Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov (; April 29, 1903 – February 9, 1972) was a Russian Marshal of the Soviet Union (from 1962). He was commander of the Strategic Missile Troops from 1963 to 1972. Early life Krylov was born into a family of rural teachers. He joined the Komsomol in 1918, and was the secretary of the district Komsomol cell and a fighter of the volunteer party Komsomol Red Guard detachment. During the Russian Civil War, he tried to join the Red Army. At the beginning of 1919, he was enrolled in the aviation division of the Southern Front, but after a few days he fell seriously ill and was left with his parents. At the same time, he passed the exam for the school course as an external student and received a certificate of graduation from the 2nd stage school. Military career Russian Civil War In April 1919, at the age of 16, he achieved enrollment in the Red Army. After successfully completing the Saratov infantry and machine gun courses in 1920, he was appointed commander of a rifle platoon, then a half-company of riflemen in the 28th Rifle Division named after V.M. Azin. In the ranks of the 11th Army, he fought on the Southern Front and took part in the occupation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the Soviet-Georgian war of 1921. On the same year, he was transferred to the Russian Far East, where at age of 19, he was appointed commander of a rifle battalion in the 3rd Verkhne-Uda Regiment of the 1st Pacific Division of the People's Revolutionary Army in the Far Eastern Republic. He participated in the liberation of Spassk, Nikolsk-Ussuriysky and Vladivostok from the White Army. Post-civil war After the end of the civil war, Krylov remained in the Red Army and continued to serve in the Far East, where he commanded a battalion. From 1923, he served as assistant chief of staff of a rifle regiment. Krylov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1927 and graduated from Advanced Training Courses for the Command Staff of the Red Army in August 1928. From 1929, he served as chief of staff of a rifle regiment in the 1st Pacific Division. Krylov commanded a Blagoveshchensk fortified area from 1931. In 1936, he was appointed as chief of staff of the Blagoveshchensk fortified area. Krylov was assigned as head of the department of Osoaviakhim