Moscow ceremony marks Alexander Shcherbakov’s 125th birth anniversary

Representatives of Russia’s Main Military-Political Directorate laid flowers at Alexander Shcherbakov’s burial site by the Kremlin Wall in Moscow. The Defence Ministry said the ceremony marked the 125th anniversary of his birth.

Shcherbakov headed the Red Army’s Main Political Directorate and served as a deputy people’s commissar for defence during the Second World War. Lieutenant-General Igor Sivakov, deputy head of the present-day military-political directorate, attended the commemoration.

The ministry said participants included officers, veterans of military-political bodies, public organisations, cadets and students at military schools. Youth military movement members and Shcherbakov’s relatives were also present.

After the flower-laying, a youth military detachment from the Ruza municipal district in the Moscow region was named after the colonel-general at Red Square. This formed a separate part of the commemorations.

An international military history conference at the Central House of the Russian Army also examined Shcherbakov’s life and career. According to the ministry, participants discussed his leadership of the Red Army’s political directorate and the Soviet Information Bureau. Details of the programmes and attendance come from the Defence Ministry’s account.