Minister of Defense of the USSR: who led the Soviet Army

After the victory that our people won in the Great Patriotic War, the leadership of the Soviet Union developed a number of measures to transfer the country into a peaceful channel. They were necessary to ensure the restoration of the national economy, destroyed by war and the conversion of the production industry. In addition, the reform of government was carried out. The People's Commissariats became ministries, respectively, the posts of ministers appeared. The Ministers of Defense of the USSR, the list of which is reproduced below, for the most part passed command posts in the crucible of the past war and had great combat experience.

First Minister of Defense of the USSR

Although the ministries in the Soviet Union appeared in March 1946, the Ministry of Defense of the USSR itself was formed only after the death of I.V. Stalin, in 1953, by unifying the military and naval departments. Nikolai Bulganin was appointed Minister. During the last war, he was a member of the military council of some active fronts, as well as the Western direction. However, Bulganin was removed from his post in 1955, in February, after NS Khrushchev. Was able to strengthen his power in the country.

The Epoch of Khrushchev ...

After the actual seizure of power, Nikita Sergeyevich began to place his people in key positions and remove the disliked. Bulganin was sent into retirement, and in his place appointed G.K. Zhukov, who helped Khrushchev eliminate L.P. Beria. George Konstantinovich does not need to be particularly represented to our readers, everyone knows him who at least casually is interested in the history of our Motherland. However, he did not last long in his place. Two and a half years later, the new Minister of Defense of the USSR, Rodion Malinovsky, was appointed, and Zhukov was dismissed. Rodion Yakovlevich began his military career on the fronts of the war that broke out in 1914, to which he volunteered, fought in France in the ranks of the Russian Expeditionary Corps, the Foreign Legion. After returning to his homeland participated in the civil war. From the very first battles of the Great Patriotic War, commanded armies and fronts, participated, at the final stage, in the Battle of Stalingrad and the liberation of Hungary, Romania, Austria and Czechoslovakia. In August 1945, he commanded the Trans-Baikal Front in the war with Japan. In his post, the commander "survived" the removal from office of Khrushchev and stayed until his death in 1967.

... Brezhnev ...

After the death of Malinovsky, his post was occupied by Marshal of the Soviet Union Grechko AA. Prior to this appointment, he commanded the joint armed forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. Andrei Antonovich met the war while working in the General Staff, but since July he has been at the front. He passed the way from the division commander to the commander of the army. Next, after Andrei Antonovich, the USSR Defense Minister is Ustinov DF, who succeeded him after his death in 1976. It should be noted that Ustinov DF. During the war years, led by the heroic Soviet people with Nazi Germany and its allies, headed the Commissariat of Armaments. Prior to him, all the defense ministers of the USSR were participants in military operations during the war years. However, Dmitry Fedorovich still had combat experience. Even in the civil war he fought with the Basmachi in Central Asia. According to the already established "tradition" in this position, Ustinov arrived before his death on December 20, 1984, and experienced both Brezhnev LI and Andropov Yu.V.

... restructuring

K.U. Chernenko did not violate the tradition, according to which the USSR Defense Minister had combat experience and appointed S.S. Sokolov to this post. Sergei Leonidovich during the war went from the post of chief of the tank regiment to the commander of the armored troops of the thirty-second army. In 1985, Gorbachev came to power, who began actively replacing old, proven cadres in his senior state posts with his people. Therefore, in 1987, D.T. Yazov, who remained until August 1991. At the age of seventeen, he volunteered for the front, the war ended with the platoon commander. Dmitry Timofeevich was not forgiven the attempt to remain faithful to the military oath and save the Soviet Union, he was removed from office and arrested. The vacated seat was assigned to the Air Marshal Shaposhnikov EI. Not fighting a single day. He was the last who held this post and actively participated in the destruction of his country.

Russian Defense Ministers

Both the USSR and independent Russia were perceived and perceived by Western politicians as a geopolitical adversary. Therefore, the duty of the Minister of Defense should always be a principled and honest military man who cares about the destiny of his country. These criteria were not always met by some Russian officials who held this position at various times. You can give an example of PS. Gracheva or A.E. Serdyukov. However, the current minister - S.K. Shoigu - while fully justifies the hopes placed on him by the people of Russia.