Sergey Hristoforovich Aganov (, ; 4 June 1917 – 1 February 1996) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Youth

Aganov was born on 4 June 1917, named as Sargis Kristopori Ohanian (arm. Սարգիս Քրիստոփորի Օհանյան). It is usually indicated that Aganov is Russian by nationality, but after the declaration of independence of Armenia, in Armenian literature, it is often stated that he is an Armenian, with the surname Ohanian. His grandfather moved to from

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

. After high school, Aganov worked at the Moscow Electric Plant, and was the foreman of the assembly team. In one of his letters, talking about himself, Aganov wrote that his father was an Armenian from Astrakhan, and his mother was a Russian. His parents separated when he was young. According to his information, his father died in 1965 in

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 ...

. Aganov began to serve in 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 ...

since 1938. He graduated from the Moscow Military Engineering School in 1940. He took part in the battle of the Soviet-Finnish war as a

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

platoon commander. From March 1940, Aganov commanded a sapper company, then later became the head of the school for junior commanders of the sapper brigade of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

Great Patriotic War

He participated in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

from June 1941. He commanded a sapper company, from October 1941 as a senior adjutant (according to modern terminology, corresponds to the position of chief of staff) of a sapper battalion, then from February 1942 as a deputy commander of a motor-engineer battalion, then from April 1942 as an assistant chief of staff of engineering troops of the 54th Army. He fought on the

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 ...

and

Volkhov Volkhov () is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov (river), Volkhov east of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbu ...

fronts. In November 1942, he was recalled from the front for further service at the headquarters of the engineering troops of the Red Army. He served as assistant, then senior assistant to the head of the operations department. As part of a group of representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, he repeatedly went to the army. Aganov assisted troops in organizing engineering support for operations on the Southwestern,

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 ...

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

, 3rd Belorussian, 1st Baltic and 2nd Baltic fronts. Aganov was a Member of the

CPSU 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 ...

since 1942.

Post War Years

After the war, Aganov continued to serve in the headquarters of the engineering troops of the

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 ...

, and was a senior officer in the department. In 1950, he graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. Since 1951, Aganov was deputy head of the department, and since January 1952, he was head of the department of the headquarters of the engineering troops of the Soviet Army. In 1955, he graduated from the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov. From November 1955, Aganov served as the head of the engineering troops of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, before he was transferred to teaching work. In August 1960, he was appointed senior teacher, and in December 1963, as deputy head of the department of the Military Academy of the General Staff. From January 1967, he was Chief of Engineering Troops of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since January 1970, Aganov served as Deputy Chief of Engineering Troops of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. From April 1974, he was Head of the Military Engineering Academy named after V. Kuibyshev. Since March 1975, Aganov served as Head of the Engineering Troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He paid great attention to improving the organizational structure of the engineering troops and their technical equipment, developing effective methods of engineering support for combat operations of the troops, and training engineering personnel. He made a great contribution to the organization and implementation of measures to eliminate the consequences of the accident at the

Chernobyl nuclear power plant The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, a ...

. Since April 1975, Aganov served as Colonel General of the Engineering Troops, then finally reached military rank of Marshal of Engineering Troops, awarded on 7 May 1980. Since March 1987, Aganov was in the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Aganov retired in 1992, and resided in Moscow until his death. He was buried at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

. On 12 December 2017, a postage stamp was issued in Armenia dedicated as "100th anniversary of the birth of Marshal of the Engineering Troops of the USSR Sergey Aganov".

Awards

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 ...

(24.12.1986) *

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 ...

(02/19/1986) *

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 ...

1st degree (11/04/1981); *

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 degree (04/06/1985); *

2nd degree (05/17/1944); * Two Orders of the Red Star (11/03/1953, 10/31/1967); *

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

3rd degree * Medal "For Courage" (04/21/1942) * Medal "For Military Merit" (06/20/1949) *

Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to recognise the valour and hard work of the Soviet ...

* Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms" *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1981) * Several commemoration awards * Several foreign awards (Russian)''
Аганов Сергей Христофорович
old.mil.ru

References

1917 births 1996 deaths People from Astrakhan People from Astrakhan Governorate Russian people of Armenian descent Soviet Armenians Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Marshals of Engineer Troops Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Armenian people of World War II {{Russia-mil-bio-stub