Anatoly Aleksandrovich Dyakonov (; 24 June 1907 – 8 August 1972) 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 ...

and a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Early life and prewar service

Dyakonov was born on 24 June 1907 in the khutor of Zimniki, Glazunovskaya stanitsa,

Don Host Oblast Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Nov ...

. He worked as a physical education instructor in

Novonikolayevsky District Novonikolayevsky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the thirty-three in Volgograd Oblast, Russia.Law #139-OD As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Novonikolayevsky Municipal District.Law #975-OD It is located in th ...

, then from June 1926 went on

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

work as a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

leader and physical education instructor in Leninsky District of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

. In November 1929 Dyakonov was conscripted into 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 sent to become a cadet in the one-year conscript training detachment of the 84th Rifle Regiment of the 28th Mountain Rifle Division of the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included t ...

at Ordzhonikidze. After completing training in October 1930, he passed the external examination to become a platoon leader and then served with the regiment as commander of rifle and training platoons and rifle and reconnaissance companies. With the regiment, he fought in the suppression of revolt against Soviet rule in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

between 1929 and 1932. Dyakonov graduated from the correspondence department of the Budyonny Military Electrotechnical Academy of the Red Army in 1936. He transferred to the 82nd Mountain Rifle Regiment of the division at

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

to become its assistant chief of staff in August 1938. In August 1939, as a result of the

Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (; ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolian People's Republic, Mongolia, Empire of Japan, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict wa ...

, Dyakonov was sent to the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

to serve as chief of the 2nd (reconnaissance) section of the staff of the 114th Rifle Division of the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

World War II

Then-Captain Dyakonov was sent to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

to fight 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 ...

in late 1939 and appointed commander of the 60th Separate Volunteer Ski Detachment, formed in the 7th Army and designed to bypass Finnish lines on the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

. The detachment fought together with the 86th Motor Rifle Division in the battles for the Koivisto Islands and Koivisto. Subsequently, Dyakonov led a group of soldiers on a 25-kilometer night march into the rear of the Finnish fortifications defending Tiurinsaari island and attacked elements of the garrison, capturing and holding positions on the island, which enabled the ski detachment to carry out its mission. In the battle they were credited with killing up to 300 Finnish soldiers and capturing elements. His battalion went on to cut the

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

–

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

highway. These actions were described by the writer

Vladimir Stavsky Vladimir Petrovich Stavsky (Владимир Петрович Ставский; born Kirpichnikov, Кирпичников; 30 July 1900 – 14 November 1943) was a Soviet Russian writer, editor (in 1937–1941, of ''Novy Mir'') and literary admin ...

in the eighth issue of the ''Krasnoarmeyets'' magazine for 1940. For his leadership, Dyakonov received the title

and was awarded the

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 ...

on 21 March. In late February 1940, he took command of the 284th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 86th Rifle Division, but his tenure proved brief as he was wounded in action on 2 March during the battles for Vyborg and evacuated to the rear. After recovering, Dyakonov was appointed commander of the 380th Rifle Regiment of the 117th Rifle Division of the

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Kamensk-Shakhtinsky ( rus, Ка́менск-Ша́хтинский, p=ˈkamʲɪnsk ˈʂaxtʲɪnskʲɪj) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Rostov Oblast, located on the Seversky Donets River, around 15kms east of the border ...

on 9 May. In the spring of 1941, he was sent to study at 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 ...

. After

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 on 22 June, Dyakonov left the academy and in September took command of the 27th Separate Cadet Rifle Brigade. Until November the brigade fought in heavy defensive battles near

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, then was relocated to the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of 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 ...

and fought in the destruction of the German forces around

Lake Seliger Seliger ( rus, Селиге́р, p=sʲɪlʲɪˈgʲer) is a lake in Ostashkovsky District of Tver Oblast and (in the extreme northern part) in Demyansky District of Novgorod Oblast of Russia, in the northwest of the Valdai Hills, a part of the V ...

, the capture of Molotitsy and the encirclement of the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

. On 29 January then-Colonel Dyakonov took command of the 257th Rifle Division of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army () 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 were reinforced with more armoured and ar ...

, which he led in the Toropets–Kholm offensive. Its units advanced more than 380 km in fighting from

Ostashkov Ostashkov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, on a peninsula at the southern shore of Lake Seliger, west of Tver, the administrative center of the ...

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

, then transitioned to the defensive. In the spring of 1942, the 31st Rifle Brigade and two ski battalions were placed under the control of the division, expanding its defensive line from 40 to 80 km. During the

Battle of Velikiye Luki The Battle of Velikiye Luki, also named Velikiye Luki offensive operation (), started with the attack by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942–1943 with the o ...

, the division distinguished itself in the capture of the city and other fortified points, for which it was converted into the 91st Guards Rifle Division on 18 April. Dyakonov rose to deputy commander of the 43rd Army in March 1943 and served in the same role for the

4th Shock Army The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II. The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, 332 ...

from 30 June. He took command of the

83rd Rifle Corps 83rd may refer to: *83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lon ...

of the 39th Army on 20 July, leading it in the

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 ...

and Dukhovshchina-Demidov offensives. The corps went on to fight as part of the 4th Shock, 6th Guards, and 43rd Armies in attacks towards

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, the

Nevel Offensive The Battle of Nevel was a successful military operation conducted by the Red Army in the Pskov Oblast of western Russia and in northern Belarus during World War II, from October 6 to roughly December 16, 1943, although fighting persisted in the ar ...

, and the Gorodok Offensive, then until early April 1944 defended Nevel. From April 1944 to March 1945 Dyakonov completed an accelerated course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, then was sent to the

Far Eastern Front The Far Eastern Front (Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was a front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the Second World War. Early war service Тhe Far Eastern Front wa ...

, taking command of the 56th Rifle Corps of the 16th Army on 27 March. During the

Soviet–Japanese War The Soviet–Japanese War)Known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 () was a campaign of the Second World War that began with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria following the Soviet declaration of war against Japan on 8 August 1945. The ...

, Dyakonov led the corps in the invasion of South Sakhalin, in which it played a key role, in cooperation with the Northern Pacific Flotilla. In difficult conditions of swampy and mountainous terrain, its units broke through Japanese fortified positions of the Koton (Kharamitog) fortified region and rapidly continued on to Shiritoru, Ochiai, and Toyohara.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Dyakonov continued to command the corps as part of the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

. From December 1947 to December 1949 he completed the basic course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, graduating with a gold medal. From February 1950 he commanded the

8th Guards Airborne Corps Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, then from March 1951 served as first deputy commander-in-chief of the Separate Guards Airborne Army. When the latter was reorganized as the headquarters of the Airborne Forces, Dyakonov became deputy commander of the Airborne Forces in May 1953. From June 1955, he served as general-inspector of the Airborne Forces Inspectorate of the Main Inspectorate of the Soviet Ministry of Defense. In July 1956, Dyakonov was sent to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

to serve as senior military advisor to the commander and chief of staff of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...

, and in May 1957 became

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

at the Soviet embassy in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

and head of the group of Soviet military specialists in Korea. Returning to the Soviet Union, he ended his career as assistant commander-in-chief of the forces 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 ...

for higher educational institutions before retiring on 29 August 1963. Dyakonov died on 8 August 1971 in Moscow.

Awards

Dyakonov was a recipient of the following decorations: *

(2) *

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 ...

(2) *

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 (2) *

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 ...

* Medals

References

Citations

Bibliography

* 1907 births 1972 deaths People from Don Host Oblast People from Serafimovichsky District Soviet lieutenant generals Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II 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 the Red Star {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyakonov, Anatoly