Viktor Ilyich Baranov

Viktor Ilyich Baranov
Baranov, c. 1945
Born	4 January 1906 Tula, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	26 October 1996(1996-10-26) (aged 90) Moscow, Russian Federation
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army (later Soviet Army)
Years of service	1923–1961
Rank	Lieutenant general
Commands held	31st Mechanized Brigade (became 13th Light Tank Brigade) 1st Tank Division (became 123rd Tank Brigade)
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin (2) Order of the Red Banner (5) Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (2) Order of the Red Star

Viktor Ilyich Baranov (Russian: Ви́ктор Ильи́ч Бара́нов; 4 January 1906 – 26 October 1996) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Baranov joined the Red Army in the early 1920s, fighting in the suppression of uprisings in the North Caucasus. He transferred to the emerging mechanized forces in the early 1930s and was decorated for his command of tank units in the Spanish Civil War. For his leadership of the 13th Light Tank Brigade during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line during the Winter War, Baranov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union. He commanded the 1st Tank Division in the Leningrad Strategic Defensive Operation, and finished the war as commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the Leningrad Front. Baranov held the latter position at district and army level postwar and retired in the early 1960s.