The 59th Rifle Division () was an infantry division 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, afte ...

and briefly of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. It was originally formed in 1932 as the 1st Kolkhoz Rifle Division, and redesignated as the 59th Rifle Division in 1936.

History

Interwar period

The division was formed in March 1932 as the 1st Kolkhoz Rifle Division, part of the Special Kolkhoz Corps of the

Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army ( rus, links=no, Осо́бая Краснознамённая Дальневосто́чная а́рмия (ОКДВА), Osóbaya Krasnoznamonnaya Dal'nevostóchnaya árm ...

, covering the

Grodekovo Pogranichny (russian: Пограни́чный) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pogranichny District of Primorsky Krai, Russia, located east of the China–Russia border and northwest of Vladivo ...

direction against expected Japanese attack with headquarters in Primorsky Oblast. A voluntary program to resettle demobilized Red Army soldiers and their families in the border areas of the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

was established in 1929–1930, in order to increase the population and economic activity of such areas, supply food to the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army, and to provide a force for its defense. By 1932 42 Red Army

Kolkhozes A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership o ...

had been established under the program. However, due to labor shortages and a lack of construction materials, engineers, and technicians, most of the settlers returned to their former homes; by 1932, only 1,476 remained out of 8,134 who arrived between 1930 and 1932. To address the issues, the Special Kolkhoz Corps was created, utilizing conscripts to garrison the frontier area.

Commanders

The following commanders led the division during its existence: * Kombrig (promoted to Major General 4 June 1940) Vasily Glazunov (3 July 1939–23 June 1941) * Colonel (promoted to Major General 8 December 1941)

Alexey Gnechko Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin ...

(9 July 1941–9 January 1942) * Colonel (promoted to Major General 7 December 1942)

Ivan Pashkov Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(10 January 1942–25 June 1943) * Colonel

Fyodor Suin Fyodor, Fedor (russian: Фёдор) or Feodor is the Russian form of the name "Theodore" meaning “God’s Gift”. Fedora () is the feminine form. Fyodor and Fedor are two English transliterations of the same Russian name. It may refer to: Giv ...

(26 June 1943–12 May 1944) * Colonel (promoted to Major General 20 April 1945)

Matvey Batrakov Matvei or Matvey is the Russian language variation of Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matvei Blanter (1903–1990), Russian composer of popular and film music * Matvei Petrovich Bronstein (1906–1938), Soviet theoretical physicis ...

(31 May 1944–after 3 September 1945)

References

Citations

Bibliography