Ivan Vladimirovich Tyulenev (28 January 1892 – 15 August 1978 ) was a Soviet military commander, one of the first to be promoted to the rank of General of the Army in 1940.

Biography

Tyulenvev was born into a soldier's family in the Simbirsk Governorate (now Ulyanovsk Oblast) settlement of Shatrashany. He worked in factories and as a Caspian Sea fisherman before being drafted into the Imperial Russian Army in 1913. During World War I he fought with the Kargopolsky dragoons in Congress Poland and was awarded the Order of St George for his courage. Tyulenvev joined the Red Army after the revolution and served during the Russian Civil War with the 1st Cavalry Army. In 1918 he joined the Bolshevik Party. He also took part in suppressing the Kronstadt rebellion and in the Polish Soviet War. In 1939 he commanded the 12th Army during the Soviet invasion of Poland. He was promoted to General of the Army in 1940. At the outbreak of the German-Soviet War in June 1941, he was in charge of the Moscow Military District. In the first three months of the war, Tyulenev commanded the Southern Front. During the rest of the war, he was in command of the Transcaucasian Military District and Transcaucasian Front. Tyulenev was the author of several books of reminiscences, including Soviet Cavalry Fighting for the Fatherland (1957) and Through Three Wars (1972).

Honours and awards