[1] Pavlovsky, holding the rank of Army General, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ground Forces with effect from 5 November 1967.

[2] In August 1968, according to his own recollections, Army General Pavlovsky was summoned to see Minister of Defense of the USSR A.A. Grechko, who informed him of his appointment as commander of the combined forces of the Warsaw Pact states in the upcoming operation to send troops to Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring.

In the evening of August 20, Eastern Bloc armies from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Bulgaria,[3] Poland and Hungary – invaded Czechoslovakia.

Formally, the decree spoke of Pavlovsky's courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic War, as well as the merits in the construction and strengthening of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.

In addition to the official task of providing assistance to reorganise the Afghan Army, Pavlovsky studied the situation in the country before the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.