Roman Ivanovich Panin

Roman Ivanovich Panin (; 28 September 1897 – 1 June 1949) was a Soviet major general during World War II. An Imperial Russian Army junior officer in World War I, he joined the Red Army in 1919. Panin fought in the Russian Civil War and continued to serve after the end of the Russian Civil War. He was an advisor to the National Revolutionary Army between 1938 and 1939. Later he participated in the Soviet-Finnish war as a corps commander, and during World War II as the commander of the 14th Army, commanding the defense of Murmansk during Operation Silver Fox. Panin became commander of the 2nd Reserve Army in May 1942 and two months later became a lecturer at the Frunze Military Academy. In February 1943 he became Volkhov Front chief of combat training and in September led the 7th Rifle Corps. After participating in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive, Panin briefly led the 99th Rifle Corps. In July 1944, Panin became deputy commander of the 5th Army. Hospitalized in February 1945 during the East Prussian Offensive, Panin did not see further action. After recovering he became an instructor at the Frunze Military Academy and retired in 1949. He died shortly afterwards.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War Panin was born on 28 September 1897 in Saint Petersburg. In October 1916, he was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army and became a cadet at the Pavel Military School, graduating with the rank of praporshchik in February 1917. Panin was initially served with the 178th Reserve Infantry Regiment before being sent to the Romanian Front in April, where he fought with the 294th Berezina Infantry Regiment. He was treated in a hospital in Petrograd between September 1917 and January 1918, then demobilized.

At the outbreak of the Russian Civil War he joined the Red Army in June 1919, serving as adjutant of the 1st Petrograd Regimental District. From September of that year, Panin served as a company commander of the Red Army detachment on the staff of the Moskovsky-Narvsky district of Petrograd. During this period he fought on the Western Front against the Northwestern Army. Panin became a company commander in the 166th Separate Rifle Battalion in January 1920 and later transferred to command a company of the separate engineer battalion of the Petrograd Military District. In March 1921 he participated in the suppression of the Kronstadt rebellion.

In June 1940, Panin was appointed head of combat training for the Leningrad Military District. He was promoted to Major General on 4 June. and later appointed commander of the 2nd Reserve Army in May 1942. In August 1942 Panin became a senior lecturer at the Frunze Military Academy. In February 1943, he was appointed chief of combat training for the Volkhov Front. Panin became commander of the 7th Rifle Corps of the 59th Army in September, leading it in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive and the capture of Novgorod. For his leadership in the offensive Panin was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class on 21 February 1944. Between April and May 1944 he was commander of the 99th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Baltic Front. In May, Panin was at the disposal of the chief of staff. In June he visited the 3rd Belorussian Front with Aleksandr Vasilevsky. One month later he became deputy commander of the 5th Army, participating in Operation Bagration and the East Prussian Offensive. In February 1945, he was hospitalized and from May 1945 was again at the disposal of the chief of staff.

Postwar After the war Panin became head of a course at the Frunze Military Academy. He retired in 1949 and died in Moscow on 1 June 1949. He was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Awards and decorations