Vasiliy Ivanovich Petrov (; – 1 February 2014) was a Soviet and Russian military official and

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 ...

. He served as Commander-in-Chief 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 ...

from 1980 to 1985.

Background

Vasily Ivanovich Petrov was born on 15 January 1917 in the village of Chernolesskoye, Stavropol Governorate, the son of a white-collar employee. He graduated from secondary school in 1935 and studied for two years at the Ordzhonikidze Pedagogical Institute until 1937. Petrov 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 1939 and completed the lieutenant's course in 1941. During World War II, he fought in defence of Odessa, defence of Sevastopol and the Campaign in the Caucasus. He later took part in the liberation of

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 ...

(part of the USSR) and the invasion of Romania, in addition to the Budapest Offensive in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. After the war, Petrov completed the Accelerated Course of 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 ...

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 ...

, and in 1948 graduated from the academy's Special Course. He served in staff roles at the army level in the early postwar years. He served with the 39th Rifle Division as a regimental commander from June 1953 and rose to division chief of staff in December 1955. Petrov was promoted to division commander in January 1957, continuing in command after the 39th was reorganized as the 129th Motor Rifle Division later that year. He was promoted to army chief of staff in July 1961, army commander in June 1964, chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District in January 1966, and district commander in April 1972.Simultaneously, Petrov rose through the Soviet military ranks, being promoted to Colonel in 1952, Major General in 1961, Lieutenant General in 1965, Colonel General in 1970 and General in 1972. In 1983, Petrov was finally appointed

. In the late 1970s, Petrov served as a military advisor to the Ethiopian Army. He was assigned to assist and rebuild the force during the

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...

. In 1982, Petrov was awarded the

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 ...

. He commanded the Far East Military District in 1972–1976 and served as Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces in 1980–1985. He then succeeded Sergey Sokolov as First Deputy Minister of Defence until his retirement in 1986 due to ill health. From 1992, Petrov served as a military advisor to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Petrov died on 1 February 2014 at the age of 97, and was laid to rest at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery in

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

Honours and awards

;Soviet Union and Russia *

(16 February 1982) * Order of Alexander Nevskiy (3 May 2012) * Four Orders of Lenin (December 1967, February 1978, 16 February 1982, January 1987) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(February 1974) *

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 ...

(October 1944) *

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 class, twice (July 1944, April 1985), 2nd class (October 1943) *

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 ...

, twice (November 1942, October 1955) * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (February 1976) * Medal for Combat Service * Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" * Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" * Medal "For the Defence of Odessa" * Medal "For the Defence of Sevastopol" * Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" * Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" ;Foreign awards * Order "Ernesto Che Guevara", 1st class (Cuba, 1985) * Order of the Red Banner (Czechoslovakia) (1982) * Order of Victorious February (Czechoslovakia) (1985) * Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia, 1981) * Order of the Red Banner (Mongolia, 1982) * Order "For Military Merit" (Mongolia, 1971) * Scharnhorst Order (East Germany, 1983) * Order of the Flag of the Hungarian People's Republic with diamonds (Hungary, 1985) * Order of Tudor Vladimirescu, 1st class (Romania, 1974) * Order "For Military Merit", 1st class (Romania, 1985) * Order of the National Flag (Ethiopia, 1982) * Order of the National Flag of Korea (North Korea, 1985) * Order "The People's Republic of Bulgaria", 1st class (1985) * Order "For military Valour", 1st class (1983) ;Faith-based * Order of St. Grand Prince Dmitriy Donskoy, 2nd class

Notes

References

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Vasiliy Ivanovich 1917 births 2014 deaths Members of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union People from Novoselitsky District People from Stavropol Governorate Marshals of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet military personnel of the Angolan Civil War Frunze Military Academy alumni Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni