Alexander Vasilevich Pylcyn (Russian: Александр Васильевич Пыльцын; 18 November 1923 – 30 March 2018) was a Soviet Battalion Commander during the Great Patriotic War.

It was made up largely of disgraced soldiers and officers, dangerous prisoners of war, and political enemies, brought from throughout the Soviet Union to join the Battalion.

If a Company Commissar observed soldiers making defeatist comments, or willingly surrendering territory, he could either mark them up for a summary execution, or, force them to join a Penal Battalion.

Many of these prisoners had lost the will to fight, and were bullied into Penal Battalions by Soviet generals and commissars.

He fought in many minor battles throughout 1943 and was offered to command the 8ya Otdyelnaya Shtrafnoy Batalon—the 8th Independent Penal Battalion—which he accepted.

The newly formed penal battalion then began to fight its first battles on the Eastern Front, commanded by Pylcyn.

The Battalion would advance through quiet parts of the line, searching for weak points in the German defenses.