Leonid Ivanovich Shcherbakov

Leonid Ivanovich Shcherbakov (; 12 October 1936 – 29 May 2021) was a Soviet and later Russian military officer who held a number of posts in the Soviet Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant general, and being awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

Orphaned by the Second World War, Shcherbakov entered the Soviet Armed Forces in the early 1950s, and trained at the . This began a long association with the technical side of armoured warfare. Initially serving with the as part of the North Caucasus Military District, and rising through the ranks to greater responsibilities, he deepened his knowledge with studies at the Military Academy of the Armoured Forces, which included practical experiences of tank factories in Kharkov and Nizhny Tagil. He was then assigned to the in Kubinka as a test engineer, and carried out trials on fifteen different Soviet and foreign vehicles.

Shcherbakov became particularly involved in trials of the BMD-1, an armoured vehicle intended to be able to be dropped by aircraft. It was during these tests that he made his first parachute jump, triggering an interest and subsequent move to the Soviet Airborne Forces, where he worked in its scientific and technical committee. Initially the BMD-1 was to be dropped separately from its crew, who would locate it after landing. This proved unsatisfactory, and Shcherbakov became involved in trials of parachute and rocket-braking systems to allow members of the crew to be aboard the vehicle during its descent. In January 1976 he and Major became the first in the world to make an experimental landing inside the BMD-1. Both were nominated for the award of Hero of the Soviet Union, but this was not acted upon and Shcherbakov only received the lesser Order of the Red Banner. His later career included important positions as deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District and deputy commander in chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. He continued to evaluate and test military equipment during the Soviet–Afghan War, and ended his career as Inspector-General of Equipment and Armaments in the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defence. Only in retirement was his work fully rewarded, with the award of the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 1996. He died in 2021 at the age of 84.

Early life and career

Shcherbakov was born on 12 October 1936 in Bannovskoye, Stalino Oblast, which was then part of the Ukrainian SSR, in the Soviet Union. His father died while fighting at the front following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, and that year Shcherbakov was evacuated to the Urals. He was placed in an orphanage there in 1943 and subsequently grew up in the region, graduating from high school there.

Shcherbakov joined the Soviet Armed Forces in the early 1950s, and in 1957 graduated from the . After graduating, Shcherbakov was assigned to the with the rank of lieutenant, serving with the 14th Tank Division as part of the North Caucasus Military District.

Developing the BMD-1 Troops of the Soviet Airborne Forces boarding an aircraft. Despite fracturing his leg on his first jump, Shcherbakov went on to work with the Airborne Forces. During this period he was part of a team handpicked by Colonel-General , which joined in the evaluation of the BMD-1, a vehicle intended to be dropped by aeroplane in support of ground forces. While evaluating the craft, Shcherbakov made his first parachute jump. He was buried in the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on 1 June 2021. Over his career Shcherbakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, the Orders of the Red Banner and the Red Star, and twenty Soviet, Russian, and foreign medals.