Today, August 31, marks the 30th anniversary of the suicide of Marshal Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeyev, Chief of the General Staff of the USSR. At that time, he could not bear to see the fate of the collapse of the Soviet Union and chose the path of hanging himself, thinking that it was worse than death to be able to witness the reality that the motherland that he had fought so bloody no longer appeared in front of his eyes. So when the coup failed, Akhromeyev chose to commit suicide.
In fact, Akhromeyev is neither a member of the "emergency committee" nor the main planner of the coup, he is just "when the motherland is dying and my life's achievements are about to be destroyed, I can't live anymore." (Akhromeyev's suicide note to his family)
On March 25, 1983, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Army General Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeyev was awarded the title of Marshal of the USSR. Henceforth Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeyev – hero of the Soviet Union, marshal of the SOVIET Union, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, first deputy minister of defense of the USSR – held a place among the military leaders of the USSR.
Akhromeyev's biography stands out in its unique way. Born on 5 May 1923 in the village of Wendre in the Tolbevsky district to a peasant family. He spent his childhood there, from where he and his mother came to Moscow in the thirties. He graduated from high school and became a member of the Communist Youth League.
In 1940, at the age of 17, he became a cadet at the Supérieure naval school Frunze. If it were not for Hitler's treacherous german offensive against the Soviet Union, it is known how Akhromeyev's naval career would have been accomplished. The Nazis sabotaged not only the plans of the future naval officer Akhromeyev, but also the plans of the entire Soviet people.
It is now hard to imagine that when Akhromeyev was serving as an assistant platoon leader for cadets of the 3rd Naval Brigade of the Leningrad Military District, he and his classmates were blocking the way of enemy tanks and Hitler infantry rushing towards Leningrad. Later, the marshal took part not only in Leningrad, but also in the battle on Stalingrad and the fourth ukrainian front.
During the battle, the young deputy platoon commander's command skills were tempered, and Akhromeyev and his comrades more than once had to perform complex command tasks, separating and eliminating the advancing German army from the tank group, thus firmly defending their front from being jumped.
In October 1942, Akhromeyev was promoted to lieutenant. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1943. By the time he was twenty years old, he had commanded a battalion of troops. His subordinates highly appreciated the outstanding ability of his commander, although he was younger than some of his subordinates.
In November 1944, Akhromeyev was sent to study at the Higher Military Academy of Self-Propelled Artillery from the post of commander of the submachine gun battalion of the 14th Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade. After graduation, he commanded the battalion again. In 1952, Akhromeyev graduated with honors from the Military Academy of the Panzer Corps. For many people who have experienced the practice of the Great War, learning military art theory is no less difficult than combat.
After graduating from the academy, Sergei Fedorovich commanded a tank regiment first, then a tank division, led the regiment's headquarters, and soon became a major general in the tank unit in April 1964. Soon he was sent to study at the Academy of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces, named after Voroshilov. Since then, he has successively served as chief of staff of the 8th Tank Army, commander of the 7th Panzer Army, chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Far Eastern Military District. Director of the Main Operational Services of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
The Soviet Government highly appreciated the contribution of Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeyev to the motherland. In 1982, by order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Akhromeyev was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR. He was awarded four Orders of Lenin, two Medals of the Red Star, The Order of the Armed Forces of the USSR for the Service of the Fatherland, Order of the Third Class and many medals. Awarded a number of socialist countries and medals.
In August 1991, Sergei Fedorovich was on holiday in Sochi with his wife and granddaughter. Although he maintained friendly relations with then-Defense Minister Yazov, he was unaware that a coup was being prepared. On 19 July of the same year, Akhromeyev flew to Moscow. At this time, an emergency committee was set up under the Kremlin, and upon arrival in Moscow, Sergei Fedorovich provided assistance to a member of the emergency committee to gather information from the scene.
The failure of the coup greatly frustrated Sergei Fyodorovich, and after him, Marshal Akhromeyev (whose relatives later spoke about this in an interview) was awaiting arrest. On August 25, the body of a Soviet hero was found in a Kremlin office. He was sitting with a ring of mail twine around his neck.
Before his death, Akhromeyev went up to visit his daughter on the evening of August 23, and the next day, before going to work, he promised his granddaughter a walk together when she returned. The behavior is calm, and according to the official statement, he has mentally prepared a lasso for himself.
The burial of Marshal Akhromeyev has no honor and no ceremony in accordance with the rank regulations. The obituary was not published in Pravda, and only a few people came to give him his last journey. On the night of the burial, the marshal's uniform and medal were also looted by Lieutenant Touch Gold. So that the funeral had to be held a second time.
Four months after The suicide of Marshal Akhromeyev, the Soviet Union officially announced its dissolution. Then, 30 years have passed, and the world is still reminiscing about the Soviet era.