Grigory Kulik
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Died when: 59 years 288 days (717 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
Grigory Ivanovich Kulik (Ukrainian: ???????? ???????? ?????;Russian: ?????´??? ???´????? ????´?, romanized: Grigóriy Ivánovich Kulík; 9 November 1890 – 24 August 1950), a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union, served as chief of the Red Army's Main Artillery Directorate from 1935 until June 1941.
Known as an incompetent commander with a knowledge of military technology "frozen in 1918", he dismissed innovations such as tanks, anti-tank guns, and the Katyusha rocket launcher; only his personal friendship with Stalin (dating from service together in the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922) protected him from criticism.
He had a reputation as a buffoon and a bully, who would shriek at subordinates who disagreed with him: "Prison or a medal!" On Stalin's orders, he was dismissed from his posts in 1946, arrested in 1947, and executed for treason in 1950.
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