Sobir Rakhimov

Sabir Umaruly Rakhimov (25 January 1902 – 26 March 1945) was a Red Army Major general and posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sobir Rakhimov was born on 25 January 1902 in Tashkent to a working-class family; his father was an ethnic Kazakh and his mother was an ethnic Uzbek.

In early childhood he was poor and spent several years in an orphanage.

He became a farmworker, and later worked at a textile factory in Tashkent.

In September 1922, Rakhimov joined the Red Army, becoming a student at the Baku Joint Military School.

After graduating in August 1925, he was appointed a platoon leader in the Separate Uzbek Cavalry Battalion, and held the same position in the 1st Uzbek Cavalry Regiment of the 6th Uzbek Cavalry Brigade from 1927, stationed in Samarkand.

During this period, he participated in the fight to suppress the Basmachi movement.

He was wounded multiple times and awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

During the operation from 25 September to 20 December, the 395th Rifle Division as part of the 18th Army was able to stop German troops from capturing Tuapse.

Rakhimov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1928.

With the 28th Army, the division fought in the Battle of Smolensk, participating in fierce fighting in the direction of Yelnya.

Rakhimov was severely wounded in action near the village of Pustysheva on 1 August and was hospitalized until mid-October.

He was appointed commander of the 1149th Rifle Regiment of the 353rd Rifle Division on 31 October.

On 1 December, he was awarded his second Order of the Red Banner.

During the winter, Rakhimov fought in battles at Rostov-on-Don and at Taganrog on the Southern Front.

Rakhimov entered the Vystrel course in June 1930 and upon his graduation in September of that year was sent to the 41st Mountain Cavalry Regiment of the 19th Mountain Cavalry Division, stationed in the Central Asian Military District.

With the regiment, he served successively as commander of the machine gun squadron, assistant regimental chief of staff, and chief of the regimental school.

Rakhimov transferred to become chief of staff of the 42nd Uzbek Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Samarkand, in November 1936.

During the Great Purge, Rakhimov was dismissed from the Red Army in July 1938 and imprisoned.

After leaving the hospital in May, Rakhimov became the deputy commander of the 395th Rifle Division, and served as temporary commander of the 395th from 1 August.

During the summer, he led the division in the defense of the Don River and the Kuban.

On 4 September he became the division's commander and led it during the Battle of the Caucasus during the fall.

During the Tuapse Defensive Operation on 15 September, Rakhimov was again wounded.

He was released in October 1940, reinstated in the Red Army, and appointed deputy commander of the 9th Motor Rifle Regiment of the 9th Separate Tank Division, part of the Central Asian Military District at Bayramali.

The division became part of the newly formed 27th Mechanized Corps in early 1941.

After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet union, on 22 June 1941, the division and its corps were sent to the front.

In January 1942, he was wounded again.

In January and February 1943, the division participated in the Krasnodar Offensive during the North Caucasus Strategic Offensive.

He was promoted to major general on 19 March.

On 8 April, Rakhimov was removed from command and placed at the disposal of the military council of the North Caucasian Front.

Placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense from May, he was sent to Moscow to enter the accelerated course at the Vorshilov Higher Military Academy in June.

Rakhimov fought in World War II and commanded the 37th Guards Rifle Division from November 1944.

Rahimov was killed by shrapnel from an artillery shell in Gdańsk during the East Pomeranian Offensive.

During the Soviet period Rakhimov was considered national hero, as he was the first Red Army general officer from Uzbekistan.

Metro stations, streets, schools and other places in Uzbekistan were named after Rakhimov.

After completing the course in late April 1944, Rakhimov was again placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate and in July was sent to the 1st Belorussian Front.

Upon arrival, he took over the post of deputy commander for drill parts of the 75th Guards Rifle Division of the 65th Army, with which he fought in the Lublin–Brest Offensive.

In this position, Rakhimov was assessed by his superiors as "having performed at his best."

However, these were all renamed during 2010 and 2011 as part of a campaign by Islam Karimov to remove Soviet influence.

In July, the corps was broken up and the division became the 104th Separate Tank Division, with Rakhimov's unit being renamed the 104th Motor Rifle Regiment.