The 368th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. After forming, it remained in the reserves of that district until March 1942, when it was assigned to the 7th Separate Army in Karelia, where it remained until mid-1944. The division had a mostly uneventful war on this defensive front, but then took part in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war in the summer of that year, being awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its services. It later saw action against the German forces trying to hold northern Finland. The division ended the war in the Belomorsky Military District on garrison duties in the Soviet Arctic.