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Sergey KhudyakovSoviet military leader, air marshal
Date of Birth: 07.01.1902
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Content:
- Early Life and Career
- Involvement in the Russian Civil War
- Military Education and Service
- World War II and Military Command
- Battle Losses and Family Tragedy
- Post-War Service and Arrest
- Accusations and Execution
- Family Reprisals
- Rehabilitation
- Family and Legacy
- Wife: Varvara Petrovna Khudyakova (née Lelyak; 1907-1984)
Early Life and Career
Armanak Khanferyants was born on January 7, 1902, in the village of Mets Taghlar, Shusha district, Elisabethpol province (according to another version, he was born in the town of Volsk) into the family of Artem and Gyulakhanum Khanferyants. His father died in 1908, leaving his widow with three sons. At the age of 15, Armanak left home for Baku, where he found work as a telephone lineman's assistant. It was there that he first met Joseph Stalin, then known as Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.
In 1918, Armanak participated in the publication of the newspaper "Iskra" and joined the Red Army in February of the same year. During the evacuation from Baku to Astrakhan, the ship he was on was sunk by an English gunboat. Despite not being able to swim, he was rescued by his friend Sergey Alexandrovich Khudyakov, the commander of a cavalry reconnaissance detachment. Later, during a raid behind enemy lines, the mortally wounded Khudyakov passed command to Armanak, who led the detachment out of the encirclement in Khudyakov's uniform and with his weapon. From that point on, Armanak adopted the name and identity of the deceased Sergey Khudyakov.
Involvement in the Russian Civil War
Armanak actively participated in the Russian Civil War, defending Tsaritsyn and commanding a platoon. He ended the war as a squadron commander on the Transcaucasian Front after the establishment of Soviet power there. He joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1924.
Military Education and Service
In 1922, Khudyakov graduated from the 2nd Cavalry Officer Refresher Courses in Tiflis and served as head of the regimental school from 1924. From 1928-1931, he was the chief of staff of the Cherno-Cossack Cavalry Regiment in Izyaslav (now Khmelnytskyi region). It was there that he married Varvara Petrovna Lelyak in 1928.
In 1936, Khudyakov brilliantly graduated from the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Academy of the Red Army and was assigned to the Belarusian Military District as head of the operational department of an aviation brigade's headquarters. In 1937, he became the head of the operations department of the Air Force headquarters, and in 1938, the chief of staff of the Air Force administration.
World War II and Military Command
When the Great Patriotic War began, Colonel Khudyakov was serving as chief of staff of the Western Special Military District's Air Force. He participated in the Battle of Moscow, already in the position of commander of the Western Front's Air Force (under the command of Georgy Zhukov).
In 1942, Khudyakov proposed the creation of air armies (instead of the air forces of fronts), which was approved by the Supreme High Command. This innovation allowed for the concentration of all frontline aviation under the command of a single air army commander, enabling the delivery of concentrated strikes at crucial sectors of the front.
Khudyakov was appointed chief of staff of the Red Army Air Force and a month later, on June 18, 1942, took command of the 1st Air Army of the Western Front. In 1943, General-Colonel Khudyakov coordinated the air operations of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper.
Battle Losses and Family Tragedy
During the war, Khudyakov's family endured a painful loss. After the Battle of Kursk, he took his son Viktor to the front with him. Near Kharkov, the 14-year-old boy was killed in an enemy air raid on an airfield. His body was taken to Moscow and buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Post-War Service and Arrest
In August 1944, Khudyakov became chief of staff and deputy commander of the Red Army Air Force, coordinating its operations until the final victory in the Battle of the Dnieper. He later distinguished himself in the Jassy-Kishinev Operation. In August 1944, Sergey Alexandrovich was awarded the rank of Air Marshal by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In February 1945, Air Marshal Khudyakov participated in the Yalta Conference of the Big Three as an aviation advisor to the Soviet delegation. He demonstrated his expertise not only in Soviet aviation but also in that of the Allies and Nazi Germany.
In March 1945, Khudyakov was appointed commander of the 12th Air Army, which was part of the Trans-Baikal Front. Subsequently, he assumed command of the Far Eastern Military District's air forces, which fought against Imperial Japan. He actively participated in the planning of a unique airborne operation that resulted in the capture of Pu Yi, the Emperor of Manchukuo.
Accusations and Execution
However, in 1945, Khudyakov was accused of organizing an unauthorized landing in Manchukuo, arresting Emperor Pu Yi, and seizing the Manchukuoan gold reserves. During the transportation of these assets to Moscow, one of the two planes carrying the gold disappeared.
Khudyakov was arrested in Chita on December 14, 1945, and taken to Moscow, where he faced charges of treason under Article 58-1 "b" of the RSFSR Criminal Code. He was also investigated for his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of trophy property from the missing plane, a crime under Article 193-17 "a". The investigation lasted over four years and concluded in 1949.
On April 18, 1950, Sergey Alexandrovich Khudyakov was sentenced to death by firing squad and confiscation of property. The sentence was carried out the same day. His ashes were buried in a mass grave at the Donskoye Cemetery.
Family Reprisals
On January 13, 1951, Varvara Petrovna Khudyakova and her young son Sergey were arrested as family members of a traitor to the Motherland and exiled to the village of Glinnaya, Taseyevsky district, Krasnoyarsk Krai. Lieutenant Vladimir Khudyakov, the marshal's adopted son who had taken his name and patronymic upon adoption, was dismissed from the Soviet Army and sent into exile. Vladimir, a recipient of the Order of the Red Star, had fought in the 1st Air Army as a radio operator and pilot.
Rehabilitation
Following the amnesty decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on March 27, 1953, the Khudyakov family was allowed to return to Moscow from exile in Krasnoyarsk Krai.
In August 1954, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office initiated a review of the case files. The prosecutor concluded that the case should be referred back to the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR for reconsideration, recommending the quashing of the sentence based on newly discovered evidence. It was in this document that the marshal's true name, Armanak Artemovich Khanferyants, was revealed for the first time.
Upon re-examination of the case, the Military Collegium determined that the charges against Khudyakov-Khanferyants were not supported by any objective evidence.
On August 18, 1954, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR issued a ruling (No. 4n-09087/54) to overturn the April 18, 1950, sentence against Sergey Alexandrovich Khudyakov, aka Armanak Artemovich Khanferyants, based on newly discovered evidence and to dismiss the case against him due to lack of criminal intent.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on July 6, 1965, Khudyakov, posthumously rehabilitated by the court's decision, was reinstated in his military rank of Air Marshal and his awards were restored. The party commission of the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy later reinstated Air Marshal Khudyakov to the ranks of the party.
Family and Legacy
Father: Artem KhanferyantsMother: Gyulakhanum (Sanamyants) Khanferyants
Elder brother: Avik Khanferyants
Younger brother: Artashes (Arkady) Khanferyants, who disappeared in action during World War II after graduating from university as a political instructor
Wife: Varvara Petrovna Khudyakova (née Lelyak; 1907-1984)
Adopted son: Vladimir (1926-2003), recipient of the Order of the Red Star, who fought in the 1st Air Army as a radio operator and pilot
Elder son: Viktor (died at 14 in 1943 near Kharkiv during an enemy air raid)
Younger son: Sergey Sergeevich, who served as a corporal in the garrison of Zvyozdny Gorodok from 1963-1965, went on to teach and head a department at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), became a doctor of science, and
