Vasily Margelov - biography, information, personal life. Vasily Margelov: short biography, photos, quotes Who is Vasily Filippovich Margelov

Vasily Filippovich Margelov was drafted into the Red Army in 1928. Even before the start of World War II, he showed himself during the Polish campaign, the Soviet-Finnish war. But, perhaps, it was during the Great Patriotic War he emerged as an outstanding commander. What is one surrender without a fight to the "Soviet Skorzeny" (as the Germans called him) of the divisions of the SS Panzer Corps "Dead Head" and "Great Germany" on May 12, 1945, which were ordered not to be allowed into the zone of responsibility of the Americans. The enemy driven into a corner is capable of much - there is nothing to lose. For the SS men, retribution for the atrocities was inevitable, and new victims were inevitable. And the order was clear - to capture or destroy.

Margelov took a decisive step. With a group of officers armed with machine guns and grenades, the divisional commander, accompanied by a battery of 57-mm cannons on his "jeep" arrived at the group's headquarters. By ordering the battalion commander to set up direct fire guns at the enemy headquarters and shoot if he does not return in ten minutes.

Margelov presented an ultimatum to the Germans: Either they surrender and save their lives, or complete destruction using all the fire weapons of the division: “by 4.00 in the morning - the front to the east. Light weapons: machine guns, machine guns, rifles - in piles, ammunition - nearby. The second line - military equipment, guns and mortars - vents down. Soldiers and officers - we are building to the west. Time to think - just a few minutes: "until his cigarette burns out." The nerves of the Germans cracked first. The picture of the surrender of the SS was amazing. The exact count of trophies showed the following figures: 2 generals, 806 officers, 31,258 non-commissioned officers, 77 tanks and self-propelled guns, 5847 trucks, 493 trucks, 46 mortars, 120 guns, 16 locomotives, 397 wagons. For this military feat, at the Victory Parade, Margelov was entrusted with commanding the combined regiment of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.

Vasily Margelov is considered the creator of the Airborne Forces ...
Vasily was born in 1908. in Yekaterinoslav (now the Dnieper), fought the entire war, then was the commander of the Airborne Forces and died in 1990. in Moscow at the age of 81...
He also had an interesting personal life.
Three wives and five sons...

The first wife, Maria, left her husband and son (Gennady).

The second wife is Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya (mother of Anatoly and Vitaly).

The last wife is Anna Alexandrovna Kurakina, a doctor. He met Anna Alexandrovna during the Great Patriotic War.

Children:

Gennady Vasilyevich (-) - Major General.

Anatoly Vasilyevich (-) - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, author of more than 100 patents and inventions in the military-industrial complex.

Vitaly Vasilyevich (born) - a professional intelligence officer, an employee of the KGB of the USSR and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, later - a public and political figure; colonel general, deputy of the State Duma.

Vasily Vasilievich (-) - retired major; First Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Relations of the Russian State Broadcasting Company "Voice of Russia" (RGRK "Voice of Russia").

Alexander Vasilievich (1945 - ) - officer of the Airborne Forces. On August 29, 1996, "for the courage and heroism shown in testing, fine-tuning and mastering special equipment" (landing inside the BMD-1 on a parachute-rocket system in the Reaktavr complex, carried out for the first time in world practice in 1976) was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. After retiring, he worked in the structures of Rosoboronexport.

Vasily Vasilyevich and Alexander Vasilyevich are twin brothers. In 2003, they co-authored a book about their father - "Paratrooper No. 1 Army General Margelov."

Here are some interesting observations...
Vasily Margelov has a son Gennady from his first wife Maria ...
Born in 1931, chose military career, general, died in 2016 at the age of 85...
From the third wife Anna Kurakina, two twin sons Vasily and Alexander, were born in 1945, both had a military career ...
Vasily rose to the rank of major, then worked in some tricky position at the Voice of Russia, died in 2010. at the age of 65...
Alexander rose to the rank of colonel, died in 2016 at the age of 70...
But we are interested in the offspring of Vasily Margelov from his second wife Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya ...
Everything is clean with his son Anatoly, he was born in 1938. in Taganrog, where he died in 2008. at the age of 70...
He was a scientist, the author of 220 inventions...
While Margelov has four worthy decent sons, all of them are no longer alive ...
But now we will talk about scum, about the second son of his second wife Theodosia ...
About his only living son, Vitaly...
Vitaly was born in 1941. in Molotov in evacuation ...
He graduated from school in Taganrog with a gold medal and from 1958 to 1963. studied at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University ...
Immediately after graduating from his law school, he gets a job in the KGB ...
How many years later, immediately after the law faculty of Leningrad State University, Putin got into the KGB ...
This is possible only in one case, if a person from his student years was a sexist and a snitch ...
No other way...
In the KGB, Vitalik's career went downhill, where he found himself in his native element...
In the 1980s, he worked as the head of the 5th department of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR (France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, the Benelux states, Greece, Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania).
Repeatedly went on long and short-term business trips abroad.
This is a feeder, dollar travel allowances flowed like a river, thermonuclear ties are in power, it seems cooler than this and nothing can be imagined ...
What kind of shit in the post-Stalin era was selected for work in the KGB, I wrote in detail in my KGB series under the same tag ...
And Vitalik, apparently, was shit of the highest standard ...
But when the USSR, which the KGB was called upon to defend, collapsed, Vitalik did not blunder there either ...
From 1997 to 2003 - Deputy Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation for operational issues.
In December 2003, upon reaching the age limit for military service, was retired

The main brainchild of Vasily Margelov is absolutely deservedly considered the Airborne Forces. However, the general distinguished himself on the family front. Few people know, but Margelov was a father of many children: he raised five sons. All of them followed in the footsteps of their parent and devoted their lives to the national army.

Gennady

As you know, in the late 1920s, Vasily Filippovich Margelov was drafted into the Red Army. The recruit was sent to study at the United Belarusian Military School. It was then that Margelov first acquired the status of a married man. In the early autumn of 1931, a son was born to the young couple. The boy was named Gennady. However, the happiness did not last long. Maria Margelova could not stand the nomadic life that her husband led by virtue of his profession. The child remained in the care of his grandparents, the parents of Vasily Filippovich.

Nevertheless, the father, apparently, had a huge influence on his son, because, while still a 13-year-old teenager, Gennady Vasilyevich fled to the front. Margelov, the elder son, did not drive away: for some time Gennady fought in the division commanded by his parent. Later, according to Oleg Smyslov, the author of General Margelov, Gennady Margelov graduated Suvorov School. Subsequently, he was promoted to major general. The last place of his service was the Leningrad Military Physical Education Institute named after Lesgaft.

Anatoly and Vitaly

Vasily Margelov met his second wife, Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya, in Belarus. In this marriage, "paratrooper No. 1" had sons Anatoly and Vitaly. Despite the presence of children, this union was not too durable. The divorce of the parents did not affect the professional orientation of Anatoly and Vitaly in any way: they both decided to follow in the footsteps of their father. Vitaly, according to Eric Ford, author of Behind the Scenes of the FSB, rose to the rank of Colonel General. He devoted most of his life to foreign intelligence and even served as deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

But Anatoly Margelov, as his brother Alexander Margelov writes in his book Paratrooper No. 1. Army General Margelov, graduated from a radio engineering university in Taganrog. Since 1959, Anatoly Margelov has been creating new types of weapons. He has more than 200 different inventions to his credit. Thanks to such hard work and, of course, talent, Anatoly Vasilievich became a doctor technical sciences only in his 30s. Almost until the end of his days, he worked at the Taganrog Research Institute of Communications.

Vasily and Alexander

Vasily Margelov met his third wife at the end of 1941. At that time, the battles near Leningrad were just going on. Anna Aleksandrovna Kurakina also took part in the Great Patriotic War and at one time operated on a wounded commander. Margelov and Kurakin became legal husband and wife only in 1947, and the twins Vasily and Alexander were born 2 years earlier. The younger sons of Margelov were influenced not only by the general himself, but also by their older brothers. Vasily and Alexander have excellent relations with Gennady, Anatoly and Vitaly. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fates also turned out to be connected with the army.

According to Oleg Krivopalov, author of the book Notes of a Soviet Officer: at the Turn of the Era, Alexander Vasilievich Margelov graduated from the rocket department of the Moscow Aviation Institute, and after that from the airborne school and the armored academy. He rose to the rank of colonel and even became a Hero Russian Federation. After his resignation, Alexander Margelov worked as an expert at Rosvooruzhenie. And Vasily Vasilyevich Margelov retired with the rank of major. But in the last years of his life, he worked as deputy director of the International Relations Directorate of the Voice of Russia broadcasting company.

Suvorov of the twentieth century

“Suvorov of the twentieth century” - this is how General of the Army Vasily Filippovich Margelov (1908 - 1990) began to be called during his lifetime by Western historians (for a long time it was forbidden to call this name Soviet in the press for reasons of secrecy).

Having commanded the Airborne Forces for a total of almost a quarter of a century (1954 - 1959, 1961 - 1979), he turned this branch of the military into a formidable strike force that knew no equal.

But Vasily Filippovich was remembered not only as an outstanding organizer by his contemporaries. Love for the Motherland, remarkable military abilities, steadfastness and selfless courage were organically combined in him with the greatness of the soul, modesty and crystal honesty, kind-hearted, truly fatherly attitude towards the soldier.

Youth years

V. F. Markelov (later Margelov) was born on December 27, 1908 (January 9, 1909 according to the new style) in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk , Ukraine), in a family of immigrants from Belarus. By nationality - Belarusian. Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov, a metallurgical worker. (The surname Markelov of Vasily Filippovich was subsequently recorded as Margelov due to an error in the party card.)

In 1913, the Margelov family returned to the homeland of Philip Ivanovich - to the town Kostyukovichi Klimovichi district (Mogilev province). The mother of V. F. Margelov, Agafya Stepanovna, was from the neighboring Bobruisk district. According to some reports, VF Margelov graduated from the parochial school (TsPSh) in 1921. As a teenager, he worked as a loader and carpenter. In the same year, he entered a leather workshop as an apprentice, and soon became an assistant master. In 1923 he entered the local Hleboprodukt as a laborer. There is information that he graduated from the school of rural youth, and worked as a forwarder for the delivery of postal items on the Kostyukovichi line - Khotimsk .

Since 1924 he worked in Yekaterinoslav at the mine named after. M. I. Kalinin as a laborer, then as a horse-racer.

In 1925 he was sent back to Belarus as a forester in the timber industry. Worked in Kostyukovichi, in 1927 he became chairman of the working committee of the timber industry, was elected to the local Council.

Service start

He was drafted into the Red Army in 1928. Sent to study at the United Belarusian Military School (OBVSh) named after. CEC of the BSSR Minsk, enlisted in the group of snipers. From the 2nd year - foreman of a machine-gun company. In April 1931 he graduated with honors from Minsk military school(former OBVSh).

After graduating from college, he was appointed commander of a machine gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th rifle regiment of the 33rd territorial rifle division ( Mogilev, Belarus). Since 1933 - platoon commander at the Minsk Military Infantry School. M. I. Kalinina. In February 1934 he was appointed assistant company commander, in May 1936 - commander of a machine gun company. From October 25, 1938 he commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd rifle regiment of the 8th rifle division named after. Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th Infantry Division, being the chief of the 2nd division of the division headquarters.

How a paratrooper got a vest

In the Soviet-Finnish war of 1940, Major Margelov was the commander of the Separate reconnaissance ski battalion of the 596th rifle regiment of the 122nd division. His battalion made daring raids on enemy rear lines, set up ambushes, causing great damage to the enemy. In one of the raids, they even managed to capture a group of officers of the Swedish General Staff, which gave the Soviet Government reason to make a diplomatic demarche about the actual participation of the allegedly neutral Scandinavian state in the hostilities on the side of the Finns. This step had a sobering effect on the Swedish king and his cabinet: Stockholm did not dare to send its soldiers into the snows of Karelia ...

The experience of ski raids on enemy rear lines was remembered in the late autumn of 1941 in besieged Leningrad. Major V. Margelov was assigned to lead the First Special Ski Regiment of sailors of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet formed from volunteers.

The veteran of this part N. Shuvalov recalled:

As you know, sailors are a peculiar people. In love with the sea, they do not particularly favor their land brothers. When Margelov was appointed commander of a regiment of marines, some used to say that he would not take root there, his “brothers” would not accept him.

However, this prophecy did not come true. When the regiment of sailors was built to be presented to the new commander, Margelov, after the command "Attention!" seeing many gloomy faces looking at him not particularly friendly, instead of the words of greeting “Hello, comrades!”, which are customary in such cases, without hesitation, he shouted loudly:

Hey, buggers!

A moment - and in the ranks not a single gloomy face ...

Many glorious feats were accomplished by sailors-skiers under the command of Major Margelov. The tasks were set personally by the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Tributs.

Vladimir Filippovich Tributs

Deep daring raids by skiers across the German rear in the winter of 1941-42 were an ongoing headache for the command of Hitler's Army Group North. What was even worth the landing on the coast of Ladoga in the direction of Lipka - Shlisselburg, which alarmed Field Marshal von Leeb so much that he began to remove troops from Pulkovo to eliminate him, tightening the noose of the blockade of Leningrad.

Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb

Two decades later, the commander of the Airborne Forces, General of the Army Margelov, ensured that the paratroopers received the right to wear vests.

The prowess of the "brothers" sunk into my heart! he explained. - I want the paratroopers to adopt the glorious traditions of their older brother - the marines and continue them with honor. For this, I introduced the paratroopers vests. Only stripes on them to match the color of the sky - blue ...

When at the military council chaired by the Minister of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov began to blame that, they say, the paratroopers were stealing the sailors' vests, Vasily Filippovich sharply objected to him:

I myself fought in the marines and I know what paratroopers deserve and what sailors deserve!

And Vasily Filippovich fought famously with his "marines". Here's another example. In May 1942, in the Vinyaglovo area near the Sinyavinsky Heights, about 200 enemy infantrymen broke through the defense sector of the neighboring regiment and entered the rear of the Margelovites. Vasily Filippovich quickly gave the necessary orders and himself lay down behind the Maxim machine gun. Then he personally destroyed 79 Nazis, the rest were finished off by reinforcements that came to the rescue.

By the way, during the defense of Leningrad, Margelov always had an easel machine gun at hand, from which in the morning he made a kind of shooting exercise: he “trimmed” the tops of trees in bursts. Then he mounted a horse and practiced cutting with a sword.

In offensive battles, the regiment commander more than once personally raised his battalions to attack, fought in the forefront of his fighters, dragging them to victory in hand-to-hand combat, where he had no equal. Because of such terrible fights, the Nazis nicknamed the marines "striped death."

Officer's ration - in a soldier's cauldron

Caring for a soldier has never been a secondary matter for Margelov, especially in a war. His former brother-soldier, senior lieutenant of the guard Nikolai Shevchenko recalled that, having accepted the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment in 1942, Vasily Filippovich began to increase its combat effectiveness by improving the catering of all personnel.

At that time, the officers in the regiment ate separately from the soldiers and sergeants. The officers were entitled to increased rations: in addition to the combined arms norm, they received animal butter, canned fish, biscuits or cookies, Golden Fleece or Kazbek tobacco (non-smokers were given chocolate). But, besides this, some battalion commanders and company commanders brought personal chefs with a common catering unit. It is not difficult to understand that some part of the soldier's cauldron went to the officer's desk. This was discovered by the regimental commander when bypassing the units. He always started it with an inspection of the battalion kitchens and a sample of soldiers' food.

On the second day of Lieutenant Colonel Margelov's stay in the unit, all of its officers had to eat from a common boiler along with the soldiers. The regiment commander ordered his additional ration to be transferred to a common boiler. Soon other officers began to do the same. “Batya set a good example for us!” - the veteran Shevchenko recalled. Surprisingly, Batey Vasily Filippovich was called in all the regiments and divisions that he happened to command ...

God forbid, if Margelov noticed that the fighter had leaky shoes or shabby clothes. Here the business executive received to the fullest. Once, noticing that the sergeant-machine-gunner at the forefront of the boot was “asking for porridge”, the regimental commander called the head of the clothing supply to him and ordered him to exchange shoes with this fighter. And he warned that if he saw this again, he would immediately transfer the officer to the front line.

Vasily Filippovich could not stand cowards, weak-willed, lazy people. Theft under him was simply impossible, because he punished him mercilessly ...

Hot Snow

Whoever read Yuri Bondarev's novel "Hot Snow" or saw the film of the same name based on this novel, let him know: the Margelovites were the prototype of the heroes that stood in the way of Manstein's tank armada, which was trying to break the encirclement around the 6th army of Paulus in Stalingrad. It was they who found themselves in the direction of the main attack of the fascist tank wedge and managed to prevent a breakthrough, holding out until reinforcements arrived.

In October 1942, Guard Lieutenant Colonel Margelov became the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Guards Army, Lieutenant General R. Ya. Malinovsky, which was formed specifically to complete the defeat of the enemy, who had broken through into the Volga steppes. For two months, while the regiment was in reserve, Vasily Filippovich intensely prepared his fighters for fierce battles for the Volga stronghold.

Near Leningrad, he more than once had to engage in single combat with fascist tanks, he knew well their weak spots. And now he personally taught tank destroyers, showing armor-piercers how to dig a trench in full profile, where and from what distances to aim with an anti-tank rifle, how to throw grenades and Molotov cocktails.

When the Margelovites held the defense at the turn of the river. Myshkov, having taken on the blow of the Goth tank group advancing from the Kotelnikovsky area to join the Paulus breakthrough group, they were not afraid of the newest heavy Tiger tanks, they did not flinch in front of the many times superior enemy. They did the impossible: in five days of fighting (from December 19 to 24, 1942), without sleep or rest, suffering heavy losses, they burned and knocked out almost all enemy tanks in their direction. At the same time, the regiment retained combat readiness!

In these battles, Vasily Filippovich was severely shell-shocked, but did not leave the line. He met the New Year of 1943 with his fighters, with a Mauser in his hand, dragging the attacking chains to storm the Kotelnikovsky farm. This swift throw of units of the 2nd Guards Army in the Stalingrad epic was put to a bold end: the last hopes of the Paulus army for the deblockade melted away like smoke. Then there was the liberation of Donbass, the forcing of the Dnieper, fierce battles for Kherson and the "Iasi-Kishinev Cannes" ... Thirteen thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief were earned by the 49th Guards Kherson Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division - Margelov's division!

The final chord is the bloodless capture in May 1945 on the border of Austria and Czechoslovakia of the SS tank corps, which broke through to the West to surrender to the Americans. This included the elite armored forces of the Reich - the SS divisions "Grossdeutschland" and "Dead Head".

As the best of the best guards, Major General Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Margelov (1944), the leadership of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entrusted the honor of commanding a front-line composite regiment at the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

V.F. Margelov - right flank

After graduating from the Higher Military Academy in 1948 (since 1958 - the Military Academy of the General Staff), Vasily Filippovich accepted the Pskov Airborne Division.

This appointment was preceded by a meeting between Major General V. Margelov and Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union Nikolai Bulganin. There was another general in the office, also a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The Minister of Defense began the conversation with kind words about the Airborne Troops, their glorious combat past, and that a decision had been made to develop this relatively young branch of the military.

We believe in them and consider it necessary to reinforce them with combat generals who distinguished themselves during the Great Patriotic War. What is your opinion, comrades?

He, the second general, began to complain about the wounds received at the front, said that the doctors did not recommend him to make parachute jumps. In general, he refused the proposal of the minister.

General Margelov, who had many wounds during three wars, including severe ones, and even in the legs, asked a single question in response:

When can I go to the troops?

Today, - answered the Minister of Defense and firmly shook his hand.

Margelov understood that he would have to start from scratch and how to comprehend the tricky landing science for a beginner. But he also knew something else: there is a special attraction in this kind of troops - audacity, a strong male adhesion.

Years later, he told the correspondent of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper:

Until the age of 40, I vaguely imagined what a parachute was, and I never dreamed of jumping in a dream. It turned out on its own, or rather, as it should be in the army, by order. I am a military man, if necessary, ready to go to hell. And so it was necessary, already being a general, to make the first parachute jump. The impression, I tell you, is incomparable. A dome opens above you, you soar in the air like a bird, - by God, I want to sing! I sang. But you won't go away on rapture alone. I was in a hurry, I didn’t follow the ground, as a result I had to walk for two weeks with a bandaged leg. Got a lesson. Parachuting is not only romantic, but also a lot of work and impeccable discipline...

Then there will be many jumps - with weapons, day and night, from high-speed military transport aircraft. During his service in the Airborne Forces, Vasily Filippovich made more than 60 of them. Extreme - at the age of 65.

Anyone who has never left an airplane in his life, from where cities and villages seem like toys, who has never experienced the joy and fear of free fall, a whistle in his ears, a stream of wind beating in his chest, he will never understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper, - Margelov will say something.

"Uncle Vasya" before the jump

What did Vasily Filippovich see when he accepted the 76th Guards Airborne Division Chernigov? The material and technical base of combat training is at zero. The simplicity of the sports equipment was discouraging: two jumping boards, a cradle for a balloon suspended between two pillars, and the skeleton of an aircraft that vaguely resembled an airplane or glider. Injuries and even deaths are common. If Margelov was a novice in the landing business, then in the organization of combat training, as they say, he ate the dog.

In parallel with combat training, no less important work was underway to equip the personnel and the families of officers. And here everyone was surprised by the persistence of Margelov.

A soldier must be well-fed, clean in body and strong in spirit, - Vasily Filippovich liked to repeat Suvorov's statement. It was necessary - and the general became a real foreman, as he called himself without any irony, and on his desktop, mixed with plans for combat training, exercises, landing, there were calculations, estimates, projects ...

Working in his usual mode - day and night - a day away, General Margelov quickly ensured that his unit became one of the best in the landing troops.

In 1950, he was appointed commander of the airborne corps in the Far East, and in 1954, Lieutenant General V. Margelov led the Airborne Forces.

And soon he proved to everyone that he was not a rustic servant, as some perceived Margelov, but a man who saw the prospects of the Airborne Forces, who had a great desire to turn them into the elite of the Armed Forces. To do this, it was necessary to break stereotypes and inertia, win the trust of active, energetic people, and involve them in joint productive work. Over time, V. Margelov formed a circle of like-minded people carefully selected and nurtured by him. And the outstanding sense of the new, combat authority and the ability of the commander to work with people made it possible to achieve the set goals.

Year 1970, operational-strategic exercise "Dvina". Here is what the newspaper of the Belarusian Military District “For the Glory of the Motherland” wrote about them: “Belarus is a country of forests and lakes, and it is incredibly difficult to find a landing site. The weather wasn't good, but it didn't give us any reason to be discouraged either. Attack fighters ironed the ground, from the commentator's booth it sounded: "Attention!" - and the eyes of those present turned upward.

Here, large points separated from the first aircraft - these are military equipment, artillery, cargo, and then paratroopers rained down like peas from the hatches of the An-12. But the crown of the throw was the appearance in the air of four "Anteys". A few minutes - and now there is a whole regiment on the ground!

AN-22 "Antey"

When the last paratrooper touched the ground, V.F. Margelov stopped the stopwatch on the commander's watch and showed it to the Minister of Defense. It took a little over 22 minutes for eight thousand paratroopers and 150 units of military equipment to be delivered to the rear of the "enemy".

Brilliant results were also achieved at the major exercises Dnepr, Berezina, Yug... It has become common practice to raise an airborne assault force, say, in Pskov, make a long flight and parachute near Ferghana, Kirovabad or in Mongolia. Commenting on one of the exercises, Margelov told the Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent:

The use of airborne assault has become practically unlimited. For example, we have this type of combat training: on the map of the country, a point is arbitrarily chosen where troops are dropped. Warrior parachutists jump into a completely unfamiliar area: into the taiga and deserts, lakes, swamps and mountains ...

It was after the Dvin exercises, declaring gratitude to the guardsmen for their courage and military prowess, that the commander casually asked:

Margelov could be understood: there was a need to reduce the time for preparing airborne units for combat after landing. The landing of military equipment from one aircraft, and the crews from another led to the fact that the spread sometimes amounted to five kilometers. While the crews were looking for equipment, it took a lot of time.

A little later, Margelov again returned to this idea:

I understand that it is difficult, but no one but us will do it.

Moreover, when - it was rather difficult to make a fundamental decision to conduct the first such experiment - Vasily Filippovich proposed his candidacy to participate in the first test of this kind, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff were categorically against it.

However, even without this, there were legends about the courage of the commander. It manifested itself not only in a combat situation. At one of the festive receptions, where they could not help but invite the disgraced Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Vasily Filippovich, stretched out at attention, congratulated him on the holiday. Zhukov, being the Minister of Defense, repeatedly observed the actions of the paratroopers in the exercises and expressed satisfaction with their high skill, admired their courage and courage. General Margelov was proud of the respect of such military leaders for himself, and therefore did not change his attitude towards honored people in favor of temporary workers and high-ranking sycophants.

The troops of "Uncle Sam" and the troops of "Uncle Vasya"

At the end of the spring of 1991, an official visit to the United States was made by USSR Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union D.T. Yazov.

Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov

Returning to Moscow, the minister met with officers of the Information Department of the Ministry of Defense.

Subsequently, reflecting on this meeting that lasted more than two hours in the hall where meetings of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defense usually took place, I came to the conclusion that communication with us, ordinary employees of the department, was primarily aimed at conveying to the general public through officers who, on duty, maintain contacts with the press, his very skeptical opinion about the merits of the military equipment of the richest power in the world and about the level of preparedness of the American "pros", which were then excitedly admired by the Ogonyok magazine and related publications.

During a visit to the military base at Fort Bragg, the Soviet Minister of Defense was invited to a demonstration exercise of one of the parachute battalions of the famous "devils' regiment" - the US 82nd Airborne Division.

Fort Bragg

This division became famous for participating in almost all post-war conflicts in which the United States intervened (Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, etc.). She was the first to land in the Middle East before the start of the anti-Iraq Desert Storm in 1990. In all operations, the "devils" were at the forefront of the attack as the most dexterous, courageous, invincible.

And it was these “understudies of Satan” who were instructed to surprise the Soviet minister with their class of training and fearlessness. They were parachuted in. Part of the battalion landed in combat vehicles. But the effect of the “show-off” turned out to be the opposite of what was expected, because Dmitry Timofeevich could not talk about what he saw in North Carolina without a bitter smile.

What grade would I give you for such a landing? - Asked, slyly narrowing his eyes, the Minister of Defense of the then Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces for combat training, Lieutenant General E. N. Podkolzin, who was part of the Soviet military delegation.

You would tear off my head and I ..., Comrade Minister! - Evgeny Nikolaevich minted.

It turns out that almost all American paratroopers thrown out of aircraft in combat vehicles received serious injuries and injuries. There were also those who died. After landing, more than half of the cars did not budge...

This is hard to believe, but even in the early 90s, the vaunted American professionals did not have the same equipment as ours and did not know the secrets of the safe landing of "winged infantry" units on equipment that were mastered in "Uncle Vasya's troops" (as fighters of the Airborne Forces called themselves, hinting at a special warmth of feelings for the commander) back in the 70s.

And it all began with the courageous decision of Margelov to put the responsibility of a pioneer on his shoulders. Then, in 1972, in the USSR, tests of the newly created Centaur system were in full swing - for landing people inside an airborne combat vehicle on parachute platforms. The experiments were risky, so they started on animals. Far from everything went smoothly: either the parachute canopy was torn, or the active deceleration engines did not work. One of the jumps even ended in the death of the dog Buran.

Something similar happened with Western testers of identical systems. True, they experimented on people there. A man sentenced to death was placed in a combat vehicle that was dropped from an airplane. It crashed, and for a long time the West considered it inexpedient to continue development work in this direction.

Despite the risk, Margelov believed in the possibility of creating safe systems for landing people on equipment and insisted on complicating tests. Since further "dog" jumps were going well, he sought a transition to a new phase of R & D - with the participation of warriors. In early January 1973, he had difficult conversation with Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko.

Anton Andreevich Grechko

Do you understand, Vasily Filippovich, what you are doing, what you are risking? - Andrey Antonovich urged Margelov to abandon his plan.

I understand perfectly, that's why I stand on my own, - answered the general. - And those who are ready for the experiment also understand everything perfectly.
On January 5, 1973, the historic leap took place. For the first time in the world, the crew was parachuted inside the BMD-1 on parachute-platform means. It included Major L. Zuev and Lieutenant A. Margelov - in the car next to an experienced officer was the youngest son of the commander, Alexander, at that time a young engineer of the scientific and technical committee of the Airborne Forces.

Only a very courageous person would dare to send his son to such a complex, unpredictable experiment. It was an act akin to the feat of Lieutenant General Nikolai Raevsky, when Kutuzov's favorite in 1812 near Saltanovka fearlessly led his young sons in front of the front of the battalions faltering from the French buckshot, and with this amazing example he breathed stamina into the discouraged grenadiers, held his position, deciding the outcome of the battle. Sacrificial heroism of this kind in the world military history is a unique phenomenon.

N. Raevsky with his sons

A combat vehicle was dropped from the AN-12, five domes were opened, - Alexander Vasilyevich Margelov, now an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, recalled the details of the unprecedented jump. - Of course, it is dangerous, but one thing reassured me: the system has been successfully used for more than one year. True, no people. Landed normally. In the summer of 1975, on the basis of the parachute regiment, which was then commanded by Major V. Achalov, Lieutenant Colonel L. Shcherbakov and I inside the BMD and four officers outside, in the joint landing cabin, jumped again ...

Vasily Filippovich was awarded the USSR State Prize for this bold innovation.

The Centaur was replaced (not least thanks to the commander of the Airborne Forces, who stubbornly argued in the highest party and government authorities of the country that a new method of delivering fighters and equipment to the target, its early development to enhance the mobility of the "winged infantry") soon came a new, more perfect system "Reactavr". The rate of decline on it was four times higher than on the Centaur. In psychophysical terms, it is correspondingly more difficult for a paratrooper (a deafening roar and roar, a flame escaping from jet nozzles is very close). On the other hand, the vulnerability to enemy fire and the time from the moment of being thrown out of the aircraft to bringing the BMD into combat position were sharply reduced.

From 1976 to 1991, the Reaktavr system was used about 100 times, and always successfully. Year by year, from exercise to exercise, the "blue berets" gained experience in its application, polished their own skills at various stages of landing.

For more information about the creation of the “Centaur” and “Reaktaur” systems, see the website: Spurs on OVS - Military equipment - Taming of the "Centaur".

Since 1979, Vasily Filippovich was no longer with them, having surrendered the post of commander of the Airborne Forces and transferred to the Group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense. Eleven years later, on March 4, 1990, he passed away. But the memory of Paratrooper number one, his precepts to the blue berets are imperishable.

The name of Army General V.F. Margelov is worn by the Ryazan Higher Command School of the Airborne Forces, the streets, squares and squares of St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Omsk, Pskov, Tula ... Monuments were erected to him in St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Pskov, Omsk, Tula, the Ukrainian cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Lvov, Belarusian Kostyukovichi.

Paratroopers, veterans of the Airborne Forces every year come to the monument of their commander at the Novodevichy cemetery to honor his memory.

But the main thing is that the spirit of Margelov is alive in the troops. The feat of the 6th Airborne Company of the 104th Guards Regiment of the 76th Pskov Division, in which Vasily Filippovich began his career in the Airborne Forces, is an eloquent confirmation of this. He is also in other accomplishments of the paratroopers of recent decades, in which the "winged infantry" covered itself with unfading glory.

A family

Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov - a metallurgical worker, in the First World War he became a holder of two St. George's crosses.
Mother - Agafya Stepanovna, was from Bobruisk county.
Two brothers - Ivan (senior), Nikolai (younger) and sister Maria.

V. F. Margelov was married three times:

The first wife, Maria, left her husband and son (Gennady).
The second wife is Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya (mother of Anatoly and Vitaly).
The last wife is Anna Alexandrovna Kurakina, a doctor. He met Anna Alexandrovna during the Great Patriotic War.

Five sons:

Gennady Vasilievich (born 1931) - Major General.
Anatoly Vasilyevich (1938-2008) - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, author of more than 100 patents and inventions in the military-industrial complex.
Vitaly Vasilievich(born 1941) - a professional intelligence officer, an employee of the KGB of the USSR and the SVR of Russia, later - a public and political figure; colonel general, deputy of the State Duma.
Vasily Vasilyevich (1943-2010) - reserve major; First Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Relations of the Russian State Broadcasting Company "Voice of Russia" (RGRK "Voice of Russia")
Alexander Vasilievich(born 1943) - officer of the Airborne Forces. On August 29, 1996, "for the courage and heroism shown in testing, fine-tuning and mastering special equipment" (landing inside the BMD-1 on a parachute-rocket system in the Reaktavr complex, carried out for the first time in world practice in 1976) was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. After retiring, he worked in the structures of Rosoboronexport.

Vasily Vasilyevich and Alexander Vasilyevich are twin brothers. In 2003, they co-authored a book about their father - "Paratrooper No. 1 Army General Margelov."

Awards and titles

USSR awards

Medal " Golden Star» No. 3414 Hero of the Soviet Union (03/19/1944)
four Orders of Lenin (03/21/1944, 11/3/1953, 12/26/1968, 12/26/1978)
Order of the October Revolution (4.05.1972)
two Orders of the Red Banner (3.02.1943, 20.06.1949)
Order of Suvorov, 2nd class (1944)
two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st class (01/25/1943, 03/11/1985)
Order of the Red Star (3.11.1944)
two Orders "For Service to the Motherland in Armed Forces ah USSR "2nd (12/14/1988) and 3rd degree (04/30/1975)
medals

He was awarded twelve Gratitudes of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (03/13/1944, 03/28/1944, 04/10/1944, 11/4/1944, 12/24/1944, 02/13/1945, 03/25/1945, 04/3/1945, 04/05/1945, 1905. May 8, 1945).

Awards of foreign countries

Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 2nd class (09/20/1969)
four commemorative medals of Bulgaria (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985)

Hungarian People's Republic:

star and badge of the Order of the People's Republic of Hungary, 3rd class (04/04/1950)
medal "Brotherhood in Arms" gold degree (09/29/1985)

order "Star of Friendship of Peoples" in silver (23.02.1978)
medal "Arthur Becker" in gold (23.05.1980)

medal "Sino-Soviet friendship" (23.02.1955)

two anniversary medals (1978, 1986)

Mongolian People's Republic:

Order of the Battle Red Banner (06/07/1971)
seven anniversary medals (1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982)

medal "For Odra, Nisa and Baltic" (05/07/1985)
medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (10/12/1988)
Officer of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland (6.11.1973)

SR Romania:

Order of Tudor Vladimirescu 2nd (10/1/1974) and 3rd (10/24/1969) degree
two commemorative medals (1969, 1974)

order "Legion of Honor" degree of commander (05/10/1945)
medal "Bronze Star" (05/10/1945)

Czechoslovakia:

Order of Klement Gottwald (1969)
medal "For Strengthening Friendship in Arms" 1st class (1970)
two anniversary medals

honorary titles

Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1975)
Honorary Citizen of Kherson
Honorary soldier of the military unit of the Airborne Forces

Proceedings

Margelov VF Airborne troops. - M .: Knowledge, 1977. - 64 p.
Margelov VF Soviet Airborne. - 2nd ed. - M .: Military publishing house, 1986. - 64 p.

Memory

By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR of April 20, 1985, V.F. Margelov was enlisted as an Honorary Soldier in the lists of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division.

monument to V.F. Margelov in Dnepropetrovsk

memorial plaque in Moscow

medal of V.F. Margelov

Vasily Filippovich Margelov(Ukrainian Vasil Pilipovich Margelov, Belorussian Vasil Pilipavich Margelav, December 27, 1908 (January 9, 1909 according to a new style), Yekaterinoslav, Russian empire- March 4, 1990, Moscow) - Soviet military leader, commander of the airborne troops in 1954-1959 and 1961-1979, Hero of the Soviet Union (1944), laureate of the USSR State Prize.
The author and initiator of the creation of technical means of the Airborne Forces and methods of using units and formations of the airborne troops, many of which personify the image of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces, which currently exists. Among the people related to these troops, it is considered Paratrooper No. 1.

Biography

The legendary commander of the Airborne Forces, "paratrooper number 1" was born on December 27 (January 9), 1908 in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). Father Philip Ivanovich Markelov is a metallurgical worker. Margelov "received" his surname because of a mistake made by an official in his party card - his surname was written down with a "g". Mother Agafya Stepanovna.

In 1913, the Margelov family returned to the homeland of Philip Ivanovich - to the town of Kostyukovichi, Klimovichi district (Mogilev province). The mother of V. F. Margelov, Agafya Stepanovna, was from the neighboring Bobruisk district. According to some reports, VF Margelov graduated from the parochial school (TsPSh) in 1921. As a teenager, he worked as a loader and carpenter. In the same year, he entered a leather workshop as an apprentice, and soon became an assistant master. In 1923 he entered the local Hleboprodukt as a laborer. There is information that he graduated from the school of rural youth, and worked as a forwarder for the delivery of postal items on the Kostyukovichi-Khotimsk line.

Since 1924 he worked in Yekaterinoslav at the mine named after. M. I. Kalinin as a laborer, then as a horse-racer.
In 1925 he was sent back to Belarus as a forester in the timber industry. He worked in Kostyukovichi, in 1927 he became chairman of the working committee of the timber industry, was elected to the local Council.

Service

In September 1928, Margelov was drafted into the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army and, on a Komsomol voucher, was sent to study as a red commander at the Joint Belarusian Military School (OBVSh) named after the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR in Minsk.
Cadet Margelov from the first months of study was among the excellent students in fire, tactical and physical training. Was enrolled in a group of snipers. He enjoyed well-deserved prestige among his schoolmates, and was distinguished by his zeal in his studies. From the second year he was appointed foreman of a machine-gun company. After some time, his company became one of the foremost in both combat and physical training.

At the beginning of 1931, the school command supported the initiative of the country's military schools - to organize a ski crossing from the places of deployment to Moscow. One of the best skiers, foreman Margelov, was assigned to form a team. And the February transition Minsk - Moscow took place. True, the skis turned into smooth boards, but the cadets, led by the course commander and foreman, survived. They arrived at their destination on time, without sickness and frostbite, about which the foreman reported to the people's commissar of defense and received from him a valuable gift - a "commander's" watch.

In April 1931 - graduated from the Minsk Military School (former United Belarusian military school(OBVSh) named after the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR) "in the first category" ("with honors"). Appointed commander of a machine-gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th rifle regiment of the 33rd rifle division (Mogilev). From the first days of command of a platoon, he established himself as a competent, strong-willed and demanding leader. After some time, he became a platoon commander of a regimental school in which junior commanders of the Red Army were trained.

In May 1936 he was appointed commander of a machine gun company. Within the walls of the school, he formed as a military teacher, taught classes in firearms, physical training and tactics.

From October 25, 1938 - Captain Margelov commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd rifle regiment of the 8th rifle division named after. F. E. Dzerzhinsky of the Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th Infantry Division, being the chief of the 2nd division of the division headquarters.

From October 1939 - battalion commander.

1941st. Soldiers of the Wehrmacht march through the cities and villages of the Soviet Union. The enemy is on the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad. Vasily Filippovich is fighting on the Volkhov front near the "northern capital". Margelov was appointed to command a battalion of "penalty men", most of whom had a criminal past.

At the beginning, they didn’t understand normally, but after cuffs and cracks, they began to listen to the commander. And when they felt his care on themselves, they saw how he sheds blood on an equal basis with them, they respected him and loved him with all his heart. It used to happen that several people covered their commander at once during an artillery shelling. God forbid, to be hooked by a fragment!

Later, he received command of a regiment formed from the sailors of the Baltic Fleet. The Marines received the news of the appointment of an "infantry" officer to the post of commander of the regiment with caution and surprise. Already in battles, joint work and sweat, they learned what kind of person he was. Learned and forever soul attached.

Seeing with what trepidation the sailors treat their traditions and uniforms, Vasily Filippovich allowed his subordinates to keep their naval uniforms. On the march, drill review, preparation of defensive positions, the Red Navy wore field uniforms, but before the attack ...

Throwing off their field uniforms on the snow and remaining in the same vests and navy trousers - bell-bottoms, famously breaking their peakless caps, they silently advanced with unfolded chains on the firing positions of the Germans. Breaking through the wall of fire, tearing the vests on the “thorn” of the barriers, shouting “Polundra!” they threw machine-gun "nests" with grenades, sowed death on fascist positions with a bayonet and a butt, a knife and hands. "Black Death", "sea devils", as soon as the Nazis did not call them.

And under the command of Margelov, the Marines inflicted twice as much damage on the invaders, had a strong moral and psychological impact on the personnel of the German units. Panic began when the Nazis learned that Margelov's sailors had been transferred to their site. It is in memory of the unparalleled heroism and courage of his marines, in tribute to their respect for their military symbols, that Vasily Filippovich would later introduce new element uniforms "vest" for fighters of another fleet - air.

With great regret and displeasure, the Baltics learned that their commander was being assigned to another regiment, a rifle regiment, near Stalingrad. But an order is an order. And some time later, Vasily Filippovich was already in command of a division, which crushed the Nazi units with great success.

Forcing a water barrier, especially such as the Dnieper River, is not an easy task. And if we add to this the reinforced defense of the enemy with a well-established fire system, then it is practically impossible. But it is necessary to force: an order. Vasily Filippovich could not thoughtlessly throw his subordinates forward to complete the task. He was not such a person, he did not command fools. He always gave orders properly and kept people firmly in subjection. Success in military affairs is free, the mind only suggests the best path to success.

Only after the enemy’s fire system was identified on the opposite bank, the crossing facilities were prepared, the combat missions were clarified and worked out with the commanders of the division’s units, and trainings were held with the personnel, Margelov gave the order to force his formation.

He himself, among the division's scouts, was the first to cross the river, made clarifications on the newly discovered firing points and, together with the fighters, held the captured bridgehead, covering the crossing of his units. In the future, developing success, on the shoulders of the fascists crazy with fear, the Margelov division enters and liberates the city of Kherson, for which it receives the name "Kherson" as a reward. For a successful operation, Vasily Filippovich is awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Fights in Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria. The Nazis have less and less controlled territory. Forces and means are melting away. Pal Berlin. Remains of the defeated german army retreat to the west. Three selected SS divisions retreated to the offensive sector of the Margelov formation. The Americans were advancing from the west.

Vasily Filippovich receives an order to prevent the surrender of the SS men to the Americans. It was May, Germany and its allies capitulated, everyone had a joyful sense of accomplishment, Victory and an early return home. He did not want to throw his subordinates into hell, and the SS men knew how to fight, so he decided on a risky act.

Having given the necessary orders, he drives by car to the location of the German units and straight to the headquarters. I entered the building, introduced myself and, through an interpreter, in an ultimatum form, offered the commanders of the SS divisions to surrender. German officers looked at the desperate Russian general with undisguised amazement, but realizing that resistance would only lead to unnecessary human casualties, they decided to surrender.

After the war in command positions. Since 1948, after graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR named after K. E. Voroshilov, he was commander of the 76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner Airborne Division.

In 1950-1954 - commander of the 37th Guards Airborne Svir Red Banner Corps (Far East).

From 1954 to 1959 - Commander of the Airborne Forces. In 1959-1961 he was appointed with a demotion, First Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces. From 1961 to January 1979 - returned to the post of Commander of the Airborne Forces.
On October 28, 1967, he was awarded the military rank of General of the Army. He led the actions of the Airborne Forces during the invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Since January 1979 - in the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He went on business trips to the Airborne Forces, was the chairman of the State Examination Commission at the Ryazan Airborne School.

During his service in the Airborne Forces, he made more than 60 jumps. The last of them at the age of 65.

“The one who has never left an airplane in his life, from where cities and villages seem like toys, who has never experienced the joy and fear of a free fall, a whistle in his ears, a stream of wind beating in his chest, he will never understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper…”