Ivan Kovalev
Иван Ковалёв
People's Commissar of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union
In office December 20, 1944 – March 15, 1946
Prime Minister	Joseph Stalin
Preceded by	Lazar Kaganovich
Succeeded by	Office abolished Himself as Minister of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union
Minister of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union
In office March 19, 1946 – June 5, 1948
Prime Minister	Joseph Stalin
Preceded by	Office established Himself as People's Commissar of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union
Succeeded by	Boris Beschev
Personal details
Born	Ivan Vladimirovich Kovalev June 28, 1901 Belogorye, Voronezh Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	May 28, 1993 (aged 91) Moscow, Russia
Resting place	Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
Political party	All–Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1922
Education	Military Transport Academy of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army
Occupation	Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Portfolio	Doctor of Military Sciences (1967) professor (1969)
Awards	Orders Order of Lenin Order of the October Revolution Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov Order of Kutuzov Order of the Red Banner of Labour Order of the Patriotic War Order of the Red Star Medals Medal "For Labour Valour" Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" Medal "For Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" Medal "For the Victory over Japan" Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945" Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union" Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union" Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union" Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union" Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union" Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow" Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad"
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union   Russia
Years of service	1919–1969
Rank	Lieutenant general
Unit	Railway troops
Commands	Central Directorate of Military Communications of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army
Battles/wars	Great Patriotic War

Ivan Vladimirovich Kovalev ( Russian: Иван Владимирович Ковалёв; June 28, 1901 – May 28, 1993) was a Soviet military officer and statesman. Lieutenant general of the Technical Troops (1943). Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union of the 2nd Convocation (1946–1950).

Biography

Born into a peasant family, until the age of 18, he worked in his father's household. In March 1919, he was drafted into the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

• 1919–1921 – Scout of the 31st Turkestan Artillery Battalion, Red Army Soldier of the 3rd Battalion of the All–Russian Extraordinary Commission in Voronezh;
• 1921–1922 – Cadet of the Voronezh Military Railway School of Technicians;
• 1922–1923 – Reserve Agent, Assistant to the Station Chief of the 10th Railway Regiment, then a battalion of the Caucasian Army;
• 1923–1925 – Political Leader of a company in the 13th Voronezh Railway Battalion, then in the 7th Michurinsky Railway Regiment;
• 1925–1926 – Student of the Advanced Training Courses for Command Personnel in Leningrad;
• 1926–1930 – Platoon Commander, Commander and Political Leader of a company of the 7th Railway Regiment; ^[1]
• 1930–1935 – Student at the Military Transport Academy of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army;
• 1935–1936 – Senior Inspector of the People's Commissariat of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union;
• 1936–1937 – Head of the Control and Inspection Group at the Administration of the Moscow–Belarusian–Baltic, then South Ural Railways; ^[2]
• 1937–1939 – Road Inspector for Traffic Safety on the Omsk Railway, then Head of the Western Railway Department;
• 1939–1941 – Head of the Central Military Department, member of the Board of the People's Commissariat of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union; ^[2]
• May–July 1941 – Deputy People's Commissar of State Control of the Soviet Union for Railway Transport;
• 8 July 1941–1944 – Head of the Office of Military Communications of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (from January 1943 – of the Central Office of Military Communications of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army). ^[3] Also, since 1942, he was a member of the Transport Committee under the State Defense Committee of the Soviet Union.
• 20 December 1944–1948 – People's Commissar (Minister) of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union. Participated in the work of the Potsdam Conference. ^[2]
• 1948–1950 – Chief Adviser to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China – the head of Soviet military specialists in China;
• 1950–1951 – Head of the Donetsk District of Railways;
• 1951–1957 – Deputy Minister of the Coal Industry of the Soviet Union; ^[4]
• 1957–1960 – Senior Researcher of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union;
• 1960–1969 – Senior Lecturer at the Military Academy of the General Staff;
• 1969–1985 – at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union: Senior Researcher, Head of Laboratory, Chief Researcher;
• Since September 1985, he has been a pensioner of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. ^[1] During these years, he was a consultant at the Center for Operational–Strategic Research of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.

He was buried in Moscow at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery. ^[5]

Remembrance

On January 19, 2018, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation established the Lieutenant General Kovalev Medal. ^[6]

Awards

• 3 Orders of Lenin (1939, March 3, 1942, February 21, 1945);
• Order of the October Revolution;
• 3 Orders of the Red Banner (September 18, 1943, November 3, 1944, ...);
• Order of Suvorov, 1st Class (July 29, 1945);
• Order of Kutuzov, 1st Class (August 3, 1944);
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class (March 11, 1985);
• Order of the Red Star;
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour;
• A number of medals of the Soviet Union.

Works

• Ivan Kovalev. Soviet Railway Transport. 1917–1947 – Moscow: Publishing House and 1st Printing House of the All–Union Publishing and Printing Association of Railway Transport, 1947;
• Ivan Kovalev. Railway Transport in the New Stalinist Five–Year Plan – Moscow: Publishing House and 1st Printing House of the All–Union Publishing and Printing Association of Railway Transport, 1947;
• Ivan Kovalev. Transport in the Decisive Operations of the Great Patriotic War – Moscow: Knowledge, 1969;
• Ivan Kovalev. Rail Transport in the Far East Campaign // Military History Journal – 1975 – No. 9 – Pages 50–54;
• Willful Decisions... [Interview With Ivan Kovalev] // Military History Journal – 1988 – No. 12 – Pages 38–50.

References

Sources

• State Power of the Soviet Union. The Highest Authorities and Management and Their Leaders. 1923–1991. Historical and Biographical Reference Book / Compiled by Vladimir Ivkin – Moscow, 1999 – ISBN 5-8243-0014-3
• Answers to the Questions of Professor Georgy Kumanev on May 28, 1988
• Georgy Kumanev. Stalin's People's Commissars Speak – Smolensk: Rusich, 2005 – 632 Pages With Illustrations – ISBN 5-8138-0660-1
• Always at the Forefront. Ivan Kovalev Was the First Minister of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union
• Leonid Troitsky. People's Commissar of the Fiery Years – Moscow, 2002 – 239 Pages