Yuri Viktorovich Kuznetsov

Yuri Viktorovich Kuznetsov (; 24 August 1946 – 24 January 2020) was a Soviet and Russian military officer who held a number of posts in the Soviet and later Russian Armed Forces, reaching the rank of general-major. He served during the Soviet–Afghan War, receiving the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Kuznetsov entered the Soviet Army in 1964, and after studying at the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School he joined the 217th Guards Airborne Regiment, where he would spend the next several years, rising through the ranks and becoming a battalion commander. After further studies at the Frunze Military Academy, he was sent to Afghanistan with the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment. He rose to command the regiment during his service during the Soviet–Afghan War, and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1982. After further postings as deputy commander of the 106th Guards Airborne Division, commander of the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division and deputy commander of the 35th Combined Arms Army, Kuznetsov's final military service was as head of the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School, before his retirement in 2002.

With his retirement from military life, Kuznetsov settled in Blagoveshchensk and became active in local government, serving as a deputy in the city and regional dumas, and as an advisor to the deputy governor on the region. He had received a number of awards during his career, and on his death in 2020, politicians at the local and national levels paid tribute to his service.

Early life and career Kuznetsov was born into a working-class family on 24 August 1946 in Borzya, then in Chita Oblast in the Soviet Union. He graduated from 10 high school classes and joined the Soviet Army in August 1964. After graduating from the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School with a specialisation in command and staff operational-tactical combined arms warfare in 1968, he entered the 217th Guards Airborne Regiment, based at Bolhrad in Odesa Oblast, in the Ukrainian SSR. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1970, and in 1973 completed the Vystrel officer-training course.

Civilian life The seat of the administration of Amur Oblast in Blagoveshchensk. Kuznetsov sat on several of the city and regional assemblies.

Now retired from the military, Kuznetsov settled in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, where he became active in civil administration. Over his career he had received a number of awards in addition to that of Hero of the Soviet Union, including the Order of the Red Star on 17 August 1981, the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" second and third classes, and the Order of Military Merit on 3 January 1997, in addition to fourteen medals. He was married with three sons. Alexander Kozlov, the Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, called him "honest, open, uncompromising, decent, energetic."

A bust of Kuznetsov was placed in the grounds of the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School. In 2020 the Amur Cadet Corps Boarding School was named after him. On 5 July 2022, a statue of Kuznetsov was unveiled on the square opposite the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School. The design of the monument was developed with the input of his family, and depicts Kuznetsov, in military uniform and with his cap in his hand, walking to work at the school.