Life journey of ?Hero of People? (Halyk Kakharmany) S.Nurmagambetov ? great example for young army servicemen to follow

ALMATY. January 19. KAZINFORM /Yelena Ilyinskaya / First Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Hero of the Soviet Union and ?Hero of People? Sagadat Nurmangambetov will celebrate his 85th jubilee this year. He was the first to be warded with the title ?Hero of People? – the highest degree of distinction in Kazakhstan.

This title is awarded for outstanding merits before the country, civil and feats of arms in the name of the country?s freedom and independence. Persons, awarded with the title ?People?s Hero?, are granted with the mark of special distinction? ?Gold Star? and ?Otan? Order. As of today over twenty persons have been awarded with this title. Among them ? Tokhtar Aubakirov, Mukhtar Altynbayev, Rosa Baglanova... S.Nurmagambetov was born on May 25, 1924 in Akmola region. In 1942 he was called up to the war and directed to the military machine-gun college in Turkmenistan. From April 1943 he fought in the lines of the World War II. He was a commander of machine-gun platoon, squadron and riffle battalion. He participated in liberation of Krasnodar region, Ukraine, Moldova, Western Byelorussia, Poland. In February 1945 he was awarded with the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He finished the war in Berlin. Nurmagambetov also participated in the assault of the Hitler?s Reichstag building. From June 1946 to November 1949 Nurmagambetov studied in Moscow, in the Frunze Military Academy. He served in various staff and command assignments: senior officer of operative management of Turkestan?s military district, commander of motorized riffle regiment, head of the staff of motorized riffle division and headquarters of the civil defense of Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, then deputy commander of troops of the Central Asian military district, the first deputy of commander of troops of the Southern group of forces (Hungary).Two times he trained at the courses of the Military Academy of the USSR Army General Staff. In 1989 Nurmagambetov became Chairman of Kazakh Republican Council of the Veterans of War, Labor and Armed Forces and, simultaneously, Chairman of the Committee of Supreme Council of Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic for affairs of veterans and disabled. In October 1991 he was appointed Chairman of the State Committee of Defense, in May 1992 ? First Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In November 1995 he retired in the rank of General of the Army. In 1995-1996 Nurmagambetov was Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 1996 he has been a pensioner. Except the title of the People?s Hero of Kazakhstan, he is also the cavalier of the orders of Lenin, October Revolution, Red Banner, the Great Patriotic war of the I and II degrees, two orders of the Red Star, two orders of the Red Banner of Labor, order for ?Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR? of the III degree, order of Badge of Honor, Russian Order of Friendship, order of Ukraine ?Badge of Honor?, orders of Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Mongolia and other countries. He is an honorary citizen of Astana, Almaty and Donetsk. He is also the author of the books ?Facing the fire?, ?My front line?, and others. Veteran of war Sagadat Kozhakhmetovich was the only Kazakh in the Soviet Army in the rank of the Lieutenant General. And it was not by the chance that he was chosen to occupy the office of the minister of defense of the sovereign Kazakhstan. Heading this department since 1992 to 1995, S.Nurmagambetov played the most important role in formation of the Kazakhstan?s Army. His experience, high authority among the militants and faultless service to the Motherland were the most necessary things in that complicated time of establishing the Armed Forces. In his interviews S.Nurmagambetov noted many times, that Kazakhstan?s Army went through the great path. Its formation was held in very complicated conditions. ?We had no staff, no experience. We had no understanding of what the army of the sovereign Kazakhstan is like. There was too much work, and it had to be done in the shortest possible time. But we have done it, and today the Army of Kazakhstan is strong, although it is quite young?, the veteran says. According to his words, today the Armed Forces must be mobile, the staff must be optimal, the contingent must be well trained and prepared to any hazards. We have already achieved it. And we have bred our own military staff. The yesterday?s lieutenants are already lieutenant-colonels, and the majors are already the generals. And they perform their task ? protecting the Motherland, with honor. Permanent modernization of old arms and technique and purchasing of new arms and technique is arranged. Special attention is paid to provision of our army with precision weapons, modern means of radio-electronic fight. We purchase the most up-to-date, best examples in the world. Today General S. Nurmagambetov mainly deals with public work, meets with young officers and future defenders of the Motherland. The well-known battle master of the country wrote his next book on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic war. Despite he is 85 years old, he is still in the service, he actively participates in patriotic education of the younger generation of Kazakhstan. As is known, the National military school ?Zhas Ulan? is called after his name. It was established in 1999 in the new capital of the country, Astana. And the first minister of the defence of the independent Kazakhstan opens every academic year of the school as he thinks it is his duty.