What front did Rokossovsky command in the Berlin operation. “Stalin twice suggested that I go into the next room to consider the offer of a rate,” Rokossovsky later recalled.

December 21, 1896 was born a Soviet and Polish military leader, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, the only marshal of the two countries in the history of the USSR Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. We present you a photo selection of one of the largest commanders of the Second World War, who commanded the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 on Red Square in Moscow.

Konstantin Rokossovsky was born in Warsaw on December 21, 1896, but according to other sources in 1894. While in the Red Army, he began to indicate the year of birth as 1896 and changed his patronymic to Konstantinovich. After being awarded the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Velikie Luki began to indicate the place of birth, where the bust of Rokossovsky was installed.

Young Rokossovsky

On August 2, 1914, young Konstantin volunteered for the 6th Squadron of the 5th Kargopol Dragoon Regiment of the 5th Cavalry Division of the 12th Army. After 6 days, he distinguished himself during equestrian reconnaissance, for which he was awarded the St. George Cross of the 4th degree and promoted to corporal. Young Rokossovsky participated in battles, learned how to handle a horse, mastered a rifle, saber and pike.

Dragoon K. Rokossovsky. 1916

From October 1917 he voluntarily transferred to the Red Guard, and then to the Red Army. From November 1917 to February 1918, as an assistant to the head of the detachment, Rokossovsky participated in the suppression of counter-revolutionary uprisings. From February to July, he took part in the suppression of anarchist and Cossack counter-revolutionary actions. In July 1918, he participated in battles with the White Guards and Czechoslovaks, and after his detachment was reorganized into the 1st Ural Cavalry Regiment named after Volodarsky, where Rokossovsky was appointed commander of the 1st squadron.

Konstantin Rokossovsky among relatives

In the summer of 1921, commanding the red 35th cavalry regiment in the battle near Troitskosavsk, he defeated the 2nd brigade of General Rezukhin and was seriously wounded. For this fight, Rokossovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Commander of the 35th Cavalry Regiment Konstantin Rokossovsky (center).

On April 30, 1923, Rokossovsky married Yulia Petrovna Barmina, and two years later their daughter Ariadne was born.

Rokossovsky with his wife Yulia Barmina

In 1924 he was sent to study in Leningrad at the Higher Cavalry School. In addition to theoretical studies, the cadets mastered the highest forms of riding, and were engaged in fencing.

Students of the Cavalry courses for the improvement of command personnel 1924-1925. K. K. Rokossovsky (standing 5th from left). Extreme - G. K. Zhukov

In the fall of 1929, Rokossovsky took part in an armed conflict with the Chinese on the Chinese Eastern Railway. The aggravated relations with Japan in the Far East necessitated the transfer of knowledgeable commanders there, as Rokossovsky proved himself to be. Here he took command of the 15th Cavalry Division. For training parts of the division he was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1935 he was awarded the rank of division commander.

In August 1937, Rokossovsky was arrested and accused of having links with Polish and Japanese intelligence services, convicted, but in March 1940, at the request of S.K. Timoshenko to Stalin, he was rehabilitated. Rokossovsky met the Great Patriotic War with the rank of major general, and already September 11, 1941 received the title lieutenant general.

Lieutenant General K. K. Rokossovsky, 1941

Rokossovsky about the battle for Moscow: " In connection with the breakthrough of the defense in the sector of the 30th Army and the withdrawal of units of the 5th Army, the troops of the 16th Army, fighting for every meter, were pushed back in fierce battles to Moscow at the turn: north of Krasnaya Polyana, Kryukovo, Istra, and on this line, in fierce battles, they finally stopped the German offensive, and then going on to a general counteroffensive, together with other armies, carried out according to the plan of Comrade Stalin, the enemy was defeated and driven far from Moscow».

It was near Moscow that Rokossovsky acquired military authority. For the battle near Moscow, he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Rokossovsky (2nd from right) on the front, 1941−1942

March 8, 1942 Rokossovsky was wounded by a shell fragment. The wound turned out to be severe - the right lung, liver, ribs and spine were affected. After the operation in Kozelsk, he was taken to a Moscow hospital, where he received treatment until May 1942.

Rokossovsky (2nd from left), member of the Military Council A. A. Lobachev and writer Stavsky inspect the captured enemy equipment

On January 31, 1943, troops under the command of Rokossovsky captured Field Marshal F. von Paulus, 24 generals, 2,500 German officers, 90 thousand soldiers.

After the Battle of Kursk, his fame thundered on all fronts, he became widely known in the West as one of the most talented Soviet military leaders. Rokossovsky was also very popular among the soldiers.

Rokossovsky with officers inspecting the wrecked German self-propelled guns Ferdinand

In full measure, Rokossovsky's military talent manifested itself in the summer of 1944 during the operation to liberate Belarus. The success of the operation exceeded the expectations of the Soviet command. As a result of a two-month offensive, Belarus was completely liberated, part of the Baltic states was recaptured, the eastern regions of Poland were liberated, and the German Army Group Center was almost completely defeated.

On June 29, 1944, Rokossovsky was awarded the diamond star of the Marshal of the Soviet Union, and on July 30, the first Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

The commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, K.K. Rokossovsky, is preparing for a balloon flight in April 1945

By July 11, 1944, a 105,000-strong enemy grouping was taken prisoner. When the West questioned the number of prisoners, Stalin ordered them to be led through the streets of Moscow. From that moment, Stalin began to call Rokossovsky by name and patronymic, only Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov was honored with such an appeal.

Until the end of the war, Rokossovsky commanded the 2nd Belorussian Front, whose troops, together with other fronts, crushed the enemy in the East Prussian, East Pomeranian and, finally, Berlin strategic operations.

Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Bernard Montgomery (back). Berlin, 1945

On June 24, 1945, Rokossovsky commanded the historic Victory Parade in Moscow, hosted by Marshal Zhukov. " I took the command of the Victory Parade as the highest award for all my many years of service in the Armed Forces”, - said Marshal at the Kremlin reception in honor of the parade participants.

Rokossovsky summed up his military activities as follows: “The greatest happiness for a soldier is the realization that you helped your people defeat the enemy, defend the freedom of the Motherland, restore peace to it. The consciousness that you have fulfilled your soldier's duty, a heavy and noble duty, higher than which there is nothing on earth!

Rokossovsky (2nd from right) in the Kremlin, February 1968.

Many years later, N. S. Khrushchev asked Rokossovsky to write an “blacker and thicker” article against I. V. Stalin, but the marshal resolutely refused, answering: “ Nikita Sergeevich, Comrade Stalin is a saint to me!”, - and at the banquet he did not clink glasses with Khrushchev. The next day, he was removed from the post of Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR.

Since 1962, he was the General Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Konstantin Konstantinovich died on August 3, 1968 from cancer. The urn with his ashes is buried in the Kremlin wall.

Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is one of the most famous commanders of the Great Patriotic War, who forever inscribed his name in the history of the modern world. The military genius of this man truly deserves to remain in the memory of posterity. So who was Rokossovsky?

Brief biography: family

It is not known exactly who the parents of such a person as Konstantin Rokossovsky are. The biography briefly describes his relatives. It is known that the marshal's family owned the village of Rokossovo (the territory of modern Poland), from where the surname of the family originated. Grandfather's name was Joseph. He is known for devoting himself entirely to the military. Father Xavier was a gentry and served on the railroad. Konstantin's mother's name was Antonina. She is from Belarus, worked as a teacher.

Childhood

It is not known exactly when Konstantin Rokossovsky was born. The short biography is rather inconsistent regarding the exact date. According to the marshal himself, he was born in 1896, but other sources claim that the future commander was born two years earlier. The boy was not even six years old, as he was sent to study at a technical school. But then fate itself intervened - in 1902, the father dies, and further education is out of the question. Mother could not pay for an expensive institution.

Talks about the hard life that Rokossovsky lived with dignity, a short biography. For children, he became a real hero. After all, the boy was forced to help a stonemason, a dentist, and also a confectioner. In his free time, he tried to learn something new - he carefully read the books he had.

Carier start

It is very rare that people put so much effort into achieving a dream as Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich. A brief biography of the future commander tells that in August 1914 he entered the dragoon regiment, where he so wanted to get. He masterfully learned how to handle a horse, shot perfectly from a rifle, and in battles on checkers and peaks he had no equal at all. The exploits of a young but very stubborn military man did not go unnoticed. Konstantin Rokossovsky, whose brief biography says that in the same year he was promoted to corporal.

In general, during the war, the commander, as part of his formation, carried out many successful attacks and gained authority among his colleagues. How did Konstantin Rokossovsky grow further up the career ladder? A brief biography, photo, newspaper headlines of that time eloquently indicate that he was promoted to junior non-commissioned officer at the end of March 1917. Two weeks earlier, a military regiment swore allegiance to the provisional government. Rokossovsky, whose brief biography sheds light on interesting information, was delegated to the regimental committee in August 1917.

Red Guard period

The future Marshal Rokossovsky, whose brief biography says that in October 1917 he joined the Red Army, made a major change in his life. It all started from the very beginning, from the bottom, from the ordinary. The life of a soldier was not calm - for the next two years, Rokossovsky fought against the enemies of the revolution. No wonder, because the civil war was in full swing. Everyone knows how brave Konstantin Rokossovsky was. A brief biography of the military describes a very rapid career growth during this period. In 1919, he again became an officer, squadron commander, and a year later - a cavalry regiment.

Personal life

In the mid-twenties, the world saw a new cell of society, the initiator of which was Konstantin Rokossovsky. A brief biography tells that the family consisted of his wife Yulia Barmina, whom he married in April 1923. In 1925, the couple had a daughter, who was named Ariadne. Subsequently, grandchildren Konstantin and Pavel were born.

Continuation of studies

The next few years were relatively quiet. In 1924, Rokossovsky was sent to courses to improve his commanding qualities. There he met Andrey Eremenko.

The years 1926-1929, which the future marshal spent in the service in Mongolia, were especially remembered on the path of life. In 1929, he took advanced training courses for senior officers, where he met Mikhail Tukhachevsky. In 1935, Rokossovsky received the personal title of division commander.

Consequence

The years 1937-1940 were among the most unpleasant in the life of a military man. Due to several denunciations, Konstantin was first stripped of all ranks, dismissed from the army and arrested as a result. The investigation, which lasted three years, was completed in 1940. Rokossovsky was given back all ranks and was even promoted to major general.

The beginning of the war and the battle for Moscow

Peaceful life did not last long. In 1941, Rokossovsky was appointed commander of the fourth, and later the sixteenth armies. For special services he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

A particularly difficult memory was the battle for Moscow, which ended with the pushing of the attacking Germans far beyond the capital. For special personal merits in these battles, Rokossovsky was awarded the Order of Lenin.

Wound

The war did not pass without a trace for the commander. March 8, 1942 was overshadowed by a severe wound. Shrapnel hit important organs - the lung and liver, as well as the ribs and spine. Despite the need for a long rehabilitation, at the end of May, Konstantin Konstantinovich was again in the ranks.

Battle of Stalingrad

The brilliant result of the operation to capture the iconic city was the capture of almost a hundred thousand German soldiers, led by a field marshal. Awards for an excellent tactical operation were the Order of Suvorov and the rank of Colonel General.

Battle of Kursk

In 1943, Konstantin Konstantinovich was appointed head of the Central Front, whose main task was to push back the enemy on the Kursk-Oryol Bulge. The result did not come immediately - the enemy was very strongly resisting. For his will to win, Rokossovsky was promoted to General of the Army.

After the Battle of Kursk, the commander was talked about as an unsurpassed strategist. Only a genius of military thought could foresee the actions of the enemy and with much smaller forces withstand a massive offensive. Rokossovsky literally read the thoughts of the enemy, and he could not do anything about it, suffering defeat over and over again. On the Kursk Bulge, the latest methods of warfare were tested, such as defense in depth, artillery counter-training, and others.

Liberation of Belarus

The largest and most important victory of the commander, as he believed, was in 1944. According to the plan, called "Bagration", one of the authors of which was Rokossovsky, two simultaneous strikes were necessary, which made it impossible for the enemy to make maneuvers and move manpower and equipment. For two months, Belarus was free, and with it part of the Baltic states and Poland.

End of the war

In 1945 the war was over. Rokossovsky is awarded the second Order of the Golden Star (the first was received in 1944). In 1946, it was he who hosted the parade on Red Square.

Post-war life

In 1949, Rokossovsky changed his place of residence to Poland. Being a Pole by birth, he did a lot to improve the country's defense capability.

In particular, the means of communication and transportation were improved, and the military industry was created from scratch. Tanks, rockets, planes were put into service. In 1956, Rokossovsky returned to the USSR, where he again devoted himself to military activities. Over the years, he becomes the Minister of Defense, and also heads various state commissions.

demise

Konstantin Rokossovsky died on August 3, 1968. His ashes are in the Kremlin wall. Despite the fact that so many years have passed, his name is not forgotten. Marshal sternly looks at the descendants from the pages of books, stamps and coins.

The legendary marshal who made an immeasurable contribution to the victory of the Soviet army over the fascist invaders. The biography of Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is studied in schools and universities. In honor of the commander, monuments were erected in the cities of Russia and Poland, memorial plates were placed, streets, squares and avenues were named after him.

Childhood and youth

The beginning of the biography of the great Soviet commander is ambiguous. The date of birth of Konstantin Rokossovsky is known - December 21. But the year of birth is different in different sources. It is officially accepted that a military leader was born in 1896, although some documents contain a reference to the year of birth in 1984.

The same applies to the place of birth. Pole by origin, Rokossovsky was born in the capital of Poland - Warsaw. Until the end of the Great Patriotic War, this city was indicated in the questionnaires of the commander. However, in 1945, Konstantin Konstantinovich was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which entailed the need to install a bust in his native city.

It was inconvenient for the authorities to erect a memorial sign in friendly but independent Warsaw, so Velikie Luki, Pskov region, was declared the official birthplace.

The origin of the commander has also been adjusted. The fact is that the future Marshal of the USSR did not have proletarian roots at all. Rokossovsky's ancestors belonged to the Greater Poland nobility, owned the village of Rokossovo, from the name of which the family's surname originated. True, the nobility was lost after the uprising of 1863.

Rokossovsky's father served on the railroad, and his mother worked as a teacher. In addition to Kostya, a sister, Helena Rokossovska, grew up in the family. Parents left their children orphans early - in 1905 the father died, and in 1911 the mother left after him.

After her brother's enlistment in the Red Army and until the end of the war in 1945, Helena did not see the young man and lost touch with him. All this time, the sister of the commander and marshal lived in Warsaw and did not suspect the merits of Konstantin Konstantinovich.

Orphaned, the boy earned his living as an assistant confectioner and dentist, a stonemason. Since education was interrupted due to the death of his father and the lack of the possibility of payment, Kostya, being self-taught, read a lot in Polish and Russian. In 1914, the young man signed up as a volunteer in the cavalry regiment of the Russian Imperial Army.

Military service

As part of a squadron of the Russian army, young Rokossovsky distinguished himself in the battles of the First World War. First, the troops fought near Warsaw, then the division of Konstantin Konstantinovich was transferred to Lithuania. As part of the regiment, the future marshal fought until it was disbanded in 1918.

In 1917, after the abdication of the last Russian emperor, Rokossovsky voluntarily joins the Red Army. In 1919 he received a membership card of the Bolshevik Party. Despite being wounded during the Civil War, Konstantin Konstantinovich successfully continues the military confrontation with the White Guards, growing up the career military ladder, receiving command first of a squadron, and then of a cavalry regiment.

After the victory of the Red Army in the Civil War, Rokossovsky remained in military service. He takes advanced training courses for command personnel, where he meets A. I. Eremenko. He exercises command in Samara (where the future Grand Marshal of Victory Zhukov serves under him), then in Pskov.

Unfortunately, even the commanders of the Red Army are not immune from the millstones of the machine of mass arrests and repressions. In 1937, Rokossovsky was accused of having links with the Polish and Japanese intelligence services. Arrest and imprisonment followed within the walls of the NKVD. According to the great-granddaughter of the warlord, Konstantin Konstantinovich was subjected to severe beatings. The tormentors did not get any confession from Rokossovsky.

In 1940, the future marshal was rehabilitated and released from custody. By the way, there is a version that the military man was not in prison at all, but carried out a reconnaissance mission in Spain. One way or another, immediately after his release and leave with his family in Sochi, Konstantin Konstantinovich received the rank of major general, and then took command of the 9th mechanized corps.

The Great Patriotic War

The perfidious attack of the fascist troops was carried out at a time when Rokossovsky, with a subordinate mechanized corps, was not far from Kyiv. The commander recalls that that morning he invited the division commanders to go fishing. The event had to be cancelled. The military met the beginning of the war on the Southwestern Front. The tactics of exhausting the enemy, despite the technical superiority of the latter, brought victories to the Rokossovsky corps.

In 1941, the commander was sent to Smolensk, where he had to restore chaotically retreating and disbanded detachments. A little later, he took part in the battle of Moscow, where he acquired real military authority and the Order of Lenin.

In March 1942, Konstantin Konstantinovich was seriously wounded, and was treated in a hospital until May. And already in July he takes over command of the troops in the battle of Stalingrad. Field Marshal F. Paulus was captured under the leadership of Rokossovsky.

This was followed by a brilliant victory of the troops on the Kursk Bulge, and then the successfully implemented operation "Bagration" in the summer of 1944, which resulted in the liberation of Belarus, as well as parts of the Baltic states and Poland.

But the honor to take Berlin was awarded to Marshal Zhukov, with whom Rokossovsky had rather complicated personal relations, although the commanders never went into open confrontation.

The command of the 1st Belorussian Front was transferred to Georgy Konstantinovich. The reason for this decision remains a mystery to this day. Rokossovsky commanded the 2nd Belorussian Front and provided invaluable support to the main troops.

After the end of World War II, Rokossovsky commanded the Victory Parade, hosted by Marshal Zhukov.

Personal life

The handsome, stately military man, whom we see in family and archival photos, could not help but become the object of female sympathy. Marshal is credited with numerous novels and love affairs. In fact, the commander, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, was distinguished by shyness in communicating with girls.

Konstantin Konstantinovich was married only once to Yulia Petrovna Barmina. The military man met a fragile teacher a year after he saw her in the theater and fell in love. The modest Rokossovsky drove past his beloved's house every day, not daring to go in. The couple is officially introduced to each other during a walk in the park by joint friends.

Yulia's parents categorically opposed relations with the Red Army soldier, but the girl's iron character prevailed over the criticism of her relatives. Rapid love led to marriage in 1923. In 1925, the couple had a daughter, Ariadna. The commander lived with his wife all his life.

Front-line life leaves its mark and specificity on people's lives. While in the hospital in 1942, Konstantin Konstantinovich met Galina Vasilievna Talanova, a military doctor. Young people begin an affair, which leads to the birth of their daughter Nadezhda. The commander of the Red Army recognized the girl, gave his last name, but after parting with Talanova, he did not maintain relations.

The novels attributed to the marshal, including one of the popular rumors about the love of Rokossovsky and the actress, are not confirmed by anything. Although these tales became an occasion for creative inspiration for directors and served as the basis for the plot of films about the marshal.

There was also talk of a myriad of illegitimate children. From time to time, such "sons of the regiment" appeared in the press and declared their relationship with the commander. All these rumors and conjectures offend Rokossovsky's relatives.

Death

As a result of the disease that befell the marshal, the legendary commander died on August 3, 1968. The cause of death was prostate cancer. The urn with ashes rests in the Kremlin wall.

The day before his death, the commander signed for publication a book of memoirs "Soldier's Duty" about the period from the pre-war years to the overthrow of Nazi oppression.

Awards

St. George's Cross IV degree
St. George medal IV degree
St. George medal of the III degree
St. George medal II degree
Order "Victory"
two medals "Gold Star" Hero of the Soviet Union
seven orders of Lenin
Order of the October Revolution
six orders of the Red Banner
Order of Suvorov, 1st class
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class
Medal "For the Defense of Moscow"
Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad"
Medal "For the Defense of Kyiv"
medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
medal "For the Capture of Koenigsberg"
medal "For the liberation of Warsaw"
medal "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"
medal "30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
medal "40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
medal "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"

The future Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin (Ksaverievich) Konstantinovich Rokossovsky was born in Warsaw on December 21, 1896. Later, after joining the Red Army, he changed his patronymic name to “Konstantinovich” in his biography and indicated the city of Velikie Luki as his place of birth. His father Xavier Yuzefovich was a Pole by origin, worked as an inspector on the railway in Warsaw, his mother was a Russian teacher Antonina Ovsyannikova. Konstantin lost his father early, and when he was 14 years old, his mother also died, leaving Konstantin and his younger sister alone. After graduating from college, Konstantin Rokossovsky worked at a hosiery factory. Since childhood, he was fond of self-education, for which he read many books in Polish and Russian.

In 1914, Konstantin Rokossovsky volunteered for the front, where he was accepted into the Kargopol Dragoon Regiment. A few days later he was awarded the St. George Cross for courage and ingenuity. At the end of the war, the young guy was already a holder of 3 St. George awards, had the rank of non-commissioned officer.

In 1917, Konstantin Rokossovsky went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and joined the Red Army, and in 1919 he was admitted to the party, it was this event that prompted him to correct some of the facts of his biography, including not only the place, but also the year of birth. During the Civil War, Rokossovsky received the title of commander of a separate cavalry regiment, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was distinguished by honesty, modesty, courage and courage. But the military career of Konstantin Rokossovsky at that time advanced slowly, due to his Polish origin.

From 1926 to 1928 he served as an instructor in Mongolia, guarded the CER in the Far East as part of special forces (1931-1936). After that, he took command of the cavalry corps.

In 1937, the wave of repressions that swept through did not spare Rokossovsky either. The commander was accused of spying for Poland and Japan and put in the St. Petersburg prison "Crosses". He endured torture, but was released in 1940 thanks to the intervention of his former commander S.K. Timoshenko, who turned to Stalin himself. The case was closed, Konstantin Rokossovsky was rehabilitated and fully restored in all rights. In the same year he was awarded the rank of major general of the mechanized troops.

Marshal Rokossovsky during the war

After the start of World War II, Konstantin Rokossovsky took command of the ninth mechanized corps. The situation was difficult, there was a catastrophic lack of tanks and transport, but despite this, the ninth corps in June-July 1941 retreated only by order and greatly exhausted the Nazis.

The military talent of K.K. Rokossovsky was fully revealed in the battles near Moscow, when, against the background of the general retreat of our troops, he managed to restore a solid line of defense. For this, Konstantin Rokossovsky was awarded the Order of Lenin. Further, in his glorious combat biography, there were successes in conducting offensive operations near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus), on the Kursk Bulge, where he far-sightedly insisted on a defense strategy, instead of an offensive, in Belarus ("Bagration"), command of a military operation in East Prussia , and, finally, command of the Victory Parade. After the successes on the Kursk Bulge, the glory of Colonel-General Konstantin Rokossovsky thundered not only on the Soviet fronts, but was also known abroad. It was very popular among the soldiers for its simplicity.

On June 29, 1944, for the brilliantly carried out Operation Bagration and the capture of 105 thousand Germans, Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and on July 30 - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He enjoyed the immense respect of I. Stalin, who addressed him exclusively by his first name and patronymic.

After the war, Konstantin Konstantinovich was first commander in chief of the Northern Group of Forces, and then, at the personal request of Polish President B. Bierut, served as Minister of National Defense of the country. At the same time, Marshal Rokossovsky was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party and was Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Poland. In 1956 he returned to the USSR to the post of Minister of Defense. He was removed from this position by order of N.S. Khrushchev when he refused to denigrate Stalin in his memoirs.

Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky died on August 3, 1968 in Moscow as inspector general of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Marshal Rokossovsky displayed many facts of his biography in his memoirs Soldier's Duty (1968).

Stalin called Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky by his first name and patronymic - few were awarded such an honor from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. At the same time, many tales circulated around the country that grandfather had been seen in Karlag, in the Perm camps, in Mordovia, says the grandson of Marshal Rokossovsky Konstantin.

But all this is fiction: arrested in August 1937 on charges of having links with Japanese intelligence (five years earlier, the future marshal met with Michitaro Komatsubaro, head of the military mission in Harbin), Rokossovsky spent two years under investigation in the Kresty prison. However, he did not sign a single protocol of interrogation, refused to slander anyone, and, knowing that the whole case was based on the testimony of one person with whom he had fought together back in the First World War, he demanded a confrontation with him. Only the investigation could not arrange it - Adolf Yushkevich had died by that time. The military court twice considered and postponed the case, in March 1940 it was closed and Konstantin Konstantinovich was rehabilitated.

Grandfather, the grandson remembered, appreciated the front-line friendship, but met with friends infrequently - everyone was busy people. But from time to time Mikhail Sergeevich Malinin, Vasily Ivanovich Kazakov, Grigory Nikolaevich Orel visited the house - they fought on the 1st Belorussian Front together with Rokossovsky. Staff fellow soldiers followed the commander from front to front and parted only once, when in November 1944 Konstantin Konstantinovich was sent to command the 2nd Belorussian. Stalin, knowing about the strong friendship between Rokossovsky and the officers of his headquarters, allowed them to be taken to a new place of service, but he refused. He could not, realizing how much they wanted to participate in the capture of the German capital, deprive them of this chance.

And with the Order of Victory number six, which he was awarded in March 1945, there was almost an embarrassment. Once in the car, the clasp of the order came undone and a star made of pure platinum, diamonds and artificial rubies quietly slipped to the floor. Rokossovsky did not notice. The driver found the order and presented it to the marshal the next day.

According to family tradition, in his younger years, Konstantin Konstantinovich received a reprimand in the service for his passion for “dancing”. At the front, of course, there was no time for dancing, but after that, on vacation in the Sochi sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense named after Fabricius Rokossovsky, with the wife of General Malinin, Nadezhda Grekova, they danced Krakowiak from the embankment to the Riviera Park for a dare.

Marshal was a passionate and successful hunter. Before the start of the season, he took out his favorite guns, there were two of them - Sauer Three Rings and Goland-Goland, and began to look after them. Then he put the ammunition in order, stuffed the cartridges himself, and his grandson willingly helped him in this wonderful occupation.