He was a major proponent of the modernization of Soviet armament and army force structure in the 1920s and 1930s and became instrumental in the development of Soviet aviation , mechanized , and airborne forces . As a theoretician , he was a driving force behind Soviet development of the theory of deep operations . The Soviet authorities falsely accused him of treason and had him shot during Stalin 's military purges of 1937 – 1938 , but rehabilitated his reputation in the late 1950s
military purges
Great Purge
Mikhail Tukhachevsky