The general who gave the operational order to clear Rustaveli Avenue
'Not a single demonstrator died from a shovel. That was invented by Mr Sobchak together with the Georgian fascists.'
As commander of the Transcaucasus Military District, he gave the operational order to clear the independence rally on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue on 9 April 1989, an action that left 21 civilians dead. The Sobchak commission named him, yet the chain of command ran upward to Defence Minister Yazov and the republican party leadership, and Rodionov became the only figure publicly held to account within that structure. He had previously commanded the 40th Army in Afghanistan (1985–86), and in 1996 Yeltsin made him Russia's Defence Minister, only to sack him ten months later when he refused to subordinate the army's budget to the government's reform plans.
Career Timeline
- 1954–1970Graduates Oryol Tank School, serves with Group of Soviet Forces Germany, gold medal at Malinovsky Armoured Academy
- 1970–1980Commands regiment, then deputy commander and commander 24th 'Iron' Motor Rifle Division. General Staff Academy with distinction
- 1980–1986Commander 28th Army Corps (Czechoslovakia), Commander 5th Army (Far East), Commander 40th Army in Afghanistan
- 1986–1989First Deputy Commander Moscow Military District, then Commander Transcaucasus Military District. Directs dispersal of Tbilisi rally, 9 April 1989
- 1989–1997Head of General Staff Academy (1989–96). RF Defence Minister (1996–97), sacked for refusing to subordinate military budget to government reform plans