Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (Russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский; 23 November 1898 – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of 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.