (Prison camp 1), which was located in the municipality of

Köyliö Köyliö ( sv, Kjulo) is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the municipality of Säkylä on 1 January 2016. It was located in the Satakunta (region), Satakunta regions of Finland, region. ...

Western Finland Western Finland ( fi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, sv, Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. ...

. It was a camp for more than 3,000 Soviet prisoners, including 1,000 officers. According to other prisoners, Kirpichnikov was offered the commander's post of the

Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army; russian: Русская освободительная армия, ', abbreviated as (), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Rus ...

but he refused. The pictures taken of Kirpichnikov were used as a propaganda tool. Most famous are a picture of Kirpichnikov lighting the cigarette of his interrogator, General Lennart Oesch, and a color photo of Kirpichnikov with a newspaper and a pack of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

cigarettes. He was seen in the Finnish propaganda newsreel ''Puolustusvoimain katsaus 11'' in 1941.

Execution

After the war was over, Kirpichnikov was sent back to the Soviet Union where he was immediately arrested by the

SMERSH SMERSH (russian: СМЕРШ) was an umbrella organization for three independent counter-intelligence agencies in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially announced only on 14 April 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Josep ...

. Kirpichnikov was held in a prison camp in

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). History The first mentions of the village of Podol, w ...

, then later at Lefortovo Prison 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 ...

. He was charged with

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and sentenced to death by the USSR Military Collegium on 8 October 1950. Two days later, Kirpichnikov was shot."Kirpichnikov, V.V.", in ''Sacrifice of the Generals: Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953'', by Michael Parrish (Scarecrow Press, 2004) p. 165 Some sources report the date of his execution as 28 August 1950, prior to the recorded death sentence.

Awards and decorations

;Soviet Union

Gallery

File:Commissar Vladimir Vasilevich Kirpichnikov.jpg, Brigade commissar Kirpichnikov ca. 1940 File:Lennart oesch and vladimir kirpitsnikov in 1941.jpg, Kirpichnikov lighting the cigarette of

Karl Lennart Oesch Karl Lennart Oesch (8 August 1892 – 28 March 1978) was one of Finland's leading generals during World War II. He held a string of high staff assignments and front commands, and at the end of the Continuation War commanded three Finnish army cor ...

File:Karl Lennart Oesch and Vladimir Kirpichnikov with interpreter Georg Baronin.jpg, Kirpichnikov conversing with Oesch, with Lt. Georg Baronin as an interpreter File:Vladimir Kirpichnikov.jpg, Kirpichnikov at the prison camp in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirpichnikov, Vladimir 1903 births 1950 deaths People from Ulyanovsk People from Simbirsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet major generals Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Finland Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People executed for treason against the Soviet Union People from Ulyanovsk Oblast Executed Soviet people from Russia Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Executed military leaders