Vasily Ivanovich Petrov (born 15 January 1917) in Stavropol Krai. He completed high school in 1935 and studied for two years at a teacher training institute until 1937. Petrov joined the army in 1939 and completed the lieutenant's course in 1941.

During World War II Petrov fought in the defence of Odessa, defence of Sevastopol and the Campaign in the Caucasus

Battle of the Caucasus

The Battle of Caucasus is a name given to a series of German and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area during the Soviet-German War.-1941 operations:...

. Later he took part in the Liberation of the Ukraine and the invasion of Romania and the Budapest Offensive

Budapest Offensive

The Budapest Offensive was the general attack by Soviet forces against Germany and their allies from the territory of Hungary. The offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945.-Prelude:...

 in Hungary

After the war Petrov completed the Frunze Military Academy and was promoted to Major General in 1961, Leiutenant General in 1965, Colonel General in 1970 and General of the Army in 1972. He was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1982.

Petrov was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union

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 Far East Military District in 1972-76 and served as Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces in 1980-85. Since 1992 he was a military advisor to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

Petrov also served as a military advisor to the Ethiopian army during the Ogaden War

Ogaden War

The Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...

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