born Dec. 21, 1896, Velikiye Luki, Russia
died Aug. 3, 1968, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.
Russian army officer.
He joined the Red Army in 1917 and rose through the ranks. Imprisoned in 1938 during the Stalinist purges, he was released when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. He became a noted commander in World War II, especially at the Battle of Stalingrad . After the war he was minister of defense in Soviet-dominated Poland (194956) and deputy minister of defense in the Soviet Union (195662).