Pavel Alekseyevich Kurochkin (russian: Па́вел Алексе́евич Ку́рочкин; – 28 December 1989) 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, ...

army commander.

Military career

Pavel Kurochkin was born in the village of Gornevo, Smolensk Governorate. He joined 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 ...

in 1918. Kurochkin completed cavalry courses in

Petrograd 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 1920, the year when he also joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). He graduated from the Red Army High Cavalry school in 1923, 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 ...

in 1932 and the General Staff Academy in 1940.

Russian Civil War

During the Civil War, Kurochkin saw action against General Pyotr Krasnov near Gatchina, the British-American intervention in the north and General

Nikolai Yudenich Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich ( – 5 October 1933) was a commander of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in Northwestern Russia during the Civil War. Biography Early life Yuden ...

in 1919. He commanded a cavalry regiment in the Polish-Soviet war and was involved in the suppression of the Tambov Rebellion in 1921.

Inter-war period

In 1935 he was promoted to chief commander of a cavalry division. After the Soviet-Finnish war broke out, he took over as the commanding officer of

23rd Rifle Corps The 23rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 4th Army. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. On 22 June 1941 it was part of the Transcaucasian Military District comprising the 136th and 138th Rifl ...

. From 1940 to 1941, he served as commander-in-chief of the 1st Army Group in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, commanding officer of the 17th Army in Mongolia, commander-in-chief of the Transbaikal Military District and commander-in-chief of the Orel Military District.

World War II

In July 1941 he was given command of the 20th Army which participated in the unsuccessful

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

of Smolensk. He briefly held the command of the 43rd Army in August 1941 until his promotion to commander-in-chief of the North-Western Front. He held that post until October 1942, when he was moved to command the Soviet 11th Army and then the 34th Army. He was again placed in command of the North-Western Front from July to November 1943. It was during this time that Kurochkin commanded the Toropets-Kholm Operation. From December 1943 until February 1944, he was the first deputy commander-in-chief of the

First Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

under Marshal

Konev Konev (russian: Конев and Bulgarian, ua, Конєв from ''конь'' or ''кон'' meaning ''horse'') is a Russian, Bulgarian or Ukrainian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Koneva. It may refer to: *Anatoly Konev (1921–1965), ...

and was remembered for his planning of the bloody Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive. From February to April 1944, he commanded the units of the

Second Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army gr ...

. His last assignment of the war would be commanding the

60th Army The Red Army's 60th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in reserve in the Moscow Military District in October 1941, but soon was disbanded. It was formed a second time in July 1942, and continued in servic ...

from April 1944 through May 1945 which took part in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation and fought in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

. For all his merits and achievements, Kurochkin was awarded with the highest Soviet honor,

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 ...

Post-war career

Immediately after the war, Kurochkin briefly headed the Kuban Military District until his appointment in 1946 as first deputy commander-in-chief of the

Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (russian: Советская военная администрация в Германии, СВАГ; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; german: Sowjetische Militäradministrat ...

. After his tour in East Germany ended in 1947, he took over as an assistant commander-in-chief 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 ...

. From 1951 to 1968, Kurochkin served in military academies, first at the Military Academy of the General Staff and later as the Commandant of the

. In 1968, he became the chairman of the Supreme Command of the United Military Forces of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

. Kurochkin finished his military career as a general inspector of the Ministry of Defense. He went on to become a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and was awarded with 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 ...

in 1980. Kurochkin died 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 ...

in 1989.

Honours and awards

* Five Orders of Lenin *

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 ...

* Four

Orders of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet Union, Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War b ...

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...

1st class * Two Orders of Kutuzov 1st class *

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 * Order of the Badge of Honour * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 3rd class *

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

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" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

* Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" * Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" *

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 ...

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" The Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «30 лет Советской Армии и Флота») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on February 22 ...

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 ...

* Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

References

Bio
at people.ru (''This article includes translated materials'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurochkin, Pavel Alekseyevich 1900 births 1989 deaths People from Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast People from Vyazemsky Uyezd Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Soviet colonel generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Commandants of the Frunze Military Academy Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union 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 Suvorov, 1st class Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class