- Boris Gromov
Boris Vsevolodovich Gromov ( _ru. Бори́с Все́володович Гро́мов), (born
November 7 ,1943 inSaratov ,Russia ), prominent military and political figure,Colonel-General . He graduated from aSuvorov militarycadet school, the Leningrad Military Commanders School and later from theFrunze Military Academy inMoscow , as well as the General Staff Academy.During the
Soviet war in Afghanistan , Gromov did three tours of duty (1980-1982, 1985-1986, 1987-1989), and was best known for the two years as the last Commander of the 40th Army inAfghanistan . Gromov was the lastSoviet soldier to leave Afghanistan, crossing on foot the Friendship Bridge spanning theAmu-Daria river onFebruary 15 ,1989 , the day the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan was completed. He received the highest military award – the golden star of theHero of the Soviet Union after a large-scale operation to lift thesiege of the cityKhost in eastern Afghanistan.After the Afghan war, he was chosen as the candidate for
Vice President from the Communist Party in the Russian presidential election of 1991 (the candidate for President was former Prime MinisterNikolay Ryzhkov ). He served as First DeputyDefence Minister of theRussian Federation . In 1994 Gromov retired from the Russian Military Forces, and was soon appointed deputyInterior Minister . He was elected in 1995 to theState Duma , lower house of Russian parliament. In January 2000 he was electedgovernor of theMoscow region and re-elected in December 2003.External links
* [http://www.bgromov.ru Boris Gromov, Official home page in Russian]
* [http://www.mosreg.ru/gubernator/ Boris Gromov, the Governor of the Moscow region, in Russian]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-140756878294549745&q=afghanistan+war ITN & Pro Video documentary. Wars In Peace - Afghanistan (1990). Available on Google Video]
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