Alexander Novikov
![Novikov c. 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Alexander_Novikov%2C_1943.jpg)
A gifted air force commander and one of the leading men of the Soviet armed forces, Novikov was involved in nearly all exploits of the air force during the war and was at the forefront of developments in command and control and of air combat techniques. After the war, Novikov was arrested by order of the Politburo, and was forced by the NKVD chief, Lavrentiy Beria, into a "confession" that implicated Marshal Georgy Zhukov in a conspiracy. Novikov was then imprisoned until the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, whereupon he became an avionics teacher and writer until his death. Provided by Wikipedia