Feofan Agapovich Parkhomenko (; 24 December 1893 – 7 June 1962) 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 ...

. He fought in the

Caucasus campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

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 rose from private to ensign in 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 ...

. Parkhomenko joined 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 ...

during 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 ...

, serving with cavalry units, and ended the war as a regimental commander. During the interwar period, he continued to hold regimental command, but was arrested and imprisoned during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. Reinstated in the army, Parkhomenko commanded a motorized division in Belarus at the outbreak of

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 ...

. After his division suffered heavy losses in the first weeks of the war, he was sent to the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

and led a cavalry corps in the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya Offensive of early 1942. During that year, Parkhomenko commanded another cavalry corps and the 9th Army in the early stages of the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus was a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus as part of the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, opening the Caucasus region of the southern Soviet ...

, then served as an army deputy commander during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. He spent most of 1943 in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

as a corps commander and returned to command a corps in northwestern Ukraine in early 1944, but was relieved of command. Parkhomenko never held a command again and spent the rest of the war as an army deputy commander before retiring in the early 1950s.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Parkhomenko was born to a peasant family on 24 December 1893 in the village of Yekaterinovka,

Stavropol Governorate Stavropol Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. It roughly corresponded to most of present-day Stavropol Krai. It was created in 1847 and disbanded in 1924. Demographics ...

. He graduated from primary school and was drafted into the

in September 1914 during

. Parkhomenko was sent to the Caucasus front, where he served with the 13th Turkestan Rifle Regiment of the 4th Turkestan Rifle Division, initially as a ''

ryadovoy () in the Army, Airborne troops, and Air Force of the Russian Federation is the designation of a member of the rank group of enlisted personnel. The rank is equivalent to ''matros'' () in the Russian Navy. In the armed forces of the Soviet Uni ...

''. There he graduated from the regimental training detachment in 1915 and served as a ''

yefreytor Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be promoted.Duden; De ...

'', junior and senior '' unter-ofitser'', and '' feldfebel''. In June 1916 Parkhomenko graduated from a warrant officers school and became a ''

podpraporshchik Podpraporshchik (, ) was a Russian non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank ( rus, у̀нтер-офице́р ранг, , ˌunʲtʲɪr ɐfʲɪˈtsɛr rank), originally below the Sergeant and Feldwebel. From 1826 to 1884 it became the highest NCO rank ...

''. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, he was demobilized in December 1917 with 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 ...

''. Parkhomenko returned to his home village and in January 1918 organized a Soviet partisan self-defense detachment from villagers of Yekaterinovka, Shablievka, and Manychskaya. In July the detachment was absorbed into the

and he was appointed assistant commander of the 1st Don-Stavropol Brigade, fighting in the

Battle of Tsaritsyn The Battle of Tsaritsyn was a military confrontation between the Red Army and the White Army during the Russian Civil War for control of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd), a significant city and port on the Volga River in southwestern Russia. The ci ...

. From October 1918 Parkhomenko commanded a squadron of the 21st Don-Stavropol Regiment of the 4th Cavalry Division, then became assistant commander and commander of the regiment. With the 4th Cavalry Division, which became part of the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (), or ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horsearmy"), was a prominent Red Army military formation that served in the Russian Civil War and Polish–Soviet War, Polish-Soviet War. History Formation On 17 Novem ...

, he fought in battles against the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Ar ...

on the Southern Front and in 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 ...

on the Southwestern Front.

Interwar period

Parkhomenko entered the Higher Cavalry School at

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

in May 1921, graduating in September 1924 after the school relocated to Petrograd in October 1922. After graduation, he returned to the 4th Cavalry Division to command its 19th Manych Cavalry Regiment. Transferred to

Izyaslav Iziaslav or Izyaslav (, ), also known as Zaslav (, ; , ), is one of the oldest cities in Volhynia. Situated on the Horyn River in western Ukraine, the city dates back to the 11th century. Iziaslav belongs to Shepetivka Raion of Khmelnytskyi Oblast ...

to command the 9th Putilov Cavalry Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Division in December 1925, he was discharged to the reserve in July 1926. Out of the army, he became chief of the ''

militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

'' of Shepetovsky Okrug. Redrafted into the army in February 1927, Parkhomenko was appointed commander of the 87th Transbaikal Cavalry Regiment of the 9th Far Eastern Separate Cavalry Brigade in

Spassk Spassk () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities * Spassk, Penza Oblast, a town in Spassky District of Penza Oblast * Spassk, Kemerovo Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Tashtagolsky District o ...

, commanding the regiment in the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. He graduated from the Novocherkassk Cavalry Officers Improvement Course (KUKS) in 1929 and the Higher Academic Course 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 ...

in 1930. Parkhomenko was arrested in July 1931, dismissed from the army, and put under investigation. He was sentenced to three years in prison by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union () was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union as a court for the higher military and political personnel of the Red Army and Fleet. In addition it was an immedia ...

for "failure to comply with orders of the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Raskolnikov s "Tales of Sub-lieutenant Ilyin." or ''Revvoyensoviet'' (), was the supreme military authority of Soviet Rus ...

and ilitarydistrict on the especially careful storage of weapons", but was amnestied in October. Placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate and seconded to the staff of the

Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army () was a military formation of the Red Army, active from 1929 to 1938 and under command of Vasily Blyukher. It was activated on 6 August 1929, originally with the 18th a ...

, Parkhomenko became commander of the 74th Cavalry Regiment of the 15th Cavalry Division at

Dauriya Dauriya (, also romanized as ''Dauriia'' or ''Dauria'') is a historical and geographical region of Russia spanning modern Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai and the Amur Region. The toponym is given according to the Daur people who inhabited the region un ...

in March 1932, then served as assistant commander and acting commander of the 22nd Cavalry Division at

Khada Bulak Khada Bulak is a former air base in Chita Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and exten ...

from July 1936. Investigated by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and held in a

remand prison Pre-trial detention, also known as jail, preventive detention, provisional detention, or remand, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is ...

between 21 October 1938 and 7 December 1939 as an "enemy of the people" during the

, due to a lack of evidence for his guilt Parkhomenko was exonerated and in March 1940 appointed assistant commander of the 4th Cavalry Division, now part of the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. He was promoted to ''

kombrig () is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command a brigade sized formation (X ...

'' on 31 March. When the 4th Cavalry Division was used to form the 20th Mechanized Corps in March 1941, Parkhomenko became commander of the corps' 210th Motorized Division.

World War II

After the beginning of

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941, Parkhomenko led the division in the

Battle of Białystok–Minsk The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbaros ...

as part of the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

of the Western Front. It fought in the Battle of Smolensk from 10 July, and from 24 July as part of the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during the ...

, then the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

from 15 August fought in defense battles on the

Sozh The Sozh (, ; ; ) is a river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus. The river is crossed by the Sozh Floating Bridge at Karma and ...

Sudost The Sudost (; ) is a river in Bryansk Oblast in Russia and Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine. It is a right tributary of the Desna. Some sections of the river form the Russia–Ukraine border. The length of the Sudost is . The area of its basin is a ...

, and

Desna River The Desna ( Russian and ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left-tributary of the Dnieper. Its name in means "right hand". It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers .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 ...

to temporarily command the 60th Cavalry Division of the 57th Army in September, Parkhomenko was appointed commander of the Separate Cavalry Corps in December. The corps was redesignated as the 1st Cavalry Corps on 14 January 1942 and with the 18th Army of the Southern Front fought in attacks near

Izyum Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative c ...

and the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya Offensive. During the latter, the corps, advancing in the direction of the front's main thrust, recaptured

Barvenkovo Barvinkove (, ) is a city in Izium Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Barvinkove urban hromada, one of the communities of Ukraine. Population: History Barvinkove was first mentioned in 1653. At the beginning of it ...

and other fortified points. After the corps was disbanded, Parkhomenko became deputy commander of the 38th Army of the Southwestern Front in June. From July he commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps of the 9th Army, leading it in the repulse of German attacks in the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

and the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

bend. Parkhomenko commanded the 9th Army of the Southern Front between 14 July and 7 August, then became deputy commander of the 24th Army of the Stavka reserve. With the army he fought in the

, and in March 1943 was transferred 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 ...

to command the 18th Cavalry Corps, covering the Soviet-Japanese border. He continued to command the corps until 16 November after it became the

87th Rifle Corps The 87th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army in the early years of the Cold War. World War II On 10 July 1945 it comprised 231st and 300th Rifle Divisions as part of 1st Red Banner Army, M ...

in August, then was sent west to command the

125th Rifle Corps 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

of the

47th Army The 47th Army () was a field army of the Red Army during World War II, active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's border defenses with Iran. O ...

of the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

in northwestern Ukraine from 16 January. On 6 May 1944, Parkhomenko was relieved of corps command for "inactivity and inability to skillfully organize defense and control the battle" after a German counterattack at

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

inflicted heavy losses on the corps. He subsequently served as deputy commander of the corps, and from September was deputy commander of the 70th Army. With the latter, he participated in the East Prussian Offensive, the East Pomeranian Offensive, and 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 ...

. Just before the end of the war, Parkhomenko was promoted to

on 20 April 1945.

Postwar

After the disbandment of the 70th Army, Parkhomenko was placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate to await a new assignment. This became in January 1946 when he was appointed deputy commander of the 43rd Army of the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Armed Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army (Russian Ground Forces starting 1992) stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fa ...

. However, Parkhomenko was again placed at the disposal of the Ground Forces Cadre Directorate in August 1946 after the 43rd Army was disbanded and in February 1947 became

military commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and E ...

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Saratov. As of the 2021 Russian cens ...

. He retired from active duty in July 1954 and died in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

on 7 June 1962.

Awards and honors

Parkhomenko 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 ...

(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 ...

(4) *

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 *

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 ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * 1893 births 1962 deaths People from Stavropol Governorate People from Salsky District Soviet lieutenant generals Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class People of the Polish–Soviet War Military personnel of the 1st Cavalry Army {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkhomenko, Feofan