Khrenov, Arkadii

Born Jan. 24 (Feb. 5), 1900, in Ocherskii zavod, now the city of Ocher, Perm’ Oblast. Soviet military commander. Colonel general of the engineer troops (1944). Hero of the Soviet Union (March 21, 1940). Member of the CPSU since 1931.

The son of a worker, Khrenov joined the Red Army in 1918 and served in the Civil War of 1918–20. He graduated from advanced engineering courses for officers in 1929 and the Higher Academic Courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1949. Khrenov served in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–40 as chief of the engineer troops of the Seventh Army. He became chief of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army in July 1940 and chief of the engineering directorate of the Moscow Military District in May 1941. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, Khrenov was chief of the engineering directorate of the Southern Front and deputy commander in charge of engineering in the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol’ in 1941 and 1942. He was chief of the engineer troops of the Crimean Front from April to May 1942, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts from 1942 to 1944, the Karelian Front in 1944 and 1945, and the First Far Eastern Front in 1945.

After the war, Khrenov served as chief of the engineer troops of the Primor’e Military District. He was commander of the engineer troops of the Far East from December 1945 to May 1949 and inspector general of the engineer troops of the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR from 1949 to 1960. He retired in September 1960.

Khrenov has been awarded three Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Kutuzov First Class, the Order of Kutuzov Second Class, the Order of Suvorov Second Class, and various medals. He has also received foreign orders and medals.