Ivan Tretyak

Ivan Moiseevich Tretyak (; ; 20 February 1923 – 3 May 2007) was a Soviet general who served in various positions in the Soviet Armed Forces including as commander of the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

History Born on February 20, 1923, in the village of Malaya Popovka, Khorol district, Poltava Governorate, Ukrainian SSR in a family of Ukrainian farmers

He graduated from a seven-year school and the Poltava Agricultural College.

He was drafted into the Red Army in 1939. In 1941, he graduated from the Astrakhan rifle and machine gun school.

On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from December 1941. He was a platoon commander in the 19th rifle brigade on the Western Front. Already in January 1942, he was seriously wounded. After recovery, he fought in the 29th Guards Rifle Division on the Western and 2nd Baltic Front, commanded a company, was deputy commander, and from July 1943 he served as a commander of a rifle battalion. He particularly distinguished himself during the crossing of the Velikaya River and the liberation of the city of Opochka in the Pskov Oblast. He took part in the blockade of the Courland group of German troops. In November 1944, he was seriously wounded for the third time, and after the hospital he returned to duty only in March 1945.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, he continued to serve in the Soviet Army. In 1946, regiment commander Tretyak entered the academy. He graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. Then he served as deputy head of the combat training department of the 11th Guards Army in the Baltic Military District, commander of the 75th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 26th Guards East Siberian Gorodok Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division.

From December 1964 to September 1967 he served as Commander of the 4th Army of the Transcaucasian Military District. In 1967-1976 he served as Commander of the troops of the Belarusian Military District, in 1976 he refused the appointment of his deputy for logistics proposed by the Minister of Defense. As a result of the incident, 246 passengers and 23 crew members died.

From June 19, 1984, to July 11, 1986, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Troops. From July 12, 1986, to June 11, 1987, he served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union and Chief Inspector of the Soviet Ministry of Defense. From June 11, 1987, to August 31, 1991, he served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. He was removed from office on August 31, 1991, immediately after the 1991 Soviet coup attempt.

He was a candidate (alternate) member of the Central Committee (1971–1976) and a full member of the Central Committee from 1976 to 1990. He was also a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union of the 8th-11th convocations (1970–1989).

He retired in November 1991 and died on May 3, 2007. He was buried at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

Awards Hero of the Soviet Union (24.03.1945); Hero of Socialist Labour (16.02.1982); Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (23.02.2003); four Order of Lenin (24.03.1945, 04.05.1972, 21.02.1978, 16.02.1982); three Order of the Red Banner (15.07.1944, 14.10.1944, 22.02.1968); Order of Kutuzov III degree (29.09.1943); Order of Alexander Nevsky (20.03.1945); Order of the Patriotic War I degree (11.03.1985); two Order of the Red Star (05.07.1943, 1954); Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 2nd class (22.02.1989); Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd class (30.04.1975); Soviet medals; Honorary Citizen of the city of Khabarovsk; Honorary Citizen of the city of Opochka, Pskov Oblast; Three foreign orders; Medals of the Mongolian People's Republic and a number of other countries.