Markian Mikhaylovich Popov (; 15 November 1902 – 22 April 1969) was a Soviet military commander, Army General (26 August 1943), and

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 ...

(1965).

Early life

Markian Popov was born in 1902 in Ust-Medvediskaya in the

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 ...

(now

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...

) in a family of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

ethnicity. His father was a civil servant. Popov 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 ...

in 1920 and the

Bolshevik Party 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 ...

in 1921.

World War II

During the German–Soviet War at various times he commanded a number of

Armies An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and a number of Fronts. His career was uneven. In June 1941 he was Commander of the Leningrad Military District, then Northern Front (24 June – 5 September). The Germans advanced with a terrific speed, but then they were halted just before

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. The army group was on 26 August renamed as the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front () was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. History The Leningrad Front was immediately ...

. Then he participated in Zhukov's counteroffensive before

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 ...

. Zhukov, who co-ordinated several fronts in this Moscow sector, tried to collect able commanders in the area. So for example the 16th Army ( Western Front) was headed by General Rokossovsky, the 4th Shock Army’s commander was General Yeryomenko, the 5th Army was under General Govorov. On December 18 Popov was appointed Commander of the 61st Army ( Bryansk Front) and fought well during the counteroffensive. He maintained this position until 28 June 1942. Then he was shifted to the

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

area. He was Assistant Commander of the Stalingrad Front (under Yeremenko, 13 October – 20 November), then Commander of the 5th Shock Army (8 December – 28 December). On December 26 this army was switched to Vatutin's Southwestern Front. In 1943 firstly he commanded a larger mechanized group, but in February his unit was badly defeated. Then he was appointed Commander of the Bryansk Front (5 June – 10 October 1943), with which he participated 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 ...

. During the battle, the Bryansk Front was very successful in pushing back the German opposition, and was able to capture

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

and

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

in August. He was promoted to

Army General Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

(26 August 1943). After the Battle of Kursk he was sent north, to command 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 ...

(20 October 1943 – 23 April 1944). He was demoted to

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

(20 April 1944) because of the unsuccessful actions in the Baltic area, but the real reason seems to be his criticism on

Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin (; – 24 February 1975) was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1958. He also served as Minister of Defense (Soviet Union), Minister of Defense, following service in the Red Army during World War II. ...

, who was

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 ...

at the front. Until the end of the war he was

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Leningrad Front.

After the War

After the war, he commanded the Soviet troops in the Lviv Military District until 1946, then the Taurida Military District until 1954. After Stalin's death, he regained his old rank as Army general on 3 August 1953. In 1956–62 he was Chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

of the

Soviet Ground Forces 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 ...

. On 7 May 1965, he was subsequently honored with the title

for his services during World War II. He died on 22 April 1969 from an accidental fire at home and was buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery. He was never given the rank

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...

, although Marshal of Aviation

Golovanov Golovanov (in Russian language, Russian ''Голова́нов'', feminine form Golovanova/''Голова́нова'') is a Russian surname. People with this surname include: * Alexander Golovanov (1904–1975), a Soviet pilot and officer * Alex Go ...

and Marshal Vasilevsky considered him very talented.

Awards and decorations

;Soviet Union ;Foreign

References

page from warheroes.ru in Russian

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popov, Markian Mikhaylovich 1902 births 1969 deaths People from Serafimovichsky District People from Don Host Oblast Bolsheviks Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Army generals (Soviet Union) Frunze Military Academy alumni Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War 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 the Red Star Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Deaths from fire Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion Accidental deaths in the Soviet Union