Tsirlin, Aleksandr

Born Nov. 4 (17), 1902, in the city of Kagarlyk, in what is now Kiev Oblast; died Nov. 6, 1976, in Moscow. Soviet military commander. Colonel general of the engineer troops (1945). Doctor of Military Sciences (1956). Professor (1958). Member of the CPSU from 1924.

The son of a craftsman, Tsirlin joined the Red Army in 1924. He graduated from artillery school in 1930, the V. V. Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy in 1936, and the K. E. Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in 1948. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, Tsirlin served as commander of the engineer troops of the Luga Task Force from June to August 1941, head of the operations section of the engineer headquarters of the Western Front in 1942, head of the operations section and deputy chief of staff of the engineer troops of the Red Army in 1942 and 1943, and commander of the engineer troops of the Steppe, Second Ukrainian, and Transbaikal fronts between 1943 and 1945. He became head of a subdepartment at the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1946 and head of the V. V. Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy in 1961. Tsirlin retired in 1969.

Tsirlin was the author of several works on military engineering. He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1967 and received two Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Kutuzov First Class, the Order of Suvorov Second Class, the Order of Kutuzov Second Class, the Order of the Patriotic War First Class, the Order of the Red Star, and various medals. Tsirlin was also the recipient of foreign orders and medals.