Galadzhev, Sergey Fedorovich

The early years

Sergei Fedorovich Galadzhev (Sarkis Theodorosovich Aladzhyan) was born on April 17, 1902 in the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don , in an Armenian family. Sergey’s father, a strict, fair and hardworking man, was a poor worker. Sergei studied at the Novo-Nakhichevan primary school, but, due to his family’s poverty, he left school from the third grade ^[1] . In 1917, as a 15-year-old youth, Sergei began working in a brick and glass factory ^[2] . In the autumn of 1919, a typhus epidemic began in the city. Having become infected with the disease, Galadzhev’s father died ^[1] .

In January of the following 1920, 17-year-old Sergey Galadzhev voluntarily joined the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army . Participating in the civil war , Galadzhev fought against the troops of Wrangel and Makhno in the North Caucasus , was wounded in the chest. After treatment at the hospital, Galadzhev was sent to the city of Voronezh for courses of red commanders. He did not succeed in completing the courses, because during the passage of the medical commission, he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis ^[3] . For treatment, Galadzhev was sent to the Voronezh TB dispensary ^[1] . After recovery, he was sent to non-combat duty in the 28th infantry guard regiment of Nakhichevan-on-Don ^[3] . At the end of his service, Galadzhev worked in the 1st Novo-Nakhichevan State Spinning and Weaving Mill. After a year of work in difficult conditions, Galadzhev's health complications resumed and he moved to the Rostov-Nakhichevan horticultural nursery ^[1] .

In 1924, despite the right to be exempted from military service, Galadzhev, having chosen the military profession, entered the long-term service in the 9th Don Infantry Division . Here he first held the post of squad leader in the communications platoon of the 27th Infantry Regiment, then as an assistant platoon commander and at the same time secretary of the military commissioner. In March 1926, Galadzhev joined the CPSU (B.) , After which he was appointed assistant political commander of the company. Later he was the head of the regimental club and the political officer of the regimental school ^[4] .

In the fall of 1931, Sergey Fedorovich Galadzhev was transferred to the service in the apparatus of political management of the North Caucasus Military District ^[3] . In 1932, Galadzhev entered the Military Political Academy named after V.I. Lenin in Leningrad, graduated from the Academy with honors in 1936. After graduating, Galadzheva was left at the academy: he served as the head of the course, at the same time acting as dean of the land faculty, in the fall of 1937 Galadzhev became the head of the second year of commissioners, two years later - the assistant to the head of the educational department ^[5] . In May 1939, Galadzhev was appointed head of the military-political school of the 57th special corps, but he did not manage to take office, as a military conflict began on the Khalkhin-Gol river . Galadzhev in battles participated as the head of the propaganda unit at the political department of the aviation units of the special corps ^[6] . In 1940, Galadzhev was appointed political officer of the 32nd Infantry Division ^[3] , and since October 5 of the same year he was a military commissar of the 32nd Infantry Corps ^[7] .

World War II

Sergei Fedorovich Galadzhev participated in the Great Patriotic War as a military commissar of the 32nd Rifle Corps until July 31, 1941 ^[7] . Since August 15, Galadzhev was the head of the organizational and instructor department of the political management of the Western Front ^[6] . On September 19, 1941, he was approved with the rank of division commissioner ^[7] . During this period, Galadzhev participated in the battle for Moscow ^[8] . Since October 5, Galadzhev - head of the political department of the South-Western Front ^{[7] [9]} . February 25, 1942 he was presented to the Order of the Red Banner . In the award sheet, the commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant General Fyodor Yakovlevich Kostenko wrote that Galadzhev from the beginning of the war showed himself exclusively on the positive side and in a number of battles he directly participated with parts of the corps to defeat the German invaders. According to Kostenko: “In a relatively short period of time [Galadzhev] managed to pick up and put together an efficient apparatus of the Political Administration and parts of the front. Among commanders and political workers enjoys well-deserved authority. <...> He skillfully manages the political departments of the units, providing direct assistance on the ground ^[10] . ”

On July 12, 1942, the Southwestern Front was disbanded and Sergei Galadzhev was appointed head of the political department of the Stalingrad Front , thus participating in the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk ^[8] . In this position (September 30, 1942, the Stalingrad Front was renamed Donskaya , and February 15, 1943 - the Central Front ) Galadzhev remained until October 20, 1943. Galadzhev was also a member of the military council of the Central Front ^[11] . December 6, 1942 he was confirmed in the rank of Major General ^[7] .

January 31, 1943 Galadzhev for the second time was presented to the Order of the Red Banner. In the award sheet, the commander of the forces of the Don Front, Colonel General Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky wrote that during the Battle of Stalingrad, Galadzhev systematically traveled to active units and formations to the most decisive and dangerous sectors, where the concrete and operational leadership of political agencies and the political apparatus ensured a high offensive rush of troops and fulfillment of the tasks assigned to him ^[12] . On July 31, 1943, Galadzhev was introduced to the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree . In this award sheet, Rokossovsky emphasized that in the winter period of battles, when questions of supplying troops were of paramount importance, Galadzhev not only himself, but also sent all political agencies to work on providing supplies ^[13] . Later, Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky in his memoirs called Galadzhev “a wonderful, comprehensively trained political worker and a good comrade” ^[14] .

Since October 20, 1943, Sergey Fedorovich Galadzhev - head of the political department of the 1st Belorussian Front . In this position, he participates in the liberation of Poland and the battle for Berlin ^[8] . On July 28, 1944, Galadzhev was approved in the military rank of lieutenant general ^{[7] [15]} . On June 29, 1944, during the successful Belarusian operation , Galadzhev sent a letter to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus Panteleimon Kondratievich Ponomarenko “On the mood of the population of the regions of Belarus freed from German occupation” ^[16] . During this period, Galadzhev accompanied the Soviet delegations in several meetings with American officers. March 6, 1945 Galadzhev was introduced to the Order of Lenin . The commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov wrote on the award sheet: “Comrade Galadzhev did a great job of mobilizing the party and Komsomol organizations, the party and political apparatus and all the front personnel for stubborn, thorough preparation for the upcoming military operations. Particular attention was paid to the organization of the proper interaction of all military branches ^[17] . ”

Post-war years

Until July 9, 1945, Sergei Fedorovich Galadzhev served as head of the political department of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany . Immediately after the victory in the Great Patriotic War, Galadzhev took part in the organization of cultural life in the Soviet zone of occupation. The newspapers Tägliche Rundschau and Berliner Zeitung were created by his order in May 1945 ^[18] . Galadzhev directly led the Ulbricht group when it began to form the basis for future communist rule ^[19] . From August 31, 1945, Galadzhev was the head of the political department of the Central Group of Forces in Austria and Hungary ^[3] . By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 0140, Galadzhev was relieved of this post and seconded to the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army ^[20] .

On August 5, 1946, Sergey Galadzhev was the head of the Military-Political Directorate of the USSR Ground Forces , and on February 6, 1951, he was deputy chief for political affairs of the Military Medical Directorate of the USSR Ministry of War ^[3] . In 1947-1951, Galadzhev was a deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of the 2nd convocation from the Special Electoral District ^[21] . He is the author of articles on political education in the army ^[22] .

Sergei Fedorovich Galadzhev died after a serious and prolonged illness on December 23, 1954 in Moscow ^[23] . He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery ^[24] .

Soviet state awards:

• Three Orders of Lenin (including: April 6, 1945, May 29, 1945) ^[25]
• four orders of the Red Banner (including: November 5, 1942, February 4, 1943) ^[25]
• Order of Suvorov 2nd degree (August 23, 1944) ^[25]
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (August 27, 1943) ^[25]
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" ^[17]
  • medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War"
  • medal "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" ^[10]

Foreign awards:

• 3rd degree Virtuti Militari Order ( Poland )
• Order of the Cross of Grunwald (Poland).

• Harutyunyan K. A., Poghosyan G. R. The contribution of the Armenian people to the victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) . - Er. : Publishing House "Gitutiun" NAS RA , 2010. - 875 p. - ISBN 978-5-8080-0817-5 . Archived February 22, 2014 on Wayback Machine
• Galadzhev Sergey Fedorovich // Soviet military administration in Germany, 1945-1949. Reference book . - M .: ROSSPEN , 2009 .-- S. 792.
• Harutyunyan A. Galadzhev Sergey Teodorosovich // Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia / V. A. Hambartsumyan . - Er. , 1976. - T. 2. - S. 652. - 720 p.
• Ghazaryan A.V. The fiery son of the party. Lieutenant General Sergey Fedorovich Galadzhev // War, people, fate. - Er. : Ayastan, 1975 .-- V. 1. - S. 75-83.

• Galadzhev Sergey Teodorosovich (neopr.) . Encyclopedia of the Hayazg Foundation. Date of treatment January 23, 2017.
• Generals are Armenians in the Russian Empire, the USSR, Armenia and other countries (Neopr.) (PDF). Electronic library of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia. Date of treatment January 23, 2017.
• The Great Patriotic War. Heroes of Armenia (Neopr.) . novostink.ru: daily news. Date of treatment January 23, 2017.
• Zhukovskaya D. Political work among the troops and population of the enemy during the Great Patriotic War (Neopr.) . Historicus: a political journal. Date of treatment January 22, 2017.