Burmakov rose through the ranks during the interwar period and in August 1942 became commander of the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade and fought in the Battle of Stalingrad.

At the end of the battle, his troops captured 6th Army commander Friedrich Paulus.

Postwar, Burmakov continued to serve in the Soviet Army, leading the 29th and 21st Guards Mechanized Divisions and the 52nd Rifle Corps.

[1] Burmakov was born on 11 November 1899 in the village of Pohoriltsi in Chernigov Governorate to a peasant family.

After graduating from high school, he worked in basketry workshops in the villages of Pohoriltsi and Topalevka.

From September, Burmakov was a platoon leader, company commander, chief of staff and battalion commander and finally assistant chief of staff of the 100th Rifle Division's 300th Rifle Regiment.

From May 1933, Burmakov was chief of staff and then commander of the 18th Separate Rifle Battalion at Biysk.

From December 1941, he was chief of staff of a newly forming rifle division in Krasnoyarsk.

In August 1942, Burmakov became commander of the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade, formed from Stalingrad Factory Workers.

The brigade captured 6th Army commander Friedrich Paulus in the basement of the Univermag department store.

On 6 April, the first day of the attack on the city, the division broke through German defenses in the southwest.

By the end of the second day, the division reached the Pregolya River, crossed it and seized a bridgehead.

On 19 April Burmakov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his leadership.

In January 1954, Burmakov was appointed commander of the 52nd Rifle Corps at Pervomaiske, Mykolaiv Oblast.