Aleksandr Petrovich Chumakov (; ; born on 26 November 1941) is a retired

Belarusian Army The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has ...

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

and former Minister of Defence of Belarus. Chumakov commanded the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division from 1980. In June 1986, he became commander of the

20th Guards Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...

. In August 1988, he became chief of staff of the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...

. After serving as a Soviet adviser in North Korea, Chumakov was a member of the Russian military contingent in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. Between December 1995 and October 1996, he was chief of the

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the central body of military management and operational control of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President of Belarus, who is t ...

. He was the Minister of Defence of Belarus from 1 November 1996 to 28 March 2001. Chumakov's term took place between

Leonid Maltsev Colonel General Leonid Semyonovich Maltsev (, ; born August 29, 1949) is a retired Belarusian Ground Forces officer. He served as the Minister of Defence of Belarus twice (1995–1996 and 2001–2009) and the Chief of the General Staff of the Arm ...

's two non-consecutive terms as Minister of Defence.

Early life

Chumakov was born on 26 November 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to Pyotr Grigoryevich Chumakov and Marya Grigoryevna Chumakova in the village of in

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

. His father, a

Gosbank The State Bank of the USSR (), known as the State Bank of the RSFSR from 1921 to 1923, and commonly referred to as Gosbank (), was the central bank and main component of the single-tier banking system of the Soviet Union. It replaced the State Ban ...

inspector, served with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and survived the war, reaching the rank of Senior Lieutenant. Chumakov spent the war in Ilyinka, living with his mother and grandparents. After German troops occupied the village, the family was evicted from their home and had to live in a shed. He entered the ten-year Dubovsky Secondary School No. 1 in 1948, graduating in 1958. Chumakov then went to

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, where his uncle was the local military commissar, hoping to enter a nautical school, but was rejected because he was too young. His uncle recommended that he instead attend the Odessa Higher Combined Arms Command School, and arranged a birth certificate increasing Chumakov's age by one year. He was thus accepted to the four-year school.

Military service

Graduating from the school in 1962, Chumakov became a motor rifle platoon commander in the 333rd Motor Rifle Regiment of the 118th Motor Rifle Division in September, stationed in

Cahul Cahul (; also known by alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has a population of 30,0 ...

. In 1963 he married local woman Aksenia Rufa, and in 1965 his daughter Irina was born. Chumakov successively served as a training platoon commander, deputy training company commander, and motor rifle company commander in the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

. In August 1967 he entered the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), 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 (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

, graduating in June 1970. From then until July 1978 Chumakov served in the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

as a motor rifle battalion commander, chief of staff and deputy commander of a motor rifle regiment, commander of a motor rifle regiment, and chief of staff and deputy commander of a motor rifle division. His son Viktor was born in 1971. Chumakov entered the Military Academy of the General Staff in July 1978, graduating in 1980. In August of that year he took command of the

's 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division at Uruchche, leading the division during the Zapad-81 exercises. Chumakov continued to command the division when it was expanded into the 5th Guards Separate Army Corps in June 1982. In June 1986, he was transferred to command the

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 Occupation ...

. On 16 February 1988, he was promoted to lieutenant general. Chumakov returned to Belarus in August of that year to become the Belorussian Military District's chief of staff and first deputy commander. In June 1991 he was sent as an advisor to North Korea, and served with the Russian military contingent in

until July 1995. In December of that year, Chumakov became Chief of the General Staff of the

Armed Forces of Belarus The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has ...

and First Deputy Minister of Defence. In October 1996, Chumakov became acting Minister of Defense. The position was made permanent in January 1997. On 18 March, he was promoted to

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

. Along with then-Prime Minister Vladimir Yermoshin and the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Chumakov made up a group of ethnic Russians in key Belarusian government positions. In February 2000, he discussed a plan for cooperation between Armenia and Belarus with his Armenian counterpart,

Vagharshak Harutiunyan Vagharshak Varnazi Harutiunyan (; born 28 April 1956) is an Armenian military figure and politician currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Russia. He previously served as the Minister of Defence (Armenia), Defence Minister of Armenia from 1 ...

during the latter's visit to Belarus focused around Armenian use of Belarusian military plants for upgrading Armenian military equipment. On 28 March 2001 he was replaced by

. Chumakov retired due to his age in December of that year. Chumakov was elected a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (Belarusian language, Belarusian: Вярхоўны Савет Беларускай ССР, ''Vyarkhowny Savyet Byelaruskay SSR''; Russian language, Russian: Верховный Совет Белорус ...

for its tenth convocation. Between 1982 and 1984, he was a deputy of the

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

City Soviet. During his military career, he was awarded the Order for Service to the Homeland 1st class, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () 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 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

, and the

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

2nd and 3rd class.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chumakov, Aleksandr Petrovich 1941 births Defence ministers of Belarus Living people Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class People from Dubovsky District, Rostov Oblast Soviet lieutenant generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Belarusian generals Chiefs of the General Staff (Belarus)