Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov (1896 – 1974) was a marshal of the Soviet Union. The USSR’s most important military commander during World War II, he was also arguably the greatest military commander of the conflict. He played a greater role than any other single individual in ensuring the Soviet Union’s very survival early in the war, and a similarly outsized role in securing final victory. He was screwed over soon after that victory.
During the war, Zhukov was Stalin’s golden boy, who almost always came through. He played a prominent role in nearly all the Soviet Union’s greatest battles and campaigns: the defense of Leningrad; the defense of Moscow; Stalingrad; Kursk; liberation of the Ukraine; Operation Bagration; and the climactic capture of Berlin. He not only planned those operations, but often oversaw their execution. And when situations got hairy, Zhukov was often rushed in as a troubleshooter to take direct command and sort things out. No other WW2 general played as many varied roles at the planning and operational levels, strategy and tactical implementation, as did Zhukov.
So ubiquitous was Zhukov’s presence in nearly all Soviet successes, that it is sometimes difficult to tell just how good other Soviet commanders might have been. Whatever they did, Zhukov had frequently played a part in planning it, was often present at their side to see that they carried it out correctly, and sometimes even took over when things got tough.
No sooner had the war ended, however, than the ever paranoid Stalin began seeing the immensely popular and highly respected Zhukov as a potential threat. He was too popular for Stalin to simply have him executed, so other means were used. Less than a year after the victory, Zhukov was accused of political unreliability and hostility to the Communist Party. He was sacked as commander in chief of Soviet ground forces, and effectively banished to command an insignificant military district far from Moscow.
Zhukov was also persecuted by the NKVD, the KGB’s predecessor. His prestige and public standing were too high for arrest and torture, so the NKVD went after his subordinates, and arrested and tortured them instead. A series of investigations were launched, in which Zhukov was accused of official corruption, embezzlement of war booty, and plotting to seize power. Under the mounting persecution, Zhukov suffered a heart attack, and was hospitalized for a month.
His fortunes revived temporarily after Stalin’s death. In the housecleaning that followed, Zhukov had the satisfaction of personally arresting the NKVD’s chief, who was subsequently executed. In the new regime, Zhukov joined the Politburo, and was made Defense Minister in 1955. His popularity eventually worried his colleagues, however. As a result, while away from the USSR on a foreign trip in 1957, they voted to relieve him of all duties, and forced him into retirement.
