Naum Sorkin
Encyclopedia
Naum Semyonovich Sorkin was a Soviet
military officer and diplomat
.
A Red Army
veteran of the Russian Civil War
, Sorkin was sent to Mongolia
as an artillery
instructor for the Mongolian People's Army
in 1923, where he later served as a consular official in Altanbulag and first secretary
at the Soviet embassy in Ulan Bator in 1926-1931. The chief of the Soviet General Staff
's Special Operations Department in 1939-1941, he served as intelligence chief for the Far Eastern Front in 1941-1945 and the 1st Far Eastern Front following the Soviet declaration of war on the Japanese Empire in August 1945.
Promoted to major-general in 1944, he graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and was an instructor at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering until his retirement in 1958.
), a town in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate
of the Russian Empire
(now Zaporizhia Oblast
, Ukraine
) to Jewish parents. The town fell into the southeastern part of the Pale of Settlement
, the westernmost region of the empire where Jews were permitted permanent residence, and Naum's father was a local official.
Naum Sorkin joined the Bolshevik Party and Red Army
in 1919 and took part in the Russian Civil War
. He graduated from an artillery
commanders' course in Kharkov in 1920 and attended the Higher Artillery School in 1922-1923. Sorkin was dispatched to Soviet-allied Mongolia
in 1923, where he was an artillery instructor until 1926. He next held posts in Mongolia as a Soviet consular official in Altanbulag and first secretary
at the Soviet embassy in Ulan Bator from 1926 to 1931.
His later assignments in the Soviet Union were with the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs and Revolutionary Military Council
from June 1933 to June 1935 and with the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs from June 1935 to June 1936, and he was appointed deputy chief of the 9th Department of the Red Army's Intelligence Directorate (responsible for information concerning Mongolia and Xinjiang
) until May 1939. The Intelligence Directorate's 9th Department became the Red Army General Staff
's Department of Special Tasks, with Sorkin selected to serve as acting head from May 1939 to February 1941.
Moved to the Soviet Far East, where he was promoted to major-general in 1944, Sorkin was the chief of the intelligence section of the staff of the Far Eastern Front in 1941-1945. He was assigned as intelligence section chief for the staff of the 1st Far Eastern Front at the time of the Far Eastern Front's temporary division into Army General Kirill Meretskov
's 1st Far Eastern Front and Army General Maxim Purkayev's 2nd Far Eastern Front
on the day of the Soviet entry
into the Asian Theatre of World War II in August 1945.
Major-General Sorkin was again appointed intelligence chief for the staff of the Far Eastern Front following its post-war recreation in 1945, then transferred to teach at the Military Diplomatic Academy from 1947 to 1950. He graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and subsequently worked at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering from 1952 until 1958.
Major-General Sorkin retired from the Mozhaysky Academy and active service in 1958, having spent nearly forty years in the Soviet military. He published a memoir about his 1920s experiences in Mongolia in 1970.
He died in Leningrad
in 1980, having bequeathed nineteen fine art
pieces by Russian painters from his personal collection to the Smolensk State Museum and Preserve.
His military decorations included the Order of Lenin
, as well as two Red Banner
and three Red Star
orders.
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....
military officer and diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
.
A Red Army
Red 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...
veteran of 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...
, Sorkin was sent to Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
as an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
instructor for the Mongolian People's Army
Mongolian People's Army
The Mongolian People's Army or Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army was established on 18 March 1921 as a secondary army under Soviet Red Army command during the 1920s and during World War II.-Creation of the army:One of the first actions of the new Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party...
in 1923, where he later served as a consular official in Altanbulag and first secretary
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
at the Soviet embassy in Ulan Bator in 1926-1931. The chief of the Soviet General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
's Special Operations Department in 1939-1941, he served as intelligence chief for the Far Eastern Front in 1941-1945 and the 1st Far Eastern Front following the Soviet declaration of war on the Japanese Empire in August 1945.
Promoted to major-general in 1944, he graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and was an instructor at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering until his retirement in 1958.
Biography
Naum Sorkin was born in 1899 in Alexandrovsk (now ZaporizhiaZaporizhia
Zaporizhia or Zaporozhye [formerly Alexandrovsk ] is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast...
), a town in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate
Yekaterinoslav Governorate
The Yekaterinoslav Governorate or Government of Yekaterinoslav was a governorate in the Russian Empire. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinoslav .-Administrative divisions:...
of the 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...
(now Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast is an oblast of southern Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhia.This oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture.-Geography:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) to Jewish parents. The town fell into the southeastern part of the Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
, the westernmost region of the empire where Jews were permitted permanent residence, and Naum's father was a local official.
Naum Sorkin joined the Bolshevik Party and Red Army
Red 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 1919 and took part 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...
. He graduated from an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
commanders' course in Kharkov in 1920 and attended the Higher Artillery School in 1922-1923. Sorkin was dispatched to Soviet-allied Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
in 1923, where he was an artillery instructor until 1926. He next held posts in Mongolia as a Soviet consular official in Altanbulag and first secretary
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
at the Soviet embassy in Ulan Bator from 1926 to 1931.
His later assignments in the Soviet Union were with the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs and Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet (Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet; Реввоенсовет, Revvoyensovyet; also...
from June 1933 to June 1935 and with the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs from June 1935 to June 1936, and he was appointed deputy chief of the 9th Department of the Red Army's Intelligence Directorate (responsible for information concerning Mongolia and Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
) until May 1939. The Intelligence Directorate's 9th Department became the Red Army General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
's Department of Special Tasks, with Sorkin selected to serve as acting head from May 1939 to February 1941.
Moved to the Soviet Far East, where he was promoted to major-general in 1944, Sorkin was the chief of the intelligence section of the staff of the Far Eastern Front in 1941-1945. He was assigned as intelligence section chief for the staff of the 1st Far Eastern Front at the time of the Far Eastern Front's temporary division into Army General Kirill Meretskov
Kirill Meretskov
Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War, he was responsible for penetrating the Mannerheim Line as commander of the 7th Army...
's 1st Far Eastern Front and Army General Maxim Purkayev's 2nd Far Eastern Front
2nd Far Eastern Front
The 2nd Far Eastern Front was a Front — a formation equivalent to a Western Army Group — of the Soviet Army. It was formed just prior to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was active from August 5, 1945 until October 1, 1945.-History:...
on the day of the Soviet entry
Soviet-Japanese War (1945)
The Soviet-Japanese War of 1945 , began on August 9, 1945, with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviets liberated Manchukuo, Mengjiang , northern Korea, southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands...
into the Asian Theatre of World War II in August 1945.
Major-General Sorkin was again appointed intelligence chief for the staff of the Far Eastern Front following its post-war recreation in 1945, then transferred to teach at the Military Diplomatic Academy from 1947 to 1950. He graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy in 1952 and subsequently worked at the Mozhaysky Military Academy of Aeronautical Engineering from 1952 until 1958.
Major-General Sorkin retired from the Mozhaysky Academy and active service in 1958, having spent nearly forty years in the Soviet military. He published a memoir about his 1920s experiences in Mongolia in 1970.
He died in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
in 1980, having bequeathed nineteen fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
pieces by Russian painters from his personal collection to the Smolensk State Museum and Preserve.
His military decorations included the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, as well as two Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
and three Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
orders.
Works
Memoir:- «В начале пути: Записки инструктора монгольской армии»
(Starting the Journey: Notes of an Instructor of the Mongolian Army, V nachale puti: Zapiski instruktora mongolskoy armii). Moscow: NaukaNaukaNauka is a Russian publisher of academic books and journals. Established in the USSR in 1923, it was called USSR Academy of Sciences Publisher until 1963. Until 1934 the publisher was based in Leningrad, then moved to Moscow. Its logo depicts an open book with Sputnik 1 above it.Nauka was the main...
, 1970.