Makhmut Akhmetovich Gareyev (russian: Махмут Ахметович Гареев, tt-Cyrl, Мәхмүт Әхмәт улы Гәрәев; 23 June 1923 – 25 December 2019) was a Russian General of the Army and an author of several books on the history of the Second World War. He served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Until his death, he was the president of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences.
A decorated veteran of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he had a lifelong career in the
Soviet military
The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
starting from the
Junior Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant.
Germany
In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956.
Eastern Europe
In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior l ...
in the beginning of the war and reaching general rank in the 1970s.
His positions also included serving as the military adviser to the
President of Egypt
The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Eg ...
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA),, renamed the Republic of Afghanistan, in 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1978 to 1992.
The PDPA came to powe ...
in 1989–1991.
Gareev served as an
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
and authored a few books himself.
In September 2015, Chinese President
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
awarded Gareev the Medal of Honor for his contribution in the 1945 battle to liberate
Mudanjiang
Mudanjiang (; Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' under Japanese occupation. It serves as ...
in
Northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...
from the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...
.
Early life
Gareev was born in
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
, the child of ethnic
Tatars
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different originally from the Chimshin region of Bashkiria. His father Akhmat Gareev was an industrial worker and his mother, Rahema was a housewife. The family also lived in Central Asia.
Gareev joined the Red Army in 1939 as a volunteer and graduated from the Tashkent Infantry School in 1941. He was initially posted to an infantry unit in the
Turkestan Military District
The Turkestan Military District (russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with it ...
.
World War II
Gareev was transferred to the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
in November 1942 and fought as an infantry officer in the
Battle of Rzhev
The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place ...
where he was wounded. Gareev was subsequently promoted to a deputy commander of an infantry battalion and a staff officer of the 45th Rifle Corps. Gareev was wounded in the head in 1944 in Belorussia.
Upon recovering from his wound he was posted to the Far East in January 1945 joining the staff of the 5th Army. He fought in the
Soviet–Japanese War
The Soviet–Japanese War (russian: Советско-японская война; ja, ソ連対日参戦, soren tai nichi sansen, Soviet Union entry into war against Japan), known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 (), was a military ...
Gareev continued on the staff of the 5th Army in the Far East after the war and then graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy in 1950. During 1950-1957, he was the chief of staff of the regiment, senior officer of the operational command of the headquarters of the
Belorussian Military District
, image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991.
, dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992
, country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...
, commander of the 307th Guards Motor Rifle Training Regiment in the 45th Tank Training Division of the Belorussian Military District, chief of staff of the
120th Guards Motor Rifle Division
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...
.
In 1959 Gareev graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. He became a Deputy Division Commander in 1959. Since February 1965 he was commander of the
50th Guards Motor Rifle Division
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
in the 28th Combined Arms Army of the Belorussian Military District. Since June 1966, he commanded a tank division. From July 1968 to September 1970 he was Chief of Staff and then First Deputy Commander of the 28th Combined Arms Army.
In 1970-71 he was a military adviser to the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
. He became commander of the
Urals Military District
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
in 1971. From February 1974, he was head of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff, deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, and in 1984 was deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Gareev was promoted to Colonel General in October 1978.
In 1989, he was the Chief Military Adviser in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from there. He played a large role in planning the military operations of government forces of President
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیبالله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...
. Gareev was promoted to the rank of General of the Army in 1990.
From 1990, he served as Military Adviser - Inspector of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defence. Gareev retired from active service in 1992
Family
Gareev married Tamara Ivanovna after the war, his wife was of Belorussian origin and died in 1998. They had two children: Timur (born 1961) a retired Major General in the Russian army and Galia (born 1952) who is a retired English language teacher.
Military Science and Theory
Gareev began to actively engage in military scientific work back in the 1960s and 1970s. Author of over 100 scientific papers, over 300 articles and publications in collections, magazine and newspapers. He was the lead author of numerous Soviet Army manuals.
In February 1995 he was elected as the first president of Academy of Military Sciences, a non-governmental research organisation. Gareev was engaged in the study of the history of the Great Patriotic War, was actively involved in scientific discussions, and opposed the falsification of the history of the war. He believed that the desire to challenge the victory of the USSR over fascism is closely connected with the propaganda campaign against modern Russia. He was the author of numerous historical works.
In addition, he was an inspector general with the Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Chairman of the Military Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation.
Gareev died on 25 December 2019 at the age of 96 and was buried at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery.
Partial bibliography
* General Gareev, ''If War Comes Tomorrow?: The Contours of Future Armed Conflict (Cass Series on Soviet Military Theory and Practice)'' (Paperback),
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, ...
, 1998,
* Makhmut Akhmetovich Gareev, ''M.V. Frunze, Military Theorist'' (Hardcover), Macmillan, 1988,
* M. A. Gareev, ''Marshal Zhukov: Velichie i unikalnost polkovodcheskogo iskusstva'', Vostochnyi universitet, 1996,
* M. A. Gareev, ''Neodnoznachnye stranitsy voiny: Ocherki o problemnykh voprosakh istorii Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny'', ''RFM'', 1995,
* M. A. Gareev, ''Konturen des bewaffneten Kampfes der Zukunft: Ein Ausblick auf das Militarwesen in den nachsten 10 bis 15 Jahren (Schriftenreihe des Bundesinstituts fur ... und Internationale Studien, Koln)'', Nomos; 1. Aufl edition (1996),
* M. A. Gareev, ''Moia posledniaia voina: Afganistan bez sovetskikh voisk'', INSAN, 1996,