Vasily Petrov (marshal)
Vasiliy Ivanovich Petrov (; – 1 February 2014) was a Russian military official and Marshal of the Soviet Union. Background. Petrov was born in 1917 in Chernolesskoye, Stavropol Governorate. He completed high school in 1935 and studied for two years at a teacher training institute until 1937. Petrov joined the Red Army in 1939 and completed the lieutenant's course in 1941. During World War II, he fought in the defence of Odessa, defence of Sevastopol and the Campaign in the Caucasus. He later took part in the liberation of Ukraine (was part of the USSR) and the invasion  of Romania, in addition to the Budapest Offensive in Hungary. After the war, Petrov completed Military Studies at the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow. He subsequently rose through the Soviet military ranks, being promoted to Colonel in 1952, Major General in 1961, Lieutenant General in 1965, Colonel General in 1970 and General in 1972. In 1983, Petrov was eventually appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union. In the late 1970s, Petrov served as a military advisor to the Ethiopian Army. He was assigned to assist and rebuild the force during the Ogaden War. In 1982, Petrov was awarded the Hero of  the Soviet Union. He commanded the Far East Military District in 1972–1976 and served as Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces in 1980–1985. He then succeeded Sergey Sokolov as First Deputy Minister of Defence until his retirement in 1986 due to ill health. From 1992, Petrov served as a military advisor to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. He died in 2014 at the age of 97 and was laid to rest at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery in Moscow Oblast.