In 1923 , Bagramyan was appointed commander of the Alexandropol Cavalry Regiment , a position he held until 1931 . Two years later , Bagramyan graduated from the Leningrad Cavalry School and , in 1934 , from the Frunze Military Academy . In his memoirs , Pyotr Grigorenko , a Ukrainian commander who attended Frunze , recalled how Bagramyan was expelled from the academy by his superiors after they had learned that he had been a secret member of the banned Dashnak Armenian nationalist party for more than a decade . Pending his arrest , Grigorenko described Bagramyan " deeply depressed , saying he only wished they 'd arrest him soon so that he could get it over with . " Grigorenko advised that he appeal the arrest warrant which Bagramyan reluctantly did and , with the help of Armenian politburo member Anastas Mikoyan , the arrest warrant was revoked and he accepted to be " rehabilitated . " From 1934 to 1936 , he served as the chief of staff of the 5th Cavalry Division , and from 1938 , he worked as a senior instructor and lecturer at the Military Academy of the Soviet General Staff . Concurrently , Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had purged much of the Soviet officer corps of its veteran commanders . While fellow students from the military academy , Andrei Yeremenko and Georgy Zhukov , had seen their careers rise , Bagramyan 's had remained stagnant
purged
Great Purge
Ivan Bagramyan