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Last Soviet Union Marshal Dmitry Yazov dies at 95

Yazov held the post of the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union between 1987 and 1991

Former Minister of Defense and the last Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov Yuri Mashkov/TASS

Former Minister of Defense and the last Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov

© Yuri Mashkov/TASS

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Former Minister of Defense and the last Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov died, aged 95, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

"On February 25, 2020, following a long and difficult illness, Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov passed away," the Ministry stated.

Yazov was born on November 8, 1924, in the village of Yazovo of the Omsk Region. In 1942, he graduated from Moscow Infantry School of Military Training, and in 1956, he left the Frunze Military Academy. In 1967, he finished the Military Academy of the General Staff.

After graduating from the military school, Yazov fought in the Great Patriotic War, where he was injured twice. Between 1942 and 1945, he led an infantry squad, and later a company at Volkhov and Leningrad fronts. He took part in the defense of Leningrad, and Soviet offensive in the Baltic and the Army Group Courland blockade.

After the war

Between 1946 and 1953, Yazov led an infantry company and served as a battalion deputy commander in the Leningrad Military District. During the Caribbean missile crisis, he was commandeered to Cuba as a regiment commander.

Between 1979 and 1980, he served as the commander of the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia. Between 1980 and 1984, he commanded the Central Asian Military District, and repeatedly went to Afghanistan, where the District’s forces conducted operations.

On May 30, 1987, Yazov was appointed as the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union. On April 28, 1990, Yazov was promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union, becoming the last Soviet military commander of this rank. Over the course of his career, Yazov received numerous orders and awards. He also authored a number of books.

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