Viktor Mikhailov

Viktor Mikhailovich Mikhailov (; 22 June 1924 – 27 September 2021) was a Soviet and Russian military-political officer. He served during the Second World War and after, rising to the rank of major general and serving as head of the Riga Higher Military Political School from 1977 to 1987.

Born into a peasant family in 1924, Mikhailov turned 17 the day of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Initially refused entering military service due to his age, he was then enlisted, and sent to serve on reconnaissance missions during the Battle of Moscow as part of a ski battalion. He saw action on a number of occasions, and was wounded. After his recovery he was appointed commander of a 45-mm anti-tank gun, and sent to the North Caucasus. He fought in the Battle of the Caucasus and the recapture of the Taman Peninsula, being decorated for his service. Wounded again in action, he returned to service as a political officer with the tank forces, ending the war in Berlin.

Mikhailov remained in the armed services after the war, specialising in military-political work, and in 1960 was assigned to the Strategic Rocket Forces. He rose through the ranks, being promoted to major general in 1976, and being appointed head of the Riga Higher Military Political School in 1977. He held this post until his retirement in 1987. In retirement he wrote poetry and remained active in veterans' affairs. He received numerous awards and honours over his lifetime, before his death in 2021 at the age of 97.

Early life and wartime service Mikhailov was born into a peasant family on 22 June 1924 in the village of Shikhazany, Tsivilsky Uyezd, then part of the Chuvash Autonomous Oblast, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. He turned seventeen on 22 June 1941, the day Operation Barbarossa was launched, beginning the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. On the second day of the war Mikhailov went with his classmates from secondary school to the district military enlistment office, but as a minor, was refused. He persisted, and having already been awarded all four defence badges; the GTO , the PVKhO (Ready for Chemical Defence), the PSO (Ready for Sanitary Defence), and the Voroshilov Sharpshooter, was accepted into service. He went on to be present at the Battle of Moscow in the autumn of 1941. Each member received a carbine, warm clothes, and bottles with a combustible mixture, with one light machine gun for the entire battalion. His 90th birthday on 22 June 2014 was marked with special events and recognition from the Strategic Rocket Forces command, including personal congratulations from Colonel-General Sergey Karakayev, commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces. He wrote poetry in Chuvash and Russian. He was an active member of the Council of Veterans of the Strategic Missile Forces, and the Council of Veterans and graduates of the Riga Higher Military-Political School.

Mikailov died on 27 September 2021 at the age of 97. During his career in the Soviet Armed Forces he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, the Order of the Badge of Honour, and four Orders of the Red Star. A street in his home village was named after him.