Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (Russian: Родион Яковлевич Малиновский, Rodion Jakovlevič Malinovskij; November 23, 1898-March 31, 1967) was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was involved in the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and, during the post-war era, made a pivotal contribution to the strengthening of the Soviet Union as a military superpower.