Sergei Leonidowitsch Sokolov

Sergei Sokolov (1984)

Sergey Sokolov ( Russian Сергей Леонидович Соколов , born June 18 ^{. Jul} / 1. July 1911 ^greg. In Yevpatoria on the Crimea , † 31 August 2012 in Moscow ) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union . From 1968 to 1989 he was a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and from 1984 to 1987 Soviet Defense Minister .

Life

Sokolow attended elementary school for nine years and from 1927 worked as a crockery packer in a warehouse in the District Soviet. From 1930 to 1932 he was a member of the Komsomol , the youth organization of the CPSU, and joined the Red Army in 1932 . He made a career and proved himself on various fronts in the German-Soviet War . In 1947, after attending a military academy, he became the commander of a tank regiment.

After further promotions (including major general in 1953 and lieutenant general in 1959 ) he was first deputy commander of the Moscow military district from 1960 to 1964 and from 1965, now with the rank of colonel general , commander of the Leningrad military district.

In 1967 he was appointed Army General and was promoted to Deputy Secretary of Defense. Finally, in 1978, he became Marshal of the Soviet Union. In this function he took on important tasks in the Soviet-Afghan War from 1979. On December 26, 1979, he led the 40th Army on the invasion of Afghanistan . His actions and strategies during the war made him one of the most respected marshals in the Soviet Union. For this he was given the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1980 .

As a result of his services, he was ordered back to Moscow in 1984 after the death of Dmitri Ustinov to be appointed Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union under Konstantin Chernenko . He held this office until May 1987, when he was dismissed by Mathias Rust after the Moscow flight . Not only the 700 km long, unmolested flight from Rust over Soviet territory, for which he was ultimately responsible as Defense Minister, played a role. For Mikhail Gorbachev also the opportunity to get rid of those old forces in the army, critical of his reforms resulted.

In September 1992 Sokolov was once again a brief advisor to the Russian Defense Minister. In July 2001, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, he was made an honorary citizen of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is now part of Ukraine .

"This honors his courage, devotion and heroism in the fight against fascism during the Great Patriotic War, impeccable military service in peacetime and his great personal contribution to the patriotic and moral education of the young."

- Decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea of July 2001

Sokolov died in Moscow on August 31, 2012, at the age of 101, two days after his wife's death.

Awards (selection)

Hero of the Soviet Union
Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order of Lenin (awarded 3 times)
Order of the Red Banner (awarded twice)
Suworoworden 1st class
Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st class (awarded twice)
Order of the Red Star (awarded twice)

Web links

Commons : Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Соколов Сергей Леонидович - Герой Советского Союза (biography, Russian)

Individual evidence

personal data
SURNAME	Sokolow, Sergei Leonidowitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Соколов, Сергей Леонидович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Soviet Defense Minister, Marshal of the Soviet Union
DATE OF BIRTH	July 1, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH	Evpatoria in the Crimea
DATE OF DEATH	August 31, 2012
Place of death	Moscow

[1] ttp://www.ria.ru/society/20120831/734286740.html

[2] ttp://artofwar.ru: Герои Советского Союза и Герои России - Соколов, Сергей Леонидович (Russian)

[3] ttp://www.abendblatt.de/politik/ausland/article2387233/Frueherer-russischer-V Defenseminister-ist- tot.html