Semyon Kurkotkin
Encyclopedia
Semyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union
in 1983. He commanded the Transcaucasus Military District in 1968–1971 and the Soviet forces stationed in East Germany since 1971. Kurkotkin was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense in 1972.
Kurkotkin was born near Moscow and attended a technical college in the capital before joining the Red Army in 1937. He completed the Oryol tank school in 1939 and a political school in 1941.
During World War II Kurkotkin fought in the armoured corps rising to become a brigade commander. Kurkotkin fought with the Voronezh Front
and later the 1st Ukrainian Front
.
After the war Lieutenant Colonel Kurkotkin attended the Malinovsky Armoured Forces Academy and became a tank division commander in 1951. He completed the General Staff Academy in 1958 and was promoted to General.
He commanded the Transcaucasus Military District in 1968–1971 and the Group of Soviet forces, stationed in East Germany (1971/72). Kurkotkin was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense in 1972 in charge of rear echelon areas. In 1988 he became one of the Inspector Generals of the Soviet Army.
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
in 1983. He commanded the Transcaucasus Military District in 1968–1971 and the Soviet forces stationed in East Germany since 1971. Kurkotkin was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense in 1972.
Kurkotkin was born near Moscow and attended a technical college in the capital before joining the Red Army in 1937. He completed the Oryol tank school in 1939 and a political school in 1941.
During World War II Kurkotkin fought in the armoured corps rising to become a brigade commander. Kurkotkin fought with the Voronezh Front
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
and later the 1st Ukrainian Front
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
.
After the war Lieutenant Colonel Kurkotkin attended the Malinovsky Armoured Forces Academy and became a tank division commander in 1951. He completed the General Staff Academy in 1958 and was promoted to General.
He commanded the Transcaucasus Military District in 1968–1971 and the Group of Soviet forces, stationed in East Germany (1971/72). Kurkotkin was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense in 1972 in charge of rear echelon areas. In 1988 he became one of the Inspector Generals of the Soviet Army.