Terenty Shtykov | |
|---|---|
| Терентий Штыков | |
 Shtykov in 1939 | |
| 1st Ambassador of the Soviet Union to North Korea | |
| In office 10 October 1948 – 13 December 1950 | |
| Premier | Joseph Stalin |
| Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Hungary | |
| In office 29 May 1959 – 5 July 1960 | |
| Premier | Nikita Khrushchev |
| Preceded by | Yevgeni Gromov |
| Succeeded by | Vladimir Ustinov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1907 Liubki, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire (now Haradok District, Vitebsk Region, Belarus)[1] |
| Died | 25 October 1964 (aged 57) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union[2] |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1929–64) |
| Awards | Order of Lenin |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Branch/service | Red Army |
| Years of service | 1939−1959 |
| Rank | Major General (1942–43) Lieutenant General (1943–44) Colonel General (1944–51) Major General (1951–64)[3] |
| Commands | 7th Army (1939–40) Northwestern Front (1941–42) Leningrad Front (1942–43) Volkhov Front (1943–44) Karelian Front (1944) 1st Far Eastern Front (1945)[1] |
Terenty Fomich Shtykov (Russian: Тере́нтий Фоми́ч Шты́ков; 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1907 – 25 October 1964) was a Soviet general who was the de facto head of the Soviet 1945–1948 military occupation of northern Korea and the first Soviet Ambassador to North Korea from 1948 until 1950. Shtykov's support for Kim Il Sung was crucial in his rise to power, and the two persuaded Stalin to allow the Korean War to begin in June 1950.
A protégé of the influential politician Andrei Zhdanov, General Shtykov served as a political commissar during World War II, ending up on the Military Council of the Primorskiy Military District.[4] Through direct access to Joseph Stalin, Shtykov became the "real supreme ruler of North Korea, the principal supervisor of both the Soviet military and the local authorities."[5] Shtykov conceived of the Soviet Civil Administration, supported Kim's appointment as head of the North Korean provisional government, and assisted Stalin with editing the first North Korean constitution.
As the preeminent representative of the Soviet Union's political authority over the nascent North Korea from October 1945 until December 1950, Shtykov's legacy was to aid the Kim family's rise to power. The war they started freed Kim from Soviet domination; China intervened following North Korea's poor military performance in the early autumn. Shtykov was fired as ambassador in December and demoted to major general the following month. He later served as the Soviet ambassador to Hungary from 1959 to 1960.
Andrei Lankov asserts that Shtykov made more impact on Korean history than any foreigner other than Japanese colonial politicians, and that he was "the actual architect of the North Korean state as it emerged in 1945–50." Several of Shtykov's policies, most notably North Korean land reform, are today credited to Kim Il Sung by official North Korean media.[2]
- ^ a b The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. S.v. "Shtykov, Terentii Fomich." Retrieved April 26, 2015 from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Shtykov%2c+Terentii+Fomich
- ^ a b Lankov, Andrei (2012-01-25). "Terenti Shtykov: the other ruler of nascent N. Korea". The Korea Times. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ^ "Shtykov, Terentii Fomich". The Generals of WWII. Steen Ammetorp. 2000. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Timothy Dowling (2011). "Terentii Shtykov". History and the Headlines. ABC-CLIO. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lankovwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).