Boris Vladimirov

Boris Alexandrovich Vladimirov (; 14 April 1905 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Vladimirov served in the Russian Civil War after being drafted into the Red Army in 1921. He became an officer and by 1941 was a deputy regimental commander. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Vladimirov successively became senior officer in charge of the formation of march battalions in the Siberian Military District, chief of staff of a ski brigade, and a rifle brigade. He commanded the rifle brigade in the Siege of Leningrad, during the Lyuban Offensive Operation and the Sinyavino Offensive. Vladimirov took command of the 311th Rifle Division in March 1943, leading it until the end of the war. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership in the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Postwar, Vladimirov became a lieutenant general, commanded a rifle corps, and was deputy chief of staff of the Soviet airborne. He retired in 1960 and lived in Moscow.

Early life, Russian Civil War, and Interwar period Vladimirov was born on 14 April 1905 in Alexandropol (today Gyumri) in Russian Armenia to the family of a civil servant. He was drafted into the Red Army in June 1921 and fought in the Russian Civil War. In 1925, Vladimirov graduated from infantry school. He became a machine gunner, machine-gun platoon commander, and machine-gun company commander, and led a separate reconnaissance battalion in Cheremkhovo. In 1937, he became a senior teacher of tactics at the reserve officers' advanced training courses in Tomsk. By June 1941 Vladimirov was deputy commander of the 365th Rifle Regiment of the 119th Rifle Division in Krasnoyarsk. The division fought in the of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive from January 1944. On 20 May, Vladimirov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class. From June, the division fought on the 2nd Baltic Front. During Operation Bagration, Vladimirov led the division in the Polotsk Offensive. The division then fought in the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive and the Baltic Offensive. On 2 November 1944 he was promoted to major general. Vladimirov was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner on 3 November. In December, the division became part of the 1st Belorussian Front. After the offensive, the division continued its advance in the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Berlin Offensive, fighting until the end of the war. On 29 May 1945, Vladimirov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd class.