Fyodor Tolbukhin Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin ( ; June 16 , 1894 – October 17 , 1949 ) was a Soviet military commander . Biography . Tolbukhin was born into a peasant family in the province of Yaroslavl , north - east of Moscow . He volunteered for the Imperial Army in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I . He was steadily promoted , advancing from private to captain by 1916 . He was also decorated for bravery multiple times . In August 1918 Tolbukhin joined the Red Army , where he served as the chief of staff of the 56th infantry ( Rifle ? ) division . After the Russian Civil War ended ( 1921 ) , Tolbukhin was given a number of staff positions . He also attended the Frunze Military Academy for advanced staff training , graduating in 1931 . In 1937 , after a series of staff positions , Tolbukhin was given command of a division . In 1938 , he was made chief of staff of the Transcaucasus Military District . Tolbukhin remained in this position through the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa until August 1941 , when he was made the chief of staff of the Crimean Front , which he held until March 1942 . From May to July 1942 , he was the assistant commander of the Stalingrad Military District . After that , he was the commander of the 58th Army until March 1943 . The 58th was involved in the Battle of Stalingrad , where Tolbukhin ' s superior , Colonel - General Andrei Yeremenko , praised his command organization and military prowess . After his command of the 57th , Tolbukhin was placed in command of the Southern Front . In October 1943 the Southern Front was renamed 4th Ukrainian Front . Tolbukhin assisted Rodion Malinovsky ' s 3rd Ukrainian Front in the Lower Dnieper Offensive and Dnieper – Carpathian Offensive . In May 1944 , Tolbukhin was transferred to control of 3rd Ukrainian Front . During the Summer Campaign , from June to October 1944 , Tolbukhin and Malinovsky launched their invasion of the Balkans and were able to conquer most of Romania . On September 12 , 1944 , two days after Malinovsky was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union , Tolbukhin was promoted to the same rank . While Malinovsky moved northwest , towards Hungary and Yugoslavia , Tolbukhin occupied Bulgaria . Starting in the Winter Campaign , Tolbukhin shifted his army to the northwest axis , thereby liberating much of Yugoslavia and invading southern Hungary . After the war , Tolbukhin was commander - in - chief of the Southern Group of Forces , which comprised the Balkan region . In January 1947 , Tolbukhin was made the commander of the Transcaucasus Military District , a post he held until his death , on October 17 , 1949 . Tolbukhin is generally regarded as one of the finest Soviet generals of World War II . Meticulous , careful , and not overly ambitious like some Soviet commanders , Tolbukhin was well respected by fellow commanders and also his men , especially since he had a dedication to keeping casualty rates low . Tolbukhin was the recipient of numerous awards and medals including the highest Soviet medal and rank , the Victory Order and Hero of the Soviet Union , respectively . Tolbukhin was also a hero of Yugoslavia , whose capital Belgrade he liberated . The urn containing his ashes is buried in the Kremlin necropolis wall , and there is a monument to him in his native Yaroslavl . Honours and awards . Memorials . The Bulgarian city of Dobrich was renamed Tolbukhin , a name it held until the fall of communism in 1989 . A Prospect ( street ) in Odessa holds his name . One of main streets in Belgrade , the capital of Serbia was named after general Tolbukhin : Marshal Tolbukhin Street ( Ulica maršala Tobuhina in Serbian ( Latin alphabet ) , Улица Маршала Толбухина also in Serbian ( Cyrillic ) ) . After " democratic revolution " and after the fall of communism in Yugoslavia and in Serbia , this street was renamed , and now its official name is " General McKenzie / MacKenzie Street " ( " Mekenzijeva ulica " in Serbian ) . Trivia is that Marshal Tolbukhin Street in Belgrade started from a " Square of Dimitrije Tucović " and continued to " Marshal Tito Street " , all three now renamed to their pre World War II names . However , even after those decisions motivated by contemporary politics , people in Belgrade still use the " old " name of the street - Marshal Tolbukhin Street , since Marshal Tolbukhin ( general at the time ) was a commander in chief of the Red Army during liberation of Belgrade , the capital of old Yugoslavia and Serbia . Budapest , the capital of Hungary also had one of its streets named after Tolbukhin , as he was one of the major Soviet commanders in the Hungarian war theatre . The previous Mészáros utca ( Butchers ' Street ) was renamed Vámház körút ( Custom House Circle ) during the ( re ) construction of the area in 1875 . The road was renamed after the Tsar of Bulgaria , Ferdinand in 1915 , when Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in the First World War . In 1919 the road got back its old name , Vámház körút , which it bore until 1942 , when it was once more renamed , this time after Regent of Hungary , admiral Horthy . In 1945 the road was named after Marshall Tolbukhin ( Tolbuhin körút - Tolbukhin Circle ) , and it held this name until 1990 , fall of the Socialism . In 1990 , Tolbukhin Circle got back its old name , Vámház körút for the third time .