Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov (russian: Владимир Иванович Жданов; 29 April 1902 – 19 October 1964) was a colonel-general of tank troops in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. He was a major general in the Soviet Red Army during World War II.
Military career
In 1941, Zhadanov became the Assistant Commandant of the Syzransk Tank School. He attended the Military Academy of the General Staff from 1941 to 1942. From 1942 to 1944 he was the Chief of Staff of the
13th Tank Corps
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
. He commanded the
4th Guards Mechanized Corps in 1944 and 1945. From 1945 to 1947 he was the Commanding Officer of the
5th Guards Mechanized Division. He then commanded the
6th Guards Mechanized Division from 1947 to 1949. He attended the
Military Academy of the General Staff in 1950 and 1951. He was the Chief of Staff of the
Far Eastern Military District
The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...
until 1953. From 1951 to 1953 he was also the Assistant Commander in Chief of the Far Eastern Military District. He also served as the Deputy Commander in Chief of the
Southern Ural Military District and the Soviet
Central Group of Forces
The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...
. He was also the First Assistant Commander in Chief of the
Transbaikal Military District
The Transbaikal Military District (russian: Забайкальский военный округ) was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the ...
. From 1961 to 1964, he was the Senior Military Adviser to the
East German Army. In 1964, he was the Commandant of the
Military Academy of the Tank Forces in the Soviet Union.
He was a recipient 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 ...
Award.
Belgrade Offensive
He was the commander of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps in 1944 during the
Belgrade Offensive. This unit captured Belgrade on October 20, 1944. He was awarded the medal Order of the People's Hero of Yugoslavia. Two streets were also named after him in Belgrade.
Death
He died on October 19, 1964, when his plane crashed at
Avala
Avala ( sr-cyr, Авала, ) is a mountain in Serbia, overlooking Belgrade. It is situated in the south-eastern corner of the city and provides a great panoramic view of Belgrade, Vojvodina and Šumadija, as the surrounding area on all sides ...
while he was to attend the 20th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of Belgrade on October 20, 1944. Soviet Marshal
Sergey Biryuzov
Sergey Semyonovich Biryuzov (; 21 August 1904 – 19 October 1964) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Chief of the General Staff.
Early life and prewar service
Biryuzov was born in Skopin, in the Ryazan Governorate of the Russian Empire, in ...
was also killed in the crash.
Legacy
Resavska Street in downtown Belgrade was named after him from 1946 to 1951 and then again from 1965 to 1997. In 2010, an initiative was launched to name a street in the
Novi Beograd
New Belgrade ( sr, / , ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. It is a planned city, built since 1948 in a previously uninhabited area on the left bank of the Sava river, opposite old Belgrade. In recent years, it has become the central bu ...
or New Belgrade section of Belgrade after him. In 2016, the city manager of Belgrade, Goran Vesić, announced that the Belgrade Assembly or Skupstina had accepted the initiative and a street in the New Belgrade section of the city, formerly Pohorska Street, was renamed General Zhdanov Street. Goce Delcev Street was renamed Marshal Tolbukhin Boulevard to commemorate
Fyodor Tolbukhin
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Толбу́хин; 16 June 1894 – 17 October 1949) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Early life and military career
Tolbukhin was born into ...
.
"NAPOKON – ALAL VERA: Ruski maršali ponovo dobijaju ulice u Beogradu!", May 9, 2016, ''Intermagazin''.
/ref>
References
Sources
* Biryuzov, Sergei S. ''Sovetskii soldat na balkanakh oviet soldiers in the Balkans'' (In Russian). Moskva: Voenizdat, 1963.
* Biryuzov, Sergeĭ Semenovich, and Rade Hamović. ''Beogradska Operacija.'' (In Serbian). Beograd: Vojni istoriski institut Jugoslovenske narodne armije, 1964.
* Erickson, John. ''The Road to Berlin: Continuing the History of Stalin’s War with Germany.'' Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1983. pp. 379–390.
* Medvedev, Zhores A., and Roy A. Medvedev. ''The Unknown Stalin: His Life, Death and Legacy.'' London: I.B. Tauris, 2003. p. 212-214.
* Tolubko, Vladimir F. ''Ot Vidina do Belgrada: istoriko-memuarnyĭ ocherk o boevykh deĭstvii͡akh sovetskikh tankistov v Belgradskoĭ operat͡sii.'' (In Russian). Moscow, 1968.
1902 births
1964 deaths
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero
Russian people of World War II
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Serbia
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Yugoslavia
Soviet colonel generals
Military personnel from Kyiv
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class
Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhdanov, Vladimir