Ivan Alexeyevich Polyakov (; 1886-1969) was a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

military leader who fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(on the Russian side), and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(on the German side). According to his file at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

website, he joined

Pyotr Krasnov Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (; – 17 January 1947), also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer and later Nazi collaborator. Krasnov served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and la ...

's Cossack army in 1917. He moved to Serbia in 1919. In World War II he joined

Andrey Vlasov Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (, – August 1, 1946) was a Soviet Russian Red Army general. During the Eastern Front (World War II), Axis-Soviet campaigns of World War II, he fought (1941–1942) against the ''Wehrmacht'' in the Battle of Moscow ...

Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army (; , ), also known as the Vlasov army () was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II. From January 1945, the army was led by Andrey Vlasov, ...

(ROA), which fought on the side of Germany against the Soviet Union. He was Don Cossack

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

(leader/chief) from 1947-1965. In 1952 he moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He wrote two books. In 1949 a letter of his was published in the journal ''Russia'', describing the post-war fate of the Cossacks who had fought on the German side against the Soviet Union. He claimed that tens of thousands were killed by the Red Army after being violently repatriated by British troops.The Massacre of Cossacks at Lienz
, (From Russia, Vol. VI, No.84, September 1949), from the Hermitage of the Holy Cross website, accessed 2010-4-2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polyakov, Ivan Alexeyevich 1886 births 1969 deaths People from Novocherkassk People from Don Host Oblast Don Cossacks Imperial Russian Army officers Russian Provisional Government military personnel Russian military personnel of World War I White movement major generals Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Russian Liberation Army personnel Nazis who fled to the United States White Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany White Russian emigrants to Yugoslavia

See also

References