Ivan Boldin

Ivan Vasilievich Boldin
Boldin in 1941 - 42
Born	(1892-08-15)August 15, 1892 Vysokaya, Insa Region of Penza Province, Russian Empire
Died	March 28, 1965(1965-03-28) (aged 72) Kiev, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russian Empire (1914–1917)  Soviet Union (1917–1958)
Years of service	1914–1958
Rank	Colonel General
Commands held	1st Moscow Separate Rifle Regiment 19th Rifle Division 53rd Rifle Division 18th Rifle Division 17th Rifle Corps Kalinin Military District Cavalry-Mechanized Group of Special Western Military District Odessa Military District 19th Army 50th Army 8th Guards Army Eastern Siberian Military District
Battles/wars	World War I Russian Civil War World War II
Awards	Order of Lenin (2) Order of the Red Banner (3) Order of Suvorov, 1st Class (3) Order of Kutuzov, 1st Class
Other work	Military Consultant to the Defense Ministry Group of General Inspectors

Ivan Vasilievich Boldin (Russian: Иван Васильевич Болдин; August 15 [O.S. August 3] 1892, Vysokaya – March 28, 1965, Kiev) was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War.

A son of a landed peasant, Boldin was fortunate enough to attend primary and two years of secondary school before beginning work with his father. In 1914 he moved into the village of Vysokaya where he worked in grain processing and bread making. He was drafted into the Russian Imperial Army on July 28, 1914, during World War I. He received several months of infantry training before his regiment, the 23rd Rifle Regiment, was deployed to Sarakomysh on the Turkish front. He served for three years on this front against the Turks, taking part in operations around Erzurum and Kars, and also completing his secondary schooling.

Following the February Revolution in 1917, Boldin became politically active. He served as an elected member of his regimental and divisional revolutionary committees until he was demobilized in December, when he returned to the Insa Region. After the Bolsheviks seized power he became active in local and regional politics. From January 7 to March 14, 1918, he was assistant head of the Insa District Executive Committee, then chaired it until January 7, 1919. He joined the Communist Party in June 1918, and attended the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in July, representing Penza. Following this he served in several positions in local administration and in the Party.

In October 1919, Boldin restarted his military career by volunteering for service in the Red Army in the ongoing Civil War. At its height, he served as a company commander fighting Finnish forces on the Karelian peninsula. He then went to Western Front, fighting in defense of Petrograd against White Russian forces, and later against Polish forces near Polotsk and Lepel in the Polish–Soviet War. In April 1920, he was promoted to command of a battalion, and in August to a regiment. By December 1921, Boldin had shown enough military potential that he was enrolled in the Vystrel Officer Rifle School, from which he graduated in September 1923.