Stepan Chernyak

Stepan Ivanovich Chernyak
Chernyak, 1940
Born	25 December 1899 Chernevichi, Borisovsky Uyezd, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	20 July 1976(1976-07-20) (aged 76) Krasnodar, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russian Empire Soviet Union
Service / branch	Imperial Russian Army Red Army
Years of service	1917 1918–1958
Rank	General-mayor
Commands	136th Rifle Division 3rd Rifle Corps 46th Army 44th Army 306th Rifle Division 32nd Rifle Division 162nd Rifle Division 41st Rifle Division
Battles / wars	World War I Russian Civil War Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union

Stepan Ivanovich Chernyak (Russian: Степан Иванович Черняк; 25 December 1899 – 20 July 1976) was a Soviet Army general and Hero of the Soviet Union who held field army and division command during World War II, rising to the rank of general-leytenant.

A veteran of World War I and the Russian Civil War, Chernyak rose through command positions in the interwar Red Army, serving as a military advisor in the Spanish Civil War. Made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the 136th Rifle Division during the Winter War, Chernyak commanded the 44th Army in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, but after the defeat in Crimea he was demoted and remained a division commander for the rest of the war, which he ended as a general-mayor. His career stagnated postwar and he retired in the late 1950s.