Shakir Geniatullin
Encyclopedia
Shakir Nigmatulinovich Geniatullin was a Soviet
military officer and Red Army
major-general during World War II
.
An ethnic Tatar
from a peasant
background, Geniatullin served in the cavalry
forces of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the pro-Bolshevik
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
during the Russian Civil War
in Central Asia
.
A 1931 graduate of the Frunze Military Academy and 1939 graduate of the General Staff Academy
, he was a chief of staff
of the 58th Reserve Army in the Second World War and won the Order of Lenin
.
(now in Samara Oblast
, Russian Federation). He came from a Tatar
peasant
family and was briefly educated at a local madrasah
.
Supportive of the Bolshevik
-led October Revolution
in 1917, Geniatullin volunteered for the Red Army
of Soviet Russia
in 1918 and studied at the Tashkent Red Commanders' School in Central Asia
, where he joined the Bolshevik Party in 1919. He then served in the cavalry of the national Red Army of Bukhara
following the proclamation of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
in 1919.
He took part in the fighting against the Basmachi movement with the Bukharan forces on various occasions during the Russian Civil War
, for which he was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner
(in 1922 and 1923), the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic's Order of the Bukharan Banner, 3rd class in 1922, and Order of the Bukharan Red Crescent, 2nd class in 1923.
Geniatullin moved to Moscow
to attend the Frunze Military Academy in 1928. He was a staff officer in the cavalry after graduating from the academy in 1931 and attended the General Staff Academy
in 1937-1939, graduating with distinction. He was awarded the rank of major-general by the Council of People's Commissars in 1940, when the traditional general officers' ranks were first introduced into the Soviet military, and served in the Cavalry Inspectorate of the Red Army General Staff until the German invasion
in 1941.
In wartime, Geniatullin was chief of staff
for the 58th Reserve Army, then attached to the General Staff
. Geniatullin was awarded the Order of Lenin
toward the end of his career, which he received in person from Mikhail Kalinin
at an awards ceremony at the Kremlin
during the war.
He died in 1946 and was interred at the Novodevichy Cemetery
in Moscow
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
military officer and Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
major-general during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
An ethnic Tatar
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
from a peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
background, Geniatullin served in the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
forces of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the pro-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet state which governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution from 1920-1925. In 1924 its name was changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
A 1931 graduate of the Frunze Military Academy and 1939 graduate of the General Staff Academy
General Staff Academy (Russia)
The General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was founded in 1936 in Moscow by Leonid Govorov. It was the senior Soviet and now Russian professional school for officers....
, he was a chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
of the 58th Reserve Army in the Second World War and won the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
.
Biography
Shakir Geniatullin was born in Kryazhly, a village in the Samara Governorate of the Russian EmpireRussian 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...
(now in Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...
, Russian Federation). He came from a Tatar
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
family and was briefly educated at a local madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
.
Supportive of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
-led October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in 1917, Geniatullin volunteered for the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
of Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
in 1918 and studied at the Tashkent Red Commanders' School in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, where he joined the Bolshevik Party in 1919. He then served in the cavalry of the national Red Army of Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
following the proclamation of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet state which governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the period immediately following the Russian Revolution from 1920-1925. In 1924 its name was changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic...
in 1919.
He took part in the fighting against the Basmachi movement with the Bukharan forces on various occasions during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, for which he was twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
(in 1922 and 1923), the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic's Order of the Bukharan Banner, 3rd class in 1922, and Order of the Bukharan Red Crescent, 2nd class in 1923.
Geniatullin moved to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to attend the Frunze Military Academy in 1928. He was a staff officer in the cavalry after graduating from the academy in 1931 and attended the General Staff Academy
General Staff Academy (Russia)
The General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was founded in 1936 in Moscow by Leonid Govorov. It was the senior Soviet and now Russian professional school for officers....
in 1937-1939, graduating with distinction. He was awarded the rank of major-general by the Council of People's Commissars in 1940, when the traditional general officers' ranks were first introduced into the Soviet military, and served in the Cavalry Inspectorate of the Red Army General Staff until the German invasion
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941.
In wartime, Geniatullin was chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
for the 58th Reserve Army, then attached to the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
. Geniatullin was awarded the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
toward the end of his career, which he received in person from Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
at an awards ceremony at the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
during the war.
He died in 1946 and was interred at the Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.