Marshal Konev bronze monument. Biography of Marshal I. Konev. National Memorial Complex "Height of Marshal I.S. Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich

10.02.2022

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19.11 (1.12). 1896-18.06.1974
great commander,
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR

Born in the village of Strelkovka near Kaluga in a peasant family. Furrier. In the army since 1915. Participated in the First World War, junior non-commissioned officer in the cavalry. In battles he was seriously shell-shocked and was awarded 2 St. George's crosses.

From August 1918 in the Red Army. During the Civil War, he fought against the Ural Cossacks near Tsaritsyn, fought with the troops of Denikin and Wrangel, took part in the suppression of the Antonov uprising in the Tambov region, was wounded, and awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the Civil War, he commanded a regiment, brigade, division, and corps. In the summer of 1939, he conducted a successful encirclement operation and defeated the grouping of Japanese troops by Gen. Kamatsubara on the Khalkhin Gol River. G.K. Zhukov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the Red Banner of the MPR.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was a member of the Headquarters, Deputy Supreme Commander, commanded the fronts (pseudonyms: Konstantinov, Yuryev, Zharov). He was the first during the war to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (01/18/1943). Under the command of G.K. Zhukov, the troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the Baltic Fleet, stopped the offensive of Field Marshal F.V. von Leeb's Army Group North against Leningrad in September 1941. Under his command, the troops of the Western Front defeated the troops of Field Marshal F. von Bock's Army Group Center near Moscow and dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army. Then Zhukov coordinated the actions of the fronts near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus - 1942), in Operation Iskra during the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade (1943), in the Battle of Kursk (summer 1943), where Hitler's plan was thwarted " Citadel "and the troops of Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein were defeated. The name of Marshal Zhukov is also associated with victories near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine; operation "Bagration" (in Belarus), where the "Line Vaterland" was broken through and the army group "Center" of field marshals E. von Busch and V. von Model was defeated. At the final stage of the war, the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov, took Warsaw (01/17/1945), with a cutting blow defeated Army Group A of General von Harpe and Field Marshal F. Scherner in the Vistula-Oder operation and victoriously ended the war with a grandiose Berlin operation. Together with the soldiers, the marshal signed on the scorched wall of the Reichstag, over the broken dome of which the banner of Victory fluttered. On May 8, 1945, in Karlshorst (Berlin), the commander accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Hitler's Field Marshal W. von Keitel. General D. Eisenhower presented G.K. Zhukov with the highest military order of the United States "Legion of Honor" of the degree of commander in chief (06/05/1945). Later, in Berlin, at the Brandenburg Gate, British Field Marshal Montgomery laid on him a large Cross of the Knights of the Order of the Bath, 1st class with a star and a crimson ribbon. On June 24, 1945, Marshal Zhukov hosted the triumphal Victory Parade in Moscow.

In 1955-1957. "Marshal of Victory" was the Minister of Defense of the USSR.

American military historian Martin Cayden says: “Zhukov was the commander of commanders in the conduct of war by the mass armies of the twentieth century. He inflicted more casualties on the Germans than any other military leader. He was a "miracle marshal". Before us is a military genius.

He wrote memoirs "Memories and Reflections".

Marshal G.K. Zhukov had:

4 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/1/1945, 12/1/1956),
6 orders of Lenin,
2 orders of "Victory" (including No. 1 - 04/11/1944, 03/30/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree (including No. 1), a total of 14 orders and 16 medals;
honorary weapon - a personalized sword with the golden Emblem of the USSR (1968);
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1969); order of the Tuvan Republic;
17 foreign orders and 10 medals, etc.

A bronze bust and monuments were erected to Zhukov. He was buried in Red Square near the Kremlin wall.
In 1995, a monument was erected to Zhukov on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

18(30).09.1895-5.12.1977
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR

Born in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma on the Volga. The son of a priest. He studied at the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In 1915 he completed courses at the Alexander Military School and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the front of the First World War (1914-1918). Head-captain of the tsarist army. Having joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918-1920, he commanded a company, battalion, regiment. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1940, he served in the General Staff, where he was caught by the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he became chief of the General Staff, replacing Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov in this post due to illness. Of the 34 months of his tenure as Chief of the General Staff, AM Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. In a year and a half of the war, he rose from Major General to Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/19/1943) and, together with Mr. K. Zhukov, became the first holder of the Order of Victory. Under his leadership, the largest operations of the Soviet Armed Forces were developed. A. M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts: in the Battle of Stalingrad (Operations Uranus, Little Saturn), near Kursk (Operation Commander Rumyantsev), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation Don ”), in the Crimea and during the capture of Sevastopol, in battles in the Right-Bank Ukraine; in the Belarusian operation "Bagration".

After the death of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation, which ended in the famous "star" assault on Koenigsberg.

On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet commander A. M. Vasilevsky smashed Hitler's field marshals and generals F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, V. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs and others.

In June 1945, the marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Forces in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese, General O. Yamada in Manchuria, the commander received a second Gold Star. After the war, from 1946 - Chief of the General Staff; in 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
A. M. Vasilevsky is the author of the memoirs “The Work of All Life”.

Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 09/08/1945),
8 orders of Lenin,
2 orders of "Victory" (including No. 2 - 01/10/1944, 04/19/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
2 orders of the Red Banner,
Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
order of the Red Star,
Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree,
a total of 16 orders and 14 medals;
honorary nominal weapon - a checker with the golden Emblem of the USSR (1968),
28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).

The urn with the ashes of A. M. Vasilevsky was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall next to the ashes of G. K. Zhukov. A bronze bust of the marshal is installed in Kineshma.

Konev Ivan Stepanovich

December 16(28), 1897—June 27, 1973
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the Vologda region in the village of Lodeino in a peasant family. In 1916 he was drafted into the army. At the end of the training team, junior non-commissioned officer art. division sent to the South-Western Front. Having joined the Red Army in 1918, he participated in battles against the troops of Admiral Kolchak, Ataman Semenov, and the Japanese. Commissioner of the armored train "Grozny", then brigades, divisions. In 1921 he participated in the storming of Kronstadt. Graduated from the Academy. Frunze (1934), commanded a regiment, division, corps, 2nd Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (1938-1940).

During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the army, fronts (pseudonyms: Stepin, Kyiv). Participated in the battles near Smolensk and Kalinin (1941), in the battle near Moscow (1941-1942). During the Battle of Kursk, together with the troops of General N.F. Vatutin, he defeated the enemy at the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead - the bastion of Germany in Ukraine. On August 5, 1943, Konev's troops took the city of Belgorod, in honor of which Moscow gave its first salute, and on August 24, Kharkov was taken. This was followed by a breakthrough of the "Eastern Wall" on the Dnieper.

In 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the Germans arranged a “New (small) Stalingrad” - 10 divisions and 1 brigade of General V. Stemmeran, who fell on the battlefield, were surrounded and destroyed. I. S. Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/20/1944), and on March 26, 1944, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were the first to reach the state border. In July-August, they defeated Field Marshal E. von Manstein's Northern Ukraine Army Group in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The name of Marshal Konev, nicknamed the "general forward", is associated with brilliant victories at the final stage of the war - in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. During the Berlin operation, his troops reached the river. Elbe at Torgau and met with the American troops of General O. Bradley (04/25/1945). On May 9, the defeat of Field Marshal Scherner near Prague was completed. The highest orders of the "White Lion" of the 1st class and the "Czechoslovak Military Cross of 1939" were an award to the marshal for the liberation of the Czech capital. Moscow saluted the troops of I. S. Konev 57 times.

In the post-war period, the marshal was Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces (1946-1950; 1955-1956), the first Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the States Parties to the Warsaw Pact (1956-1960).

Marshal I. S. Konev - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1970), Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1971). The bronze bust was installed at home in the village of Lodeyno.

He wrote memoirs: "Forty-fifth" and "Notes of the front commander."

Marshal I.S. Konev had:

two Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
7 orders of Lenin,
order of the October Revolution,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Kutuzov 1st degree,
order of the Red Star,
a total of 17 orders and 10 medals;
honorary nominal weapon - a sword with the Golden Emblem of the USSR (1968),
24 foreign awards (including 13 foreign orders).

He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

10(22).02.1897-19.03.1955
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Butyrki near Vyatka in the family of a peasant who later became an employee in the city of Yelabuga. A student of the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute L. Govorov in 1916 became a cadet of the Konstantinovsky Artillery School. Combat activity began in 1918 as an officer of the White Army of Admiral Kolchak.

In 1919, he volunteered for the Red Army, participated in battles on the Eastern and Southern fronts, commanded an artillery division, was wounded twice - near Kakhovka and Perekop.
In 1933 he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze, and then the Academy of the General Staff (1938). Participated in the war with Finland in 1939-1940.

In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), artillery general L. A. Govorov became commander of the 5th Army, which defended the approaches to Moscow in the central direction. In the spring of 1942, on the instructions of I.V. Stalin, he went to the besieged Leningrad, where he soon led the front (pseudonyms: Leonidov, Leonov, Gavrilov). On January 18, 1943, the troops of Generals Govorov and Meretskov broke through the blockade of Leningrad (Operation Iskra), delivering a counterattack near Shlisselburg. A year later, they struck a new blow, crushing the "Northern Wall" of the Germans, completely lifting the blockade of Leningrad. The German troops of Field Marshal von Küchler suffered huge losses. In June 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front carried out the Vyborg operation, broke through the "Mannerheim Line" and took the city of Vyborg. L. A. Govorov became the Marshal of the Soviet Union (06/18/1944). In the fall of 1944, Govorov's troops liberated Estonia by breaking into the Panther enemy defenses.

While remaining commander of the Leningrad Front, the marshal was at the same time the representative of the Stavka in the Baltic states. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In May 1945, the German Army Group "Kurland" surrendered to the troops of the front.

Moscow saluted 14 times to the troops of commander L. A. Govorov. In the post-war period, the marshal became the first Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense.

Marshal L. A. Govorov had:

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (27.01.1945), 5 Orders of Lenin,
Order "Victory" (05/31/1945),
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
Order of the Red Star - a total of 13 orders and 7 medals,
Tuvan "Order of the Republic",
3 foreign orders.

He died in 1955 at the age of 59. He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

December 9(21), 1896—August 3, 1968
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Marshal of Poland

Born in Velikie Luki in the family of a railway engineer, Pole Xavier Jozef Rokossovsky, who soon moved to live in Warsaw. Service began in 1914 in the Russian army. Participated in the First World War. He fought in a dragoon regiment, was a non-commissioned officer, twice wounded in battle, awarded the St. George Cross and 2 medals. Red Guard (1917). During the Civil War, he was again wounded 2 times, fought on the Eastern Front against the troops of Admiral Kolchak and in Transbaikalia against Baron Ungern; commanded a squadron, division, cavalry regiment; awarded 2 orders of the Red Banner. In 1929 he fought against the Chinese at Jalaynor (conflict on the CER). In 1937-1940. was imprisoned, being the victim of slander.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a mechanized corps, army, fronts (Pseudonyms: Kostin, Dontsov, Rumyantsev). He distinguished himself in the battle of Smolensk (1941). Hero of the Battle of Moscow (09/30/1941-01/08/1942). He was seriously wounded near Sukhinichi. During the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), the Don Front of Rokossovsky, together with other fronts, surrounded 22 enemy divisions with a total number of 330 thousand people (Operation Uranus). At the beginning of 1943, the Don Front liquidated the encircled group of Germans (Operation "Ring"). Field Marshal F. Paulus was taken prisoner (3-day mourning was declared in Germany). In the Battle of Kursk (1943), Rokossovsky's Central Front defeated the German troops of General Model (Operation Kutuzov) near Orel, in honor of which Moscow gave its first salute (08/05/1943). In the grandiose Belorussian operation (1944), Rokossovsky’s 1st Belorussian Front defeated Field Marshal von Bush’s Army Group Center and, together with the troops of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, surrounded up to 30 dredge divisions in the Minsk Cauldron (Operation Bagration) . June 29, 1944 Rokossovsky was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The highest military orders "Virtuti Military" and the cross of "Grunwald" 1st class became the award to the marshal for the liberation of Poland.

At the final stage of the war, the 2nd Belorussian Front of Rokossovsky participated in the East Prussian, Pomeranian and Berlin operations. Moscow saluted the troops of commander Rokossovsky 63 times. On June 24, 1945, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Victory, Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky commanded the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. In 1949-1956, K.K. Rokossovsky was the Minister of National Defense of the Polish People's Republic. He was awarded the title Marshal of Poland (1949). Returning to the Soviet Union, he became the chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Wrote memoirs "Soldier's Duty".

Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
7 orders of Lenin,
Order "Victory" (03/30/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
6 Orders of the Red Banner,
Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
a total of 17 orders and 11 medals;
honorary weapon - a checker with the golden Emblem of the USSR (1968),
13 foreign awards (including 9 foreign orders)

He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. A bronze bust of Rokossovsky was installed in his homeland (Velikiye Luki).

Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich

11(23).11.1898-31.03.1967
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR

Born in Odessa, grew up without a father. In 1914, he volunteered for the front of the 1st World War, where he was seriously wounded and awarded the St. George Cross of the 4th degree (1915). In February 1916 he was sent to France as part of the Russian Expeditionary Force. There he was again wounded and received a French military cross. Returning to his homeland, he voluntarily joined the Red Army (1919), fought against the Whites in Siberia. In 1930 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1937-1938, he volunteered to fight in Spain (under the pseudonym "Malino") on the side of the republican government, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner.

In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a corps, an army, a front (pseudonyms: Yakovlev, Rodionov, Morozov). Distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad. Malinovsky's army, in cooperation with other armies, stopped and then defeated Field Marshal E. von Manstein's Army Group Don, which was trying to release the Paulus group surrounded by Stalingrad. The troops of General Malinovsky liberated Rostov and Donbass (1943), participated in the cleansing of the Right-Bank Ukraine from the enemy; having defeated the troops of E. von Kleist, they took Odessa on April 10, 1944; together with the troops of General Tolbukhin, they defeated the southern wing of the enemy front, surrounding 22 German divisions and the 3rd Romanian army in the Iasi-Kishinev operation (20-29.08.1944). During the fighting, Malinovsky was slightly wounded; On September 10, 1944, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front of Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky liberated Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. On August 13, 1944, they entered Bucharest, took Budapest by storm (02/13/1945), liberated Prague (05/09/1945). Marshal was awarded the Order of Victory.

Since July 1945, Malinovsky commanded the Trans-Baikal Front (pseudonym Zakharov), which dealt the main blow to the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria (08.1945). The troops of the front reached Port Arthur. Marshal received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

49 times Moscow saluted the troops of the commander Malinovsky.

On October 15, 1957, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. He remained in this position until the end of his life.

Marshal's Peru owns the books "Soldiers of Russia", "Angry whirlwinds of Spain"; under his leadership, "Iasi-Chisinau "Cannes"", "Budapest - Vienna - Prague", "Final" and other works were written.

Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (09/08/1945, 11/22/1958),
5 orders of Lenin,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
a total of 12 orders and 9 medals;
as well as 24 foreign awards (including 15 orders of foreign states). In 1964 he was awarded the title People's Hero of Yugoslavia.

The bronze bust of the marshal is installed in Odessa. He was buried in Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich

4(16).6.1894-10.17.1949
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Androniki near Yaroslavl in a peasant family. Worked as an accountant in Petrograd. In 1914 he was an ordinary motorcyclist. Becoming an officer, he participated in battles with the Austro-German troops, was awarded the crosses of Anna and Stanislav.

In the Red Army since 1918; fought on the fronts of the Civil War against the troops of General N. N. Yudenich, Poles and Finns. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In the post-war period, Tolbukhin worked in staff positions. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1940 he became a general.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was chief of staff of the front, commanded the army, the front. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. In the spring of 1943, Tolbukhin became the commander of the Southern, and from October - the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 until the end of the war - the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The troops of General Tolbukhin defeated the enemy on Miussa and Molochnaya, liberated Taganrog and Donbass. In the spring of 1944 they invaded the Crimea and on May 9 they took Sevastopol by storm. In August 1944, together with the troops of R. Ya. Malinovsky, they defeated the army group "Southern Ukraine" gene. Mr. Frizner in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. On September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Tolbukhin's troops liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. Moscow saluted Tolbukhin's troops 34 times. At the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, the marshal led the column of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The health of the marshal, undermined by wars, began to fail, and in 1949 F.I. Tolbukhin died at the age of 56. Three days of mourning was declared in Bulgaria; the city of Dobrich was renamed to the city of Tolbukhin.

In 1965, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1944) and "Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria" (1979).

Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin had:

2 orders of Lenin,
Order "Victory" (04/26/1945),
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
order of the Red Star,
a total of 10 orders and 9 medals;
as well as 10 foreign awards (including 5 foreign orders).

He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich

May 26 (June 7), 1897—December 30, 1968
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Nazarevo near Zaraysk, Moscow Region, in a peasant family. Prior to serving in the army, he worked as a mechanic. In the Red Army since 1918. During the Civil War he fought on the Eastern and Southern fronts. Participated in battles in the ranks of the 1st Cavalry against the Poles of Pilsudski. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In 1921 he graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army. In 1936-1937, under the pseudonym "Petrovich", he fought in Spain (he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner). During the Soviet-Finnish war (December 1939 - March 1940) he commanded the army that broke through the "Manerheim Line" and took Vyborg, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1940).
During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the troops of the northern directions (pseudonyms: Afanasiev, Kirillov); was the representative of the Headquarters on the North-Western Front. He commanded the army, the front. In 1941, Meretskov inflicted the first serious defeat in the war on the troops of Field Marshal Leeb near Tikhvin. On January 18, 1943, the troops of Generals Govorov and Meretskov, inflicting a counterattack near Shlisselburg (Operation Iskra), broke through the blockade of Leningrad. On January 20, Novgorod was taken. In February 1944 he became commander of the Karelian Front. In June 1944, Meretskov and Govorov defeated Marshal K. Mannerheim in Karelia. In October 1944, Meretskov's troops defeated the enemy in the Arctic near Pechenga (Petsamo). On October 26, 1944, K. A. Meretskov received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and from the Norwegian King Haakon VII, the Grand Cross of St. Olaf.

In the spring of 1945, the “cunning Yaroslavets” (as Stalin called him) under the name of “General Maksimov” was sent to the Far East. In August-September 1945, his troops participated in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, breaking into Manchuria from Primorye and liberating areas of China and Korea.

Moscow saluted the troops of the commander Meretskov 10 times.

Marshal K. A. Meretskov had:

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (03/21/1940), 7 Orders of Lenin,
Order "Victory" (09/08/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
4 orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
10 medals;
honorary weapons - a sword with the Golden Emblem of the USSR, as well as 4 higher foreign orders and 3 medals.

Wrote memoirs "In the service of the people." He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Konev Ivan Stepanovich
16(28).12.1897–27.06.1973

Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the Vologda region in the village of Lodeino in a peasant family. In 1916 he was drafted into the army. After graduating from the training team, he served as a junior non-commissioned officer art. division, was sent to the Southwestern Front. He joined the Red Army in 1918, took part in the battles against the troops of Admiral Kolchak, Ataman Semenov, and the Japanese. He was the commissioner of the armored train "Grozny", after which the brigades and divisions. In 1921 he took part in the storming of Kronstadt. In 1934 he graduated from the Academy. Frunze, commanded a regiment, division, corps, 2nd Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (1938–1940).

During the Great Patriotic War, under the pseudonyms Stepin and Kyiv, he commanded the fronts and the army. He took part in 1941 in the battles of Smolensk and Kalinin, in the defense of Moscow in 1941-1942. During the Kursk operation, together with the army of General N.F. Vatutin on the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead destroyed the enemy. On August 5, 1943, troops led by Konev liberated the city of Belgorod, and in this honor Moscow gave its first salutes in honor of the victories. On August 24, Kharkov was taken by Konev's troops. After that, the breakthrough of the "Eastern Wall" on the Dnieper was realized.

In 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the enemy staged something like “New Stalingrad” - they managed to surround and destroy 10 divisions, as well as 1 brigade of General V. Stemmeran, who was also killed on the battlefield.

On February 20, 1944, Konev received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and on March 26, 1944, the army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, having driven out the enemy, was the first to reach the state border.

In July-August, under the command of Konev, they managed to destroy the Northern Ukraine Army Group under the leadership of Field Marshal E. von Manstein during the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The name of Marshal Konev is directly related to the outstanding victories of the Red Army in the last stages of the war in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin, and Prague operations. During the Berlin operation, Konev's troops reached the river. Elbe at Torgau and met with the American military General O. Bradley. On May 9, 1945, the defeat of Field Marshal Scherner near Prague was completed. The highest orders of the "White Lion" of the 1st class and the "Czechoslovak Military Cross of 1939" were given to Konev for the liberation of Prague as awards. Moscow saluted 57 times in honor of his outstanding victories. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, Konev was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and the first Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the States Parties to the Warsaw Pact (1956–1960).

Marshal I. S. Konev was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he is a hero of Czechoslovakia and the Mongolian People's Republic. His bronze bust is installed in his homeland in the village of Lodeino.

two Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
7 orders of Lenin,
Order "Victory" (03/30/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
2 orders of Kutuzov 1st degree,
order of the Red Star,
a total of 17 orders and 10 medals;
honorary nominal weapon - a saber with the Golden Emblem of the USSR (1968),
24 foreign awards (including 13 foreign orders).

V.A. Egorshin, Field Marshals and Marshals. M., 2000

Konev Ivan Stepanovich

Born on December 16 (December 28), 1897 in the village of Lodeyno, Podosinovsky District, Kirov Region, in a peasant family, Russian by nationality. In 1912 he graduated from the zemstvo school, in 1926 he took advanced training courses for senior officers at the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze, and in 1934 he graduated from the special faculty of the same academy.

He served in the Soviet Army from August 1918 to June 1919 as military commissar of the Nikolsky district military commissariat of the Northern Territory, was a commissar of an armored train, then a brigade commander and a division commander, in November 1922 he became chief of the army headquarters, after which from August 1924 1925, he took the post of corps commander, and from September 1925 he headed a rifle division. During the certification of 1926, it was indicated that Konev showed initiative, was energetic, and also a determined commander. The military, as well as the general outlook, is not very bad.

From July 1926 to March 1930, he served as commander of the military commissar of the regiment, after which, from March 1930 to March 1931, he was assistant and acting commander of a rifle division, then from March 1931 to December 1932. was a division commander. And in December 1934 he served as commander of a rifle division.

In the certification conducted in 1936, it was especially noted that Konev, after graduating from the academy, had a very satisfactory military training, holding the post of division commander, had good skills, as evidenced by the maneuvers of 1936. Character - firm and persistent. From September 1937 to September 1938, Konev served as commander of a special rifle corps, then until June 1940 he commanded an army, after which he led the troops of the Trans-Baikal, then the North Caucasian military districts.

During the Great Patriotic War from June to October 1941 he was commander of the 19th Army, for one month he served as deputy commander of the Western Front. From November 1941 to August 1942 he commanded the troops of the Kalinin Front. In February 1943 he headed the Western Front, from March to June 1943 the North-Western Front, from June 1943 to May 1944 he was the commander of the Steppe Front, as well as the 1st Ukrainian Front from May 1944 to May 1945 At the end of the war from May 1945 to April 1946, I.S. Konev served as Commander-in-Chief of the Central Group of Forces in Austria, then from June 1946 to March 1950 he was First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces - Deputy Minister of Defense for the Ground Forces, after which from March 1950 to November 1951 Konev held post of Chief Inspector of the Soviet Army - Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR, from November 1951 to March 1955 Commander of the Carpathian Military District until March 1956 First Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces from April 1960 First Deputy Minister of Defense for general issues, until April 1962, Konev was in the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, after which, from May 1973, he again became Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense.

Military ranks: commander of the 2nd rank - awarded in March 1939, lieutenant general - June 4, 1940, colonel general - September 19, 1941, army general - August 26, 1943, Marshal of the Soviet Union - February 20, 1944 G.

He was a member of the CPSU since 1918, a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU since 1952, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st-8th convocations. I.S. died. Konev on May 21, 1973. He was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

28.12.1897 - 21.05.1973
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union

Monuments

		In Moscow on Red Square
		Memorial plaque in Moscow
		Annotation board in Irkutsk
		Monument in Vologda
		Annotation board in Vologda
		Memorial plaque in Nizhny Novgorod
		Annotation board in Kharkov
		Memorial plaque in Kharkov
		Bust in the motherland
		house museum
		Monument in Kirov
		Monument in Belgorod
		Monument in Moscow
		Monument in Prague (1)
		Monument in Prague (2)
		Monument in Svidnik
		The height of Marshal Konev
		Marshal Konev height (2)
		Height of Marshal Konev (3)
		Bust at home (2)
		House Museum (2)
		Annotation board in Tver
		Bust in Belgorod
		Alley of Heroes in Korsun-Shevchenkovsky
		Bust in a museum in Moscow
		Annotation board in Moscow
		The ship "Marshal Konev"

To oneev Ivan Stepanovich - Soviet commander, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Born on December 16 (28), 1897 in the village of Lodeyno, Nikolsky district, Vologda province (now Podosinovsky district, Kirov region) in a peasant family. Russian. He graduated from the zemstvo school in the neighboring village of Pushma in 1912. From the age of 12 he worked as a timber rafter, a laborer at the timber exchange.
In the spring of 1916 he was drafted into the Russian Imperial Army. Member of the 1st World War. He served in the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade (Moscow), then graduated from an artillery training team. In 1917, the junior fireworksman of the 2nd separate artillery division, non-commissioned officer Konev, was sent to the Southwestern Front, participated in the unsuccessful July offensive of the Russian army. Member of the February Revolution of 1917 in Moscow and the October Revolution of 1917 in Kyiv. Demobilized in December 1917, returned to his native village.
In February 1918, Ivan Konev was elected district military commissar in the city of Nikolsk, Vologda province, was also chairman of the district committee of the RCP (b) and commander of the district revolutionary volunteer detachment. As a delegate to the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, on July 5-6, 1918, he participated in the suppression of the uprising of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries in Moscow. Member of the RCP(b)/CPSU since 1918.
In the second half of 1918 he achieved admission to the Red Army. He was commander of a marching company on the Eastern Front (Solvychegodsk, Vyatka), commander of a spare artillery battery, military commissar of armored train No. 102 in the 3rd and 5th armies on the Eastern Front. Together with the crew of an armored train, he went through a combat path from Perm to Chita, a participant in many military operations of the Red Army against the troops of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, Ataman G. Semyonov, General Dieterikhs and Japanese invaders. Since 1921 - the military commissar of the 5th rifle brigade in the 2nd Verkhneudinsk rifle division, the military commissar of this division, the military commissar of the headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic.
After the end of the Civil War in the Far East - since December 1922 - the military commissar of the 17th Primorsky Rifle Corps. From August 1924 - Commissar and Head of the Political Department of the 17th Nizhny Novgorod Rifle Division. He graduated from the advanced training courses for senior command personnel at the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M.V. Frunze in 1926. Since 1926 - commander of the 50th Red Banner Rifle Regiment in the 17th Nizhny Novgorod Rifle Division. In January - March 1930 - the commandant of the city of Moscow. Since March 1930 - assistant commander of the 17th Infantry Division.
Graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M.V. Frunze in 1934. From December 1934 - commander and military commissar of the 37th rifle division in the Belarusian military district, from November 1936 - the 2nd Belarusian rifle division in this district. In July 1937 he was appointed senior adviser to the Mongolian People's Army, and when in early 1938 the Soviet troops in Mongolia were united into the 57th Special Rifle Corps, Konev was appointed its commander. From July 1938 - commander of the 2nd Red Banner Army stationed in the Far East (headquarters in Khabarovsk). From June 1940 he commanded the troops of the Trans-Baikal Military District, from January 13, 1941 - the North Caucasian Military District.
Great Patriotic War, Lieutenant General I.S. Konev began as commander of the 19th Army (appointed 06/13/1941) on the Southwestern and Western fronts. He commanded the troops of the Western Front (09/10/1941-10/10/1941), where he suffered a severe defeat near Vyazma. Konev was saved from trial and execution by Zhukov, who facilitated the appointment of Konev as deputy commander of the Western Front (October 10-17, 1941). As commander of the Kalinin Front (10/17/1941-08/26/1942), Konev successfully acted during the counteroffensive near Moscow. From August 26, 1942 to February 27, 1943, he was again commander of the Western Front, participated in the infamous Operation Mars and unsuccessfully carried out the Zhizdrinskaya operation, for which he was removed from the post of front commander for the second time.
He commanded the troops of the North-Western Front (03/14/1943-06/22/1943), the Steppe Military District (06/22/1943-07/09/1943). In the Battle of Kursk, the troops of the Steppe Front of General Konev (commander from July 9, 1943) liberated Belgorod and Kharkov. at the first stage of the battle for the Dnieper, the armies of the front in September 1943 fought over 200 kilometers, liberated Poltava and crossed the Dnieper in the sections from Kremenchug to Dnepropetrovsk. Since October 20, 1943, Konev has been the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. At the head of his troops, he conducted the Nizhnedneprovsk, Korsun-Shevchenkovsk, Kirovograd, Uman-Botoshansk offensive operations. On March 26, 1944, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were the first to reach the state border of the USSR.
From May 16, 1944 until the end of the war - Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. In July-August, they defeated Field Marshal E. von Manstein's Northern Ukraine Army Group in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation and captured the Sandomierz bridgehead, which became one of the springboards for attacking Nazi Germany.
At Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 29, 1944 for the skillful leadership of the troops of the fronts in major operations in which strong enemy groups were defeated, personal courage and heroism to the Marshal of the Soviet Union Konev Ivan Stepanovich He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
In the autumn of 1944, the front carried out the Carpathian-Dukla operation, entering the territory of Czechoslovakia. In January 1945, during the Vistula-Oder operation, as a result of a swift strike and a roundabout maneuver, the troops of the front prevented the retreating enemy from destroying the industry of Silesia, which was of great economic importance for friendly Poland. Then there were the Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian operations, the brilliant actions of the troops of the front in the Berlin operation and the final chord of the war in Europe - the Prague operation.
At By order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 1, 1945, the Marshal of the Soviet Union was awarded the second Gold Star medal.
After the war, on June 10, 1945, Marshal Konev was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Central Group of Forces and High Commissioner for Austria. From July 1946 to March 1950, I.S. Konev - Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. From March 1950 to November 1951 - Chief Inspector of the Soviet Army - Deputy Minister of War of the USSR. From November 1951 to March 1955 - Commander of the Carpathian Military District. From May 1956 to June 1960 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense - Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the States Parties to the Warsaw Pact. From June 1960 to August 1961 - Inspector General of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. However, in connection with the outbreak of the Berlin crisis in August 1961, he was recalled from this honorary, but decorative position and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since April 1962 - again the general inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (21.03.1939-5.10.1952), member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (14.10.1952-21.05.1973). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st-8th convocations (1937-1973).
Military ranks:
division commander (11/26/1935);
commander (22.02.1938);
commander of the 2nd rank (02/08/1939);
lieutenant general (06/04/1940);
colonel general (09/11/1941);
army general (08/26/1943);
Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/20/1944).
He was awarded the Order of Victory (03/30/1945 - No. 5), seven orders of Lenin (07/29/1944, 02/21/1945, 12/27/1947, 12/18/1956, 12/27/1957, 12/27/1967, 12/27/1972), the Order of the October Revolution (02/22/1968), three Orders of the Red Banner (02/22/1938, 11/3/1944, 06/20/1949), two Orders of Suvorov 1st degree (08/27/1943, 05/17/1944), two orders of Kutuzov 1st degree (04/09/1944 .1943, 07/28/1943), Order of the Red Star (08/16/1936).
Awarded with Soviet medals: "XX Years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" (02/22/1938), "For the Defense of Moscow" (05/1/1944), "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." (1945), "For the capture of Berlin" (06/09/1945), "For the liberation of Prague" (06/09/1945), "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" (09/21/1947), "30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy" (22.02 .1948), “40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” (02.17.1958), “Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” (1965), "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1968), "For military prowess. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1970).
He was awarded the Honorary Arms with the golden image of the State Emblem of the USSR (02/22/1968).).
Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (04/30/1970). Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (05/07/1971). Awarded with foreign orders "For Merit to the Fatherland" in silver (GDR); "Cross of Grunwald" 1st class (Poland); "For military valor" (Virtuti Militari) 1st class (Poland, 02/03/1945); "Revival of Poland" 1st class (Poland); two orders of Sukhe-Bator (1961, 05/07/1971, Mongolia); Order of the Red Banner of War (Mongolia); Order "Partisan Star" 1st degree (SFRY); Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st degree (NRB); Order of Klement Gottwald (Czechoslovakia, 1970); star and badge of the Order of the White Lion 1st degree (Czechoslovakia, 1969); Order of the White Lion "For Victory" 1st degree (Czechoslovakia); Military Cross 1939 (Czechoslovakia); Order of "Hungarian Freedom" (Hungary); Order of the "Hungarian People's Republic" (Hungary); star and badge of the Commander of the Order of the Bath (Great Britain); Order of the Legion of Honor 2nd class (France); Military Cross (France); Order of the Legion of Honor of the degree of Commander (USA); medal "Chinese-Soviet Friendship" (PRC), medals of other states.
Bronze bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev installed at home. On October 22, 1977, a house-museum was opened in the marshal's native village. Monuments to Konev were erected in Moscow, Belgorod, Vologda, Prague (Czech Republic), Svidnik (Slovakia). A monument was erected to Marshal Konev in Krakow (Poland), but in 1991 it was dismantled, transported to Russia and installed in the city of Kirov. Memorial plaques were opened in Nizhny Novgorod and Omsk. His name was given to the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School, the ship MMF. Streets in Moscow, Donetsk, Slavyansk, Kharkov, Cherkassy, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Belgorod, Barnaul, Vologda, Omsk, Irkutsk, Smolensk, Tver, Prague (Czech Republic), a street and a square in Kirov, a microdistrict in Stary Oskol are named after Konev.
Compositions:
Forty-fifth. 2nd ed. M., 1970
Notes of the front commander, 1943-1945. 4th ed. M., 1985, etc.

The decision to install three boards on the monument to the Soviet military leader - in Czech, Russian and English - was taken by the administration of the sixth Prague district on the eve of the 120th anniversary of the birth of the marshal, who was born on December 19 (28), 1897.

The mayor of the Prague-6 district, Ondřej Kolář, in an interview with the Russian service of Radio Prague, said that at their meeting the members of the municipal council approved the following text: “Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev commanded the 1st Ukrainian Front, whose units took part in the decisive offensive against Berlin and the liberation of the northern, central and eastern parts of the Czech Republic, and were also the first to enter Prague on May 9, 1945. In the autumn of 1956, Marshal Konev commanded the bloody suppression of the Hungarian uprising by the forces of the Soviet army, and in 1961 in Berlin, as commander of a group of Soviet troops, he participated in the denouement of the so-called Second Berlin Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. In the summer of 1968, Marshal Konev personally led the intelligence work before the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia.

Information boards on the monument should appear before the end of June 2018 - by this time the general restoration of the monument to Ivan Konev will be completed. The district administration intends to invest about 650,000 crowns (more than 25,000 euros) in restoration and repair work.

The plans of the municipality do not like the representatives of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic and Moravia.

A member of the municipal council of the Prague-6 district and the city council of Prague from the communist party, Ivan Gruz, in an interview with Radio Prague, said that not all voters supported the installation of the signs - out of 45 members of the council, 29 people voted in favor. At the same time, as Ivan Gruza emphasized, only two people openly expressed their categorical disagreement with this project.

Ivan Gruza considers the placement of plaques on the monument to Konev "an insult to the memory of the victims suffered by the Red Army during the liberation of Europe." Therefore, a member of the Communist Party is sure, they should not be there.

“If we conducted an “audit” of the biographies of all those people who have monuments erected in Prague, we would learn a lot of interesting facts about them. However, no one wants to do this, and this idea concerns only one single monument. The initiative comes from former members of the TOP-09 party, who are now supported by another right-wing party - the Civic Democrats.

“First the tank was painted pink, and then it disappeared”

The board, which it was decided to place there, diverts attention from the essence of the monument itself. This monument was erected to the liberator, a representative of the Red Army, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, whose units liberated Czechoslovakia and Prague. I also take the liberty of recalling the more than 140,000 Red Army soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Now they must disappear from the memory of the people of Prague? All this is just a continuation of what began shortly after 1989. Then the monument to the Red Army soldiers, erected in the Prague district of Smichov, was repainted in pink. Tank number 23 stood there, symbolizing the entry of the Red Army into Prague on May 9, 1945. Soon this tank was removed, "- reminds the representative of the Communist Party Ivan Gruz.

Bronze Konev will remain in place

The mayor of the Prague-6 district, Ondřej Kolář, from the TOR-09 party, refutes suspicions of an intention to remove the monument to the Soviet marshal, which currently stands on the International Brigade Square.

“The Communist Party of the Czech Republic and Moravia, a descendant of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, who died in the Bose, is trying to form an opinion in society that my colleagues and I from the administration of the Prague-6 district are striving to “rewrite history by removing the monument to Marshal Konev” or somehow downplay its importance.

"It is necessary that people know all the pages of the history of the twentieth century"

I never wanted to remove the monument to Marshal Konev. If this had to be done, then no later than 1990, when revolutionary moods were strong in society. It was then that the monument to Lenin was removed from Victory Square (Vítězné nám.). Monuments to Konev and Lenin stood almost nearby - the International Brigade Square is located a kilometer from Victory Square.

However, I believe that the person to whom this monument was erected, whether we like it or not, is an inseparable part of Czech history. He commanded the 1st Ukrainian Front, parts of which took part in the liberation of the Czechoslovak Republic, or rather the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Nobody can take that away, it happened, it's a given. That is why I said that this monument should remain here, however…. Since the monument sins with historical inaccuracy - it states that "Marshal Konev saved Prague from destruction" - we must supplement the monument with information boards on which historical facts will be given, allowing passers-by to independently draw conclusions about who Marshal Konev really was . It is necessary that people know about all the intertwining of historical events in the 20th century, when in the blink of an eye the allies became enemies, and the liberators became occupiers, and other similar historical contradictions that also took place, ”- the headman of the Prague-6 district, Ondřej Kolář, is sure.

“There are also dark sides in the biographies of Churchill and Masaryk”

Member of the Municipal Council of Prague-6 Ivan Gruz does not believe the words of the head of the district: “Mr. Starosta today claims that everything that happens does not concern the future fate of the monument, that he decided to leave it in its place. The approach to the issue of the monument to Konev is individual, specific, tendentious. I want to remind you that placing additional informational plaques on the monuments is not something that happens in the order of things. In Prague, for example, there are monuments to Churchill and Masaryk. The biographies of these people also have something to pay attention to.

Churchill, for example, kept the colonial possessions of Great Britain by force. At the end of World War II, he supported the bombing of Dresden. He was indifferent to the fate of the 2.5 million Bengalis who were dying in the 1940s.

Or look at Masaryk, the first Czechoslovak president and supreme commander. Under him, they shot at people who were on strike, wanting a better life, because they had no work. The gendarmes also shot at children. However, you will not find an additional information board anywhere on the monuments to Churchill or Masaryk.

I repeat that everything that is happening is tendentious, and this is just a stage on the way to achieving a single goal - to achieve the disappearance of the monument to Marshal Konev from public space, ”- considers the representative of the parliamentary Communist Party.

Let's go back to the mayor of Prague-6 Ondrej Kolář. Were there ever plans to remove the monument to Marshal Ivan Konev?

“Plans to change the monument to Konev existed for a long time”

“To answer this question, I need to delve deeper into history. In 1992 or 1993, the District Cultural Commission discussed a similar topic, as we do today. They pondered the fate of the monument - to remove or leave in place? A group of historians and other specialists was formed by the deputy headman, Mrs. Frankenberg, who were to discuss everything. The answer was unequivocal - the monument should be preserved, but the inscription on it should be changed, since the current text does not correspond to reality. The implementation of the plan, however, was delayed for some time, although a text had already been developed for discussion in the district council.

Again, the monument to Marshal Konev was discussed in 2009–10, when plans for the general reconstruction of the International Brigade Square were ready. There should have been underground garages. Changes were to be made to the monument as well. It was supposed to become less pompous, the pedestal was to be reduced, and the entire monument was supposed to be moved a little further from Yugoslav Partisan Avenue.

The project was discussed with the Embassy of the Russian Federation. The ambassador supported him, emphasizing only that there should be a place for laying flowers and wreaths at the monument. The administration, of course, agreed. These plans also turned out to be frozen.

The next time they talked about Konev was in 2014 in connection with the preparations for the celebration of the anniversary of the end of World War II. Then several people spoke at the municipal council, who said that the monument "is a shame" and called for it to be removed. It was then that we declared that the appropriate moment for the removal of the monument had already been missed and proposed placing information boards on it. The Russian embassy then accused us of "an attempt to rewrite history."

Well, this year, since the project for the reconstruction of the monument is almost ready, we again turned to the Russian Embassy with this information and explanations that our actions are not at all connected with the desire to rewrite history and offer its alternative interpretation.

Donate Konev's sculpture to the Russian embassy?

However, it was also written in the letter that if the Russian representation interferes with the implementation of projects that are within the competence of the self-government body, and in the case of the repair of the monument owned by the district, this is exactly the case, then we will be forced to look for other options, as with the monument get by. One of these options, although ambiguous, is the transfer of the statue of Marshal Konev as a gift to the embassy of the Russian Federation, which will prevent its damage. And this happens almost every day.”

According to the mayor of the sixth district of Prague, Ondřej Kolář, the Russian diplomatic mission, by the time the interview was recorded, had not responded to the mentioned letter.

Same Approach

In connection with the decision to place information boards on the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev, the question arises - why, in this case, not to supplement all the monuments installed in the country with such signs?

We again give the floor to Ivan Gruz, a member of the Municipal Council of Prague-6 from the Communist Party of the Czech Republic and Moravia: “If such a decision was supported by the majority, and it would be about supplementing various monuments with information boards, then this option would be acceptable. However, this is not discussed at present. Now we are talking about a single case, with a specific approach to the problem.

This situation was created by a part of the representatives of the right political spectrum. Unfortunately, some members of the council did not understand the point. They think that this is only about additional information that needs to be provided to citizens, which is why they joined the ranks of those who supported the mentioned decision. However, we are not talking about a 100% majority here.

Ondřej Kolář takes a slightly different position: “They gave me Winston Churchill as an example. Why, they say, we do not want to supplement his monument with an information board, because he did not only good deeds. The death of 3,000 Bengalis is cited as an example. The death of the Bengalis is a terrible episode of history, but it has nothing to do with the history of Czechoslovakia. As far as I know, Churchill has nothing to do with any of the cases of the occupation of Czechoslovakia. In this he differs from Marshal Konev, who in 1968 conducted reconnaissance training before the Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia.

The key condition is the connection of a historical figure with Czech history

My answer is yes, to supplement the monuments with information that will clarify who this person was. However, such people who have a monument with additional information boards should have a connection with the history of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia, and if there is no such connection, let the biographies of such people be studied in history lessons. As for Marshal Konev, his connection with Czechoslovak history is very expressive. Unfortunately, both positive and negative.

Ivan Stepanovich Konev was born on December 16 (28), 1897 in the village of Lodeyno, Shchetkinsky volost, Nikolsky district, Vologda province (now Podosinovsky district, Kirov region), in a peasant family. He graduated from a rural school and a zemstvo college. From the age of 12 he worked at a timber rafting and on his father's farm.
In 1916 he was called up for military service: he was a soldier of the 2nd heavy artillery brigade in Moscow, then he graduated from the training team and became a junior fireworker of the 2nd separate artillery division. After demobilization in 1918. joined the ranks of the RCP (b), a member of the Nikolsky district executive committee and the military commissar of the district. During the Civil War, he volunteered for the front, fought against the troops of A.V. Kolchak, G.M. Semenov, and the Japanese invaders. He was the commissar of an armored train, a rifle brigade, a division, and showed military talent and courage. In 1921 r. as a delegate to the Tenth Congress of the RCP(b) he took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt rebellion. In 1921 - 1922. I.S. Konev - commissar of the headquarters of the "People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic", in 1923 - 1924. - 17th Primorsky Rifle Corps, and then - 17th Rifle Division. When in 1924 the division was relocated to the Moscow Military District, its commander K.E. Voroshilov suggested: “You, Comrade Konev, according to our observations, are a commissar with a commanding vein. This is a happy combination. Go to team courses, learn.”

In 1926, Ivan Stepanovich graduated from advanced training courses for senior officers at the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. And in 1934 he completed his studies at a special faculty of the same academy (“he mastered the academic course perfectly and is worthy of promotion to the position of commander and commissar of the rifle corps”). In 1934 -1941. commanded a division, a corps, a special group of Soviet troops in the MPR, the 2nd separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army, the troops of the Transbaikal and North Caucasian military districts. In July 1938, he was awarded the rank of commander, and in March 1939 - commander of the 2nd rank.
I.S. Konev began World War II as commander of the 19th Army. For successful military operations near Smolensk, Konev was awarded the rank of colonel general.
On September 12, 1941, a high appointment came to the post of commander of the troops of the Western Front (September - October 1941). In the battles near Vyazma, I.S. Konev suffered a severe defeat from the Nazi troops. He was saved from trial and execution by G.K. Zhukov, who, with his characteristic frankness, declared to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief that people who have combat experience should be valued.
In November 1941 I.S. Konev - Commander of the Kalinin Front, Western Front (from August 1942 to February 1943), North-Western Front (March - June 1943), Steppe Front (June 1943 - May 1944), 1st Ukrainian Front ( May 1944 - May 1945).

The troops under the command of Ivan Stepanovich Konev inflicted a number of defeats on the German troops during the defense of Moscow, liberated the city of Kalinin, and in January - April 1942 advanced 250 km in the Vitebsk direction. During the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the troops of the Steppe Front took part in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction, liberated the cities of Belgorod and Kharkov. For the successful conduct of the Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation, Ivan Stepanovich was awarded the rank of army general.
However, of course, especially the talent of I.S. Konev, as an outstanding and experienced commander, manifested itself during the brilliantly carried out Korsun-Shevchenko operation, which was also called "Stalingrad on the Dnieper".
02/20/1944 for the skillful organization and excellent leadership of the troops in the Korsun-Shevchenko operation, during which a large enemy group was surrounded and destroyed, Army General I.S. Konev received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Brilliant victories at the final stage of the Second World War - in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations are associated with the name of I.S. Konev, who was called the "general forward". 57 times Moscow saluted the troops led by Marshal Konev.

I.S.Konev successfully used the combat experience gained during World War II during the training and education of Soviet soldiers in the postwar period. In peacetime, Ivan Stepanovich was Commander-in-Chief of the Central Group of Forces in Austria (1945 - 1946), Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR (1946 - 1950), Chief Inspector of the Soviet Army, Deputy Minister of War of the USSR (1950 - 1951 years), commander of the Carpathian military district (1951 - 1955). In 1956 - 1960. served as 1st Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for General Affairs and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, in May 1955 - June 1960 - Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact Member States, and from April 1962 - in the Group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, in 1961 - 1962. - Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and again Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense (until May 1973).
From 1931 to 1934 - Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, candidate member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks from 1939 to 1952, member of the Central Committee of the CPSU since 1962, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st - 8th convocations.
Ivan Stepanovich Konev died on May 21, 1973, he was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.
The bronze bust of the great commander is installed in his homeland in the village of Lodeyno. His name was given to the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School, a Navy vessel, streets in Moscow, Donetsk, Slavyansk, Kharkov, Cherkassy, Kropyvnytsky were named after Konev.
After himself, I.S. Konev left memoirs: "Forty-fifth" and "Notes of the front commander."

AWARDS OF MARSHAL I.S. KONEV

ORDERS AND MEDALS OF THE USSR FOREIGN AWARDS

Order of the Red Star - 08/16/1936
Order of the Red Banner - 02/22/1938
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class - 04/09/1943
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class - 07/28/1943
Order of Suvorov, 1st class - 27.08.1943
Order of Suvorov, 1st class - 05/17/1944
He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal - 07/29/1944
Order of the Red Banner - 03 11.1944
Order of Lenin - 02/21/1945
Order "Victory" - 03/30/1945
He was awarded the second medal "Gold Star" - 06/01/1945.
Order of Lenin - 12/27/1947
Order of the Red Banner - 06/20/1949
Order of Lenin - 12/18/1956
Order of Lenin - 12/27/1957
Order of Lenin - 12/27/1967
Order of the October Revolution - 22.02. 1968
Order of Lenin - 28.12.1972
Medal "XX years of the Red Army" - 22.02. 1938
Medal "For the Defense of Moscow" - 05/01/1944
Medal "For the victory over Germany" - 09.05. 1945
Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" - 06/09/1945
Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" - 06/09/1945
Medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" - 09/21/1947
Medal "XXX Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" - 22.02.1948
Medal "40 Years of the Armed USSR" - February 17, 1958
Medal "XX Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War" - 1965
Jubilee medal "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" - 1968
Medal "For Military Valor" - 04/11/1970

FOREIGN AWARDS

Star and badge of the Virtuti Military Order, 1st class. - Poland
Star and badge of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, 1st class. - Poland
Star and Badge of the Order of the Bath - Great Britain
"Cross of Grunwald" І class. - Poland
Order "Partisan Star" 1st class - SFRY
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 2nd class - GDR
"Gold Star" of the Hero of the MPR - MPR
Order of Sukhbaatar (1961) - Mongolian People's Republic
Order of Sukhbaatar (1971) - Mongolian People's Republic
Order of the Red Banner of War - Mongolian People's Republic
French Order of the Legion of Honor 2 class. - France
Military Cross - France
Order "Legion of Honor" degree Commander - USA
Order "People's Republic of Bulgaria" 1st class - NRB
"Golden Star" of the Hero of Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia
Order of "Klement Gottwald" - Czechoslovakia
Star and badge of the Order of the White Lion, 1st class. - Czechoslovakia
Order of the White Lion "For Victory" 1st class - Czechoslovakia
Military Cross 1939 - Czechoslovakia
Order "Hungarian Freedom" 1st class - Hungary
Order of the Hungarian People's Republic - Hungary
Medal "Sino-Soviet Friendship" - PRC