russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Худяко́в , native_name_lang = , image = Sergei Khudyakov.jpg , alt = , caption = Khudyakov in 1944 , birth_date = , birth_place = Mets Tagher village, Shushinsky Uyezd,

Elisabethpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate st ...

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 ...

, death_date = , death_place =

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 ...

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

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, placeofburial =

Donskoi Cemetery The New Donskoy Cemetery (Новое Донское кладбище) is a 20th-century necropolis sprawling to the south from the Donskoy Monastery in the south-west of Central Moscow. It has been closed for new burials since the 1980s. Histo ...

, placeofburial_label = , placeofburial_coordinates = , nickname = , birth_name = Armenak Khanferiants , allegiance = , branch = , serviceyears = 1918–1945 , rank = Marshal of Aviation , unit = , commands = Chief of the Air Staff

1st Air Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army (russian: 1-я воздушная армия) was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army ...

12th Air Army 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, battles =

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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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 ...

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 ...

(2)

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 ...

see

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname *Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general *Fred Below ( ...

, spouse = Varvara Petrovna , relations = Sergei Alexandrovich Khudyakov ( hy, Սերգեյ Ալեքսանդրի Խուդյակով; russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Худяко́в); (born Armenak Artemi Khanferiants ( hy, Արմենակ Արտեմի Խանփերյանց, – 18 April 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, ...

Armenian

Marshal of the aviation Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used f ...

Russian Revolution

Armenak Khanferiants (or Khanperiants) was born in 1902 in the village of Mets Tagher (Böyük Tağlar), Shushinsky Uyezd,

. His father died in 1908, leaving a widow with three sons. Khanferiants travelled to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

to study and started working at oilfields owned by Armenian tycoon and philanthropist

Alexander Mantashev Alexander Mantashev (, Aleksandr Mantashiants; , Aleksandr Ivanovich Mantashev; 3 March 1842 – 19 April 1911) was a prominent Russian oil magnate, industrialist, financier, and a philanthropist of the Armenian origin. By the end of his ...

. In 1918, he was involved in the production of the newspaper ''Iskra''. While in Baku, he joined the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s and organized the

Red Guard Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...

s of Baku in April 1918. While he was in

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

during the

, he was saved from drowning in a steamer sunk by a British gunboat by his friend, Sergei Khudyakov, who was later be killed fighting the

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

. Khanferiants adopted Sergei's name as his own as memorial to the man who saved his life.Armenia: The Survival of a Nation
He continued to serve as a cavalry officer until 1920. In 1929, Khudyakov was admitted to the Tiflis Cavalry School, and in 1931 went to

to attend the Zhukovsky Military Air Academy. He graduated with honors in 1936. Khudyakov became head of the Operations Branch of the Air Staff in 1937 and Chief of Logistics Management Air Force in 1938.

World War II

The war greatly accelerated his career, and he jumped four ranks in just three years. During

the Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

(1941–1945), he was

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 ...

of the Air Force and commander of the Air Force of the Western Front, chief of staff of the Red Army's Air Force, commander of the 1st Air Army, chief of staff and deputy commander of the Red Army's Air Force. As the chief of staff of the Air Forces of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

, he participated in the successful defence of Moscow. Aviation units under his command took part in the offensive of the Western Front forces in the Rzhev-Sychevka direction and supported the ground troops in the

Rzhev-Vyazma operation The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place ...

. In 1943 Marshal Khudyakov coordinated combat operations of the Air Force of the

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

and Steppe Fronts in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

and the Battle for the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

. During the Battle of Kursk, his 14-year-old son Victor was killed in an enemy air raid. Victor's body was taken to Moscow and was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular touris ...

. He was tasked with organizing his air flight of the Soviet delegation to the

Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference ( codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embass ...

in 1943. He fulfilled his assignment of the Supreme Command. Khudyakov became chief of staff and deputy commander of the Red Army Air Force in May 1943 and coordinated air operations to complete victory in the Battle of the Dnieper. He then took part in the Iasi-Kishinev Front. In August 1944, by the Decree of the Presidium of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

Sergei Alexandrovich, Khudyakov was given the rank of Marshal of Aviation. Jalta_1945

In February 1945, he took part in the

Yalta conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...

of the Big Three as a military adviser. Later in 1945, he helped direct the defeat of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

as commander of the

Arrest and execution

On 14 December 1946, he was arrested in Chita and taken to

, where he was accused of having been recruited as a spy by the British. An investigation of the case lasted for more than four years and ended in 1949. He was sentenced to death and was executed on 18 April 1950 on the same day at the Don Cemetery. His wife and younger son were also arrested on 13 January 1951 as family members of a traitor to the motherland and sent to

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...

in the

Taseyevsky District Taseyevsky District (russian: Тасе́евский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13-3116 district ( raion), one of the forty-three in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the south of the krai and border ...

. In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the

on 27 March 1953, amnesty was granted to his family and they were allowed to return to Moscow from exile.

Rehabilitation

After Stalin's death, the Supreme Soviet began a process of rehabilitation for victims of political repression. In August 1954, in the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office began a review of the archival materials of Sergei Khudyakov's case. The chief military prosecutor sent the case for reconsideration by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Военная коллегия Верховного суда СССР, ''Voennaya kollegiya Verkhovnogo suda SSSR'') was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Sov ...

with a proposal to revoke the sentence because of newly discovered evidence. This document called him by his real first and last name for the first timeArmenak Khanferiants. The retrial by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court found that the prosecution of Khudyakov/Khanferiants had lacked any objective basis. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Khudyakov was rehabilitated by the court on 6 July 1965 and was posthumously restored to the military rank of Air Marshal and his awards.

Memory

Many books and monographs have been written about Khudyakov and many streets and avenues in the former Soviet Union are named after him. A museum of Khudyakov is located in his home village of Mets Tagher in the

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...

. The village came under Azerbaijani control in November 2020; satellite imagery from July 2021 indicate Khudyakov's statue outside the museum has been destroyed. On 1 April 2005, an

institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

of the

Armenian Air Force The Armenian Air Force ( hy, Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր, Hayastani Razmaodayin Uzher) is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Armenia formed by independent Armenia in 1992 in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Unio ...

was named after him. On 9 May 2010, Khudyakov's grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Vardan Khanferyants led a column of Armenian soldiers at the

2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade The Moscow Victory Day Parade of 2010 was held on 9 May 2010 to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade marks the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War. It was the largest para ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

in honor of the 65th anniversary of the victory in World War II. His other grandson now works in the

Russian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...

Awards and honors

USSR Foreign

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khudyakov, Sergei 1902 births 1950 deaths People from Hadrut Province Armenian activists Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet Air Force marshals Armenian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II 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, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) People executed for treason against the Soviet Union Armenian people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations Soviet Armenians Burials at Donskoye Cemetery Armenian people from the Russian Empire