Terentiy Mikhaylovich Parafilo (; 28 October 1901 – 24 June 1943) 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 ...

military commander. Parafilo is primarily remembered for his service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in which he first participated as commander of a

Naval Infantry Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

brigade attached to the Baltic Sea Fleet during

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's incursion into the

Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, then as a major general commanding the shore-based 7th Airborne Guards Division 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 ...

Biography

Trentiy Parafilo was born on 28 October 1901 in Brovarky, in

Kremenchugsky Uyezd Kremenchugsky Uyezd (''Кременчугский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kremenchug (Kremenchu ...

Poltava Governorate Poltava Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796–1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Polt ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(present-day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He enjoyed a long military career, having served in the Soviet Army as a simple soldier long before

. Tributs, V. F. ''Балтийцы сражаются'' (''The Baltic Sailors Fight''). Moscow: Voyennoye Izdatelstvo, 1985. P. 64. In 1940, Colonel Parafilo was assigned to command the newly formed 1st Naval Infantry Brigade, headquartered in

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

. Following the German Army Group North's rapid advances against the surprised Soviet forces during the first stages 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 ...

, Parafilo's brigade, effectively constituting the core of the Soviet defense of the western sector of

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, found itself encircled, but managed to escape successfully. Salisbury, Harrison. ''The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 2003. , . P. 318. Tributs, V. F. ''Балтийцы сражаются''. (''The Baltic Sailors Fight''). Moscow: Voyennoye Izdatelstvo, 1985. P. 65. Parafilo was appointed commander of the

7th Guards Airborne Division The 7th Guards Mountain Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Air Assault Division is the only elite guards (other than Spetsnaz VDV) division of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) (Military Unit Number 61756) responsible for mountain warfare ...

on 8 December 1942, participating in countering the German army 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 ...

, formed in order to halt the German advance towards

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 ...

. Heavily wounded in the fighting, the major general died on 24 June 1943."Т.М. Парафило" ("T. M. Parafilo"). ''Voyenno-Istoricheskiy Zhurnal''. Moscow: Voyennoye Izdatelstvo, 1993. P. 103.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parafilo, Terentiy Mikhaylovich 1901 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Poltava Oblast People from Kremenchugsky Uyezd Soviet major generals Soviet Navy officers Personnel of the Soviet Airborne Forces Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine