Zhukov, Georgi Konstantinovich, << ZHOO kawf, gay AWR gih `kawn` stahn TEE nah vihch >> (1896-1974), became a Soviet military hero during World War II (1939-1945). He organized the defense of Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1941 and the Soviet victory at Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in 1942 and 1943. He led the Soviet forces that captured Berlin in 1945. Zhukov became a marshal—the highest rank in the Soviet army—in 1943.
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin feared Zhukov’s popularity after the war and assigned him to minor posts. Stalin died in 1953, and Zhukov rose to the post of defense minister in 1955. Zhukov helped Nikita S. Khrushchev increase his power in the Communist Party in 1957. Khrushchev made Zhukov a member of the Presidium (later called the Politburo), the highest Soviet governing body, but came to fear his influence. Khrushchev removed him from his high positions later that year. Zhukov was born on Dec. 1, 1896, in Strelkovka, near Moscow. He fought in World War I (1914-1918). He died on June 18, 1974.
