Born into a priest's family, he graduated from a theological seminary and was preparing to become a rural teacher. But the First World War radically changed both the plans and the entire future fate of the future marshal Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky.

“Father always moved quickly in his career.”

Returning from the front in 1918, Vasilevsky still managed to work for several months as a rural teacher. primary classes in the Tula province.

And in 1919 he was drafted into the Red Army, to which the future commander remained devoted until the end of his life.

“My father always somehow quickly moved up the ranks and achieved success,” says Marshal’s son Igor. “Even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, he was already a prominent military leader and worked as Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In ’41, I was six years old. But I remember well “When the war began, I didn’t see my father at home for a very long time. They even worked at the General Staff around the clock.”

Whenever possible, Vasilevsky took his wife and son to the front

During the days of the defense of Moscow, at the most critical moment - from October to November 1941 - Vasilevsky headed the General Staff operational group to serve the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

“Then he had to inform Headquarters and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief about changes in the situation at the front. Develop plans, monitor the implementation of Headquarters decisions,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “During the war, Stalin demanded a daily report on the operational situation. Once my father moved from one front headquarters to another He did not have the opportunity to contact the Supreme Commander, and he did not make such a report, Stalin told him that if this happened again, it would be the last mistake in his life.”

In June 1942, Vasilevsky was appointed chief of the General Staff. In the same year, he returns his wife and son, who had previously been evacuated, to Moscow.

“During the war, my father tried not to be separated from us. In total, he spent two of the four years while the war was going on at the front,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “If there was such an opportunity, he always took my mother and me to the front. There are even chronicle footage , in which I am little with my father."

In the first days of the war, Vasilevsky took a portrait of his wife Ekaterina Vasilievna Saburova from home to the General Staff. The portrait moved with him from one front to another. Now it is kept by the son of Marshal Igor.

"Mom's love helped father in everything"

Before meeting Ekaterina Saburova, Vasilevsky was already married. From his first marriage to Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova, his son Yuri was born in 24. The family then lived in Tver.

“In 1931, my father was transferred to Moscow. Neither he nor my mother ever told me about their first meeting. Maybe because my father was still married at the time he met my mother. But somewhere, fate brought them together. By that time, my mother had completed courses for military stenographers. In 1934, they got married, and a year later I was born,” said the marshal’s youngest son, Igor Vasilevsky.

The family has always been a tangible support for the commander.

During the war, Vasilevsky experienced colossal overloads - sleepless nights took their toll. It is known that Stalin worked at night and demanded the same from those around him.

“Of course, my mother’s love helped my father in everything,” says the marshal’s son, “we must remember that in addition to the responsibility for the official duties assigned to him, his father constantly lived in stress from the unknown. He did not know what would happen to him tomorrow.”

In 1944, Vasilevsky said goodbye to his sons

Igor Aleksandrovich remembered how one day in 1944 his father called him for a conversation, from which it was clear that he was saying goodbye.

The family then lived at a state dacha in Volynskoye, and Igor Alexandrovich was nine years old. A little earlier, Marshal Vasilevsky spoke with his eldest twenty-year-old son Yuri. He was told quite clearly that he remained in charge and was responsible for all the Vasilevskys.

“Why my father said goodbye to us then, he did not explain to me or my older brother,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “The time was like this: if necessary, the reasons were quickly found. And in general, my father’s official affairs were never discussed in our house. It was banned."

At the Vasilevskys’ state dacha in Volynskoe, the hostess sister, the nanny, the cook, and other servants were people from the NKVD.

“Our personal belongings were always looked through, even my children’s toys,” recalls Igor Vasilevsky, “our conversations and movements, our social circle were recorded. It was life under strict control, and we understood this well.”

Vasilevsky could even convince the Supreme Commander-in-Chief

At the beginning of the war, Stalin rarely listened to military leaders. He believed that the Supreme Commander had the right to make decisions independently.

“According to my father, Stalin radically changed his mind and began to use the collective experience of the General Staff only in 1942. That is, when the situation was threatening for us. He realized that it was necessary to use the experience of military people and military science. My father said that, despite the Supreme’s temper, his certain emotional imbalance, he always spoke directly, concisely and accurately,” said the marshal’s son.

Reporting the situation on the fronts, Vasilevsky spoke with Stalin on the phone every day. During the war, he communicated with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief more often than other military leaders and, if necessary, knew how to convince him.

Vasilevsky restored relations with his father at the suggestion of Stalin

In his autobiography, Vasilevsky wrote in 1938 that “personal and written communication with parents has been lost since 1924.”

Alexander Mikhailovich was born into the family of a priest in the village of Novaya Golchikha, near the ancient Russian city of Kineshma. His father was a church regent, and his mother was the daughter of a psalm-reader. When the future marshal was two years old, Mikhail Vasilevsky was appointed to serve in the Ascension Church in the village of Novopokrovskoye. It was at this temple that Vasilevsky received elementary education at the parochial school. Then he graduated from theological school and seminary.

Having become a fighter in the Red Army, and later a Red commander, Vasilevsky had to break off relations with his family. Later he restored them at the suggestion of Stalin.

“This, of course, was such a political game. It is known that Stalin showed loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church and the clergy during the war. He understood that for Victory it was necessary to use all reserves, including spiritual ones,” says Igor Vasilevsky.

One day Stalin called Vasilevsky and told him: “Why don’t you go to your father. You haven’t seen him for so long.”

“My father went to see my grandfather Mikhail, after that they maintained normal family relations. And in 1946, my older half-brother Yuri brought my grandfather to the state dacha in Volynskoye. I remember he stayed with us for a long time,” said the marshal’s son.

Order of "Victory" number two

The contribution of Marshal Vasilevsky to the cause of Victory is enormous. He developed all the major battles of the Great Patriotic War.

Alexander Mikhailovich planned a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Coordinated the actions of the fronts in the battle on Kursk Bulge. Planned and led operations to liberate Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea. On April 10, 1944, the day of the liberation of Odessa from the Nazis, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory.

This order was the second since the establishment of this military insignia. The owner of the first Order of Victory was Marshal Zhukov, the third - Stalin.

The Order of Victory is the main military award of the USSR. It was awarded for the successful conduct of military operations on the scale of one or several fronts.

In total, 17 commanders were awarded this order. And only three of them twice: Stalin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky.

The second Order of Victory was awarded to Alexander Mikhailovich for the development and leadership of the operation to capture Koenigsberg in 1945.

Igor Vasilevsky was with his father at the front during the storming of Koenigsberg. The marshal then commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front. Now Igor Aleksandrovich is 76 years old, and in the days of the capture of Koenigsberg he was 10. According to the marshal’s son, the burning ruins of Koenigsberg still stand before his eyes.

Khrushchev demanded confirmation that Stalin directed military operations on the globe

After the war, Vasilevsky still headed the General Staff until the age of 48, then held key positions in the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

The death of Stalin and the subsequent exposure of the leader's cult of personality affected the fate of the marshal.

In 1953, Nikita Khrushchev was elected first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

“Khrushchev, when preparing for the 20th Party Congress, demanded that his father confirm his words that allegedly the Supreme Commander-in-Chief did not know how to use operational maps, but directed military operations using a globe,” said the marshal’s son.

Vasilevsky, who personally provided operational maps at Stalin’s request, refused to do so. Soon Khrushchev, through Zhukov, conveyed to Vasilevsky that it was time for him to submit his resignation. Then Alexander Mikhailovich was the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR.

Vasilevsky suffered a heart attack, and then sat down to write his memoirs. And, according to his son, in his memories he lived through the war one more time. Alexander Mikhailovich died in 1977, having not recovered from another heart attack.

After the war, Vasilevsky donated his belongings to museums

The eldest son of the marshal and his first wife Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova, Yuri, continued the Vasilevsky military dynasty. From a young age he was fascinated by airplanes. Yuri devoted his entire life to aviation, and ended his military career in the General Staff. He is a retired lieutenant general.

In 1948, Yuri married the eldest daughter of Marshal Zhukov, Era. Era Georgievna gave birth to two daughters. But the family soon broke up.

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was never particularly happy about this union of marshal families. Stalin did not encourage friendship between military leaders, much less family ties between them.

The marshal's youngest son chose a peaceful profession. He is an Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, a professor at the International Academy of Architecture. For more than 30 years, Igor Aleksandrovich was the chief architect of Kurortproekt. His works were included in the Anthology of European Architecture. Igor Vasilevsky's wife Rosa is also an architect. Her maiden name is Tevosyan.

Her father, Ivan Fedorovich Tevosyan, was the People's Commissar of Ferrous Metallurgy during the Great Patriotic War, and he did no less for the Victory than the military leaders.

Already in 1943, largely thanks to People's Commissar Tevosyan, the military industry of the USSR surpassed Germany in both the quantity and quality of military equipment.

It so happened that after the war, Marshal Vasilevsky donated to museums, mostly provincial ones by the way, almost all the personal belongings that he had with him at the front.

Today, in the house of his youngest son, only a portrait of his wife, from whom Vasilevsky was never separated, and a measuring compass are kept.

Holding this compass in his hands, Marshal Vasilevsky developed more than one significant operation of the Great Patriotic War.

- Marshal Vasilevsky didn’t want you to follow in his footsteps and become a military man?

My father was proud of my older half-brother Yuri, who continued his work, but when the question arose about choosing my specialty, he gave me complete freedom. The fact is that he himself was a humanitarian. He graduated from theological seminary and was preparing to become a teacher, but the first World War changed all his plans and he became a military man. And I graduated from school with a gold medal and had the right to choose any university. My father took an active part in this. He toured several institutes with me and supported me when I made my choice.

-Where did you meet the war?

We were in Moscow. My father worked as Deputy Chief of the General Staff. I was small then, but I remember that at the end of the forties - the beginning of the forties, certain preparatory work was already underway. Periodically, training alarms were announced, which I tolerated very poorly. On the eve of the war, we were already prepared for something to happen. Since June 21, dad was not at home, and after the start of the war I did not see him for quite a long time - they worked around the clock. Beds were set up at the General Staff, and sandwiches were brought there. At the most critical moment, my mother and I were forced to evacuate, but in 1942, as soon as the opportunity arose to return, we arrived in Moscow on Granovsky Street. I remember that there were very thick walls, and there were cabinets in them. I hid there during air raids.

In Moscow I went to school, but my studies were unique. Father, if possible, did not part with either my mother or me. We were constantly with him - at the fronts. A guarantor in Moscow, on instructions from his father, found out every day at the end of school what was assigned and transmitted the lessons to the front via HF. Mom, my strictest teacher, demanded strict compliance.

- Do you remember Victory Day?

On the ninth of May I met my father in Riga. We lived in a train carriage - dad had his own carriage. And I remember Victory Day because suddenly all types of weapons started firing. It was a victory salute. I looked out of the carriage and saw people expressing their delight by shooting with what they had at hand. It was an unforgettable state of general jubilation. Mom and Dad rejoiced along with everyone else, but for Dad, Victory Day was a continuation of the war. He was appointed commander-in-chief of our troops in the Far East, and he devoted all his strength to preparing this operation.

On the day of the Victory Parade, he walked along Red Square at the head of his front column. I came to the parade with my dad, stood on the podium, and was very proud of him. But since I was constantly close to my father, I saw him in military uniform, and in a ceremonial uniform, I perceived it as something familiar. I remember the subsequent parades well. My father was the Minister of War, then it was customary to ride on horseback, and riding a horse along a paved street is not the easiest thing. Despite the fact that he was a good rider, he even had a horse named Stavrikai assigned to him, his father was preparing for the parades and was very worried.

- How did your parents meet?

In 1931, my father received a transfer to Moscow. He was appointed first deputy of the combat training department. There he met his mother, who worked as a clerk. In 1934 they got married, and in 1935 I was born. They never told the details of the first meeting, the story of their love.

The family always had an atmosphere of incredibly touching love for each other. My father was constantly under the pressure of the unknown; he did not know what would happen to him tomorrow. Once he even said goodbye to me. For many years I worked under enormous moral and physical strain. I was told that there were times when, after several sleepless nights, he passed out over the map. What helped him endure this was love, family friendship and passion for his work.

My parents' devotion to each other remained boundless until the last days of their lives. When my mother became seriously ill, the question of urgent surgery arose, but the doctors threw up their hands, not risking doing it. The father, despite everything, insisted on this, and then he nursed the mother himself and thereby saved her life. Likewise, when my father had a heart attack in 1977, my mother was with him day and night - first at home, and then in the hospital in intensive care. She did everything she could for him and hoped until the end for a miracle.

- How did your family like to relax?

My father loved going to the theater whenever possible. And my acquaintance with Stalin took place in the theater. We went to the Moscow Art Theater to see the play "The Blue Bird", when we were sitting in a box, a rustling suddenly ran through the hall - the Supreme Commander-in-Chief had arrived. During the intermission, Stalin began asking me about my studies and progress. And I had one B. I was terribly worried, but I had to admit it. It was an event that overshadowed the performance. Our whole family traveled to Karlovy Vary several times. There my father was fond of fishing.

After the war he had almost no free time. All the days were filled with meetings, working on memories, and answering letters. He communicated with a huge number of people, carried on correspondence, not paying attention to ranks and positions. I remember well my father’s calligraphic handwriting, in which he wrote reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. During the war, he demanded a daily report, and I remember how once, for some reason, my father could not do this. Then Stalin told him that the next time such a mistake would be the last in his life.

- What qualities helped your father most in life?

Once, when my father and I were playing chess and I was winning, he said: “It’s a pity that you don’t master the art of playing military cards. That’s where we would have fought with you.” This was a task to which he devoted himself completely. I think that such talent was given to him from above. He always showed firmness in business, and even if it was necessary to confront Stalin, he did it. I was very proud of my father. At the same time, he was a modest, gentle, sympathetic, attentive person.

The successor of the Vasilevsky military dynasty is the son of the marshal and his first wife Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova, Yuri, now a retired lieutenant general. He was born in 1924 in Tver. From a young age, Yuri Vasilevsky dreamed of airplanes. He devoted his entire life to aviation, and ended his military career at the General Staff, in the unit that his father had once created.

- Yuri Alexandrovich, even before the war, your father became a prominent military leader. Did you feel it?

In 1934, my parents separated and I lived with my mother. The most expensive thing I had from my father was his field bag, with which I went to school for a long time. It was more convenient than a regular briefcase - there were special sections for pens and pencils, and in addition to textbooks and notebooks, it also contained items necessary for studying, such as a slingshot and a wooden pistol. But her main convenience was revealed during fights.

I knew from my mother that I had a brother, Igor. And in the spring of 1940, when the end of the conflict with Finland was announced, I literally stuck my ear to the loudspeaker plate - after the word “demarcation”, which was incomprehensible to me, the announcer suddenly mentioned Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, who was appointed to the commission to clarify and formalize the new border with Finland. I had no doubt that this was my father, and I rushed to school to brag about this news to my friends. That same year, on my fifteenth birthday, a newspaper was published with portraits of military men who were first awarded the rank of general. Among them was the father. This newspaper hung above my bed for a long time.

-Did you see your father during the war?

In October '41, at his insistence, my mother and I left for evacuation and returned to Moscow only a year later. I knew that my father was constantly at the front, so we had no contact with him. And at the end of '42, I received a summons from the military registration and enlistment office. I dreamed of becoming a pilot, but the commission ignored all my requests for enrollment in a flight school. True, given my passion for aviation, I was sent to the city of Miass, where at that time there was a school of aircraft technicians. At this aviation school, we conscripts were dressed in pea coats, hats with ear flaps, boots and windings. They fed us so that we could get to the training building and return to the barracks. In the spring of 1943, I began to have pneumonia, which very quickly turned into an open form of tuberculosis. In our country, going to see a doctor was considered bad manners, and judging by how I was feeling, I already understood how all this was going to end. It was at this moment that fate sent me my father.

When I felt really bad, I was unexpectedly called to the head of the school and asked what my relationship was with Marshal Vasilevsky. Having learned that I was his son, I was informed that the school had received a telegram from the Air Force command, which obliges me to urgently report to the General Staff to meet with the marshal. After that, instead of windings and a pea coat, I was given boots and an overcoat, and I went to Moscow. The very next day I was taken to the General Staff and found out what the shoulder straps of a Marshal of the Soviet Union looked like. That day we saw my father for the first time since he came to visit my mother and me in 1937 and gave me a bicycle. We sat down and my father began asking me about my life. Then he said that he was leaving for the front. “I ask you, Yurik, to go to the Arkhangelskoye sanatorium and rest there for a few days before I return to Moscow. Frankly speaking, I don’t like the way you look.” I asked: “What about the school?” - “For God’s sake, don’t worry, consider that we will be able to resolve this issue.” After that, we began to see my father often. I was admitted to the hospital, he sent me food.

In '44, my father took me with him to the front. In February we were in the Baltic states, then, after the death of Chernyakhovsky, my father was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. I traveled with him and saw what war is. At this time, I was already preparing to enter the Air Force Academy.

- After the war, did you continue to communicate?

At that time I was already living with my father. I remember when he was Minister of War, he had a very difficult relationship with Stalin. Shortly before the leader’s death, some equipment that did not meet the requirements was released. And although his father had no direct connection with this, Stalin once told him: “Are you working for the Americans?” My father took this as a warning, called me, said: “If something happens to me, you will be in charge. Don’t let me down.”

In 1948 I married Era Zhukova. My father, to be honest, was not happy. At this time, Stalin tried in every possible way to prevent friendship between the main commanders of the war. And family connections in general were extremely undesirable. We began to communicate less. Era and I lived with the Zhukovs on Granovsky Street. Georgy Konstantinovich was in Sverdlovsk at that time and left me in charge. I followed my own path, after the military academy I served in Germany, graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1965, after which I was sent to Tbilisi, then to Tashkent. My father always asked me about the service. He was proud that I was serving so far from Moscow, in very difficult conditions. When I was transferred from Tashkent to Alma-Ata, we didn’t even have apartments. My father admonished me: “Think about people first, and then about yourself.” He told everyone that his son served there, especially emphasizing the difficulties I had to face. And despite the fact that my father had contacts at the highest level and in the military districts in which I worked, it never occurred to me to take advantage of this, and my father did not have to blush for me.

Once, when I was already a general, my father told me the following story: when I was little, the head of the operational department and deputy chief of staff of the Red Army, Vladimir Kiriakovich Triandafillov, came to my father’s division. His father invited him to visit. While his parents were setting the table, Vladimir Kiriakovich wanted to see how the regiment commander lived. I led him around the apartment. In the hallway, passing by a large closet, I opened one of the doors, behind which stood decanters with various tinctures and liqueurs prepared by my parents according to old recipes, and said that here mom keeps “milk for dad.” When we returned to the dining room, the table was already set, but there was no trace of decanters on it. And seeing the embarrassment of my parents, Triandafillov said: “Dear Serafima Nikolaevna and Alexander Mikhailovich, before trying these wonderful snacks, shouldn’t you and I have a glass of “milk for daddy,” especially since Yura showed me where it is stored.” Remembering this story, my father told me: “You, Yura, put me in an extremely awkward position then.”

- How did your father like to spend his free time?

He loved fishing, but for some reason he didn't like hunting. Even when I was little, he and my mother fished a lot, bringing huge pikes, which they then smoked. Subsequently, I also became addicted to fishing. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, an avid hunter, told me: “You are doing something frivolous.” And then he got involved, so much so that it was impossible to tear him away from this activity. I taught him how to make spinners, and he started doing it even better than me.

My father mainly lived at his dacha in Arkhangelskoye. He loved to go mushroom hunting and enjoyed picking berries. He had another hobby - horses. Before the war, when he served in units, the commander was supposed to have a horse and his own carriage - a carriage. In Moscow, a horse was assigned to him; he rode it in Khamovniki.

- Did he participate in your upbringing?

I can’t remember my father raising me in any way. He was neither rude nor harsh, he never scolded me. Sometimes he would say in a very serious tone: “Yurik, work hard.”

- What qualities of his remain in your memory?

My father was a cheerful, sociable person, but at the same time he did not like to be in company. Despite this, on Sundays, he and Ekaterina Vasilievna gathered the whole family at a large table - children, brothers, sisters, nephews. I came to him first with Era, then with my current wife. He loved jokes and told them well himself. My father had a colleague who knew a lot of funny stories. When they went on a business trip together, he brought back many anecdotes, which he retold with pleasure.

My father had quite a lot of friends, but there were almost no military men among them. Many were arrested after the war. He managed to get some out, but he couldn’t get others out.

- What is it like to be the son and son-in-law of two famous marshals of the Great Patriotic War?

In my life I had to hold four Orders of Victory in my hands. My father had two, and my father-in-law had two. In the same way, I tried on two ceremonial uniforms, hung with orders. Vasilevsky's uniform and Zhukov's uniform.

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. 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). Staff captain of the tsarist army. Having joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918–1920, he commanded a company, battalion, and regiment. Graduated in 1937 Military Academy General Staff. From 1940 he served in the General Staff, where he was caught by the Great Patriotic War(1941–1945). In June 1942, he became the 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, A. M. Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. Over the course of a year and a half, 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 (Operation 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 the battles in 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 with the famous “star” assault on Koenigsberg.

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

In June 1945, the Marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief Soviet troops in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army under 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.

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 was installed in Kineshma.

Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:

• 2 Gold Stars of 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 personal weapon - saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
• 28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).

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

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

Born on September 16 (September 30), 1895 in the village. Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district, Ivanovo region, in the family of a priest, Russian. In February 1915, after graduating from the Kostroma Theological Seminary, he entered the Alekseevsky Military School (Moscow) and graduated from it in 4 months (in June 1915). In 1926 he graduated from the Shot course, in 1937 - the 1st year of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army, and by the Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR dated December 11, 1938, “he was given all the rights of a graduate of the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army.”

He began his army service in the tsarist army in June 1915 as a junior officer of a company in a reserve battalion, and from September 1915 to December 1917 he was a company commander and acting battalion commander in the 409 Novokhopersky Regiment of the 103rd Infantry Division of the 9th, 4th and 8th armies on Southwestern and Romanian Front."

In the Red Army from May 1919 to November 1919 - assistant platoon commander, company commander, for two months - battalion commander: from January 1920. until April 1923 - assistant regiment commander; until September - acting regiment commander, until December 1924 - head of a divisional school and until May 1931 - commander of a rifle regiment.

In his description in 1935, it was noted that he “... has a fairly strong character, shows his initiative...”.

In October 1937, he was appointed head of a department in the General Staff (until May 1940). His evaluation emphasized that he was “a firm, energetic and decisive commander. Able to organize work and transfer his knowledge and experience to subordinates. He is persistent and persistent in his work."

From May 21, 1940 to August 1, 1941 - Deputy Chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War A.M. Vasilevsky - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army - Head of the Operations Directorate (08/1/1941–01/25/1942): First Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Head of the Operations Directorate; First Deputy Chief of the General Staff (04/25/1942–06/26/1942).

From June 26, 1942 - Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, and from October 15, 1942 - at the same time Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. From February 20 to April 25, 1945, commander of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, and then, until June 1945, again deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR.

In June-October 1945, A. M. Vasilevsky was the Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in the Far East.

After the end of the war, from March 22, 1946 to March 6, 1947, he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces.

From March 24, 1949 to February 26, 1950 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR and Minister of War of the USSR (until March 16, 1953).

Subsequently, the military career of A. M. Vasilevsky often changed dramatically. For three years (from 03/16/1953 to 03/15/1956) he was the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR, but on March 15, 1956 he was relieved of his post at his personal request, but after 5 months (08/14/1956) re-appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for military science.

In December 1957, he was “dismissed due to illness with the right to wear a military uniform,” and in January 1959 he was again returned to the Armed Forces and appointed inspector general of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense (until December 5, 1977).

A. M. Vasilevsky was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944 and 09/08/1945). He was awarded 8 Orders of Lenin (21.05.1942, 29.07.1944, 21.02.1945, 29.09.1945, 29.09.1955, 29.09.1965, 29.09.1970, 29.09. 1975); Order of the October Revolution (02/22/1968), Honorary weapon with a gold image of the State Emblem of the USSR (02/22/1968); 2 Orders of the Red Banner (11/3/1944 - 06/20/1949): Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (01/28/1943); Order of the Red Star (1939), “For service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” III degree (04/30/1975). Twice awarded the Order of Victory (04/10/1944, 09/06/1945), and was also awarded 13 medals of the USSR and 28 orders and medals of foreign countries.

Military ranks; brigade commander - awarded 08/16/1938, division commander - 04/5/1940, major general - 06/04/1940, lieutenant general - 10/28/1941, colonel general - 05/21/1942, army general - 01/18/1943, Marshal of the Soviet Union - 02/16/1943

Member of the CPSU since 1938, member of the CPSU Central Committee (1952-1961), deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1946-1958).

Marshals of the Soviet Union: personal stories tell. M., 1996

VASILEVSKY ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH – OFFICER OF THE RUSSIAN MILITARY SCHOOL

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977) Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), twice holder of the Order of Victory. Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army A.M. Vasilevsky went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War as one of the main developers of the main strategic operations of the Red Army.

He is rightfully considered one of the “Marshals of Victory”, he did not suffer a single defeat, did not lose a single
one battle.

Alexander Vasilevsky was born on September 30, 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma. In 1909, he graduated from theological school in Kineshma and entered the theological seminary. With the beginning of the Russian-German War, he passed exams for theological school as an external student and volunteered for the army. “In the winter of 1915, Vasilevsky was sent to the Alekseevsky Infantry School, located in Lefortovo” (1) Since September 1915, Vasilevsky has been at the front.

The battle suffering with its hard military labor began. Vasilevsky began to command a half-company, then a company. Acted as battalion commander. (2) Vasilevsky’s unit became the best in the regiment in terms of training, military discipline, and combat effectiveness. He was promoted to staff captain, which, according to modern military ranks, corresponds (roughly) to the rank of senior lieutenant. “Two more years of war, and all yesterday’s warrant officers will become our generals!” - this is what the famous general and count, General F.A. once said. Keller to Lieutenant A.M. Vasilevsky.

Alexander Mikhailovich will write about himself in his memoirs “The Work of My Whole Life” very modestly: “I come from the clergy class. But there were tens of thousands of such people in Russia. I was an officer in the tsarist army” (3). Alexander Mikhailovich's father remained in the rank of Russian priest all his life. Orthodox Church. But the world war radically changed his fate. After graduating from military school in 1915, Vasilevsky was promoted to warrant officer with the prospect of promotion to second lieutenant after 8 months of combat service at the front, and for military distinction - at any time. For the rest of his life, the simple, clear principles of military and officer service to Russia, which he learned from military school, sank into his consciousness. These principles, formulated by General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, became Vasilevsky’s imperative. He himself wrote: “I decided to make some of theses (by M.I. Dragomirov) a firm rule for the entire duration of military service:

"a) Worship the banner,

B) Serve the Fatherland,

C) Maintain the honor of the uniform,

D) Communicate closely with subordinates,

D) Put service above personal affairs,

E) Do not be afraid of independence,

G) Act purposefully” (4).

In the spring of 1916, the regiment in which Vasilevsky served as part of the 9th Army took part in the Brusilov breakthrough. Then he served on the Romanian front. “After the outbreak of revolutionary unrest and the collapse of the army, Vasilevsky went on vacation and went home. (5)

After the February Revolution, Vasilevsky was elected to the regimental Council of Soldiers' Deputies. “Soon after October, Vasilevsky went on vacation,” wrote Marshal Bagramyan, “but, while at home, he received a notification from the regimental soldiers’ committee that he had been elected commander of the regiment and about the need to return and take office. Since Alexander Mikhailovich was unable to get to the Southern Front, where his regiment was located, he placed himself at the disposal of the local military committee” (6).

Vasilevsky began to serve in the Red Army only after forced mobilization in May 1919 and became a commander. IN civil war he commanded a battalion, and then for some time a rifle regiment on the Western Front, although his position was listed as assistant regiment commander. For 10 years, he alternately commanded all regiments of the 48th Infantry Division, which was part of the Moscow Military District. In 1926, Vasilevsky completed a year of training at the shooting and tactical advanced training courses for command staff “Vystrel” near Moscow. In the 30s, Vasilevsky was appointed to the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, and then headed the combat training department in the Volga Military District. In 1936, Vasilevsky was awarded military rank colonel.

Red officer Vasilevsky had tenacity, phenomenal memory and versatile abilities. Vasilevsky often published articles about current problems training and education of troops. The Military Academy of the General Staff, again founded in 1936, Vasilevsky graduated a year later and immediately headed the Department of Logistics at the same Academy. But already in October 1937, he was sent to the General Staff to the post of head of the operational training department for senior command personnel. He took part in leading the troops during the battles on Lake Khasan and at the last stage of the Soviet-Finnish war A.M. Vasilevsky participated in the development of the military campaign of 1939-1940. 1939-1940. Since May 1940, Vasilevsky became deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In November 1940, as a military expert, A.M. Vasilevsky traveled to Berlin as part of the USSR delegation led by V.M. Molotov. In June 1941, A.M. Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of major general.

The fateful hour of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was approaching. “On the first night of June 22, 1941, under the leadership of Vasilevsky, a directive was urgently transmitted to the border military districts that a surprise attack by German troops was possible on June 22-23. The directive demanded that all units be put on combat readiness,” recalled Marshal I.Kh. Bagramyan. (7) (It is appropriate to add that the Soviet military and political leadership, figuratively speaking, “slept through the outbreak.” But the General Staff was headed by G.K. Zhukov himself !)

On July 30, 1941, B.M. Shaposhnikov became the Chief of the General Staff, and Vasilevsky was appointed his deputy and head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. Vasilevsky took an active part in the development of operational and strategic plans for the country's defense, and especially in the development of plans for the defense of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. During the battle of Moscow, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky became a lieutenant general, was slightly wounded, and at the most critical moments of the defense of Moscow, he urgently proposed the decision to carry out a counterattack with all the forces of the fronts. On December 1, 1941, the historical order No. 396 was issued on the offensive near Moscow, signed “Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. I.Stalin, A.Vasilevsky"

Vasilevsky himself highly appreciated the role of the Headquarters: “It must be said frankly that despite the difficult, sometimes critical situation during the days of the defense of Moscow, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command showed great restraint and will, preserving the strategic reserves advanced to the Moscow region for the Red Army to launch a decisive counteroffensive”( 8)

“The General Staff, with the most active participation of A.M. Vasilevsky, developed in an extremely short time the plans of a whole complex of nine fronts: Demyansk, Toroetsko-Kholmskaya, Rzhevsko-Vyazemskaya, Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya and Kerchin-Feodosia,” wrote I.Kh. Bagramyan about Vasilevsky in book: Sons of the Great Nation."(9)

From June 1942, Vasilevsky was appointed to the post of Chief of the General Staff, and from October 1942, at the same time, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Vasilevsky was directly involved in the planning and development of the most important operations of the Soviet Armed Forces, in resolving the main issues of providing the fronts with human resources, material and technical means, and in preparing reserves of all types for army operations. During the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943. Vasilevsky was one of the authors and implementers of the plan for a major offensive operation involving troops from several fronts. He was not only one of the creators of the Red Army’s counteroffensive in the Stalingrad direction, but also directly led the reflection of the counterattack of the army group “South”, which was trying to relieve the army of F. Paulus encircled at Stalingrad. He then coordinated the actions of the fronts to eliminate this enemy.

As a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, A.M. Vasilevsky interacted between the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Battle of Kursk in 1943. In the Battle of Kursk, Hitler’s best strategist, Field Marshal Manstein, fought against Vasilevsky. Under his command were the best SS divisions and the largest number of tanks. But the strength of the Red Army, the skill of its commanders and generals, the heroism of soldiers and officers exceeded the power of the Wehrmacht. Having exhausted and bled the best German units in defensive battles, the Red Army troops launched a counteroffensive without pause. The final turning point took place during the Great Patriotic War.

In 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. For coordinating the actions of the two Ukrainian fronts in 1944, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded the highest military leadership award - the Order of Victory, and for the Belarusian operation Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Throughout the war, Vasilevsky repeatedly went to the fronts as a representative of the Headquarters, however, Vasilevsky was officially introduced into the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command only in February 1945 (he had actually been a member of it since 1941). At the same time, at the final stage of the war, A.M. Vasilevsky was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. At the same time, Vasilevsky asked Stalin to relieve him from the post of Chief of the General Staff, citing the fact that he would be at the front most of the time. Already on April 9, a red flag was raised over the strongest fortress of Königsberg in East Prussia. Over 90 thousand prisoners of war, thousands of guns and mortars were taken from the city. “In East Prussia, Vasilevsky passed the most difficult military leadership exam with honor and demonstrated with all his might both his talent as a large-scale military strategist and his excellent organizational qualities,” pointed out Marshal Bagramyan (10). By the way, it was to Bagramyan that at the final stage of the war Vasilevsky transferred his 3rd Belorussian Front, as he was urgently recalled to Moscow. Vasilevsky was soon to lead the Far Eastern Front.

Since June 1945, Vasilevsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army in the Far East. Under his leadership, a major regrouping of troops was carried out, the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was planned, prepared and carried out to defeat the Japanese 600,000-strong Kwantung Army (August 9 - September 2, 1945). The Far Eastern theater of military operations (FE theater of operations) covered the territory of Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, North Korea and the adjacent waters Pacific Ocean. The area of ​​the land part of the Far Eastern theater of operations was 1.5 million square meters. km, where 70 million people lived. This territory exceeded the size of the territories of Germany, Italy, France and England combined. The total number of divisions of the Soviet army concentrated in the East was estimated at 87. “In the Far Eastern campaign, the leadership talent of Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was especially clearly demonstrated,” wrote military historians M.L. Titarenko and V.P. Zimonin, “who managed with minimal losses and in the shortest possible time carry out the grandiose Manchurian strategic offensive operation, as well as return South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to Russia, liberate Northeast China and North Korea” (11). During the fighting, the losses of the enemy’s Kwantung group amounted to 720 thousand soldiers and officers, including 640 thousand prisoners. (12) “The Armed Forces of the USSR lost 36,456 people killed, wounded and missing in the war with Japan, including 12,031 dead "(13) Truly Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky achieved victory in the Suvorov style, not with numbers, but with skill.

The question inevitably arises: “why in September 1945 was the then unknown General Derevianko, and not Marshal Vasilevsky, instructed to sign the act of unconditional surrender of Japan on behalf of the USSR?” - historian Vladimir Uspensky reasonably asks, and answers - “Stalin was dissatisfied with (US President) Truman, with whom he never agreed on the landing of our troops on Hokaido, and intended to emphasize his dissatisfaction with the low level of our government delegation when signing the act. At first it was planned that the delegation would be headed by one of the military men, Marshal Vasilevsky or Admiral Kuznetsov. But this seemed too little after it became known that among the allies who would arrive on the Missouri there would be a certain General Sverdlov, aka Peshkov, the brother of Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov, whom Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin hated more and more . (...) And here - as if on purpose - the Sverdlovsk brother, an international adventurer, a deserter from Russia, somehow “adopted” by our great writer, about which Peshkov-Gorky himself spoke negatively. Crook!
“Unreputable company,” Stalin spoke contemptuously about this. - Send a mediocre general there. Competent, so that he can sign beautifully...”(14)

A.M. Vasilevsky stood out among military leaders not only for his military leadership, but also for his simple human qualities. Thus, his comrade General Staff General S.M. Shtemenko wrote: “ Distinctive feature Alexander Mikhailovich always had trust in his subordinates, deep respect for people, and respect for their dignity. He subtly understood how difficult it was to maintain organization and clarity in the critical situation of the unfavorable development for us at the beginning of the war, and tried to rally the team, to create a working environment where the pressure of the authorities would not be felt at all, but only the strong shoulder of an older, more experienced comrade, on which you can lean on if necessary.”(15).

At military councils, which Alexander Mikhailovich often held during the war, the success of one or another decision largely depended on the attitude of the marshal. It was expressed in the following: “...their participants should think, first of all, not about subordination, but about the benefits of the cause. So express your thoughts boldly and directly, Vasilevsky demanded, regardless of the fact that they disagree with the opinion of the senior boss or not. (...) ...As soon as the decisions crystallized during our meeting take the form of an order, they must be carried out not out of fear, but out of conscience, regardless of your initial opinion,” Army General S.P. Ivanov recalled Vasilevsky’s installation (16).

After the war, Vasilevsky again became the Chief of the General Staff in March 1946 and almost simultaneously became the 1st Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1949-53, A.M. Vasilevsky became the Minister of the Armed Forces (Minister of War) of the USSR, then he became 1st deputy. Minister of Defense of the USSR (1953-56), Deputy Minister of Defense (1956-57). Since 1959, Vasilevsky joined the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Among other awards, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded two Orders of Victory.

A.M. Vasilevsky died on November 5, 1977. He was buried near the Kremlin wall. According to the resolution of the Moscow City Duma of May 16, 2007, a monument to the famous Marshal and twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky will finally be erected in the hero city of Moscow! 2007 was declared the “Year of Memory of Marshal of Victory A.M. Vasilevsky.” In a special booklet of the federal information and analytical magazine “Senator”, entirely dedicated to the famous marshal, it is noted: “The erection of a monument in the capital of Russia to one of the legendary commanders of the Great Patriotic War will be a sign of the deepest gratitude of all the people of our country to the front-line soldiers and their glorious commander, Marshal of Victory A.M. Vasilevsky , for heroism and outstanding services to the Fatherland - for a peaceful sky above your head! This is an eternal reminder to all of us and future generations that “No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten!” (17)

Some thoughts of the Outstanding commander Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky may be useful to an officer of the Russian Armed Forces.

1. Lubchenkov Yu.N. One hundred great commanders of the Second World War, M., Veche, 2005. P.46.

2. See: Great Patriotic War. Active army - M.-Zhukovsky, “Kuchkovo Field, 2005, P.288.

3. Vasilevsky A.M. - It's a matter of a lifetime. Politlit, M., 1975, P.7.

4. Vasilevsky A, M. - Ibid., S.18.

5. Lubchenkov Yu.N. – Ibid., P.47.

6. Bagramyan.I.Kh. - Sons of the great people. A.M.Vasilevsky. Voenizdat, M., 1984. P.72.

7. Bagramyan.I.Kh. – Ibid., S.45.

8. According to: Bagramyan. THEIR. – Ibid., S.48.

9. Bagramyan.I.Kh. – Ibid., P.49.

10. By: Bagramyan I.Kh. – Ibid., P.77

11. Titarenko M.L., Zimonin V.P. - Victory in the Pacific Ocean.//An attempt on a great victory, M., Algorithm, 2005, P.189.

12. Zimonin V.P. - The last outbreak of the Second World War, M., 2002, P.330.

13. See: Classification of Secrecy has been removed. Losses armed forces USSR in wars, hostilities and conflicts. Statistical research, M., 1993, P.223.

14. Uspensky V. - Privy Advisor to the Leader,” (specify!)

15. Shtemenko - General Staff during the war years - M., 1981, T.1, P.182.

16. See: Ivanov - S.P. Army headquarters, front-line headquarters M., Voenizdat, 1990, P. 446.

17. Federal information and analytical magazine “Senator”, M., Interpressa. 2007

The Great Patriotic War found Major General Vasilevsky at the General Staff, in the position of Deputy Chief of Operations. Less than two months later he was appointed chief of the operational department and deputy chief of the General Staff. The Chief of the General Staff was, as you know, Shaposhnikov.

Together with Shaposhnikov, Vasilevsky participates in Headquarters meetings in the Kremlin. And in December 1941, during Shaposhnikov’s illness, Vasilevsky served as chief of the General Staff.

A. M. Vasilevsky played a key role in organizing the defense of Moscow and the counter-offensive, which began at the end of 1941. During these tragic days, when the fate of Moscow was being decided, from October 16 to the end of November, he headed the operational group to serve Headquarters. The group’s responsibilities included knowing and correctly assessing events at the front, constantly informing Headquarters about them, reporting their proposals to the Supreme High Command in connection with changes in the front-line situation, and quickly and accurately developing plans and directives. The task force, as can be seen from this list of responsibilities, was the brain and heart of the grandiose military operation called the Battle of Moscow.

In April 1942, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Colonel General, and in June of the same year he took the post of Chief of the General Staff.

Throughout the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasilevsky, as a representative of the Headquarters, was in Stalingrad, coordinating the interaction of the fronts. He played a decisive role in repelling the Manstein group. In January 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Army General and was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. And less than a month later, which is extremely unusual, he became Marshal of the Soviet Union.

It was Vasilevsky who came up with the idea of ​​conducting a defensive operation, followed by a counteroffensive during Battle of Kursk. It was he who convinced Stalin and other representatives of the General Staff to do just that. At the height of the Battle of Kursk, he coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts. Tank battle near Prokhorovka, Vasilevsky observed personally from the position of his command post.

Vasilevsky planned and led operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea and southern Ukraine. On the day of the capture of Odessa in April 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory. He became the second holder of this order. The first was Zhukov.

When Sevastopol was liberated, in early May 1944, Vasilevsky personally drove around the city, and his car came across a mine. The marshal was wounded. The wound was minor, but he had to undergo treatment in Moscow for some time.

However, already at the end of May, Marshal Vasilevsky was leaving for the front to command the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts during Operation Bagration. For the liberation of the Baltic states and Belarus, on July 29, 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

In February 1945, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Chernyakhovsky, died. Vasilevsky was appointed in his place. In this position, he led the assault on Konigsberg - an operation included in all military textbooks.