Vladimir Mikhailovich Shuralyov (; 3 April 1935 – 2 March 2020) 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 ...

and later Russian military officer who held a number of posts in 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 ...

, reaching the rank of

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 ...

. Drafted into the

in 1955, Shuralyov trained in armoured and tank warfare at the

Tashkent Higher Tank Command School Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. It is located in northeastern Uzbekistan, nea ...

, furthering his studies at the Military Academy of the Armoured Forces from which he graduated in 1965. From then on he was appointed to chief of staff and command positions of larger armoured unit formations, from battalions to divisions. He served in several of the Soviet Union's military districts, taking command of the

8th Tank Army The 8th Tank Army was one of ten Soviet tank armies. It was formed from the 52nd Army after the end of World War II. It was stationed around the city of Zhytomyr, in the western Ukrainian SSR, part of the Carpathian Military District. During the Co ...

in 1979. This was followed by the command of the

2nd Guards Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and Soviet Army, later part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the firs ...

, part of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

, and then the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...

in 1985. From 1989 he was representative of the commander-in-chief of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

armed forces in the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, and in 1990 became a Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Defence. His final active role was to command the Vystrel higher officer courses, before his retirement in 1992. In retirement Shuralyov became a leading analyst at the

Office of Inspectors General The Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation () is a constituent part of the Russian Ministry of Defence and the successor to the Soviet-era Group of Inspectors General. Predecessor The Group of Inspe ...

and a consultant for the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He was a member of the central council of political party

A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

, and had received a number of awards and honours over his career, including the Order of Honour,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

Third Class. Shuralyov died in 2020 from injuries sustained after being struck by a van.

Early life and career

Shuralyov was born in 1935 in

Kovrov Kovrov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Klyazma River, a tributary of the Oka River, Oka. Kovrov's population as of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census was 132,4 ...

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The UNESCO World Heritage L ...

, which was then part of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, in the Soviet Union. He studied while working as head of a repair station on the construction of the

Kumertau Kumertau (; , ''Kümertaw'') is a town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located from Ufa and from Sterlitamak. Population: Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with ...

-Tyurgan railway, in the

Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, also historically known as Soviet Bashkiria or simply Bashkiria, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR. ...

. After graduating from the Kovrov College of Railway Transport in 1955 he was drafted into the

. He trained initially at the

, graduating in 1958, and was sent to serve with the

. He joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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 1959.

Command positions

Shuralyov graduated from the Military Academy of the Armoured Forces in 1965, and went on to command a tank battalion in the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

. From 1967 he was chief of staff of a tank regiment, and its commander from 1970. In 1971 he became chief of staff of a motorized rifle division, serving in the Kiev Military District and the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

until 1973. He graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1975, and took command of a tank division in the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

. In 1977 he became first deputy commander, and from January 1979 commander, of the

, deployed in the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. This was soon followed in July 1980 with the position of commander of the

, part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In March 1984 he was advanced to become first deputy commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, having been promoted to lieutenant-general on 30 October 1981. In February 1985 Shuralyov was appointed commander of the

, being promoted to colonel-general on 29 April that year. In January 1989 he became the representative of the commander-in-chief of the

armed forces in the

of the

, and was a deputy commander at the

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of ...

in 1989 for the Warsaw Pact member countries. From 1990 to December 1991 he was a Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Defence, after which he was in charge of the Vystrel higher officer courses. He was a candidate member of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

between 1986 and 1990.

Retirement

Moscow Frunzenskaya Embankment at Pushkinsky Bridge 08-2016

Shuralyov retired from active service in April 1992, and became a leading analyst at the Office of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, as well as a consultant for the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He was a member of the political party

, and a member of its central council. In February 2020 Shuralyov attended the funeral of

Dmitry Yazov Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov (; 8 November 1924 – 25 February 2020) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Yazov served as Minister of Defence from 1987 until he was arrested for his part in the 1991 August cou ...

, the last

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 ...

, which took place at the

Federal Military Memorial Cemetery The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery (Russian: Федеральное военное мемориальное кладбище) is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts ...

Death and honours

Shuralyov died in Moscow on 2 March 2020 at the age of 84, after sustaining injuries when he was struck by the driver of a reversing van near his house on 1 March. A criminal case was opened against the driver. Shuralyov was buried on 5 March in the

in a funeral ceremony led by

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces (Russian: Главнокомандующий Сухопутными войсками России) is the chief commanding authority of the Russian Ground Forces. He is appointed by the Preside ...

Oleg Salyukov Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov (; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian general of the army who has been a deputy secretary of the Security Council of Russia since 2025. Before that he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces from 2014 to 20 ...

and attended by around 500 people. He had received a number of awards and honours over his career, including the Order of Honour,

and the

Third Class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuralyov, Vladimir 1935 births 2020 deaths People from Kovrov Army generals (Soviet Union) Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Candidates of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union A Just Russia politicians Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Russia Burials at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery