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Yazov, Dmitri Timofeevich

Soviet Defense Minister from 1987-1991.

Biography

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b. 1924

Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov was Marshal of the Soviet Union and Defense Minister from 1987-1991. He also participated in the failed 1991 August Coup.

Marshall of the Soviet Union, 1987-1991; Minister of Defense, USSR, 1987-1991

In 1979-1980, Yazov was a commander of the Central Army Group. Yazov held the post of Soviet Defense Minister from May 1987-August 1991. During the August Coup of 1991, Yazov was a member of the State Emergency Committee which had organized the coup. He was subsequently prosecuted and sentenced for treason. In 1994 he was freed under the general amnesty given by the State Duma.

Popular Documents

January 24, 1989

CPSU CC Politburo Decision of 24 January 1989, with Attached Report of 23 January 1989

CPSU CC Politburo Decision of 24 January 1989, with attached report of 23 January 1989 regarding the various possibilities for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the continuing situation of conflict

July 29, 1989

National Intelligence Daily for Saturday, 29 July 1989

The CIA’s National Intelligence Daily for 29 July 1989 describes the latest developments in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Honduras, Cambodia, the Soviet Union, China, Chile, Sri Lanka, India, and Panama.

November 27, 1987

Letter, Heinz Kessler to Comrade Erich Honecker [about the 20th Meeting of the Committee of the Ministers of Defense of the Member States of the Warsaw Treaty]

Defense Minister Keßler highlights the necessity to defend the Warsaw Pact's territory at the borderline between East and West Germany. Soviet Defense Minister Jasov looks into the military consequences of the Warsaw Pact's new defense military doctrine. 

March 25, 1989

Letter to Gorbachev from Shevardnadze, Yazov, and Kamentsev on Obligations for Military Assistance

In this letter, Shevardnadze, Yazov, and Kamentsev discuss the Soviet Union's obligations to provide military assistance to their treaty partners, and the differences between treaties.

April 20, 1989

CPSU Politburo Discussion on the Report of Eduard Shevardnadze Regarding the Use of Violence in Tbilisi

Politburo meeting on the violent crisis in Georgia, based on Eduard Shevardnadze's report regarding the Tbilisi massacre.