Talk:Viktor Kulikov

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Kulikov was born in the village of Verkhnyaya Lyubovsha in what is now the Novodereven'kovsky Rayon of Orel Oblast' into a peasant family. He joined the Communist Party in 1942 after graduating a 10-grade school in 1938.

He joined the Red Army in 1939 and graduated the Grodno Infantry School in 1941 and was sent to the Kiev Military District as a platoon commander. He participated in battles of the Great Patriotic War from the very first days in the Southwest, and then the Kalinin, 1st Baltic, and 2nd Belorussian Fronts, occupying the positions of commander of a reconnaissance battalion's motorcycle company and chief of staff of a tank battalion. From August 1943 to May 1945 he was chief of staff of the 143rd Independent Tank Brigade (as of February 1945, a Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade). He planned the brigade's combat operations in the Smolensk, Belorussian, Riga, East Prussian, and other operations. During these operations the brigade broke through strongly-defended enemy defensive zones and operated as part of a mobile group of forces, waged defensive battles to repel the counterattacks of enemy armored groups, and participated in the liberation of Nevel', Polotsk, Mitava, Tukums, Danzig, Stettin, and other cities. V. G. Kulikov found appropriate means of operations to organize battles and command the brigade in battle, which faciliated the successful performance of the brigade's combat missions.

In May 1945 a testimonial noted "...Cde. Kulikov has worked as a brigade chief of staff since August 1943. In battle and in everyday work he has shown that he knows his business, skillfully planning battles and combat training. He is courageous and decisive in battle, for which he was given five government awards".

After the war (from October 1945 to November 1957) he was a battalion commander, deputy commander of a regiment, commander of a regiment, and chief of staff and commander of a division. He graduated the Higher Armor School in 1947, the Frunze [Ground Forces] Military Academy in 1953, and the General Staff Academy in 1959. After graduating the General Staff Academy V. G. Kulikov was appointed Deputy, First Deputy, and then Commanding General of an army (November 1959 to May 1967).

General of the Army M. I. Kazakov, Commanding General of the Leningrad Military District, noted in 1965 that Cde. V. G. Kulikov "is quiet and restrained in character but sometimes "snaps" in relations with subordinates and displays unjustified hotheadedness...".

V. G. Kulikov was Commanding General of the Kiev Military District from 1967 to 1969 and Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany from 1969 to 1971. He then became Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces from 1971 to 1977. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact for over 12 years (to February 1989). He was an Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense until January 1992 and then an Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Armed Forces of the Commnwealth of Independent States and an Adviser to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation since September 1992.

He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union on 3 July 1981 and given the Lenin Prize in 1983. He was made a Laureat of the Zhukov Prize in 2002 for outstanding contributions in the development and strengthening of the Russian Federation's defensive might.

He has received 4 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 3 Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st Class, the Order of the Red Star, the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces", 3rd Class, 18 medals (including "For Bravery" and "For Combat Services"), and also 31 orders and medals of foreign countries. Upon retirement (1992) he was given a personalized weapon, a pistol.

Publications:

Коллективная защита социализма [The Collective Defense of Socialism] М[oscow] 1982 Надежный оплот мира и безопасности народов [A Reliable Bulwark for the Peace and Security of the Peoples], М[oscow]., 1980

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