Valentin Ivanovich Varennikov (russian: Валентин Иванович Варенников) (December 15, 1923 – May 6, 2009) was a Soviet/Russian

Army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

and politician, best known for being one of the planners and leaders of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

, as well as one of the instigators of the

1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, also known as the August Coup,, "August Putsch". was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Soviet Union's Communist Party to forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was Soviet ...

Early life

Valentin Varennikov was born to a poor

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

family in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

. His father, who fought in 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 ...

, graduated from the Moscow industrial institute and was a manager. His mother died in 1930 when he was seven. In 1938, Varennikov lived in Armavir, where he graduated from high school in 1941.

Military career

World War II

In August 1941, Varennikov was drafted by the Armavir city military registration and enlistment office into the ranks 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 ...

. He attended the

Cherkassk Starocherkasskaya (russian: Старочерка́сская), formerly Cherkassk (), is a rural locality (a '' stanitsa'') in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, with origins dating from the late 16th century. It is located on the righ ...

Infantry School, which was then evacuated to Sverdlovsk following the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

. From October, the first military recruitment began to train. After an accelerated graduation from the school in the summer of 1942, Varennikov was among the few graduates to be appointed the commander of a training platoon in the reserve rifle brigade stationed in Gorky, and only in October 1942 he ended up on the Stalingrad Front as commander of a mortar platoon of 120-mm regimental mortars of the 138th Rifle Division. He fought in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

for 79 days and nights. In November 1942, Varennikov was appointed battery commander, and in December of the same year he participated in the destruction of the encircled units of the German 6th Army commanded by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ende ...

. In January 1943, he was wounded. After recovering, he returned to duty, enlisted in the operational department of the

35th Guards Rifle Division The 35th Guards Rifle Division () was a division of the Soviet Red Army in World War II. Formed from an airborne corps in the summer of 1942, the division fought in the Battle of Stalingrad with the 62nd Army, then served through the war with t ...

of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...

. Since March 1943, he was the commander of the mortar battery of the 100th Guards Rifle Regiment, and in the spring of 1944 Varennikov was appointed Deputy Commander of the 100th Guards Rifle Regiment of the

of artillery. He participated in the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four m ...

, and fought for the liberation of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. When the 8th Guards Army was transferred to the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

Varennikov and his regiment took part in the

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

. In late July and early August 1944, he entered Polish soil in the Vistula–Oder offensive and fought for the capture of a bridgehead on the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

south of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Magnuszew Magnuszew is a village in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Magnuszew. It lies approximately north-west of Kozienice and south-east of Warsaw. ...

. There he was seriously wounded and was treated in a hospital for four months. After his recovery, he returned to the 100th Guards Rifle Regiment of the

as deputy regiment commander of artillery, and in mid-January 1945 he participated in the offensive of Soviet troops from the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

to the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

. He took part in the battles for the bridgehead in the area of the city of Kustrin on the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...

. In March 1945, Varennikov was wounded for the third time in the battles for Kustrin. In March 1945, he was assigned as Chief of Artillery of the 101st Guards Rifle Regiment of the

. From April to May, Varennikov finished the German–Soviet War in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

as one of the commanders of the Soviet soldiers who captured the Reichstag. During the war he was wounded three times and was decorated four times. In June 1945, he took part in the

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 ( rus, Парад Победы, r= Parad Pobedy) also known as the Parade of Victors ( rus, Парад победителей, r= Parad pobediteley) was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the ...

and immediately before the parade, being the chief of the guard of honor, he received the

Victory Banner The Soviet Banner of Victory (russian: Знамя Победы, translit=Znamya Pobedy) was the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide. It was r ...

. He ended the war with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Post war career

Varennikov stayed in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

as an officer of the Soviet troops, stationed there until 1950. In 1954 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Later he graduated from the General Staff Academy. In 1960 he became deputy commander of a motor rifle division. From 1962 to 1966 Varennikov commanded the 54th Motor Rifle Division 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 ...

. In 1964 armed forces inspectors tested the division, and it was awarded as one of the six top divisions of the Ground Forces of the USSR Armed Forces by order of the Minister of Defence. In August 1965 he was enrolled in the General Staff Academy. From 1967 to 1969 he commanded the 26th Army Corps of the

. In 1969 Varennikov took charge of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

, and in 1971 he was appointed as the First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupa ...

. On 1973, he became the commander of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. From 1979 to 1984, he served as the Head of the Main Operations Directorate and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Between 1984 and 1985, Varennikov worked with the Soviet military mission in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, then in the throes of a bloody

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. In a sharp contrast with the official policy of only permitting Soviet military advisers to serve in non-combat roles, Varennikov supported allowing the advisers to fight alongside their Angolan allies in the event they came under attack. He was the senior Soviet general officer in Angola during

Operation Askari Operation Askari was a military operation during 1983 in Angola by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. Background Operation Askari, launched on 6 December 1983, was the SADF's sixth large-scale cro ...

, and personally advised Angolan President

José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for t ...

on defensive measures to counter the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

's incursion. During the

Chernobyl Disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two n ...

of 1986, Varennikov was the main organizer of the work of military units in deployment of troops to the location of the catastrophe, to help in recovery efforts. During the last few years of the

, Varennikov was the personal representative in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

of the Soviet Defence Minister and held negotiations with the

United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP) was established in May 1988, during the Soviet–Afghan War, to assist in ensuring the implementation of the agreements on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghan ...

members who oversaw the pullout from the country of Soviet troops between 1988 and 1989. Varennikov continued to defend the war even after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. In 1989 General Varennikov was named Commander-in-chief of Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of Defence.

Involvement in the August Coup

In 1991, during the August coup attempt he joined forces opposing Soviet leader

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 ...

. After the coup's failure General Varennikov was arrested, tried, and prosecuted for treason together with other coup plotters. He was acquitted by the

Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in ...

in 1994, as the court concluded he had merely followed orders and had acted "only in an interest of preserving and strengthening his country". He was the only member of the group of accused plotters who refused to accept an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

Later life

In 1995 Varennikov, as a member of the

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; russian: Коммунистическая Партия Российской Федерации; КПРФ, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii; KPRF) is a left-wing nationalist and ...

, was elected deputy of the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper hous ...

, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the Russian parliament. In the Duma Varennikov presided over the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. In 2003 he joined the Rodina bloc as one of its leaders. In February 2008, Valentin Varennikov was officially accepted as fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Armenian branch) and member of the International Academy Ararat. He was the president and founder of the International League for Human Dignity and Security, an international NGO present in more than 40 countries. In May 2005, Varennikov travelled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and participated in the launch of the Chinese version of his book ''Man, War and Dream'', at the Russian Embassy in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. Although Varennikov has been to China before, he has a deep love for the

Chinese people The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of sta ...

. In the preface to the Chinese version of the book, he wrote:

"I have five reasons to love China: first, the Chinese people are outstanding people, and China has a long
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
; second, she has an amazing development rate today; third, the Chinese people have never threatened anyone, but the Chinese people have been brought to them by the aggressors. However, he finally defeated the aggressor and embarked on the road of national independence. Fourth, China is our great neighbor, and China and Russia have traditional friendship. Fifth, the Chinese leaders trained by the
Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
led the Chinese people to find the right direction of development in the world economic development system.

Varennikov was one of Russia's most outspoken defenders of

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 ...

. During 2008, Varennikov presented the case for Stalin as Russia's greatest historical figure on the Name of Russia television project. Stalin won third place. According to Varennikov: "We became a great country because we were led by Stalin."

Personal life

Varennikov was married to Elena-Olga Tikhonovna (1923-2005). They had two sons. One of his sons, Vladimir Varennikov, is a retired

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

in the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

, an Afghan war veteran and also a Rodina deputy in the Russian Parliament (Duma).Соболезнования Д. А. Медведева
Valentin Varennikov lived in Moscow, where he died on May 6, 2009, aged 85, at the Main Military Clinical Hospital named after N.N.Burdenko following complications after a complex operation performed in January 2009 at the

S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy The S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy (russian: Военно-медицинская академия имени С. М. Кирова) is a higher education institution of military medicine in Saint Petersburg and the Russian Federation. Sen ...

in St. Petersburg. He is buried with full military honors at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (russian: Троекуровское кладбище, Troyekurovskoye kladbishche), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (russian: Ново-Кунцевское кладбище, Novo-Kuntsevskoye kladbishch ...

in Moscow.

Awards and honors

;USSR and Russia ;Foreign

References

''This article incorporates material from Russian Wikipedia''

External links

CNN interview with Gen. Valentin Varennikov
- A CNN Perspective Series, Episode 20: Soldiers of God.
Valentin Varennikov personal site
- in Russian.

Daily Telegraph obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Varennikov, Valentin 1923 births 2009 deaths People from Krasnodar Communist Party of the Russian Federation members Russian communists Chernobyl liquidators Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Heroes of the Soviet Union Army generals (Soviet Union) Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War People of the Angolan Civil War People of the South African Border War People of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt Rodina (political party) politicians Frunze Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta 21st-century Russian politicians Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Second convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)