After the end of the war, Kazakov commanded the army until August 1946, and participated in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945. Transferred to the Transcaucasian Military District, he became district deputy commander in August 1946 and its chief of staff in February 1947. Relieved from his post for "an incorrect attitude to the issues of national formations" in the district, Kazakov was appointed assistant commander of the forces of the South Ural Military District, effectively a demotion. This proved temporary as he was appointed chief of staff of the Odessa Military District in November 1950 and commander of the Ural Military District in May 1953. Promoted to army general in August 1955, Kazakov was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces for combat training in January 1956. His rise to senior posts continued and he commanded the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary from December of that year and then the Leningrad Military District from October 1960. Kazakov was appointed chief of the Combined Staff of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization and simultaneous first deputy chief of the General Staff in November 1965. This proved to be his last active post as in August 1968 he was effectively retired as an inspector-advisor of the Group of Inspectors General. Kazakov died in Moscow on 25 December 1979 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.