Pyotr Masherov

Pyotr Mironovich Masherov (Пётр Міро́навіч Машэ́раў; Пётр Миро́нович Маше́ров; 26 February 1918 – 4 October 1980) was the first secretary of Belarusian committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union and a communist leader of Soviet Belarus.

Overview
Masherov was born as Pyatro Mashera (according to family legend, descendent of a French soldier surnamed Macheraut, who was stranded in Belarus during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia) in a village in Vitsebsk region of Belarus and before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 worked as a high school physics and math teacher. Between 1942 and 1944 Masherov led an underground group of Soviet partisans in Belarus and was awarded title Hero of the Soviet Union in August 1944.

In 1965 after holding some key positions in Belarusian regions and in Minsk, Masherov became the first secretary of the Communist party in Belarus. He was de facto the president of Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1978, Masherov was awarded Hero of Socialist Labor title for his contributions to the development of Belorussian republic.

Accident
He died in an automobile accident when his car, escorted by police, collided with a produce truck (potatoes) that had unexpectedly entered the freeway.

Honours and awards

 * Hero of the Soviet Union
 * Hero of Socialist Labour
 * Seven Orders of Lenin
 * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"
 * Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st class
 * Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
 * Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
 * Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
 * Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands"
 * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
 * Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
 * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Soviet Militia"
 * Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria)