Yevgeny Podkolzin
Yevgeny Nikolayevich Podkolzin (18 April 1936–19 June 2003) was a Soviet and Russian colonel general who commanded the Soviet and Russian Airborne Forces from 1991 to 1996.
Biography
[edit]Yevgeny Nikolayevich Podkolzin was born on 18 April 1936 in the settlement of Lepsinsk in the Kazakh SSR. He graduated from the Alma-Ata Airborne School in 1958, and was posted to the 328th Guards Airborne Regiment as a platoon commander. Between 1963 and 1967, Podkolzin commanded the transport and supply company and the separate reconnaissance company of the 104th Guards Airborne Division. Promoted to command a battalion of the 80th Guards Airborne Regiment in 1968, he was accepted to the Frunze Military Academy in 1970. Upon graduation in 1973, Podkolzin was appointed commander of the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment. He rose to deputy commander of the 106th Guards Airborne Division in 1974 and division commander in 1976. Accepted to the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1980, Podkolzin was appointed first deputy chief of staff of the Soviet Airborne Forces upon his graduation in 1982. He rose to chief of staff and first deputy commander of the airborne forces in 1986. Podkolzin succeeded to command of the Airborne Forces in August 1991, leading them through the transition into the Russian Airborne Forces. Podkolzin was relieved of command of the airborne forces on 4 December 1996.[1]
Podkolzin died aged 68 on 19 June 2003 after an operation.[2]
Awards
[edit]Podkolzin was a recipient of the following awards:[1]
- Order of the Red Star
- Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 2nd and 3rd classes
- Order of the Badge of Honour
- Order "For Personal Courage"
- Order of Military Merit
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Подколзин Евгений Николаевич" [Podkolzin, Yevgeny Nikolayevich] (in Russian). Russian Ministry of Defense.
- ^ "В Москве умер генерал-полковник Евгений Подколзин, бывший командующий ВДВ". pln-pskov.ru. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
Leadership of the Russian Airborne Forces | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commanders |  | |
| Chiefs of Staff and First Deputy Commanders (since 1998) | ||
| First Deputy Commanders (until 1997) | ||
| Chief of Staff (until 1998) | ||
- Commanders of the Russian Airborne Forces
- Commanders of the Soviet Airborne Forces
- Frunze Military Academy alumni
- Russian colonel generals
- Recipients of the Order "For Personal Courage"
- Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour
- Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class
- Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class
- Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
- Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia)
- Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School alumni
- Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni
- Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
- 2003 deaths
- 1936 births
- Soviet colonel generals
- People from Almaty Region