Vasyl Herasymenko ( uk, Василь Пилипович Герасименко) was a

Soviet 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 ...

military leader from

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 inv ...

who was nominally and temporarily appointed the People's Commissar of Defense of the Ukrainian SSR in 1944-45.

Biography

Vasyl Herasymenko was born in a village of Velyka Burimka,

Poltava Governorate The Poltava Governorate (russian: Полтавская губерния, Poltavskaya guberniya; ua, Полтавська Губернія, translit=Poltavska huberniia) or Poltavshchyna was a gubernia (also called a province or government) in t ...

(today part of

Zolotonosha Raion Zolotonosha Raion is a raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. Its administrative centre is located at the city of Zolotonosha. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of ...

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...

) on April 24, 1900 in a peasant family. When he was nine years of age, together with mother they moved to relatives in Kuban, stanytsia Berezanska. There Herasymenko finished a village school and the Nkil city college in

Yekaterinodar 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 southern ...

. In 1918 Herasymenko joined the

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

and 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 ...

he fought at the

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

and the

Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Feder ...

. In 1920 Herasymenko joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and in 1922 he finished the courses of commanding staff of the Red Army. In 1927 Herasymenko also finished the Joint Military School in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

and in 1931 - the

M. V. Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

. In 1937 Herasymenko was commissioned as a commander of the 8th Rifle Corps. In 1938 he was a deputy commander of the Kiev Special Military District (see

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exis ...

). 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in July 1940 Herasymenko was appointed the commander of

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

. At that time he was promoted to the

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 the ...

. In 1940 under the command of

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

participated in the invasion of Romania as a commander of the 5th Army. At the start of the

German invasion of the Soviet Union 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 ...

in 1941, Herasymenko commanded the 21st Army and the 13th Army at the Western Front. In the fall of the same year he was transferred to the

Reserve Front The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation The Reserve Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first version was created on July 30, 1941 in a reorganiza ...

staff personnel. In December 1941 Herasymenko was appointed the commander of

Stalingrad Military District Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

. In September 1942 - November 1943 he commanded the 28th Army that participated in the Rostov operation and the Melitopol Offensive as well as the Donbas Strategic Offensive. In January 1944 Herasymenko was appointed the commander of Kharkiv Military District forces, but already in March 1944 he was appointed the commander of

and the People's Commissar of Defense of the Ukrainian SSR. The decree of

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

Presidium was signed on March 11, 1944 and legalized the decision that was adopted by the Stavka of Commander-in-Chief and the State Defense Committee (both headed by

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 ...

). On November 13, 1945 on decision of Stalin as the Supreme commander of Armed Forces of the Soviet Union

Herasymenko was dismissed from the post of

narkom A People's Commissariat (russian: народный комиссариат; Narkomat) was a structure in the Soviet state (in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in other union and autonomous republics, in the Soviet Union) from 1917– ...

and district commander and transferred to Riga where he stayed until September 1953 as part of the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's con ...

staff personnel. In 1949 Herasymenko finished the higher academic courses at the Voroshilov Military Academy. In 1953 he was dismissed to reserves due to his health.

References

External links

* Kucheruk, O.
State without the army
Military-Historic Almanac. 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Herasymenko, Vasyl Soviet lieutenant generals 1900 births 1961 deaths People from Cherkasy Oblast People from Poltava Governorate Frunze Military Academy alumni Soviet defence ministers of Ukraine Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class