Alexander Ivanovich Akimov (; 12 March 1895 – 2 February 1965) was a

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

. Akimov fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and ended the war as an ensign before joining 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 ...

, where he rose to battalion commander before the end of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. During the interwar period, he served in both command and staff positions and commanded the 73rd Rifle Division when

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

began. Akimov was wounded and trapped behind German lines, but escaped after several months. He commanded the 82nd Motor Rifle Division, which became the 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps, between 1942 and 1944, and ended the war as commander of the 78th Rifle Corps. Akimov held corps command and military district staff postings postwar before retiring in the 1950s.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Akimov was born on 12 March 1895 in the village of Ivitsy,

Odoyevsky Uyezd Odoyevsky Uyezd (''Одоевский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Tula Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Odoyev. Demographics At the time o ...

Tula Governorate Tula Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. The governate existed from 1796 to 1929; its seat was in the city of Tula. It was divided into 12 districts. The main towns w ...

. He was drafted into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in August 1915 during

and sent to the 201st Infantry Regiment. From October 1916 he fought against Austrian and German troops as a junior commander, and later as a platoon commander with the 36th Siberian Rifle Regiment. After transferring to the 218th Infantry Regiment in March 1917, he briefly served as a platoon commander before becoming a

junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

at the Tiflis Military School between May and August. Upon completion of an accelerated course there, Akimov received the rank of ''

praporshchik (, , ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...

'' and was appointed a platoon commander in the 77th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Tula. He was later elected chief of the regimental training command. Akimov joined the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

in December 1917 and became assistant chief of a food detachment. He fought in the suppression of anti-Soviet uprisings in

Krapivensky Uyezd Krapivensky Uyezd () was one of the subdivisions of the Tula Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative center was Krapivna. Demographics At the time of the Russian Empire Cens ...

Novosilsky Uyezd Novosilsky Uyezd (''Новосильский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Tula Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Novosil. Demographics ...

, and

Bogoroditsky Uyezd Bogoroditsky Uyezd (''Богородицкий уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Tula Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Bogoroditsk. Demographics ...

. In April 1918 he was transferred to the

and became a battalion commander with the 48th Rifle Regiment, which became part of the

16th Rifle Division The 16th Rifle Division (; ; ) was a formation in the Red Army created during World War II. The division was formed twice, and was given the title 'Lithuanian' during its second formation. It was originally established at Tambov in May 1918. It ...

in October of that year. Between April and June 1919 he served as a battalion commander of the Tula Regiment and instructor and company commander of the Tula Governorate Communist Battalion of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

before returning to the 16th Division. He fought in battles against the

Don Army The Don Army (, ) was the military of the short lived Don Republic and a part of the White movement in the Russian Civil War. It operated from 1918 to 1920, in the Don region and centered in the town of Novocherkassk. History On 23 April, K. ...

and from June 1920 was chief of the training detachment of the 47th Rifle Brigade of the division, fighting on the Western Front during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

Interwar period

In November 1920, Akimov became deputy battalion commander of the Tula Governorate Special Purpose Regiment, later serving as a company and battalion commander. From October 1922 he was a company commander in the 216th Rifle Regiment and Tula Territorial Battalion, then served as assistant commander and commander of the 113th Special Purpose Battalion. Transferred to the

84th Rifle Division The 84th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II. History Prewar The 84th Rifle Division was formed in 1923 at Tula as one of several Red Army territorial divisions, assigned to the Moscow M ...

in June 1924, he served as an assistant battalion commander of the 251st Rifle Regiment and as commander of the 1st and 2nd Separate Guard Companies for the protection of arms factories of the district. In November 1926 he took command of the 43rd Separate Local Rifle Company, and from December 1927 was adjutant of the 1st category and acting chief of staff of the Separate Territorial Reserve Rifle Battalion of the Ryazan Territorial District. He became assistant chief of staff of the 144th Rifle Regiment in December 1929 and in November 1930 entered the

Vystrel course The Vystrel course () was the popular name for an officer training course of the Soviet Armed Forces, later part of the Russian Armed Forces, located in Solnechnogorsk. The training course had a one-year curriculum to train battalion and regiment le ...

. After graduating from the latter in April 1931, he was appointed chief of the 4th Staff Department of the 81st Rifle Division of the same district, and in June of that year transferred to the 29th Rifle Regiment of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

, where he served as chief of the regimental school and assistant regimental commander for personnel. Akimov was transferred to the Leningrad Infantry School in February 1933, serving as a tactics leader, acting company commander, acting chief of material and technical support of the school, and tactics instructor. In December 1937 he became acting assistant chief of the school for material and technical support. Akimov was transferred became assistant commander of the 104th Mountain Rifle Division of the district in July 1939, and fought with it in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, receiving the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

for his actions. From March 1940 he served as chief of infantry of the 48th Rifle Division of the

Kalinin Military District Kalinin may refer to: *Mikhail Kalinin (1875–1946), Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet functionary * Kalinin (surname) Places *Kalinin, former name of Noramarg, Armenia *Kalinin, former name of Tashir, Armenia *Kalinin, former name of Burunq ...

, and in July took command of the 73rd Rifle Division of the Moscow Military District as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He completed three courses at the night school faculty of 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 ...

in 1941.

World War II

After

began, Akimov led the division in defensive battles as part of the 20th Army of the Western Front near Borisov,

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

, and

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

during the Battle of Smolensk. In August 1941 he was wounded and was trapped in German-held territory in

Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast Vyazemsky District () is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #130-z district (raion), one of the twenty-five in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative ...

. After recovering, he formed a partisan detachment and reached Soviet lines in the sector of the 33rd Army of the Western Front. He became commander of the 82nd Motor Rifle Division (the 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division from March) in February 1942 as part of the 29th and later the 5th Armies of the Western Front. Akimov was promoted to major general on 21 May 1942 and to

on 15 December 1943. In July 1943 the division was converted into the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps and joined the 4th Tank Army. Under the command of Akimov, the corps fought in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

, the Proskurov–Chernovitsy Offensive and the

Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...

, during which it captured

Kamenets-Podolsky Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

, Peremyshlyany,

Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and Komarno. From 22 January 1945 to the end of the war, Akimov commanded the 78th Rifle Corps of the 52nd Army of the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

. He led it in the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive, the Lower Silesian Offensive, the

Berlin Offensive 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–Od ...

, and the Prague Offensive. For his "heroism and courage" in the crossing of the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

and "skillful command" of the corps, Akimov was awarded the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

, 2nd class and the

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 Union, Soviet award established on ...

, 2nd class.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Akimov became commander of the

73rd Rifle Corps The 73rd Silesia Rifle Corps () was a Rifle corps (Soviet Union), rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II. World War II The corps headquarters was formed on 8 July 1943 at Kuzhenkino (urban-type settlement), Kuzhenkino, Leningrad Oblast, ...

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 ...

in July 1946. Sent to study at the Higher Academic Courses of the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in June 1948, he was appointed assistant commander of the 5th Army of the Primorsky Military District upon graduation in April 1949. Appointed assistant commander for higher educational institutions of 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 November 1951, he transferred to serve in the same post with the

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 differen ...

in July 1953. After retiring in October 1955, Akimov lived in Moscow, where he died on 2 February 1965.

Awards and honors

Akimov was a recipient of the following decorations: *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(5) *

, 2nd class (2) *

, 2nd class (2) * Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * 1895 births 1965 deaths People from Odoyevsky Uyezd People from Odoyevsky District Soviet lieutenant generals Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Polish–Soviet War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 2nd class {{DEFAULTSORT:Akimov, Alexander