Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. Forty-one people held this rank. The equivalent naval rank was until 1955 admiral of the fleet and from 1955 Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. While the supreme rank of Generalissimus of the Soviet Union, which would have been senior to Marshal of the Soviet Union, was proposed for

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

after the Second World War, it was never officially approved.

History of the rank

The military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was established by a decree of the Soviet Cabinet, the

Council of People's Commissars The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

(Sovnarkom), on 22 September 1935. On 20 November, the rank was conferred on five people: People's Commissar of Defence and veteran

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...

, Chief of the General Staff of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

Alexander Yegorov, and three senior commanders, Vasily Blyukher,

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...

, and

Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...

. Of these, Blyukher, Tukhachevsky, and Yegorov were executed during Stalin's

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

of 1937–38. On 7 May 1940, three new Marshals were appointed: the new People's Commissar of Defence,

Semyon Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (russian: link=no, Семён Константи́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko''; uk, Семе́н Костянти́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semen Kostiantyno ...

Boris Shaposhnikov , birth_name = Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Zlatoust, Ufa Governorate Russian Empire , death_place = Moscow, Soviet Union , placeofburial = Kremlin Wall Necropolis , place ...

, and

Grigory Kulik Grigory Ivanovich Kulik ( ua, Григорій Іванович Кулик; russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Кули́к, Grigóriy Ivánovich Kulík; 9 November 1890 – 24 August 1950), a Soviet Union, Soviet military commande ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Kulik was demoted for incompetence, and the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was given to a number of military commanders who earned it on merit. These included

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...

and

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky ( Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who bec ...

to name a few. In 1943, Stalin himself was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union, and in 1945, he was joined by his intelligence and police chief

Lavrenti Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

. These non-military Marshals were joined in 1947 by politician Nikolai Bulganin. Two Marshals were executed in postwar purges: Kulik in 1950 and Beria in 1953, following Stalin's death. Thereafter the rank was awarded only to professional soldiers, with the exception of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1 ...

, who made himself a Marshal in 1976, and

Dmitry Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (russian: Дмитрий Фёдорович Устинов; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee se ...

, who was prominent in the arms industry and was appointed Defence Minister in July 1976. The last Marshal of the Soviet Union was Dmitry Yazov, appointed in 1990, who was imprisoned after the failed coup against

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

in 1991. Marshal Sergei Akhromeev committed suicide in 1991 during the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. The Marshals fell into three generational groups. * Those who had gained their reputations during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. These included both those who were purged in 1937–38 (Blyukher, Tukhachevsky, and Yegorov), and those who held high commands in the early years of World War II (Budyonny, Kulik, Shaposhnikov, Timoshenko and Voroshilov). All of the latter except Shaposhnikov and Timoshenko proved out-of-step with modern warfare and were removed from commanding positions. * Those who made their reputations in World War II and assumed high commands in the latter part of the war. These included Zhukov, Vasilievsky, Konev, Rokossovsky, Malinovsky, Tolbukhin, Govorov, Meretskov and Sokolovsky. * Those who assumed high command in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

era. All of these were officers in World War II, but their higher commands were held in the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

or as Soviet Defence Ministers. These included Grechko, Yakubovsky, Kulikov, Ogarkov, Akhromeev, and Yazov. All Marshals in the third category had been officers in World War II, except Ustinov, who had been People's Commissar for Armaments. Even Yazov, who was 20 when the war ended, had been a platoon commander. Brezhnev was not a professional soldier, but was still commissioned as a political commissar in the war. Of the 35 Marshals who were career soldiers, the majority were of Russian origin. Timoshenko (Tymoshenko), Kulik (Kulyk), Grechko (Hrechko), Yeremenko (Yeryomenko), Moskalenko, Batitsky (Batytsʹkyy) and Koshevoy (Koshovyy) were of Ukrainian origin, while Sokolovsky (Sakaloŭski) and Yakubovsky (Jakuboŭski) had Belarusian origins. Rokossovsky (Rokossowski) was born in Congress Poland to a Polish family, while Malinovsky (Malinowsky) was born in Odessa (now in Ukraine) to a Polish father. Tukhachevsky also had Polish ancestry. Bagramyan (Baghramyan) was the sole marshal of Armenian origin. The rank was abolished with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. It was succeeded in the new Russia by the rank of Marshal of the Russian Federation, which has been held by only one person, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, who was Russian Defence Minister from 1997 to 2001. After the death of Marshal Yazov in 2020 there were no living Marshals of the Soviet Union.

List of Marshals of the Soviet Union

Timeline

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color:defence bar:vasilevsky from:15/03/1953 till:01/12/1957 color:other text:" Vasilevsky" bar:stalin from:06/03/1943 till:05/03/1953 color:gensec text:"

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

" bar:konev from:20/02/1944 till:09/05/1945 color:district bar:konev from:09/05/1945 till:09/06/1946 color:warsawgerm bar:konev from:09/06/1946 till:01/01/1950 color:service bar:konev from:01/01/1950 till:29/11/1951 color:other bar:konev from:29/11/1951 till:14/05/1955 color:district bar:konev from:14/05/1955 till:01/04/1960 color:warsawgerm bar:konev from:09/08/1961 till:18/04/1962 color:warsawgerm text:"

Konev Konev (russian: Конев and Bulgarian, ua, Конєв from ''конь'' or ''кон'' meaning ''horse'') is a Russian, Bulgarian or Ukrainian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Koneva. It may refer to: *Anatoly Konev (1921–1965), ...

" bar:govorov from:18/04/1944 till:01/04/1946 color:district bar:govorov from:01/04/1946 till:27/05/1954 color:other bar:govorov from:27/05/1954 till:19/03/1955 color:service text:" Govorov" bar:rokossovsky from:29/06/1944 till:01/10/1949 color:district bar:rokossovsky from:01/10/1949 till:01/07/1957 color:political bar:rokossovsky from:01/07/1957 till:01/04/1962 color:other text:"

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who becam ...

" bar:malinovsky from:10/09/1944 till:01/03/1956 color:district bar:malinovsky from:01/03/1956 till:26/10/1957 color:service bar:malinovsky from:26/10/1957 till:31/03/1967 color:defence text:" Malinovsky" bar:tolbukhin from:12/09/1944 till:17/10/1949 color:district text:" Tolbukhin" bar:meretskov from:26/10/1944 till:01/01/1955 color:district bar:meretskov from:01/01/1955 till:01/01/1964 color:other text:" Meretskov" bar:beria from:09/07/1945 till:01/01/1946 color:nkvd bar:beria from:01/01/1946 till:09/03/1953 color:political bar:beria from:09/03/1953 till:18/12/1953 color:nkvd text:" Beria" bar:sokolovsky from:03/07/1946 till:31/03/1949 color:warsawgerm bar:sokolovsky from:31/03/1949 till:21/02/1952 color:other bar:sokolovsky from:21/02/1952 till:03/05/1960 color:genstaff text:" Sokolovsky" bar:bulganin from:03/11/1947 till:24/03/1949 color:defence bar:bulganin from:24/03/1949 till:15/03/1953 color:political bar:bulganin from:15/03/1953 till:09/02/1955 color:defence bar:bulganin from:09/02/1955 till:01/09/1958 color:political text:" Bulganin" bar:grechko from:11/03/1955 till:16/11/1957 color:warsawgerm bar:grechko from:16/11/1957 till:01/04/1960 color:service bar:grechko from:01/04/1960 till:12/04/1967 color:warsawgerm bar:grechko from:12/04/1967 till:26/04/1976 color:defence text:" Grechko" bar:moskalenko from:11/03/1955 till:01/10/1960 color:district bar:moskalenko from:01/10/1960 till:01/01/1962 color:service bar:moskalenko from:01/01/1962 till:01/12/1983 color:other text:" Moskalenko" bar:chuikov from:11/03/1955 till:01/04/1960 color:district bar:chuikov from:01/04/1960 till:01/01/1964 color:service bar:chuikov from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1972 color:other text:" Chuikov" bar:bagramyan from:11/03/1955 till:01/01/1968 color:other text:" Bagramyan" bar:biryuzov from:11/03/1955 till:01/03/1963 color:service bar:biryuzov from:01/03/1963 till:19/10/1964 color:genstaff text:" Biryuzov" bar:yeryomenko from:11/03/1955 till:01/04/1958 color:district text:" Yeryomenko" bar:zakharov from:08/05/1959 till:14/04/1960 color:warsawgerm bar:zakharov from:14/04/1960 till:01/03/1963 color:genstaff bar:zakharov from:01/03/1963 till:28/11/1964 color:other bar:zakharov from:28/11/1964 till:22/09/1971 color:genstaff text:" Zakharov" bar:golikov from:08/05/1961 till:01/04/1962 color:other text:"

Golikov Golikov (russian: Голиков) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Golikova. It may refer to * Aleksandr Golikov (born 1952), Russian-Soviet ice hockey player * (1931—2010), Russian malacologist * Angelina Golikova (b ...

" bar:krylov from:28/04/1962 till:04/03/1963 color:district bar:krylov from:04/03/1963 till:09/02/1972 color:service text:" Krylov" bar:yakubovsky from:12/04/1967 till:01/07/1967 color:other bar:yakubovsky from:01/07/1967 till:30/11/1976 color:warsawgerm text:" Yakubovsky" bar:koshevoy from:15/04/1968 till:01/10/1969 color:warsawgerm text:" Koshevoy" bar:batitsky from:17/04/1968 till:28/01/1978 color:service text:" Batitsky" bar:ustinov from:30/07/1976 till:20/12/1984 color:defence text:" Ustinov" bar:brezhnev from:19/12/1976 till:10/11/1982 color:gensec text:" Brezhnev" bar:kulikov from:14/01/1977 till:02/02/1989 color:warsawgerm text:" Kulikov" bar:ogarkov from:14/07/1977 till:06/09/1984 color:genstaff bar:ogarkov from:06/09/1984 till:07/12/1988 color:district text:" Ogarkov" bar:sokolov from:17/02/1978 till:22/12/1984 color:other bar:sokolov from:22/12/1984 till:29/05/1987 color:defence text:" Sokolov" bar:akhromeyev from:25/03/1983 till:02/11/1988 color:genstaff text:" Akhromeyev" bar:kurkotkin from:25/03/1983 till:03/05/1988 color:other text:" Kurkotkin" bar:petrov from:25/03/1983 till:01/02/1985 color:service bar:petrov from:01/02/1985 till:01/08/1986 color:other text:" Petrov" bar:yazov from:28/04/1990 till:28/08/1991 color:defence text:" Yazov" color:erabar bar:era1 from: 01/09/1939 till: 02/09/1945 bar:era1 from: 25/06/1950 till: 27/07/1953 bar:era1 from: 01/11/1955 till: 30/04/1975 bar:era1 from: 24/12/1979 till: 15/02/1989

Notes

References

External links