Fedor Yakovlevich Falaleyev (1899-1955) was a Soviet Marshal of the Air Force

Marshal of the Air Force

Marshal of the Air Force is the English term for the most senior rank in a number of air forces. The ranks described by this term can properly be considered marshal ranks....

.

Early life

Falaleyev was born on 31 May 1899 in Polyanskaya, Udmurtia

Udmurtia

The Udmurt Republic , or Udmurtia is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Izhevsk. Population: -History:...

, in central Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

.

Military career

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded the Air Force of the 6th Army

6th Army (Soviet Union)

The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998...

, the Air Force of the South-Western Front

Soviet Southwestern Front

The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War, and by the Red Army during the Second World War.The Southwestern Front in this article describes several...

 and the Southwestern direction, was chief of staff and deputy commander of the Red Army's Air Force. As representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters for aviation he coordinated actions of air armies in various directions, took part in operations to liberate the Donbas area, Southern Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 and the Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

 and also in the Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

ian, Baltic

Baltic region

The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...

 and East Prussian operations.

Marshal Falaleyev ran the Gagarin Air Force Academy

Gagarin Air Force Academy

Gagarin Air Force Academy is the name of a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino , Moscow Region.Gagarin Air Force Academy is one of the leading military educational institutions preparing high ranking military personnel for the Russian Air Force.Among the academy alumni are around...

 in Monino

Monino

Monino is an urban locality in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated east of Moscow. Population:...

, a leading Soviet training and research facility until his death in 1955.

Medals and awards

Fedor Falaleyev was twice awarded the Order of Suvorov

Order of Suvorov

The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...

 1st Class. He also received the 2nd Class version of the same award, as well as an Order of Kutuzov

Order of Kutuzov

The Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....

1st Class.