Born to a peasant family in
Mogilev Governorate (present-day
Horki Raion,
Mogilev Oblast of
Belarus), Kuznetsov served in the
Imperial Russian Army during
World War I and continued his service in the Bolsheviks'
Red Army. During the
German-Soviet War, he initially commanded the
Northwestern Front during the
Baltic Strategic Defensive Operation until 30 June 1941, but was relieved in early August 1941 (replaced by General Major
Pyotr Sobennikov). At a
Stavka session on 12 August 1941, he was given command of the new
51st Independent Army, but he was replaced by
Pavel Batov in October 1941 during the
defense of the Crimea. Later he served as the temporary commander of the
Central Front (July–August 1941), Chief of Staff of the 28th Army, Deputy Commander of the
Western Front, and commander of the
61st Army. From March 1942 to June 1943, he served as the commanding officer of the
Academy of General Staff, and from August 1943 to February 1944 as the Deputy Commander of the
Volkhov Front and the
Karelian Front. From 1945-1948, he commanded the
Ural Military District, retiring due to illness. He is buried in the
Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. ==References==