Konstantin Telegin
Encyclopedia
Konstantin Fedorovich Telegin ' onMouseout='HidePop("39192")' href="/topics/Tatarsk">Tatarsk
, Russian Empire
- 16 November 1981, Moscow
, Soviet Union
) was a Soviet general and a political officer
.
in 1918 and fought in the Russian Civil War
, becoming a member of the Russian Communist Party(Bolsheviks) in 1919. He served as a Regimental Commissar assistant. In 1931 he graduated from the Lenin Military-Political Academy
. At first he was a political officer in the NKVD
, and later was transferred to the Army. He was present at the Battle of Lake Khasan
and took part in the Winter War
. In 1940 he returned to the NKVD, and soon was assigned to the army again. On the eve of the German invasion
he was a Brigade Commissar.
. His most important role was as Chief Commissar, first in the Don Front
and afterwards in the Central Front (Later renamed 1st Belorussian
), where he became a close associate and a friend of Marshal Zhukov
. Telegin took part in the battles of Stalingrad
, Kursk
, the Dniepr, Belarus, Poland, Pomerania
and Berlin
. He was present at the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender and a member of the commission tasked with identifying the remains of Hitler
and the Goebbels
family. He served as Zhukov's deputy in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
.
's displeasure, and Telegin was dismissed from the Army in 1947. In 24 January 1948 he was arrested on the premier's personal orders and put on trial for alleged corruption, alongside Zhukov. He was condemned to 25 years in prison.
After Stalin's death he was rehabilitated and returned to the Army in July 1953. Telegin retired to his Dacha
in 1956, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. He wrote several books on military affairs and his memoirs, Войны несчитанные вёрсты(War's Uncountable Leagues), the latter published in 1975. When he died of a heart attack, the Central Committee
wished to bury him in the Kremlin Wall
, but his family declined.
Tatarsk
Tatarsk is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Novosibirsk. Population: 31,000 .It was founded in 1911 by the merging the settlements of Staraya Tatarka and Stantsionny. It was granted town status in 1925....
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
- 16 November 1981, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) was a Soviet general and a political officer
Political officer
Political officer may refer to:*Political officer , Occasionally, a synonym for political commissar*Political officer , in the context of the British Empire, for a pseudo-ambassadorial role in areas bordering imperial territories...
.
Early life
Telegin joined the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1918 and fought in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, becoming a member of the Russian Communist Party(Bolsheviks) in 1919. He served as a Regimental Commissar assistant. In 1931 he graduated from the Lenin Military-Political Academy
Soviet military academies
There were/are a number of military academies in the Soviet Union/Russia of different specialties.Unlike Western military academies such as West Point, Soviet, now Russian, military and police institutions referred to as "academy" are post-graduate professional military schools for experienced...
. At first he was a political officer in the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, and later was transferred to the Army. He was present at the Battle of Lake Khasan
Battle of Lake Khasan
The Battle of Lake Khasan and also known as the Changkufeng Incident in China and Japan, was an attempted military incursion of Manchukuo into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union...
and took part in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
. In 1940 he returned to the NKVD, and soon was assigned to the army again. On the eve of the German invasion
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
he was a Brigade Commissar.
WWII
Telegin was a member of the Defense Council of Moscow during the battle for the cityBattle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
. His most important role was as Chief Commissar, first in the Don Front
Don Front
The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name refers to Don River, Russia....
and afterwards in the Central Front (Later renamed 1st Belorussian
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
), where he became a close associate and a friend of Marshal Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
. Telegin took part in the battles of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
, Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, the Dniepr, Belarus, Poland, Pomerania
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
and Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. He was present at the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender and a member of the commission tasked with identifying the remains of Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
family. He served as Zhukov's deputy in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
.
Trial and rehabilitation
His close ties with Zhukov incurred StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's displeasure, and Telegin was dismissed from the Army in 1947. In 24 January 1948 he was arrested on the premier's personal orders and put on trial for alleged corruption, alongside Zhukov. He was condemned to 25 years in prison.
After Stalin's death he was rehabilitated and returned to the Army in July 1953. Telegin retired to his Dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
in 1956, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. He wrote several books on military affairs and his memoirs, Войны несчитанные вёрсты(War's Uncountable Leagues), the latter published in 1975. When he died of a heart attack, the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
wished to bury him in the Kremlin Wall
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
, but his family declined.
External links
- Konstantin Telegin in Generals.Dk.
- War's Unaccountable Leagues on Victory.mil.ru.