Rodion Malinovskiy

Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1967, during which he oversaw the strengthening of the Soviet Army.

Born to an impoverished Ukrainian household in Odessa, Malinovsky volunteered for the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War and served with distinction in both the German Front and the Western Front. He was serving in the Russian Legion in France on the outbreak of the October Revolution, after which he returned to Russia and joined the Red Army in the Russian Civil War. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, Malinovsky volunteered to fight on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, where he again served with great distinction and was later awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner in recognition of his service.