Marshal of the Soviet Union

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Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Marshal of
the Soviet Union
Rank insignia of маршал Советского Союза.svg Marshal-Star big1.jpg

Shoulder piece / Marshal star
Rank group the officers
NATO rank code OF – 10 comparable
Rank Army / Air Force none
Marine rank Admiral of the Navy of the Soviet Union
Abbreviation (in lists)
Grade

The Marshal of the Soviet Union ( Russian Маршал Советского Союза ) was a military rank in the armed forces of the USSR . It was introduced by Josef Stalin in 1935 and abolished in the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The officers with the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union represented the military leadership elite of the USSR during this period. In total, the rank was awarded to 41 people. There were also three admirals of the Soviet Union's fleet , who were ranked on an equal footing with the Marshal of the Soviet Union .

Overview in the hierarchy

The Soviet ideology and the general distrust of the officer corps , which were viewed as a reactionary class, had led to the abandonment of a regular ranking system in the Red Workers 'and Peasants' Army ( Рабоче-крестьянская Красная Армия ) after its establishment in 1918. Superiors could only exercise authority because of their position as functionaries.

In the course of the increasing professionalization of the Soviet armed forces, this situation was changed. On September 22, 1935, an ordinance of the Central Executive Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR introduced a new system which provided for the conferment of personal ranks in the officer corps. This was primarily due to the growing reputation of the Red Army in its own country. So the ranks of lieutenant ( лейтенант ), first lieutenant ( старший лейтенант ), captain ( капитан ), major ( майор ) and colonel ( полковник ) emerged again. However, the Politburo could not bring itself to reintroduce the traditional designation general , which probably followed the tsarist tradition too closely . Instead, a functional description has been retained and the ranks of brigade commander ( командир бригады ), division commander ( командир дивизии ), corps commander ( Командир корпуса ), as well as army commander Iарпуса ), and army commander II. These ranks were only reintroduced in May 1940. To this end, the new rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created above the commanders . The Politburo still rejected the term general . The Soviet Marshal followed the tradition of the Field Marshal General , of whom there were about 66 in the armed forces of the Russian Empire between 1699 and 1917.

While all ranks up to army commander tied to the traditional tsarist ranks and were thus also linked to a certain position, the order of the Council of People's Commissars did not specify the function or assignment of office for the Marshal of the Soviet Union . First and foremost, the rank was created to honor deserved high officers from the time of the Civil War (1917–1921). So it was initially unclear who would receive the new highest rank in the armed forces. Later, on June 26, 1945, Josef Stalin also created the rank of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union (Генералиссимус Советского Союза) in order to underline his claim to leadership also in relation to the military.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, all still active marshals of the Soviet Union were retired and the rank was no longer awarded. Instead, the Law on Conscription and Military Service of February 11, 1993 created the rank of Marshal of the Russian Federation ( Маршал Российской Федерации ), which so far has only been awarded once to the then Defense Minister Igor Dmitrijewitsch Sergejew (1938-2006) has been.

  • Collar badge of rank 1935–1940

  • Shoulder piece service suit 1943–1955

  • Shoulder piece field uniform 1943–1955

  • Shoulder piece parade uniform 1974–1993

Marshals of the Soviet Union

Appointments

The first five Marshals of the Soviet Union: SM Budjonny, WK Blücher (above); MN Tukhachevsky, KJ Voroshilov and AI Jegorow (below)

On November 20, 1935, the first five marshals were appointed by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars with effect from November 22. It was the People's Commissar for Defense Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (1881-1969), his first deputy and chief of the General Staff Alexander Ilyich Yegorov (1883-1939), the second deputy People's Commissar for Defense Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky (1893-1937), the commander of the "Special Far Eastern Army" Wassili Konstantinowitsch Blücher (1889–1938) and the inspector of the cavalry troops Semyon Mikhailovich Budjonny (1883–1973). During the Great Purges , however, three of these marshals were arrested between 1937 and 1939, Tukhachevsky and Yegorov were sentenced to death and executed , and Blücher died as a result of torture during interrogation by the NKVD. Only after the death of Josef Stalin did Khrushchev set up a military court commission to investigate the death sentences imposed on members of the military. Among other things, this posthumously rehabilitated the three named marshals.

On May 7, 1940, three more promotions were made to Marshal of the Soviet Union . Semjon Konstantinowitsch Tymoshenko (1895-1970) received the rank in connection with his appointment as the new People's Commissar for Defense; Boris Michailowitsch Schaposchnikow (1882–1945) as the new Chief of the General Staff and Grigori Ivanovich Kulik (1890–1950) in the function of its deputy. This manifested the link between the rank and the offices of the Chief of Staff of the Red Army and the People's Commissar of Defense.

The extensive expansion and armament of the Red Army during the German-Soviet War (1941–1945) also led to a growing number of Marshals of the Soviet Union . At this point in time, too, the rank was awarded to particularly proven front-line commanders independently of special offices. An exception was Alexander Michailowitsch Wassilewski (1895–1977), who was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Red Army in the course of his appointment. A total of nine people received the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union during the war , including Joseph Stalin himself, who did not want to be inferior to his military leaders.

After the war, between 1945 and 1947, Stalin appointed only three other military officers to be marshals. These were the secret service chief Lavrenti Beria (1899-1953), the defense minister Nikolai Alexandrowitsch Bulganin (1895-1975) and the head of the Soviet military administration in Germany Wassili Danilowitsch Sokolowski (1897-1968).

Under the government of Nikita Sergejewitsch Khrushchev (1894-1971) between 1953 and 1964 a total of nine officers were promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union by the Council of People's Commissars . All of these military officers had served as army commanders or chiefs of general staffs during World War II . Six of the appointments were made on March 11, 1955, and involved senior officers holding key military positions. This affected the Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Bagramyan (1897-1982), the commander in chief of the air force Sergey Biryuzov (1904-1964), the Supreme Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany Andrei Grechko (1903-1976), the Inspector General Andrei Ivanovich Eremenko ( 1892–1970), the Commander in Chief of the Moscow Military District Kyrill Semjonowitsch Moskalenko (1902–1985) and the Commander in Chief of the Kiev Military District Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (1900–1982). The incumbent Defense Minister GK Zhukov, who had come to know and appreciate all of these officers during the Second World War, campaigned for these simultaneous appointments in 1955.

Under the government of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1907–1982), eight other soldiers rose to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982 . In addition to the politician Brezhnev, who gave himself the military rank, the respective commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact troops Ivan Ignatjewitsch Jakubowski (1912–1976) and Viktor Georgievich Kulikow (1921–2013) and Defense Minister Dmitri Fyodorowitsch Ustinov (1908–1984) ), but also the chief of air defense Pavel Feodorovich Batitski (1910–1984), the commander in chief of the Soviet troops in Germany Pyotr Kirillowitsch Koschewoi (1904–1976), the chief of the general staff of the Soviet army Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkow (1917–1994) and Commander of the Leningrad Military District Sergei Leonidowitsch Sokolov (1911–2012).

After that, until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rank was only awarded to four other people. On March 25, 1983 he was received by the future chief of staff Sergei Fyodorowitsch Achromejew (1923-1991), the deputy minister of defense Semjon Konstantinowitsch Kurkotkin (1917-1990) and the commander in chief of the Soviet land forces Vasily Ivanovich Petrov (1917-2014). The last time the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was on April 28, 1990 to the Defense Minister Dmitri Timofejewitsch Yasov (1924-2020) bestowed.

Origin and requirements

The necropolis on the Kremlin wall , where the majority of the marshals of the Soviet Union were buried.

A comparison of the people who achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union reveals a strong Russian dominance. There were 29 marshals of Russian and 7 marshals of Ukrainian origin. A clear minority, however, were the two Georgians (Stalin and Beria) and one Armenian (Baghramjan), Belarusian (Jakubowski) and Pole (Rokossowski).

The social background of the individual marshals was different. In the official files it was noted for 22 of them that they came from rural backgrounds. Five are said to have come from working-class families, while another four were run as the sons of salaried employees. Further indications of origin list the sons of citizens (Tukhachevsky), the bourgeoisie (Jegorow), priests (Wassilewski) and merchants (Birjusow). However, this information is imprecise, as some information is missing or has been changed afterwards. The majority of the marshals also came from the rural areas. Only four of them were born in provincial capitals and only seven others were from district capitals.

The age structure of the military with the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union also varied widely. When he was appointed, Tukhachevsky was the youngest marshal at the age of 42. The oldest, at 69, was Brezhnev, followed by Sokolov, at 67. The median age at the time of appointment was approximately 54 years. The previous years of service were very different. Voroshilov had only served 17 years in the Red Army before he was promoted to marshal, while Yasov only reached that rank 49 years after entering the service. On average, the promotion took place after approximately 35 years of service. Budjonny had the longest period of service in the rank of marshal, almost 38 years. As far as is known, all the marshals died in Moscow . The only exception was Biryusov, who died in an airplane accident in Yugoslavia. Until 1976, the majority of marshals of the Soviet Union were buried in Red Square by the Kremlin wall . Marshals Koschewoi, Golikow, Batitski, Moskalenko, Kurkotkin and Ogarkow were then buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery. Chuikov was buried in Volgograd and Achromeyev in the Troyekurovo cemetery .

The academic careers of the individual marshals were just as different. Only 14 of them had graduated from the Academy of the General Staff , while 12 others had graduated from the Frunze Academy (Chuikov had even obtained degrees from two faculties there). Two (Brezhnev and Blucher) had visited the Metallurgical Institute. The remaining 15 marshals had no college education. Voroshilov did not even have a school leaving certificate, and Vasilevsky only spent a year at the General Staff Academy. Six marshals had already served in the tsarist army and one (Goworow) at times even in the White Army during the civil war .

Six marshals were commanders of fronts in World War II at the time of their appointment , five were defense ministers, four were chiefs of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces, four were commanders of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, and four were in command of a military district. Three others were deputies to the Minister of Defense. The remaining 15 marshals held various key military positions. At the beginning of the war against Germany in 1941 there were only five marshals of the Soviet Union . When the war ended on May 9, 1945, their number had increased to 12. It then wavered through the death or demotion of individual marshals. The maximum number was reached between April 15 and May 10, 1968, when there were a total of 20 Marshals of the Soviet Union in the Soviet armed forces.

Further career

The further fate of the 41 marshals of the Soviet Union was also different . Stalin created for himself the higher rank of "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union", which he officially led from 1945 onwards. From then on he was no longer a marshal. Kulik was the only Marshal who was demoted to Major General (1942) due to his failure in command of the troops . However, Tukhachevsky and Yegorov were also stripped of their rank of marshal shortly before their murder. Beria was also stripped of the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union when he was arrested in 1953 . In all cases, except the berias, the individuals concerned were posthumously rehabilitated by a court. In 1958, Bulganin also lost his rank of marshal in the wake of his political disempowerment. A total of five Marshals of the Soviet Union have lost this rank again. The same thing happened to the admiral of the Soviet Union's fleet, Kuznetsov (see below).

Most marshals died of natural causes, but there were exceptions. One marshal was killed in a plane crash (Biryusov, 1964) and another died by suicide (Achromeev, 1991). Five marshals fell victim to political murders (Tukhachevsky, 1937; Blücher, 1938; Jegorow, 1939; Kulik, 1950; Beria, 1953). It should be emphasized that Kulik was no longer in the rank of marshal at the time of his shooting and was only rehabilitated six years after his death. Beria, who is classified more in the intelligence service than the military, was the only victim not murdered during the Stalin era. A few years earlier he himself had played a major role in the murder of Blucher.

Uniformity

Uniform of Marshal of the Soviet Union GK Zhukov

On December 3, 1935, the People's Commissar for Defense established the first identification marks for the uniforms of the Marshals of the Soviet Union . On insignia a golden star was attached. This was on a red background, which was also framed by a golden border. Other badges of rank were on the sleeves. There was a golden angle on a red background, above which another golden star, also on a red background, was at some distance. In addition, the outward appearance of the uniform hardly differed from that of the other officer ranks. However, it was generally of a higher quality in terms of fabric and workmanship.

A change was made in July 1940. The collar tabs were complemented by two golden laurel branches each under the golden star , which were connected to each other by a hammer and sickle . Instead of the one angle on the sleeves, there were now two golden angles under the star, between which there were also two laurel branches.

In addition, a Marshal Star ( Маршальская Звезда ) was introduced in February 1940 by an ordinance of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR . It was a five-pointed metal star with diamonds attached to it. This badge of rank, which was available in eight different versions, was worn like a medal on a red ribbon around the neck. This additional badge of rank had to be returned to the government after a marshal's service ended.

It was not until January 1943 that shoulder boards or shoulder boards were introduced for the entire Red Army . Those who marked the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union were, like all others, provided with a yellow background and red border and, in addition to a large white star, also bore the coat of arms of the USSR framed by ears of corn (hammer and sickle in a blue circle). At the same time, the collar tabs were abolished. Instead, the collar was now adorned with a golden branch of honor on each side. The collar itself now had a red and gold border. In 1955, the design of the shoulder pieces was changed slightly by changing the star to gold and changing the color of the hammer and sickle from gold to red.

Pay and perks

The diamond-studded "Marshal Star" (Маршальская звезда)

Judging from the memoirs of various marshals, appointment to the highest rank in the state did not mean much to them. Konew and Rokossowski did not go into it at all in their memoirs, Zhukov only mentioned the fact laconically and Wassilewski said modestly that his appointment was unjustified. Only Merezkow stated that after his appointment he flew to Moscow on October 26, 1944, where he was awarded the Marshal Star on October 31 by MI Kalinin , chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. However, he made no personal comments either.

The appointment to a general or admiral rank meant social and economic privileges . These included tax exemption, benefits from military supplies, educational opportunities, free medical care, and housing at state expense. The pay varied. In 1943 it was around 40,000 rubles a year for naval admirals and marshals alike . In comparison, the lowest general rank major general (or rear admiral ) received only 19,000 rubles. Surcharges were paid depending on the position. The bearers of high orders also received an annual grant . For the Order of Lenin the sum was 300 rubles a year, for the Order of the Red Banner it was 250 rubles and for the Order of the Red Star 180 rubles. In addition, there were numerous other "personal payments" (endowments that had been given as a reward to individual generals and marshals), which increased in size over the years. The regular retirement age was 60 years, with the persons concerned still belonging to the reserve up to 65.

The currency reforms of 1947 and 1961 raised the value of the ruble by about ten times, so that the base salary was nominally only 4,000 rubles (the equivalent of a little more than 12,000 GDR marks) per year. In addition, the Khrushchev government brought about a reduction in pay around 1960. The relatively high salaries have been cut, “personal payments” have been abolished and retirement benefits have been reduced. Details were never officially given as this would have contradicted the " classless society " in the USSR. Nevertheless, it was estimated that a marshal of the Soviet Union or an admiral of the Soviet Union's fleet in the mid-1970s was up to 2,000 rubles (around 6,000 GDR marks) per month.

Further levels of marshal rank

Admiral of the Navy of the Soviet Union

Admiral of the Navy of the Soviet Union
1943kor-p01.png
Service suit
1945–1955
RAF N F10AdmFleetSU 1955-1991.svg
Parade uniform


With the ukase of May 7, 1940, general and admiral ranks were reintroduced while retaining the old insignia. In the fleet there was now the Rear Admiral ( контр-адмирал ), Vice-Admiral ( вице-адмирал ), Admiral ( адмирал ) and finally the Fleet Admiral ( адмирал флота ). However, the last one has not yet been awarded. It was not until May 31, 1944, that Nikolai Gerassimowitsch Kuznetsov and Ivan Stepanowitsch Issakov were the first to be promoted to naval admiral . This rank corresponded to that of a Soviet army general before he was upgraded on May 25, 1945 and was now on the same level as the Marshal of the Soviet Union . This was expressed not least in the now similar shoulder pieces. In March 1955, the rank was officially changed to Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union ( Адмирал Флота Советского Союза ). This was only awarded to three officers: Nikolai Gerassimowitsch Kuznetsov (1904–1974), Iwan Stepanowitsch Issakow (1894–1967) and Sergei Georgijewitsch Gorshkov (1910–1988). It was not until 1962 that the rank of Fleet Admiral was reintroduced in the Soviet Navy and was first awarded on April 28 of the same year. This was now located between the admiral and the admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union .

On the shoulder pieces of the admirals of the Soviet Union's fleet was a five-pointed star, in the center of which a black anchor was depicted on a red background. Above it, as with the shoulder pieces of the marshals, the state coat of arms of the USSR was depicted. Other badges of rank were the five stripes and the star in the laurel wreath on the sleeves of the uniform. The equality with the marshals was also shown in the fact that the admirals were given an identical, brilliant marshal star.

Marshals and main marshals of the branches of service

In 1943, the ranks of Marshal of a branch of service and Chief Marshal of a branch of service were created. First of all, the Supreme Soviet's decision of January 16, 1943 introduced the Marshal of the Air Force ( маршал авиации ), the Marshal of the Armed Forces ( маршал рода войск ) for artillery ( маршал войкыкал войкыкых кортиллерах хартиллерил ) and armored troops . On August 27 of the same year the rank of was Marshal of the Special Forces ( маршал специальных войск ) for the engineer troops ( маршал инженерных войск ) and Signal Corps ( маршал войск связи ) created.

Even after the end of the USSR, the uniform of the Marshals of the Soviet Union was still seen in public from time to time. Here Marshal of the Soviet Union WG Kulikow at a reception in the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin (November 22, 2001)

In the promotion guidelines, the following applied: Front commanders in chief (in peacetime chiefs of the military districts), army commanders in chief, the defense minister and his deputies, the chief of staff and his deputies and equals were promoted from colonel general to army general. Commander-in-chief of tank and air armies, chiefs of the armed forces in the fronts or in the Ministry of Defense, etc. The like. were appointed Marshal of a branch of service by the Colonel General. The simple marshals were therefore equal to the normal rank of army general (генерал армии). However, they could later be promoted to chief marshal of a branch of service. Although both ranks are not actually counted among the marshals of the Soviet Union , they are listed here for the sake of completeness because they represented a marshal rank within the Soviet armed forces.

Together with the main marshals , they formed the highest rank in their branches of service, but had practically no opportunity for promotion to Marshal of the Soviet Union as long as they were only active in the respective branch of service. All of them had been army general before their promotion (only Beria was an exception). Nevertheless, all three steps of the marshal wore the marshal's star on the collar and a star was also attached to the shoulder pieces. Instead of the coat of arms of the USSR, however, the representatives of the two lower marshal ranks wore the symbol of their respective branch of arms (see images below).

Of the main marshals , there were only 13 representatives from the air forces, artillery and armored forces, while none emerged from the special forces (engineering and telecommunications forces). From 1984 onwards, the rank only existed in the first two branches of service and there, too, it was awarded for the last time this year. At the same time the rank of Marshal of the Armored Forces was abolished; the two marshals still alive at the time continued to wear it. After the abolition of simple marshals and the reforms of the Russian rank system in 1993, the former rank of chief marshal now corresponds to that of army general or naval admiral .

literature

  • Маршалы Советского Союза - личные дела рассказывают. Любимая книга, Москва 1996. ( German  Marshals of the Soviet Union - The personal files tell. ) ISBN 5-7656-0012-3 .
  • В. А. Егоршин: Фельдмаршалы и маршалы. Патриот, Москва 2000. (German VA Egoršin: Field Marshals and Marshals. ) ISBN 5-7030-0879-4 .
  • John Erickson: The Soviet high command - A military-political history 1918–1941. 3. Edition. Frank Cass, London 2001, ISBN 0-7146-5178-8 .
  • П. Гериев: 70 лет назад учреждено звание Маршал Советского Союза. In: Советская Россия. No. 129 (September 29, 2005). ( Eng . P. Geriev: 70 years since the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union was founded. )
  • А. Куценко: Маршалы и Адмиралы флота Советского Союза. Полиграфкнига, Москва 2001. (Ger. A. Kuzenko: Marshals and Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. ) ISBN 5-09-475012-7 .
  • Albert Seaton, Michael Roffe: The Soviet Army. Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2002, ISBN 0-85045-113-2 .
  • Harold Shukman: Stalin's Generals. Grove Press, New York 1993, ISBN 0-8021-1487-3 .

Web links

Commons : Marshals of the Soviet Union  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joachim Hoffmann: The Soviet Union until the eve of the German attack. In: Horst Boog , Jürgen Förster, Joachim Hoffmann, Ernst Klink, Rolf-Dieter Müller, Gerd R. Ueberschär: The attack on the Soviet Union , Stuttgart 1987, p. 47.
  2. ^ John Erickson: The Soviet high command - A military-political history 1918–1941. London 2001, p. 391.
  3. ↑ a b Владимир Рогоза: Маршалы Советского Союза - Сколько же их было?
  4. ↑ a b c d e П. Гериев: 70 лет назад учреждено звание Маршал Советского Союза. In: Советская Россия. No. 129 (September 29, 2005).
  5. ↑ On the " Marshal of the Russian Federation ", see: Law "О воинской обязанности и военной службе" of February 11, 1993 ( Memento of February 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (German on conscription and military service ).
  6. ^ John Erickson: The Soviet High Command - A military-political history 1918–1941. London 2001, p. 392 f.
  7. ↑ Apart from Stalin and Vasilevsky were: Georgy Zhukov (1896-1974), Ivan Konev (1897-1973), Leonid Govorov (1897-1955), Konstantin Rokossovsky (1896-1968), Rodion Malinovsky (1898 –1967), Fyodor Iwanowitsch Tolbuchin (1894–1949) and Kirill Afanassjewitsch Merezkow (1897–1968).
  8. ↑ For an overview of these marshals, see: Harold Shukman: Stalin's Generals , Grove Press, New York 1993.
  9. ↑ Also: Matwei Wassiljewitsch Sacharow (1898–1972) on September 8, 1959, Filipp Iwanowitsch Golikow (1900–1980) and Nikolai Iwanowitsch Krylow (1903–1972) on May 6, 1961.
  10. ↑ Peter Gosztony: The Red Army - History and Structure of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1917. Vienna 1980, p. 339.
  11. ↑ a b c d Dmitri V. Sitchinava: Marshals and Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union ( Memento from December 7, 2002 in the web archive archive.today )
  12. ↑ See К.А. Залесский: Империя Сталина - Биографический энциклопедический словарь. Москва 2000.
  13. ↑ See Amy W. Knight: Beria - Stalin's first Lieutenant , Princeton 1993.
  14. ^ Albert Seaton, Michael Roffe: The Soviet Army. Oxford 2002, p. 37.
  15. ↑ П. Гериев: 70 лет назад учреждено звание Маршал Советского Союза. In: Советская Россия. No. 129 (September 29, 2005); Images of the insignia ( memento of March 3, 2003 in the archive.today web archive ) (as of June 14, 2008).
  16. ↑ Marshal's Star - History, photos and description ( Memento from February 23, 2003 in the web archive archive.today ) (Status: June 14, 2008).
  17. ↑ П. Гериев: 70 лет назад учреждено звание Маршал Советского Союза. In: Советская Россия. No. 129 (September 29, 2005); Images of the insignia ( memento of September 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (as of June 14, 2008).
  18. ^ GK Zhukov: Thoughts and memories. Stuttgart 1969, p. 417.
  19. ↑ AM Wassilewski: thing of the whole life. Berlin (East) 1977, p. 279.
  20. ^ KA Merezkow: In the service of the people. Berlin (East) 1972, p. 413.
  21. ↑ David R. Jones (Ed.): The Military-Naval Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union. Volume 2, Gulf Breeze 1980, p. 216.
  22. ^ Peter Gosztony: The Red Army - History and Structure of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1917. Vienna 1980, p. 350.
  23. ↑ David R. Jones (Ed.): The Military-Naval Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union. Volume 2, Gulf Breeze 1980, p. 218.
  24. ↑ Советская Военная Энциклопедия. Volume 1, Moscow 1976, p. 115.
  25. ↑ a b c Dmitri V. Sitchinava: Chief Marshals of branches: rank histories, uniform (as of August 18, 2015).
  26. ↑ Советская Военная Энциклопедия. Volume 5, Moscow 1978, p. 169.
  27. ↑ Order No. 89-XI of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 26, 1984 on the ranks of officers in the armed forces of the USSR (Russian).
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on July 11, 2010 in this version .