[1] Originally a village carpenter, Malinin joined the Red Army at 1919 and fought in the Civil War.

[2] When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Malinin was rushed to the front and posted as Rokossovsky's chief of staff in what remained of the 9th Mechanized Corps.

[4] He continued in that capacity, under Rokossovsky (and from November 1944, Zhukov), through much of the war: at the Bryansk (Chief of staff: 20.7.42 - 27.9.42), Don (30.9.42 - 15.2.43), Central (15.2.43 - 20.10.43) and Belorussian (20.10.43 - 10.6.45) Fronts.

[6] Malinin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General at the 20 December 1942,[7] and to Colonel-General at 18 September 1943.

Then, he rose to be the Soviet Armed Forces' First Deputy Chief of Staff, an office he held until his death.