Ivan Vertelko

Ivan Petrovich Vertelko (; 17 August 1926 – 14 June 2021) was an officer of the Soviet military who held a number of posts in the Soviet Tank Forces, and later the Soviet Border Forces, reaching the rank of colonel general.

Born in 1926, Vertelko was still a child when the Second World War broke out, and following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, lived for some time under German occupation. He narrowly avoided being deported to Germany by escaping from a camp, and in 1943 joined the Red Army at the age of 17. He initially served as a scout in a motorcycle reconnaissance battalion, going on to see action at the liberation of Minsk and during the Vilnius offensive. Wounded in action, he lost a finger, and received the Order of the Red Star when defending against counterattacks, before joining the tank forces as a crewman on a T-34. In this role he saw out the war, but continued to serve in the armed forces.

By now attached to the tank forces, Vertelko studied at several schools and rose through the ranks and positions to more senior commands. He studied at the Military Academy of the Armoured Forces, and later at the Military Academy of the General Staff, and after distinguishing himself in military exercises, became first deputy commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army. He then made a radical switch in his career after being transferred to the Soviet Border Forces, who were in the process of equipping with new heavier armaments, and who needed an experienced commander. He served as deputy head of the Main Directorate for the Internal Affairs of the KGB, and then as first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the KGB, being heavily involved in the deployment of the Border Forces during the Soviet–Afghan War. Retiring in 1990, he wrote his memoirs and remained active in veterans' affairs, before his death in 2021 at the age of 94.

Early life and career June 1941, Operation Barbarossa. German troops advanced, occupying large areas of the Soviet Union, including Vertelko's home village. Vertelko was born on 17 August 1926 into a Russian family in the village of Strigovo, in what was then Pochepsky Uyezd, Bryansk Governorate, part of the Russian SFSR, in the Soviet Union. His father, Petr Prokhorovich Vertelko (1897-1981) had served in World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War. His mother was Nina Nikiforovna Vertelko (née Gubko; 1898-1994). In addition to Ivan, the couple had seven girls.

He graduated from the four-year classes in his village school, followed by a further seven years study at an evening school, located away. initially undergoing training with the 72nd Reserve Training Rifle Regiment of the 9th Rifle Division. He would later recall that he first took the oath on 3 November 1943. He had seventy-five garrisons under his command as well as advisers among the Afghan border troops, six airborne assault groups and three air regiments.

Retirement Ivan Vertelko retired in 1990 and settled in Moscow. He had suffered two serious illnesses, resulting in hospitalization, during the Soviet–Afghan War, which left him partially disabled. He was buried on 18 June 2021 at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery. He was twice awarded the Order of Lenin, and also held the Order of the October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, Order of the Red Star, awarded in 1944, and the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" Third Class. He also held four foreign orders and fifty-two medals. This award is considered unofficial and is not recognized by the Russian government. During the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Soviet Army and Navy, Defender of the Fatherland Day, he was awarded the commemorative medal "100 Years of the Armed Forces" in 2018.