Soviet General Staff Academy
Which school did Matvei Zakharov go to from 1928 to 1933?
Matvei Zakharov Matvei Vasilevich Zakharov ( ; August 17 , 1898 – January 31 , 1972 ) was Marshal of the Soviet Union , Chief of the General Staff , Deputy Defense Minister . Biography . Zakharov was born in Voylovo , a village in Kalininsky District , Tver Oblast to peasant parents . Zakharov joined the Red Guards ( precursor to the Red Army ) in 1917 . He served under Kliment Voroshilov during the Russian Civil War . Zakharov graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in 1928 , and from Soviet General Staff Academy in 1937 ( his graduation was actually a year ahead of schedule , due to the lack of officers in the Red Army because of the explosive growth of the army , as well as Stalins purges. ) Zakharov held a number of high-ranking positions before World War II even began . In 1937 he was made the Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Military District , then in 1938–1940 he was the Deputy Chief of the General Staff , and then the Chief of Staff of the Odessa Military District . By the end of 1941 , after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa , he was moved north , where he was made the Chief of Staff of the Northwestern Theatre . Soon thereafter , he was made the Chief of Staff of the Kalinin Front , a role he held for most of 1942 . In 1943 , he was made the Chief of Staff of the Steppe Front , which was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front around mid-year . It was in this capacity that Zakharov proved himself as one of the Soviet Union’s top military commanders . He helped plan a number of brilliant operations against German forces , first as a subordinate to Marshal Ivan Konev , and then under Marshal Rodion Malinovsky . After the cessation of hostilities with Germany , Zakharov was transferred east , where he was made the Chief of Staff of the Transbaikal Front , and helped plan the subsequent Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation . After the war , Zakharov held a number of key positions in the army . In 1945–1960 , Zakharov was the Commandant of the General Staff Academy , Deputy Chief of the General Staff , Chief Inspector of the Army , Commanding General of the Leningrad Military District and Commander in Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany . On May 8 , 1959 , Zakharov was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union . After attaining that rank , Zakharov was simultaneously made Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defence in 1960–1963 . He then briefly went back to the General Staff Academy where he was once again the commandant until 1964 , when he was made the Deputy Minister of Defense and again Chief of the General Staff , a post he held until his retirement in 1971 . Marshal M . V . Zakharov died on January 31 , 1972 . The urn containing his ashes is buried by the Kremlin Wall Necropolis . Honours and awards . - Hero of the Soviet Union ( 8 September 1945 , 22 September 1971 ) - Five Orders of Lenin ( 21 February 1945 , 8 September 1945 , 21 June 1957 , 2 February 1958 , 22 February 1968 ) - Order of the October Revolution ( 16 August 1968 ) - Order of the Red Banner , four times ( 22 February 1938 , 31 December 1942 , 3 November 1944 , 6 November 1947 ) - Order of Suvorov , 1st class , twice ( 13 September 1944 , 28 April 1945 ) - Order of Kutuzov , 1st class , twice ( 27 August 1943 , 22 February 1944 ) - Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky , 1st class ( 17 May 1944 ) - Order of the Red Star ( 31 December 1939 ) - Honorary weapon with gold National Emblem of the Soviet Union ( 22 February 1968 ) - Jubilee Medal XX Years of the Workers and Peasants Red Army - Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic ( 28 April 1970 ) - Order of Klement Gottwald Further reading . - Колпакиди А. , Север А . ГРУ . Уникальная энциклопедия . — М. : Яуза Эксмо , 2009 . — С . 692-693 . — 720 с . — ( Энциклопедия спецназа ) . — 5000 экз . — - Richard Woff : Matvei Vasilievich Zakharov , in : Shukman Harold : Stalins Generals ( New York 1993 ) . ( See also Shukman , Harold ( 2001 ) . Stalins Generals . Phoenix Press . . ) - B.Z . Gryaznow : Marschall Sacharow ( Moskau 1979 ) -russisch