In 1935, in the USSR, especially distinguished military people began to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. This title was awarded to 41 men, including Brezhnev, Beria and Koshevoy.
Until the 1930s, there were no personal military names in the Red Army. The title of Marshal in the USSR was founded only in 1935. 41 men have been awarded such a high military title in the entire history of the USSR. In the same year, they were the first five Marshals of the Soviet Union - S. M. Budyonny, K. E. Voroshilov, V. K. Blucher, A. I. Egorov and M. N. Tukhachevsky. The last three were overtaken by repression, they were shot and tortured in prison. Later they are rehabilitated, returning their titles posthumously.
In the 40s, B. M. Shaposhnikov, S. K. Timoshenko and G. I. Sandpiper. Grigory Ivanovich Kulik was overtaken by the same fate as Yegorov and Tukhachevsky. Later, the title will begin to be assigned to each individually, with the help of special decrees. The reason for this was the beginning of the war and the emergency.
During the Great Patriotic War, the following became marshals: G. K. Zhukov, I. V. Stalin, I. S. Konev, K. A. Meretskov, K. K. Rokossovsky, L. A. Govorov, R. Ya. Malinovsky and F. I. Tolbukhin. In 1945, the general commissioner of state security Lavrenty Beria was also equated to the rank of marshal. With the arrival of Khrushchev, he was arrested, stripped of his regalia and shot. This was one of the few times the marshal was not rehabilitated. ON THE. Bulganin and V. D. Sokolovsky in 1946-1947, as major military commanders, was also awarded a significant rank - Marshal of the Soviet Union. These were the last "Stalinist" marshals.
It is curious that Sokolovsky was more of a politician than a military man, and during the war he was in charge of political affairs. Bulganin at the end of the 50s was stripped of his title for anti-party activities. By the tenth anniversary of the Victory, 6 military leaders became Marshals of the Soviet Union, including V. I. Chuikov, A. I. Eremenko, A. A. Grechko. In 1959, M. V. Zakharov. In the 60s and mid 70s, 8 more people were nominated for the rank, including L. I. Brezhnev, N. I. Krylov and P. K. Koshevoy. The last marshal of the USSR was D. T. Yazov. Despite the fact that he was arrested as a member of the Emergency Committee, he did not lose his title. The title of Marshal is preserved today in the Russian Federation.
