Vasily Blyukher | |
|---|---|
 Blyukher c. 1930s | |
| Birth name | Vasily Konstantinovich Gurov |
| Nickname(s) | "Red Napoleon"[1] |
| Born | 1 December 1889 Barschinka, Russian Empire |
| Died | 9 November 1938 (aged 48) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire (1914–1915) Soviet Russia /  Soviet Union (1917–1938) |
| Service | Russian Imperial Army Red Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1915 1917–1938 |
| Rank |   |
| Commands | Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of Lenin (2) Order of the Red Banner (4) Order of the Red Star |
| Signature |  |
Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher (Russian: Васи́лий Константи́нович Блю́хер, romanized: Vasiliy Konstantinovich Blyukher; 1 December 1889 – 9 November 1938) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union.
In 1938, Blyukher was arrested during the period of military purges under Joseph Stalin. He was tortured and blinded by Lavrentiy Beria and his men before succumbing to his injuries. His body was then incinerated on the orders of Stalin.[2][3]
- ^ Kotkin (2017), p. 31.
- ^ Harmsen, Peter (1 December 2018). Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931–1941. Casemate Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-61200-481-5.
- ^ Thomas, Alfred (22 July 2014). Shakespeare, Dissent and the Cold War. Springer. pp. 1–275. ISBN 978-1-137-43895-9.