Sergey Leonidovich Sokolov (russian: Серге́й Леони́дович Соколо́в; 1 July 191131 August 2012) was a Soviet military commander,

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, and served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 22 December 1984 until 29 May 1987.

Biography

The son of an

Imperial Russian army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

officer, Sokolov served in the

Battle of Lake Khasan The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incu ...

during the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars and also fought against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 ...

. He was Commander of the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District ...

from 1965 to 1967 and First Deputy Defense Minister from 1967 to 1984. Sokolov was promoted to

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

in 1978. He was in charge of Soviet ground forces during the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 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 nation ...

. He personally led the main Soviet incursion of ground forces on December 27, 1979. His actions and command strategies during the war made him one of the Soviet Union's most respected Marshals. On April 28, 1980 he was awarded the title

Sokolov was appointed Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union in 1984 and held this post until 1987, when he was dismissed by

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 ...

as a result of the

Mathias Rust Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. A teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, being tracked several times by Sovi ...

affair. He was also a candidate (non-voting) member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

from 1985 to 1987. From 1992, Sokolov was an advisor to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. In July 2001, he became an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. On turning 100 he stated, "Military service prestige will regain the importance it once had." Sokolov died of undisclosed causes on 31 August 2012, at the age of 101. He was buried on 3 September with full military honors at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular touris ...

in Moscow, next to his wife of 70 years, Maria Samojlovna Sokolova (16 December 1919 – 28 August 2012) who had predeceased him three days prior.Globe and Mail
He was survived by two sons, Colonel-General (Retd.) Valery Sergeyevich (born September 30, 1940), now a lecturer at the Faculty of Command and General Staff Military Academy, and Colonel-General (Retd.) Vladimir Sergeyevich (born January 22, 1947), who had retired during the war in Afghanistan and was chief of staff of the

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fr ...

Dates of rank

''From the corresponding article in the Russian Wikipedia'' *Cadet (May 1932 – November 1934) *Platoon Commander – November 1934 *Junior Lieutenant – 1935 *Lieutenant – 1938 *Captain – 1941 *Major – before 1943 *Lieutenant Colonel – before 1943 *Colonel – 9 September 1943 *Major General – 3 August 1953 *Lieutenant General – 25 May 1959 *Colonel General – 13 April 1963 *General of the Army – 12 April 1967 *Marshal of the Soviet Union – 17 February 1978

Honours and awards

;Russia *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

; ** 2nd class (21 June 2001) – for outstanding contribution to strengthening national defense and active in the patriotic education of young people ** 3rd class (30 June 1996) – for services to the state and personal contribution to the development and reform of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

** 4th class (2 November 2009) * Order of Alexander Nevsky (23 June 2011) – contribution to strengthening national defense and long-term public activities * Order of Honour (1 July 2006) – for services to strengthen national defense and work on the patriotic education of youth *

Order of Zhukov The Order of Zhukov (russian: Орден Жукова) is a military decoration of the Russian Federation. The order is named in honour of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974). History The Order of Zhukov was established ...

(25 April 1995) – for actions in the leadership of the troops in combat operations during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), an ...

of 1941–1945 ;Soviet Union *

(28 April 1980) – for personal courage and the management of troops, manifested in the provision of international assistance to the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA),, renamed the Republic of Afghanistan, in 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1978 to 1992. The PDPA came to power ...

* Three Orders of Lenin (30 June 1971, 28 April 1980, 30 June 1986) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

, twice (20 April 1953, 22 February 1968) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...

, 1st class (6 May 1982) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st class (6 April 1985) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

, twice (14 January 1943, 6 November 1947) * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (30 April 1975) * Medal For Courage * Medal for Combat Service *

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

* Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" * Medal "For the Defence of the Soviet Transarctic" *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military dec ...

Medal "For Impeccable Service" The Medal "For Impeccable Service" (russian: Медаль «За безупречную службу») was a Soviet military award for long service awarded to deserving members of the military personnel of the armed forces of the USSR, of the Int ...

1st class * jubilee medals ;Russian; non-governmental * Order of Saint Righteous Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, 2nd class (

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, 2005) ;Afghanistan *

(1982) * Order of the Saur Revolution (1984) ;Bulgaria * Order of Georgi Dimitrov, twice (1985, 1986) * Order "The People's Republic of Bulgaria" I degree (1974) * Medal "25 Years of the Bulgarian People's Army" (1969) * Medal "30 Years of Victory over Fascism" (1975) * Medal "30 Years of the Bulgarian People's Army" (1974) * The medal "For Strengthening Brotherhood in Arms" (1977) * Medal "100 years of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke" (1978) * The medal "90th anniversary of the birth of

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; bg, Гео̀рги Димитро̀в Миха̀йлов), also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (russian: Гео́ргий Миха́йлович Дими́тров; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian ...

" (1974) * Medal "100th Anniversary of Birth of Georgi Dimitrov" (1983) * Medal "1300 years Bulgaria" (1982) * Medal "40 Years of Victory over Fascism" (1985) ;Hungary * Order of the Flag of the Hungarian Republic with rubies (1986) * Medal "For military cooperation", 1st class (1980) ;Vietnam *

Order of Ho Chi Minh The Order of Ho Chi Minh ( vi, Huân chương Hồ Chí Minh) is a decoration of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that was first instituted on 6 June 1947. The creator of the order was the president Hồ Chí Minh. The Order of Ho Chi Minh is c ...

(1985) * Order "For Military Valor", 1st class (1983) ;East Germany *

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

(1986) * Medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (1980) * Medal "30 Years of the National People's Army" (1986) ;Jordan * Order of Independence, 1st class (1977) ;North Korea * Medal "40 years of Korea's liberation" (1985) ;Cuba * Order of Playa Girón (1986) * Medal "20 Years of Revolutionary Armed Forces" (1978) * Medal "30 Years of Revolutionary Armed Forces" (1986) ;Mongolia * Order of Sukhbaatar, twice (1971, 1986) *

(1982) * Medal "30 Years of Victory over Japan" (1976) * Medal "30 Years of Victory in Khalkhin" (1969) * Medal "40 Years of Victory in Khalkhin" (1979) * Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" (1972) * Medal "60 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" (1982) * Medal "50 Years of the

Mongolian People's Army The Mongolian People's Army ( Mongolian: ''Монголын Ардын Арми''), also known as the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army ( Mongolian: ''Монгол Ардын Хувьсгалт Цэрэг'') or the Mongolian Red Army ( Mong ...

" (1971) * Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the MPR" (1982) ;Poland *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

, 2nd class (1985) *

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

, 2nd and 3rd classes (1968, 1971) ;Romania * Order of Tudor Vladimirescu, 1st class (1969) * Order of 23 August (1974) * Medal "30 Years of Liberation from Fascism Romania" (1974) * The medal "For Military Merit" (1980) ;Czechoslovakia *

Order of Klement Gottwald The Order of Klement Gottwald ( cs, Řád Klementa Gottwalda; sk, Rad Klementa Gottwalda) was established by the Czechoslovak government in February 1953. The original name of the Order was "Order of building of socialist homeland". The name of ...

(1985) * Medal "For the strengthening of friendship in Arms", 1st class (1972) * Medal "40 Years of the

Slovak National Uprising The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...

" (1985) * Medal "50 Years of the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...

" (1971) ;Finland *

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

, 1st class (1986) In July 2001, on the day of his 90th birthday, was awarded the title "Honorary krymchanin" and made an honorary citizen of

Evpatoria Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...

References

External links