Ivan Tutarinov

Ivan Vasilyevich Tutarinov (Russian: Иван Васильевич Тутаринов; 19 June 1904 – 19 June 1978) was a Red Army colonel general who commanded the Soviet airborne from 1959 to 1961. Tutarinov fought in World War II as the commander of the 12th Kuban Cossack Cavalry Division before being wounded in July 1944.

Early life Tutarinov was born on 19 June 1904 in the village of Krasny Yar in the Astrakhan Governorate. He was an Astrakhan Cossack. Before joining the Red Army in September 1923, Tutarinov worked in the local Cheka, the local Politburo, the Fisheries Trust and the Komsomol district committees.

World War II Tutarinov fought in the initial attempt of 14th Mechanized Corps to recapture Brest at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa and was wounded. In September 1941, he became the commander of the 77th Cavalry Division. In January 1942, the division was transferred to the 14th Cavalry Corps in Arkhangelsk Military District. In April, the division was subordinated to the 2nd Shock Army and soon disbanded. In May, Tutarinov became the commander of the 12th Kuban Cossack Cavalry Division In September, the division was transferred to the Transcaucasian Front and fought in the Nalckik-Ordzhonikidze Defensive Operation. In January 1943, the division fought in battles near Rostov During the Donbass Strategic Offensive, the division captured Tokmak. In October, it became part of the 4th Ukrainian Front and in November fought on the Isthmus of Perekop. At the end of May, the division became part of Stavka reserves. At the beginning of June, the division was transferred to the 1st Belorussian Front, where it fought in Operation Bagration. In July, Tutarinov was wounded and spent two months in convalescence. In September, he became the commander of the 2nd Cavalry School in Tambov. In March 1945, Tutarinov became the chief of the combat training of Red Army cavalry staff. In September 1965, Tutarinov became a representative of the Warsaw Pact Supreme Command to the Hungarian People's Army, with which he coordinated parts of Operation Danube. In September 1972, Tutarinov retired.