Ivan Bagramyan

Ivan Bagramyan
Born	2 December [O.S. 20 November] 1897 Yelizavetpol, Russian Empire
Died	21 September 1982(1982-09-21) (aged 84) Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow, Russia
Years of service	1915–1970
Rank	Marshal of the Soviet Union
Commands	16th Army 11th Guards Army 1st Baltic Front 3rd Belorussian Front Baltic Military District General Staff Academy
Battles / wars	World War I Caucasus campaign Battle of Sardarabad Russian Civil War May Uprising Turkish–Armenian War World War II Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev Battle of Rostov Battle of Moscow Second Battle of Kharkov Kozelsk Offensive Battle of Kursk Operation Citadel Operation Kutuzov Operation Bagration Baltic Offensive Courland Pocket Battle of Memel East Prussian Offensive Samland Offensive Battle of Königsberg
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Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan,^{[n 1]} also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi Baghramyan^{[n 2][n 3]} (2 December [O.S. 20 November] 1897 – 21 September 1982), was a Soviet military commander of Armenian origin who held the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

During World War II, Bagramyan was the second non-Slavic military officer, after Latvian Max Reyter, to become a commander of a front. He was among several Armenians in the Soviet Army who held the highest proportion of high-ranking officers in the Soviet military during the war.^[1]

Bagramyan's experience in military planning as a chief of staff allowed him to distinguish himself as a capable commander in the early stages of the Soviet counter-offensives against Nazi Germany. He was given his first command of a unit in 1942, and in November 1943 received his most prestigious command as the commander of the 1st Baltic Front. As commander of the Baltic Front, he participated in the offensives which pushed German forces out of the Baltic republics.

He did not immediately join the Communist Party after the consolidation of the October Revolution, becoming a member only in 1941,^[2] a move atypical for a Soviet military officer. After the war, he served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviets of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic and Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and was a regular attendee of the Party Congresses. In 1952, he became a candidate for entry into the Central Committee and, in 1961, was inducted as a full member.^[2] For his contributions during the war, he was widely regarded as a national hero in the Soviet Union,^[3] and continues to hold such esteemed status among Armenians and Russians today.

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