Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (23 November [O.S. 11 November] 1898 – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Soviet Union, and Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. During World War II, he contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest. During the post-war era, he made a pivotal contribution to the strengthening of the Soviet Union as a military superpower.