Lieutenant-General Alexander Ivanovich Lebed

[CZ]

ALEXEANDER I. LEBED (20.4.1950 - 28.4.2002)

The excellent field commander of the airborne troops in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Alexander Ivanovich Lebed, died today in a helicopter crash in Siberia.

From the Soviet Union he received the following orders:

Red Banner
Red Star
Service to the Motherland 2cl
Service to the Motherland 3cl

At his official website http://www.lebed.ru I found his biography:


ALEXANDER IVANOVIC LEBED

Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory,
Leader of the Russian National Republican Party (RNRP)
and the All-Russian Public Movement "Honour and Motherland"

Alexander Lebed was born April 20, 1950, in the family of an industrial worker in the city of Novocherkassk. After completing his formal education, Alexander Lebed worked as a loader, then as a planisher at Novocherkassk factory of constant magnets, where he met his future wife Inna Alexandrovna Chirkova.

In 1969, Alexander Lebed entered the Ryazan Airborne School. After graduating from it in 1973, he remained at the school, serving as a training platoon commander and then as a company commander.

In 1981-82, Alexander Lebed commanded the 345th Separate Airborne Regiment in Afghanistan.

In 1982, Alexander Lebed entered M.V.Frunze Military Academy. He graduated from the Academy in 1985 with the honours diploma and was appointed deputy commander of the Kostroma Airborne Regiment. Then he was appointed commander of the regiment.

From 1986 to 1988, Alexander Lebed was the deputy commander of the Pskov Airborne Division.

From 1988 to 1991, Alexander Lebed commanded the Tula Airborne Division. In 1990, he was advanced to the rank of major-general.

In 1990 Alexander Lebed was elected delegate of XXXVIII Assembly of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and Constituent Assembly of the Russian Communist Party (RCP.) At the Constituent Assembly of the Russian Communist Party he was elected member of its Central Committee.

In February, 1991, Alexander Lebed was appointed deputy commander of the airborne troops (VDV) and was in charge of troops training and military schools.

During a coup in August, 1991, Alexander Lebed prevented bloodshed near the building of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR in Moscow.

On June 23, 1992, Alexand Lebed arrived in Tiraspol to eliminate a military conflict in the Transdniester region. He was the last commander of the 14th Army in the Transdniester region (the 14th Army is liquidated now).

In June, 1995, Alexander Lebed was transferred to the reserve in the rank of lieutenant-general by decree of the Russian President.

December 17, 1995, Alexander Lebed was elected deputy of the State Duma for election district ¹ 176 of the city of Tula.

In January, 1996, Alexander Lebed was registered as an independent presidential candidate. He took third place in the elections, collecting 14.7% of the vote.

June 18, 1996, Alexander Lebed was appointed Secretary of the Security Council and President’s Advisor on National Security by President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin.

July 15, 1996, President Yeltsin appointed Alexander Lebed Chairman of the Supreme Military Officership and Supreme Special Ranks Commission of the Presidential Council on Personnel Policy. Being in the capacity of the Secretary of the Security Council, Alexander Lebed signed the Hasavyurt Peace Agreement and stopped the Chechen war. October 15, 1996 Alexander Lebed was dismissed by decree of President Yeltsin.

In 1995, Alexander Lebed spearheaded the All-Russian Public Movement, "Honour and Motherland." Since December, 1996, he has also been the Leader of the Russian National Republican Party.

May 17, 1998, Alexander Lebed was elected Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The results of voting were confirmed by the Decision of the Election Commission of Krasnoyarsk Territory, on May 21, 1998 ("On Results of the Elections of the Governor of Krasnoyarsk Territory").

During his military service, Alexander Lebed was decorated with the following orders: " Order of the Combat Red Banner", "Order of the Red Star" for Afghanistan, "For serving the Motherland" order of 2nd and 3d degree, the cross "For defending the Transdniester." He also earned many medals.

In February 1996, Alexander Lebed and his wife, Inna Alexandrovna, celebrated their 25th, silver wedding anniversary.

There are three children in the family.

The elder son Alexander, born in 1972, graduated from Tula Polytechnical University in 1994, with a speciality in technical cybernetics.

Daughter Ekaterina (born in 1975), graduated from Tula Polytechnical University in 1995, and is married to a military officer.

The youngest son, Ivan, was born in 1979, and is a student now.

Alexander Lebed has got four grandchildren.

[Art]

Christian,

Impressive career..wasn't he fired by Yeltsin over rumours of attempting a coup in the 1990's? I remember hearing of him before. Maybe he was one of the guys running against Yeltsin at election time?

Art

[tinmoldova]

It is interesting to note the choice of words used in Lebed's biography. To "eliminate a military conflict" in Moldova is utter nonsense. In actual fact, Lebed greatly exacerbated the conflict in Transnistria by selling/donating huge portions of the 14th armies arsenal to those fighting in support of Moscow's policies and interests. There are report, that his troops, though officially neutral, also served as irregular/volunteer forces in the civil war. He had a very interesting career to say the least.

[Tal Inbar]

A "socialist-realist" paint:;)

[CZ]

Tal,

that is a fantastic painting - who is the artist? Only the 2 "Service to the Motherland 3cl & 2cl" are a little bit to "golden" (like the 1cl). If the Soviet Union would have survieved, I am shure that Lt. Gen. Lebed would have already got the 1cl - what a pity....

Reards from Vienna

[Tal Inbar]

A formal Picture:

A picture from his funeral. Note all his awards on small pillows:

[tinmoldova]

It is interesting to note that the medals he was awarded from the officially non-existant Transnistrian Republic are included with his Soviet and Russian awards.

It also appears as though he put his medal "From a Grateful Afghan People" on a five sided suspension which is a little different (far right pillow, row two, right medal). I like the way they put the awards by group on the pillows--afghan, jubilee, irreproachable service, transnistrian, etc..

[Art]

Without trying to sound disrespectful to the deceased..what will happen to these awards? I assume they are supposed to go into a war museum of some sorts..will they be safe for any length of time?

[Mahdi]

... what often happens is that they are sent to the Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow. They will most likely not be displayed, but rather catalogued and added into their "inventory"... Soon after that, exact copies will be made of everything and the originals will be sold to a rich unknown collector for an obscene amount of money. That's one story I heard many times from many parties.

[Frieza]

why not just bury him with the medals???