Vadim Stepanovich Tikunov (russian: Вадим Степанович Тикунов; 9 April 1921 – 16 July 1980) was a Soviet politician who served as the minister of internal affairs of the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
between 1961 and 1966. He was also ambassador of the Soviet Union to
Republic of Upper Volta
The Republic of Upper Volta (french: République de Haute-Volta) was a landlocked West African country established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Before becoming autonomous, it had been part of the ...
and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Biography
Tikunov was born in
Simbirsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...
in April 1921.
From 1939 he attended Alma Ata State Law Institute, today part of
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University ( kz, Әл-Фараби атындағы Қазақ ұлттық университеті, Äl-Farabi atyndağy Qazaq Ūlttyq Universitetı), also called KazGU or KazNU, is a university in Almaty, Kazakhsta ...
, and graduated in 1942.
[ He joined the ]Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
in 1942 and from August 1942 he began to serve as the secretary of the Aktobe
Aktobe ( kz, Ақтөбе, Aqtöbe; russian: Актобе, Aktobe) is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Aktobe Region. In 2020, it had a population of 500,757 people.
Aktobe is located in the west of ...
regional committee of the Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
. In 1944 he became the central committee member of the Komsomol and from 1945 he served as the secretary of the central committee of the Komsomol of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based admini ...
.[ In 1947 he was appointed the first secretary of the Komsomol's ]Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its closest border 66 km east of central Moscow, the administrative center is the city of Vladimir, wh ...
committee.[ In 1951 he was named as the secretary of the Komsomol committee in Vladimir City and then as the secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party.][ In June 1952 he was appointed to its central committee.][
From 1956 Tikunov worked at the department of administrative organizations.][ Between November 1958 and August 1959 he was made the deputy head of the departments.][ Then he served as the deputy chairman of the ]KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
from 28 August 1959 to 21 July 1961.[ He was the minister of internal affairs of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in the period between 25 July 1961 and 17 September 1966.][ He replaced Nikolay Stakhanov in the post who had been removed from the office.] During his tenure Tikunov was promoted to the second rank general of internal service on 7 January 1963.[
His next post was the commission member of the central committee of the Party on travel abroad which he held in the period 1967–1969.][ In October 1969 Tikunov was named Minister-Counsellor at the embassy in Romania, a post he held until 1974.][ He was appointed Soviet ambassador to the Republic of Upper Volta on 21 March 1974, replacing Yakov Lazarev in the post.] Tikunov's last post was Soviet ambassador to Cameroon to which he was appointed on 28 August 1978.[
Tikunov died on 16 July 1980 while serving as the Soviet ambassador in ]Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
, Cameroon, and was buried in Moscow at the Kuntsevo cemetery
The Kuntsevo Cemetery (russian: Ку́нцевское кла́дбище, kúntsevkoye kládbishche) is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation ...
.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikunov, Vadim
1921 births
1980 deaths
Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Burkina Faso
Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Cameroon
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Cold War diplomats
People's commissars and ministers of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery
People from Ulyanovsk
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University alumni
KGB officers