In the last century, the rank of "Marshal of the Soviet Union" represented the highest military rank in the Soviet Union. In addition, all Soviet military leaders dreamt of attaining this rank, which would give them important prestige and influence in the country and the army.

Thanks to their command of entire fronts and their success in achieving victory over the Germans in World War II, several Soviet generals such as Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Konev, Govorov, and Vasilevsky were awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

In addition to these names that made the Soviet victory over the Germans, Marshal Grigory Ivanovich Kulik stands out as one of the strangest soldiers who received the highest military rank in the Soviet Union. Instead of military successes, the latter caused disasters in the Soviet army and disobeyed orders before being stripped of his rank and executed.

Artillery commander

In the midst of World War I, Grigory Ivanovich Kulik was in the ranks of the Imperial Russian Army, where he received many promotions to become a lieutenant in one of the artillery divisions. In the Russian Civil War, he participated in the operation to defend Tsaritsyn, which later became Stalingrad and commanded one of the artillery divisions. During this battle, Kulik became acquainted with the future Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

With the end of the Russian Civil War, Grigory Ivanovich Kulik became in charge of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Soviet Red Army. Unlike many of his colleagues, Kollek was unwilling to take up important positions in the Soviet army and was often critical of what was going on around him. For example, during the Great Purge, Kollek wrote to Stalin about the decline in the capabilities of the Soviet army due to the executions that reduced the number of experienced people in the army.

Reprimand and promotion

In the late thirties, Kollek returned to participate again in the battles of the Soviet army. Amid the border conflict with Japan, this general came to the support of his colleague Zhukov in late July 1939 with the battle of the Khalkhin-Gol River. During a crucial period of the battle, Kulik attempted to interfere in military decisions among Zhukov's tasks. Because of this, Kulik was scolded by Moscow officials and summoned to return to the capital.

Kulik was sent to the front at the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war in late November 1939. There, the latter failed for weeks to make tangible progress. Finally, with the Finns running out of ammunition, the artillery divisions, which Kollek had supervised, played an important role in breaching the Mannerheim line.

With his achievements in the Soviet-Finnish war and the execution of senior leaders of the Soviet army, Kulik was awarded the rank of Marshal and was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on May 7, 1940.

Military failure and execution

In World War II, Kulik caused many disasters in the Soviet Army. With the beginning of the German invasion of Soviet lands on June 22, 1941, this Marshal was sent to the front. Upon his arrival on the spot, his military squad was surrounded by the Germans. Instead of resisting, Kollek ordered his soldiers to lay down their weapons, dispose of their uniforms and military documents, and disguise themselves as peasants in preparation for withdrawal.

By this step, Kollek, who disguised himself as a peasant, believed that he could escape the clutches of the Germans, who allowed the peasants to move freely to leave the battlefield.

In September 1941, Marshal Kollek was sent to participate in the operation to break the siege of Leningrad. However, because of his differences with his colleague Zhukov, Kulik avoided coordination with the rest of the forces, preferring to launch a single military campaign. Because of this decision, Kulik failed against Leningrad, and his forces suffered heavy losses.

By November 1941, Kollek had made the last of the slips that angered Stalin. Having been sent to defend the Kerch region of Crimea, Marshal Kollek preferred to withdraw and hand it over to the Germans.

Also, the latter allowed his forces to leave Rostov in the face of the German advance, angering the military leadership, which demanded that he be brought before a military court. As a result of these military mistakes, Kulik was stripped of his rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and many of his medals were taken away. However, this Soviet soldier escaped execution at the time thanks to his knowledge of Stalin.

Despite his military failures, Kollek played a vital role in saving the lives of significant numbers of Poles. With the success of the Soviet invasion of Poland, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Stalin demanded that all Polish prisoners be executed. 

Faced with this situation, Kollek met with Stalin and convinced him to execute only high-ranking officers.

 

With the end of World War II, Stalin feared the increasing influence of the country's top military officers. Hoping to end his fears, the Soviet commander ordered a campaign against several of the army's leaders. Kollek was among the soldiers whom Stalin ordered removed. After his arrest in 1947, Kollek spent three years in prison before his death sentence was issued, which was carried out on August 24, 1950.