Boris Alexandrovich Vladimirov (; 14 April 1905 1 May 1978) 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 ...

. Vladimirov served in 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 ...

after being drafted 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 ...

in 1921. He became an officer and by 1941 was a deputy regimental commander. After the

German invasion of the Soviet Union 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 a ...

, Vladimirov successively became senior officer in charge of the formation of march battalions in the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

, chief of staff of a ski brigade, and a rifle brigade. He commanded the rifle brigade in the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

, during the

Lyuban Offensive Operation The Battle of Lyuban, Lyuban offensive operation or Battle of the Volkhov (7 January 1942 – 30 April 1942) (Russian: Любанская наступательная операция; German: Schlacht am Wolchow) was a Soviet offensive operatio ...

and the

Sinyavino Offensive The Sinyavino offensives were a series of Soviet offensives in 1941–1943 during World War II around the Sinyavino Heights, east of Leningrad, to lift the Siege of Leningrad. The area was only fully liberated during the Leningrad–Novgorod offe ...

. Vladimirov took command of the 311th Rifle Division in March 1943, leading it until the end of the war. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership in the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Postwar, Vladimirov became a lieutenant general, commanded a rifle corps, and was deputy chief of staff of the

Soviet airborne The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno-Parachuting, desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a military branch, separate troops branch of the Soviet ...

. He retired in 1960 and lived in

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 ...

Early life, Russian Civil War, and Interwar period

Vladimirov was born on 14 April 1905 in Alexandropol (today

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

) in

Russian Armenia Russian Armenia is the period of Armenian history under Russian rule from 1828, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire following Qajar dynasty, Qajar Iran's loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the subsequent ceding of ...

to the family of a civil servant. He was drafted into the

in June 1921 and fought in the

. In 1925, Vladimirov graduated from infantry school. He became a machine gunner, machine-gun platoon commander, and machine-gun company commander, and led a separate reconnaissance battalion in Cheremkhovo. In 1937, he became a senior teacher of tactics at the reserve officers' advanced training courses in

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

. By June 1941 Vladimirov was deputy commander of the 365th Rifle Regiment of the 119th Rifle Division in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

World War II

After the

, Vladimirov became senior officer for the formation of march battalions in the

during July. In August, he took command of the 143rd Reserve Ski Brigade at Krasnoyarsk. In December, Vladimirov was appointed commander of the 140th Separate Rifle Brigade, forming at Klyukvenny. The brigade was sent to the front with Vladimirov commanding during February 1942. The brigade became part of the 54th Army and then the 8th Army. It fought in the Lyuban Offensive and

, suffering heavy losses in both failed attempts to break the

. Vladimirov was wounded in May 1942. In 1943, Vladimirov became a

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

member. In March 1943, he took command of the 311th Rifle Division, fighting on the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front () was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards L ...

. The division fought in the Mga Offensive. On 10 November, Vladimirov was awarded 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 ...

.Order No. 104 of the Volkhov Front, available online a
pamyat-naroda.ru
/ref> The division fought in the Novgorod–Luga Offensive of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive from January 1944. On 20 May, Vladimirov was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class. From June, the division fought on the

2nd Baltic Front The 2nd Baltic Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. History The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic Front, it ...

. During

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

, Vladimirov led the division in the Polotsk Offensive. The division then fought in the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive and the Baltic Offensive. On 2 November 1944 he was promoted to major general. Vladimirov was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner on 3 November. In December, the division became part of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

. The division fought in the Vistula–Oder Offensive in January 1945. The division broke through German defenses on the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

between 14 and 15 January. Pursuing retreating German troops between 16 and 28 January, the division advanced 400 kilometers. The division captured Schneidemuhl, where they found 30 trains loaded with food and military equipment. On 6 April Vladimirov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and 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 ...

for his leadership. After the offensive, the division continued its advance in the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Berlin Offensive, fighting until the end of the war. On 29 May 1945, Vladimirov was awarded 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

Vladimirov was awarded his second Order of Lenin in November 1945. In 1947, he graduated from Higher Academic Courses at the Higher Military Academy. On 15 November 1950, Vladimirov was awarded a third Order of the Red Banner. He commanded a rifle corps and was deputy chief of staff of the

forces. On 8 August 1955, Vladimirov was promoted to the rank of

. He retired in 1960 and lived in

. Vladimirov died on 1 May 1978 and was buried in the Vvedenskoye Cemetery. In 2010, Vladimirov's memoirs were posthumously published by Yauza/

Eksmo Eksmo Publishing House was founded in 1991. At first the company worked in the field of wholesale trade in books, since 1993 it started independent publishing activities. In 2012, the publishing house became part of the structure of the publish ...

as ''Divisional Commander: From Sinyavino Heights to the Elbe'' ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladimirov, Boris 1905 births 1978 deaths Soviet lieutenant generals People from Gyumri Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union 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 Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Communist Party of the Soviet Union members