21 Facts About Dmitry Yazov

Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov was a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Dmitry Yazov was the last person to be appointed to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union on 28 April 1990, the only Marshal born in Siberia, and at the time of his death on 25 February 2020, he was the last living Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Dmitry Yazov was the son of Timofey Yakovlevich Yazov and Maria Fedoseevna Yazova, who were peasants.

Dmitry Yazov joined the Red Army voluntarily in November 1941 at the age of seventeen, not having time to finish high school.

Dmitry Yazov was enrolled in training at the Moscow Higher Military Command School and graduated in June 1942.

Dmitry Yazov received a school graduation certificate only in 1953, already being a major.

Dmitry Yazov participated in the battles of the Siege of Leningrad, in the offensive operations of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, and in the blockade of the Courland Pocket.

In 1962, Dmitry Yazov commanded Soviet ground forces in Oriente Province, Cuba, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where he personally worked with Cuban Defence Minister Raul Castro.

Dmitry Yazov was commanding the Far East Military District in the northern summer of 1986, when, according to Time magazine, he made a favourable impression on General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, which led to later promotions.

Dmitry Yazov was appointed Soviet Defence Minister on 30 May 1987, after Marshal Sergei Sokolov was sacked as a result of the Mathias Rust incident two days earlier.

From June 1987 to July 1990, Dmitry Yazov was a candidate member of the Politburo.

Dmitry Yazov was responsible for deployment of Soviet OMON commando units to Latvia and Lithuania in early 1991.

For supporting the GKChP, the government of Valentin Pavlov was dismissed and, accordingly, Dmitry Yazov lost the post of Minister of Defence.

Dmitry Yazov was released on recognisance not to leave in January 1993.

Dmitry Yazov was amnestied by the State Duma in 1994, accepting the amnesty offered by Boris Yeltsin and stating that he was not guilty.

Dmitry Yazov was dismissed from the military service by Presidential Order and awarded a ceremonial weapon.

Dmitry Yazov was awarded an order of Honour by the President of Russian Federation.

Dmitry Yazov later worked as a military adviser at the General Staff Academy.

In March 2019, Dmitry Yazov was tried in absentia and convicted of war crimes by a Lithuanian court for his role in the military crackdown in Lithuania in January 1991, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Dmitry Yazov died in Moscow on 25 February 2020 at the age of 95, following what the Defence Ministry of Russia called "a serious and prolonged illness".

Dmitry Yazov is buried at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery outside Moscow.