Samoilo, Aleksandr

Born Oct. 23 (Nov. 4), 1869, in Moscow; died Nov. 8, 1963, in Moscow. Soviet military commander, lieutenant general of aviation (1940); professor (1943). Member of the CPSU from 1944. Son of a military physician.

Samoilo graduated from the Aleksei Military School in 1892 and from the Academy of the General Staff in 1898. In World War I he served in the operations department of the General Staff and at General Headquarters and then as chief of staff of the Tenth Army, with the rank of major general. After the October Revolution of 1917 he went over to the side of Soviet power.

Samoilo participated in the peace negotiations in Brest. From February 1918 he was deputy commander of the Western Screen Sector and chief of staff of the White Sea Military District. From November 1918 to April 1920 he was commander of the Sixth Separate Army. He commanded the Eastern Front in May 1919. In 1920–21, Samoilo was assistant chief of staff of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and concurrently chief of the All-Russian Main Staff and a member of the Supreme War Conference. He participated in peace negotiations with Finland in April 1920 and Turkey in March 1921. He was chief of the directorate of military schools from 1922 and taught at the Air Force Academy from 1926. He retired in 1948.

Samoilo was awarded two Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, and various medals.