Mikhail Beregovoy

Mikhail Timofeyevich Beregovoy (; 13 January 1918 – 30 May 2021) was a Soviet military officer who held a number of posts in the Soviet Air Defence Forces, reaching the rank of lieutenant general.

Born in the upheaval of the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War, Beregovoy became interested in technical innovations. His brothers became pilots, his younger brother Georgy winning fame in the Second World War, and later as a pioneering cosmonaut, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Mikhail instead attended the and served as an officer with the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Following the war Beregovoy furthered his specialization with studies at the Artillery Radio Engineering Academy, and then joined the , in time becoming head of the radio engineering troops of the Moscow Air Defence District, with responsibility for monitoring and providing data for the flights of the early Soviet space program. In 1969 he became head of the Soviet Radio-Technical Forces, a post he held until his retirement in 1983.

Beregovoy reached the age of 100 in 2018, an event marked with congratulatory telegrams, including one from Vladimir Putin. Over his career he had received numerous awards and honours, including two Orders of the Red Banner. He died in 2021 at the age of 103.

Early life and career

Beregovoy was born on 13 January 1918 in Chystiakove, which was then part of the brief Ukrainian People's Republic during the period following the October Revolution and during the Russian Civil War.

Postwar service Following the war, Beregovoy enrolled in the Artillery Radio Engineering Academy, graduating in 1951 and entering service with the . He rose from the command of a radio engineering regiment to deputy head and then head of the radio engineering troops of the Moscow Air Defence District. Using the radio telemetry they had recorded, Beregovoy and his men were able to guide rescue teams to the location of the landing site. He had been promoted to major general on 22 February 1963, and to lieutenant general on 19 February 1968. He settled in Balashikha, his home since the 1970s. He also received a congratulatory telegram and a television set from the head of Balashikha, , as well as a certificate of honour signed by Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu. Over his career he had received numerous honours and awards, including two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, two Orders of the Red Star, the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" Third Class and the Medal "For Battle Merit", among others.