Mikhail Kazakov

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This article is about the Soviet general. For the actor, see Mikhail Kozakov. For the chess player, see Mikhail Kozakov (chess player).
Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov
Kazakov, after 1955
Born9 October [O.S. 26 September] 1901
Velikusha, Vologda Governorate, Russian Empire
Died25 December 1979(1979-12-25) (aged 78)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried
Novodevichy Cemetery
Allegiance
  • Russian SFSR
  • Soviet Union
Service/branch
Years of service
  • 1920–1968
Rank
Army general
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards

Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov (Russian: Михаи́л Ильи́ч Казако́в; 9 October [O.S. 26 September] 1901 – 25 December 1979) was an army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

After serving as an ordinary soldier in the final stages of the

General Staff
.

Early life and Russian Civil War

A Russian, Kazakov was born to a peasant family on 9 October 1901 in the village of

revolutionary committee and a soldier in a food detachment. Conscripted into the Red Army in July 1920 during the Russian Civil War, Kazakov was sent to the 3rd Reserve Regiment in Arkhangelsk, and a month later became secretary to the regimental commissar. He fought on the Southern Front from August 1920 as a copyist in the office of the commissar of the 136th Brigade of the 46th Rifle Division, then as a Red Army man of the 407th Rifle Regiment. Kazakov participated in the battles against the Army of Wrangel in the Nikopol bridgehead, the Perekop–Chongar Operation in November and the elimination of anti-Soviet forces in Crimea in December.[2]

Interwar period

After the end of the war, Kazakov served as a political commissar in the 46th and 3rd Crimean Rifle Divisions, serving as a company political commissar in the 21st Rifle Regiment from July 1921. In January 1922 he became assistant commissar of the regiment, then became commissar of the 19th Rifle Regiment in March. Kazakov subsequently became a party organizer in the 7th Regiment before transferring to the 2nd Red Cossack Cavalry Division in June 1924 to become commissar of its 8th Cavalry Regiment. With the division, he became an instructor and propagandist of the division political department before moving to a command role as assistant regimental commander for supply.[2]

Kazakov as a major general in 1940

Kazakov graduated from the

General Staff Academy, being appointed deputy chief of staff of the Central Asian Military District upon his graduation in July 1937. Kazakov succeeded to the position of chief of staff of the district in April 1938,[2] rising to the ranks of kombrig on 15 July of that year and komdiv on 31 December 1939. When the Red Army introduced general officer ranks on 4 June 1940, he became a major general.[1]

World War II

Shortly after the beginning of

Voronezh–Kastornoye operation.[2]

Promoted to

Riga Offensive and the blockade of the Courland Pocket. He was promoted to colonel general in September. For his "skillful leadership and personal courage" displayed in the war, Kazakov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union in February 1978.[2]

Postwar

After the end of the war, Kazakov commanded the army until August 1946, and participated in the

General Staff in November 1965. This proved to be his last active post as in August 1968 he was effectively retired as an inspector-advisor of the Group of Inspectors General. Kazakov died in Moscow on 25 December 1979 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.[2]

Awards and honors

Kazakov was a recipient of the following decorations:[2]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Bulkin 2018, pp. 8–9.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Казаков Михаил Ильич" [Kazakov, Mikhail Ilyich] (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

Bibliography

  • Bulkin, Anatoly (2018). Генералитет Красной Армии (1918-1941). Военный биографический словарь в 3-х томах [Red Army Generals, 1918–1941: Three-volume Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 2. Penza.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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