Heroes of the Great Patriotic War
Alexander Matrosov
Submachine gunner of the 2nd separate battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after Stalin.
Sasha Matrosov did not know his parents. He was brought up in an orphanage and a labor colony. When the war began, he was not even 20. Matrosov was drafted into the army in September 1942 and sent to the infantry school, and then to the front.
In February 1943, his battalion attacked a Nazi stronghold, but fell into a trap, coming under heavy fire, cutting off the path to the trenches. They fired from three bunkers. Two soon fell silent, but the third continued to shoot the Red Army soldiers lying in the snow.
Seeing that the only chance to get out from under fire was to suppress the enemy’s fire, Sailors and a fellow soldier crawled to the bunker and threw two grenades in his direction. The machine gun fell silent. The Red Army soldiers went on the attack, but the deadly weapon began to chatter again. Alexander’s partner was killed, and Sailors was left alone in front of the bunker. Something had to be done.
He didn't have even a few seconds to make a decision. Not wanting to let his comrades down, Alexander closed the bunker embrasure with his body. The attack was a success. And Matrosov posthumously received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Military pilot, commander of the 2nd squadron of the 207th long-range bomber aviation regiment, captain.
He worked as a mechanic, then in 1932 he was drafted into the Red Army. He ended up in an air regiment, where he became a pilot. Nikolai Gastello participated in three wars. A year before the Great Patriotic War, he received the rank of captain.
On June 26, 1941, the crew under the command of Captain Gastello took off to strike a German mechanized column. It happened on the road between the Belarusian cities of Molodechno and Radoshkovichi. But the column was well guarded by enemy artillery. A fight ensued. Gastello's plane was hit by anti-aircraft guns. The shell damaged the fuel tank and the car caught fire. The pilot could have ejected, but he decided to fulfill his military duty to the end. Nikolai Gastello directed the burning car directly at the enemy column. This was the first fire ram in the Great Patriotic War.
The name of the brave pilot became a household name. Until the end of the war, all aces who decided to ram were called Gastellites. If you follow official statistics, then during the entire war there were almost six hundred ramming attacks on the enemy.
Brigade reconnaissance officer of the 67th detachment of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade.
Lena was 15 years old when the war began. He was already working at a factory, having completed seven years of school. When the Nazis captured his native Novgorod region, Lenya joined the partisans.
He was brave and decisive, the command valued him. Over the several years spent in the partisan detachment, he participated in 27 operations. He was responsible for several destroyed bridges behind enemy lines, 78 Germans killed, and 10 trains with ammunition.
It was he who, in the summer of 1942, near the village of Varnitsa, blew up a car in which was the German Major General of the Engineering Troops Richard von Wirtz. Golikov managed to obtain important documents about the German offensive. The enemy attack was thwarted, and the young hero was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for this feat.
In the winter of 1943, a significantly superior enemy detachment unexpectedly attacked the partisans near the village of Ostray Luka. Lenya Golikov died like a real hero - in battle.
Pioneer. Scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment in the territory occupied by the Nazis.
Zina was born and went to school in Leningrad. However, the war found her on the territory of Belarus, where she came on vacation.
In 1942, 16-year-old Zina joined the underground organization “Young Avengers”. She distributed anti-fascist leaflets in the occupied territories. Then, undercover, she got a job in a canteen for German officers, where she committed several acts of sabotage and was only miraculously not captured by the enemy. Many experienced military men were surprised at her courage.
In 1943, Zina Portnova joined the partisans and continued to engage in sabotage behind enemy lines. Due to the efforts of defectors who surrendered Zina to the Nazis, she was captured. She was interrogated and tortured in the dungeons. But Zina remained silent, not betraying her own. During one of these interrogations, she grabbed a pistol from the table and shot three Nazis. After that she was shot in prison.
An underground anti-fascist organization operating in the area of modern Lugansk region. There were more than a hundred people. The youngest participant was 14 years old.
This underground youth organization was formed immediately after the occupation of the Lugansk region. It included both regular military personnel who found themselves cut off from the main units, and local youth. Among the most famous participants: Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Vasily Levashov, Sergey Tyulenin and many other young people.
The Young Guard issued leaflets and committed sabotage against the Nazis. Once they managed to disable an entire tank repair workshop and burn down the stock exchange, from where the Nazis were driving people away for forced labor in Germany. Members of the organization planned to stage an uprising, but were discovered due to traitors. The Nazis captured, tortured and shot more than seventy people. Their feat is immortalized in one of the most famous military books by Alexander Fadeev and the film adaptation of the same name.
28 people from the personnel of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment.
In November 1941, a counter-offensive against Moscow began. The enemy stopped at nothing, making a decisive forced march before the onset of a harsh winter.
At this time, fighters under the command of Ivan Panfilov took up a position on the highway seven kilometers from Volokolamsk, a small town near Moscow. There they gave battle to the advancing tank units. The battle lasted four hours. During this time, they destroyed 18 armored vehicles, delaying the enemy's attack and thwarting his plans. All 28 people (or almost all, historians’ opinions differ here) died.
According to legend, the company political instructor Vasily Klochkov, before the decisive stage of the battle, addressed the soldiers with a phrase that became known throughout the country: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us!”
The Nazi counteroffensive ultimately failed. The Battle of Moscow, which was assigned the most important role during the war, was lost by the occupiers.
As a child, the future hero suffered from rheumatism, and doctors doubted that Maresyev would be able to fly. However, he stubbornly applied to the flight school until he was finally enrolled. Maresyev was drafted into the army in 1937.
He met the Great Patriotic War at a flight school, but soon found himself at the front. During a combat mission, his plane was shot down, and Maresyev himself was able to eject. Eighteen days later, seriously wounded in both legs, he got out of the encirclement. However, he still managed to overcome the front line and ended up in the hospital. But gangrene had already set in, and doctors amputated both of his legs.
For many, this would have meant the end of their service, but the pilot did not give up and returned to aviation. Until the end of the war he flew with prosthetics. Over the years, he made 86 combat missions and shot down 11 enemy aircraft. Moreover, 7 - after amputation. In 1944, Alexey Maresyev went to work as an inspector and lived to be 84 years old.
His fate inspired the writer Boris Polevoy to write “The Tale of a Real Man.”
Deputy squadron commander of the 177th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment.
Viktor Talalikhin began to fight already in the Soviet-Finnish war. He shot down 4 enemy planes in a biplane. Then he served at an aviation school.
In August 1941, he was one of the first Soviet pilots to ram, shooting down a German bomber in a night air battle. Moreover, the wounded pilot was able to get out of the cockpit and parachute down to the rear to his own.
Talalikhin then shot down five more German aircraft. He died during another air battle near Podolsk in October 1941.
73 years later, in 2014, search engines found Talalikhin’s plane, which remained in the swamps near Moscow.
Artilleryman of the 3rd counter-battery artillery corps of the Leningrad Front.
Soldier Andrei Korzun was drafted into the army at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War. He served on the Leningrad Front, where there were fierce and bloody battles.
On November 5, 1943, during another battle, his battery came under fierce enemy fire. Korzun was seriously injured. Despite the terrible pain, he saw that the powder charges were set on fire and the ammunition depot could fly into the air. Gathering his last strength, Andrei crawled to the blazing fire. But he could no longer take off his overcoat to cover the fire. Losing consciousness, he made a final effort and covered the fire with his body. The explosion was avoided at the cost of the life of the brave artilleryman.
Commander of the 3rd Leningrad Partisan Brigade.
A native of Petrograd, Alexander German, according to some sources, was a native of Germany. He served in the army since 1933. When the war started, I joined the scouts. He worked behind enemy lines, commanded a partisan detachment that terrified enemy soldiers. His brigade destroyed several thousand fascist soldiers and officers, derailed hundreds of trains and blew up hundreds of cars.
The Nazis staged a real hunt for Herman. In 1943, his partisan detachment was surrounded in the Pskov region. Making his way to his own, the brave commander died from an enemy bullet.
Commander of the 30th Separate Guards Tank Brigade of the Leningrad Front
Vladislav Khrustitsky was drafted into the Red Army back in the 20s. At the end of the 30s he completed armored courses. Since the fall of 1942, he commanded the 61st separate light tank brigade.
He distinguished himself during Operation Iskra, which marked the beginning of the defeat of the Germans on the Leningrad Front.
Killed in the battle near Volosovo. In 1944, the enemy retreated from Leningrad, but from time to time they attempted to counterattack. During one of these counterattacks, Khrustitsky's tank brigade fell into a trap.
Despite heavy fire, the commander ordered the offensive to continue. He radioed to his crews with the words: “Fight to the death!” - and went forward first. Unfortunately, the brave tanker died in this battle. And yet the village of Volosovo was liberated from the enemy.
Commander of a partisan detachment and brigade.
Before the war he worked on the railway. In October 1941, when the Germans were already near Moscow, he himself volunteered for a complex operation in which his railway experience was needed. Was thrown behind enemy lines. There he came up with the so-called “coal mines” (in fact, these are just mines disguised as coal). With the help of this simple but effective weapon, hundreds of enemy trains were blown up in three months.
Zaslonov actively agitated the local population to go over to the side of the partisans. The Nazis, realizing this, dressed their soldiers in Soviet uniforms. Zaslonov mistook them for defectors and ordered them to join the partisan detachment. The way was open for the insidious enemy. A battle ensued, during which Zaslonov died. A reward was announced for Zaslonov, alive or dead, but the peasants hid his body, and the Germans did not get it.
Commander of a small partisan detachment.
Efim Osipenko fought during the Civil War. Therefore, when the enemy captured his land, without thinking twice, he joined the partisans. Together with five other comrades, he organized a small partisan detachment that committed sabotage against the Nazis.
During one of the operations, it was decided to undermine the enemy personnel. But the detachment had little ammunition. The bomb was made from an ordinary grenade. Osipenko himself had to install the explosives. He crawled to the railway bridge and, seeing the train approaching, threw it in front of the train. There was no explosion. Then the partisan himself hit the grenade with a pole from a railway sign. It worked! A long train with food and tanks went downhill. The detachment commander survived, but completely lost his sight.
For this feat, he was the first in the country to be awarded the “Partisan of the Patriotic War” medal.
Peasant Matvey Kuzmin was born three years before the abolition of serfdom. And he died, becoming the oldest holder of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
His story contains many references to the story of another famous peasant - Ivan Susanin. Matvey also had to lead the invaders through the forest and swamps. And, like the legendary hero, he decided to stop the enemy at the cost of his life. He sent his grandson ahead to warn a detachment of partisans who had stopped nearby. The Nazis were ambushed. A fight ensued. Matvey Kuzmin died at the hands of a German officer. But he did his job. He was 84 years old.
A partisan who was part of a sabotage and reconnaissance group at the headquarters of the Western Front.
While studying at school, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya wanted to enter a literary institute. But these plans were not destined to come true - the war interfered. In October 1941, Zoya came to the recruiting station as a volunteer and, after a short training at a school for saboteurs, was transferred to Volokolamsk. There, an 18-year-old partisan fighter, along with adult men, performed dangerous tasks: mined roads and destroyed communication centers.
During one of the sabotage operations, Kosmodemyanskaya was caught by the Germans. She was tortured, forcing her to give up her own people. Zoya heroically endured all the trials without saying a word to her enemies. Seeing that it was impossible to achieve anything from the young partisan, they decided to hang her.
Kosmodemyanskaya bravely accepted the tests. Moments before her death, she shouted to the assembled locals: “Comrades, victory will be ours. German soldiers, before it’s too late, surrender!” The girl’s courage shocked the peasants so much that they later retold this story to front-line correspondents. And after publication in the newspaper Pravda, the whole country learned about Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat. She became the first woman to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War.
ORDER OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
On encouraging personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies who have shown courage and dedication in carrying out tasks to restore peace and security in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict
In order to encourage the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies who have shown courage and dedication in carrying out tasks to restore peace and security in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, I order:
1. Express gratitude to the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies who showed courage and dedication in carrying out tasks to restore peace and security in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.
2. The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the heads of federal executive authorities that provide for military service, ensure the implementation of paragraph 1 of this Order.
3. Announce this Order in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies.
Supreme Commander
Armed Forces
Russian Federation D. Medvedev.
On awarding state awards of the Russian Federation to military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
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FOR COURAGE AND HEROISM
Yesterday, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, while at the Main Military Clinical Hospital named after. N.N. Burdenko, presented state awards to military personnel wounded during the fighting in South Ossetia.
First of all, the head of the Russian military department congratulated all military personnel on receiving such high awards. Entering the wards, Anatoly Serdyukov certainly encouraged the wounded officers and soldiers, and also wished them a speedy recovery and return to duty. The Minister of Defense was accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense, General of the Army Nikolai Makarov, Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Defense, General of the Army Nikolai Pankov, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, General of the Army Vladimir Boldyrev.
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FIRST MAN OF THE ORDER
By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 18, 2008 No. 1244, the commander of the troops of the North Caucasus Military District, Colonel General Sergei Makarov, was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree. This is the first award of such an order in the Russian Federation after a change was made to the Statute of the order (by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2008), approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 8, 2000.
Since August 8, 2008, Colonel General Sergei Makarov has headed the group of Russian peacekeeping forces to force the Georgian authorities to peace in the territory of South Ossetia. During the fighting with the regular troops of Georgia, he proved himself to be a brave, courageous, and trained general. From the first day of command of the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation, he skillfully organized the regrouping of forces and means.
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Brest Fortress Tskhinvali
The hatred of Saakashvili and his henchmen for the Russian peacekeepers who are part of the Mixed Peacekeeping Forces in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone has long been well known. They were like a bone in his throat, like a thorn in his... How much effort and irrepressible energy the Georgian leader exerted in order to make at least a little progress towards changing the format of the peacekeeping operation in the region! However, it didn't work out... Apparently, this is why in the operation developed by the Georgian General Staff under the leadership of American military advisers and ominously named “Clean Field”, close attention was paid to peacekeepers (more precisely, to their neutralization). How else can we evaluate the fact that from the very first minutes of the Georgian aggression a barrage of fire fell on the location of the peacekeeping battalion?
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Behind the line of decree...
Some of the guys were on crutches, others had a bandaged arm or head, and one of them had the tightly bandaged stump of his right hand standing out like a screaming white spot... But they all smiled and said something approvingly in response to the eldest of them sitting in a wheelchair, with a bandaged leg. Then it turned out that this was not only the senior in age, but also in military rank and position - Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Timerman. Junior contract sergeant Sergei Shenz from the officer’s “retinue” told me that this was their commander - the commander of the peacekeeping battalion, which was the first to take the deadly blow of the Georgian lawless men. And then, apologizing for his reluctance to continue the conversation, he stepped aside. Hearing the name of the battalion commander - Timerman, the guys in hospital uniform standing nearby near the entrance to the surgical building could not resist saying respectful words to him: “this is our battalion commander”, “we wish there were more officers like him”, “handsome”, “a real man”...
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PRIVATE AMAEV WILL STILL SERVE
Central Military Clinical Hospital named after A.A. Vishnevsky. Cozy double room with TV, refrigerator and bathroom. Here lies one of our soldiers wounded in South Ossetia, Private Bakur Amayev. He has a mine-explosive injury - in other words, the guy was cut by shrapnel. The recovery period, according to doctors, is about two weeks. As the doctors assured me, there should be no negative health consequences. Bakur was born on December 22, 1981 in Elista. Until he was five years old, he lived in the village named after Anjur Pyurbeev, in Kalmykia, and then he and his mother moved to another village - to Iki-Burul. There he completed his studies until the 9th grade, in 1997 he entered the Elista Pedagogical College named after Kh. B. Kanukov at the sports department - he decided to become a school physical education teacher. In 2000, after graduating from college, he taught at school for three months, after which he was drafted into the army.
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CAUCASIAN STALINGRAD
Caucasian Stalingrad. Yes Yes! This is exactly what today, and no other way, the South Ossetian capital is called by both local residents and guests of the city, which, despite the devastation and humanitarian catastrophe, remains hospitable. Tskhinval today more and more resembles a finally awakened anthill: cars and trucks are busily scurrying back and forth; people, who are becoming more and more numerous every day, are rushing about their urgent post-war affairs; here and there you can already hear the joyful laughter of children. Read more >>>
STRONG-WILLED
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited two Russian military pilots in Moscow hospitals whose planes were shot down during an operation to force Georgia to peace. Russian planes, whose crews included Guards Major Vyacheslav Malkov and Colonel Igor Zinov, carried out a mission in the zone of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict and on August 9 were shot down by Georgian air defense.
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THE LAST FLIGHT OF "MIMINO"
Stormtroopers in war are a terrible force! Those who have at least once survived a raid by the “Rooks” and their other “relatives” will confirm these words. It’s better to have two mothers-in-law at once! It's a joke about the mother-in-law, of course. And attack aircraft are really very serious! But how did such a small and poor country like Georgia (as its President Saakashvili often likes to say) come up with such a powerful aviation fleet, relative to Georgian capabilities, before aggression?
We will leave the answer to this question on the conscience of those who helped Saakashvili modernize the attack aircraft already at the disposal of the Georgian army, and those who, at preferential prices, supplied this inhumane regime with modern military equipment, which he so successfully used against the people of South Ossetia. Apparently, democracy in the Georgian style suits the West quite well, and they have long been accustomed to the smell and color of human blood after Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Only this time they miscalculated. The Georgian aces, who also fly the modernized Su-25, dubbed “Mimino,” were, frankly, unlucky...
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WAIT FOR ME IN KHANKALA
Dmitry Ilyin wanted to become a military man since childhood. There is nothing surprising in this, because before his eyes he always had the example of his father, a paratrooper officer, who during his service traveled to almost all corners of the Soviet Union. And Dmitry chose the officer profession - to defend the Motherland. He remains true to his choice today. Dmitry was born on September 17, 1985 in Uzbekistan, in Fergana. In 2002, after graduating from school, his dream finally came true - he entered the Ryazan Higher Military Command School of Communications named after Marshal of the Soviet Union M.V. Zakharova. And after graduation, already in 2007, he ended up serving in Khankala, in a motorized rifle regiment as the commander of a communications platoon of a command post. He served for a little over a year, after which he was sent to South Ossetia as part of his unit, where on the very first day he came under mortar fire and was seriously wounded. Yes, it also happens - only in war films the main character always fights to the end, to victory. In real life, you can get hooked in the very first fight...
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UNDER THE SHADOW OF SAINT GEORGE
Like many of his colleagues, junior sergeant Atsamaz Kelokhsaev took his first battle on August 8 at the peacekeepers’ base camp on the southwestern outskirts of Tskhinvali. While defending the land of Ossetia from a barbaric invasion, he received a perforating gunshot wound to his left shin, with a marginal fracture of the tibia. Recovery is not close. On the day of our conversation, doctors at the district military clinical hospital were planning secondary suturing... This was his second peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia. The first 12-month business trip in 2006–2007 also seemed difficult. The land here has not known real peace for a long time. And yet it was much calmer than in the summer of 2008...
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FIFTEEN BRAVE
The personnel of the peacekeeping battalion from the Russian Federation as part of the Mixed Peacekeeping Forces in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict stood to the death at the point of their temporary deployment - under hurricane artillery and tank fire from the Georgian aggressors, while repelling countless attacks from a superior enemy... Military units and units of the 58th combined arms army have already begun the liberation of Tskhinvali, almost captured by Saakashvili’s troops... Making their way to the peacekeepers, ours suffered losses, but stubbornly moved forward, because any delay meant only one thing: the inevitable death of the entire personnel of the “blue helmets” battalion.. . Read more >>>
Sea barrier
At a reception in the Kremlin on August 14, 2008, Captain 3rd Rank Ivan Dubik, commander of the small missile ship Mirage of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, said: - Over the three centuries of its history, our fleet has proven that it is capable of solving all problems. The Black Sea people have always courageously guarded the country's borders and reliably defended its interests and the interests of its allies. We controlled the sea borders and kept a combat watch. Despite warnings, Georgian missile boats tried to attack our ships. Acting strictly within the framework of international agreements, we gave a worthy rebuff to the aggressor. I am proud of my subordinates who, finding themselves in a difficult combat situation, showed composure and demonstrated high naval and moral-psychological qualities. MRK "Mirage" is a friendly and close-knit team...
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DEFENDERS OF THE FATHERLAND
These guys will never forget the day when, from the hands of the President of Russia, they, along with other military personnel who distinguished themselves during the peace enforcement operation, received state awards. And even though the surroundings of the ceremony turned out to be unusual - the “St. George’s Hall of the Kremlin” temporarily became an ordinary army parade ground - this did not diminish the solemnity of the moment. Read more >>>
ON GUARD OF JUSTICE
The operation to force the Georgian aggressor to peace has ended. Compressed to the limit, events full of drama became a test of the strength of the Russian army. And she successfully passed this exam. Considering that the transfer of units by air was impossible due to active opposition from Georgian air defense, in an isolated and extremely difficult operational direction, it was possible to create a very powerful group of forces and means capable of quickly defeating a Georgian army of the same size. The rapid march of the Russian army to Tskhinvali and the effectiveness of its strikes were unexpected for the Georgian leadership and for its overseas masters.
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THE shaky border of the world
You are entering the Collective Peacekeeping Force zone. Reduce speed to 5 km/h, prepare documents. Firearms, bladed weapons, and explosives are not allowed in the zone... You understand the seriousness of the demands written on metal shields in front of every Russian peacekeeping post on the territory of Abkhazia when you get here - to its very edge. Beyond checkpoint No. 206 there is already Georgia. The 42-hour blitzkrieg to capture Abkhazia, planned by pro-American puppets, failed, but the Abkhazians did not lay claim to Georgian territory and therefore the border running here along the mountainous Inguri River remained the same.
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WATER AND LIGHT FOR Tskhinvali
Representatives of the operational group of the head of the Cantonment and Arrangement Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation arrived in Tskhinvali on August 10, as soon as the Georgian units were driven out of the city center. They saw a destroyed city, mutilated residential buildings, and a lack of energy and water supplies. There was practically not a single resident on the streets. “The impressions were depressing,” recalls Colonel Ivan Poyda, deputy head of the Operation, Repair and Fuel Department of the GlavKEU. - Add to this the 40-degree heat, the dust rising from the moving military equipment - it was impossible to breathe.
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Platoon Leader of the Undefeated
Lieutenant Mikhail Melnichuk, despite his youth and still low officer rank, would not dare to call today an unfired commander. What he and his colleagues in the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 58th Army experienced in these August days is enough, perhaps, for a dozen officers who have never smelled gunpowder. For the motorized riflemen of Mikhail’s platoon, for his entire regiment, this last summer month turned out to be truly hot. And without any doubt, heroic. Read more >>>
HEROES OF OUR TIME
Among those who were at the forefront during the conflict in South Ossetia were educational officers - courageous people who showed their best side and competently organized the implementation of combat missions. Responsible primarily for the moral and psychological state of personnel, military education officers did not limit themselves to this. They confirmed by their personal example: as before, officers of the Russian Army have the best qualities. Some of these military personnel will be discussed below. Read more >>>
WE OPENED AN ACCOUNT OF LIVES SAVED
Senior Sergeant Viktor Folomkin, deputy platoon commander of the 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion of the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment, of course, already knows about his award with the Insignia - the St. George Cross, IV degree. It’s only a pity that the sergeant was not present at that famous “presidential” formation in Vladikavkaz, where Supreme Commander-in-Chief Dmitry Medvedev presented state awards to military personnel who distinguished themselves in the operation to enforce peace. Victor is in the hospital, being treated after being wounded in a battle with Georgian special forces. Read more >>>
OSSETIAN HEART OF A RUSSIAN SOLDIER
Tskhinvali... From now on the whole world knows the name of this small Caucasian town. Having burst into the news flow in August, the capital of South Ossetia attracted the attention of the planet for a long time, becoming the focus of the most important events in recent history. But for contract sergeant major Levan Khubaev of the Russian Army, Tskhinval is not just the birthplace of the current hot news, and certainly not some faceless geographical point on army maps. Tskhinvali is his home, his city, his Motherland...
Levan was born and raised in Tskhinvali and graduated from school here. In 1995, he entered a vocational school in Vladikavkaz, the capital of neighboring North Ossetia. From here he left for urgent care.
HEATED BY FIRE
Tbilisi's current policy does not exclude new treacherous actions towards South Ossetia and Abkhazia - now neighbors. Russia's military presence in new states is a guarantee of their security. The peacekeepers from the battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Timerman proved their readiness to selflessly protect the citizens of South Ossetia in August with blood. We managed to meet with the officers and soldiers of the battalion at the new headquarters of the peacekeeping forces in Tskhinvali. Their service as peacekeepers continues. They were just preparing to send us to change posts in the demarcation zone. There are smiles on the faces of the soldiers; from their mood it is difficult to imagine what they had to experience just a month ago. Then Georgian tanks hit them with direct fire, but they survived. Probably, a short-term leave home would be less conducive to adaptation to regular service than the burden of routine worries of the battalion, everyday business communication with friends and colleagues, proven in battle.
On the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day and the seventieth anniversary of Victory, heroes of bygone times are increasingly remembered. But even in our time there are people who, out of duty, risk their lives every day. FederalPress compiled a list of the top 10 heroes who gave their lives for others in peacetime. Of course, there are much more than ten stories about the courage of doctors, firefighters, police officers, soldiers and officers.
On the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day and the seventieth anniversary of Victory, heroes of bygone times are increasingly remembered. But even in our time there are people who, out of duty, risk their lives every day. FederalPress compiled the top 10 heroes who gave their lives for others in peacetime. Of course, there are much more than ten stories about the courage of doctors, firefighters, police officers, soldiers and officers. We just wanted to remind you that there is always a place for heroism in life.
In September 2014, an emergency occurred on the territory of a military unit during an exercise in Lesnoy. The junior sergeant pulled the pin on the grenade and dropped the ammunition. Colonel Serik Sultangabiev managed to react in time.
The President of Russia, on the recommendation of the command of the Internal Troops, signed a decree conferring the highest rank of ““” on the colonel.
In July 2014, several journalists and photojournalist Andrei Stenin went to Donbass to provide reliable information about what was happening in southeastern Ukraine.
The circumstances of the death of Andrei Stenin in Donbass. As FederalPress previously reported, the column of refugees in which the photographer was located came under fire northwest of the village of Dmitrovka. The Ukrainian army, presumably the 79th airmobile brigade, opened fire on the vehicles of civilians with cannons and machine guns. As a result, ten cars were destroyed, but several people managed to escape and hide in the roadside bushes.
The next day, representatives of the Ukrainian command inspected the site of the shelling of the convoy, after which the area with the remains of the dead and broken vehicles was treated with Grad rocket launchers. All journalists who died in Donbass were posthumously awarded.
Last June, a major accident occurred at the Achinsk Oil Refinery. During startup work at the gas fractionation unit, a volumetric explosion and fire occurred. As a result.
In January 2012, a fire occurred in the basement of a residential building in Omsk. Thick black smoke came from there and enveloped the second entrance of the house; people were asking for help from the windows. Arriving firefighters evacuated 38 people, eight of them children, and went to the smoky basement.
Despite zero visibility, the fire brigade, led by senior warrant officer of the sixth fire department Alexander Kozhemyakin, removed two gas cylinders that could have exploded.
Half an hour later, the firefighters' breathing apparatus alarms went off. This meant that the air in the cylinders was running out. Kozhemyakin, realizing that there was a real threat to the lives of his subordinates, became the leader and helped his comrades get out of the smoke-filled and cluttered basement. While freeing a subordinate entangled in a wire, the commander suddenly lost consciousness. For more than an hour, emergency doctors tried to bring him back to life, but without regaining consciousness. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
In September 2010, a fire broke out in the engine room of the destroyer Bystry at the Fokino naval base due to a short circuit in the wiring when a fuel pipeline broke. Aldar Tsydenzhapov, who took up duty as a boiler crew operator, immediately rushed to plug the leak. He was in the center of the fire for about nine seconds; after eliminating the leak, he was able to independently get out of the compartment engulfed in flames, receiving severe burns. The prompt actions of Aldar and his colleagues led to the timely shutdown of the ship's power plant, which otherwise could have exploded and caused severe damage to the ship.
Aldar was taken to the Pacific Fleet hospital in Vladivostok in critical condition. Doctors fought for his life for four days, but he died. In 2011, the sailor posthumously became.
Great exploits of Russian soldiers today. The exploits of Russian soldiers and officers
Outside the window is the 21st century. But despite this, military conflicts do not subside, including those involving the Russian army. Courage and valor, bravery and bravery are qualities characteristic of Russian soldiers. Therefore, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers require separate and detailed coverage.
How our people fought in Chechnya
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days do not leave anyone indifferent. The first example of boundless courage is the tank crew led by Yuri Sulimenko. The exploits of Russian soldiers of the tank battalion began in 1994. During the First Chechen War, Sulimenko acted as a crew commander. The team showed good results and in 1995 took an active part in the assault on Grozny. The tank battalion lost 2/3 of its personnel. However, the brave fighters led by Yuri did not flee from the battlefield, but went to the presidential palace.
Sulimenko's tank was surrounded by Dudayev's men. The team of fighters did not surrender; on the contrary, they began to conduct targeted fire at strategic targets. Despite the numerical superiority of the opponents, Yuri Sulimenko and his crew were able to inflict colossal losses on the militants. The commander received dangerous wounds to his legs, burns to his body and face. Viktor Velichko, with the rank of sergeant major, was able to provide first aid to him in a burning tank, after which he carried him to a safe place. These exploits of Russian soldiers in Chechnya did not go unnoticed. The fighters were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Russian Federation.
Yuri Sergeevich Igitov - hero posthumously
Very often, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days become publicly known after the death of their heroes. This is exactly what happened in the case of Yuri Igitov. The private was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously for performing a duty and a special task. 10 Daily Habits That Will Give You Incredible Willpower Throw It Away! The art of communication: have you been offended? Answer like Buddha! Yuri Sergeevich took part in the Chechen War. The private was 21 years old, but despite his youth, he showed courage and valor in the last seconds of his life. Igitov’s platoon was surrounded by Dudayev’s fighters. Most of the comrades died under numerous enemy shots. The brave private, at the cost of his life, covered the retreat of the surviving soldiers until the last bullet. When the enemy advanced, Yuri blew up a grenade without surrendering to the enemy.
Evgeniy Rodionov - faith in God until the last breath
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days cause boundless pride among fellow citizens, especially when it comes to young boys who gave their lives for the peaceful sky above their heads. Yevgeny Rodionov showed boundless heroism and unshakable faith in God, who, under threat of death, refused to remove his pectoral cross. Young Evgeniy was called to serve in 1995. Permanent service took place in the North Caucasus, at the border point of Ingushetia and Chechnya. Together with his comrades, he joined the guard on February 13. Carrying out their direct task, the soldiers stopped an ambulance in which weapons were transported. After this, the privates were captured. For about 100 days, the soldiers were subjected to torture, severe beatings and humiliation. Despite the unbearable pain and the threat of death, the soldiers did not remove their pectoral crosses. For this, Evgeniy’s head was cut off, and the rest of his colleagues were shot on the spot. For his martyrdom, Evgeniy Rodionov was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.
Yanina Irina is an example of heroism and courage
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days are not only the heroic deeds of men, but also the incredible valor of Russian women. The sweet, fragile girl took part in two combat operations as a nurse during the First Chechen War. 1999 became the third test in Irina’s life. August 31, 1999 became fatal. At risk to her own life, nurse Yanina saved more than 40 people by making three trips in an armored personnel carrier to the line of fire. Irina's fourth trip ended tragically. During the enemy counter-offensive, Yanina not only organized the lightning-fast loading of wounded soldiers, but also covered the retreat of her colleagues with machine gun fire. Unfortunately for the girl, two grenades hit the armored personnel carrier. The nurse rushed to the aid of the wounded commander and 3rd private. Irina saved the young fighters from certain death, but did not have time to get out of the burning car herself. The armored personnel carrier's ammunition detonated. For her valor and courage, Irina Yanina was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously. Irina is the only woman who was awarded this title for operations in the North Caucasus.
Maroon beret posthumously
The exploits of Russian soldiers these days are known not only in Russia. The story about Sergei Burnaev leaves no one indifferent. Brown - that’s what his comrades called the commander - was in the “Vityaz”, a special division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2002, the detachment was sent to the city of Argun, where an underground weapons warehouse with numerous tunnels was discovered. It was possible to reach the opponents only by going through an underground hole. Sergei Burnaev went first. The opponents opened fire on the fighter, who was able to answer the call of the militants in the darkness. The comrades were rushing to help, it was at that moment that Bury saw a grenade that was rolling towards the soldiers. Without hesitation, Sergei Burnaev covered the grenade with his body, thereby saving his colleagues from certain death.
For his accomplished feat, Sergei Burnaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. At the school where he studied, a memorial plaque was unveiled so that young people would remember the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers in our days. The parents were given a maroon beret in honor of the memory of the brave soldier.
Beslan: no one is forgotten
The exploits of Russian soldiers and officers these days are the best confirmation of the boundless courage of men in uniform. September 1, 2004 became a dark day in the history of North Ossetia and all of Russia. The seizure of the school in Beslan did not leave a single person indifferent. Andrei Turkin was no exception. The lieutenant took an active part in the operation to free the hostages. Andrei Turkin was wounded at the very beginning of the rescue operation, but did not leave the school. Thanks to his professional skills, the lieutenant took an advantageous position in the dining room, where about 250 hostages were housed.
The militants were eliminated, which increased the chances of a successful outcome of the operation. However, a militant came to the aid of the terrorists with a detonated grenade. Turkin, without hesitation, rushed towards the bandit, holding the device between himself and the enemy. This action saved the lives of innocent children. The lieutenant posthumously became a Hero of the Russian Federation. Battalion Commander Sun During the ordinary days of military service, exploits of Russian soldiers are also often performed. Sergei Solnechnikov, or battalion commander Solntse, in 2012, during military exercises, became a hostage to a situation, the way out of which was a real feat.
Saving his soldiers from death, the battalion commander covered with his own body the activated grenade, which flew off the edge of the parapet. Thanks to Sergei’s dedication, tragedy was avoided. The battalion commander was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Whatever the exploits of Russian soldiers these days, every person should remember the valor and courage of the army. Only the memory of the actions of each of these heroes is a reward for the courage that cost them their lives.
During the Great Patriotic War, not much was known about the incredible feat of the simple Russian soldier Kolka Sirotinin, as well as about the hero himself. Perhaps no one would ever have known about the feat of the twenty-year-old artilleryman. If not for one incident.
In the summer of 1942, Friedrich Fenfeld, an officer of the 4th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, died near Tula. Soviet soldiers discovered his diary. From its pages, some details of that very last battle of Senior Sergeant Sirotinin became known.
It was the 25th day of the war...
In the summer of 1941, the 4th Panzer Division of Guderian’s group, one of the most talented German generals, broke through to the Belarusian city of Krichev. Units of the 13th Soviet Army were forced to retreat. To cover the withdrawal of the artillery battery of the 55th Infantry Regiment, the commander left artilleryman Nikolai Sirotinin with a gun.
The order was brief: to delay the German tank column on the bridge over the Dobrost River, and then, if possible, catch up with our own. The senior sergeant carried out only the first half of the order...
Sirotinin took up a position in a field near the village of Sokolnichi. The gun sank in the tall rye. There is not a single noticeable landmark for the enemy nearby. But from here the highway and the river were clearly visible.
On the morning of July 17, a column of 59 tanks and armored vehicles with infantry appeared on the highway. When the lead tank reached the bridge, the first – successful – shot rang out. With the second shell, Sirotinin set fire to an armored personnel carrier at the tail of the column, thereby creating a traffic jam. Nikolai shot and shot, knocking out car after car.
Sirotinin fought alone, being both a gunner and a loader. It had 60 rounds of ammunition and a 76-mm cannon - an excellent weapon against tanks. And he made a decision: to continue the battle until the ammunition runs out.
The Nazis threw themselves to the ground in panic, not understanding where the shooting was coming from. The guns fired at random, across squares. After all, the day before, their reconnaissance had failed to detect Soviet artillery in the vicinity, and the division advanced without special precautions. The Germans attempted to clear the jam by dragging the damaged tank from the bridge with two other tanks, but they were also hit. An armored vehicle that tried to ford the river got stuck in a swampy bank, where it was destroyed. For a long time the Germans were unable to determine the location of the well-camouflaged gun; they believed that a whole battery was fighting them.
This unique battle lasted a little over two hours. The crossing was blocked. By the time Nikolai's position was discovered, he had only three shells left. When asked to surrender, Sirotinin refused and fired from his carbine to the last. Having entered Sirotinin's rear on motorcycles, the Germans destroyed the lone gun with mortar fire. At the position they found a lone gun and a soldier.
The result of the battle of Senior Sergeant Sirotinin against General Guderian is impressive: after the battle on the banks of the Dobrost River, the Nazis were missing 11 tanks, 7 armored vehicles, 57 soldiers and officers.
The tenacity of the Soviet soldier earned the respect of the Nazis. The commander of the tank battalion, Colonel Erich Schneider, ordered the worthy enemy to be buried with military honors.
From the diary of Chief Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Friedrich Hoenfeld:
July 17, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening, an unknown Russian soldier was buried. He stood alone at the cannon, shot at a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was surprised at his courage... Oberst (Colonel - editor's note) said before the grave that if all the Fuhrer's soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. They fired three times in volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?
From the testimony of Olga Verzhbitskaya, a resident of the village of Sokolnichi:
I, Olga Borisovna Verzhbitskaya, born in 1889, a native of Latvia (Latgale), lived before the war in the village of Sokolnichi, Krichevsky district, together with my sister.
We knew Nikolai Sirotinin and his sister before the day of the battle. He was with a friend of mine, buying milk. He was very polite, always helping elderly women get water from the well and do other hard work.
I remember well the evening before the fight. On a log at the gate of the Grabskikh house I saw Nikolai Sirotinin. He sat and thought about something. I was very surprised that everyone was leaving, but he was sitting.
When the battle started, I was not home yet. I remember how the tracer bullets flew. He walked for about two or three hours. In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where Sirotinin’s gun stood. They forced us, local residents, to come there too. As someone who knows German, the chief German, about fifty years old with decorations, tall, bald, and gray-haired, ordered me to translate his speech to the local people. He said that the Russian fought very well, that if the Germans had fought like that, they would have taken Moscow long ago, and that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - the Fatherland.
Then a medallion was taken out of the pocket of our dead soldier’s tunic. I firmly remember that it was written “the city of Orel”, Vladimir Sirotinin (I didn’t remember his middle name), that the name of the street was, as I remember, not Dobrolyubova, but Gruzovaya or Lomovaya, I remember that the house number was two digits. But we could not know who this Sirotinin Vladimir was - the father, brother, uncle of the murdered man or anyone else.
The German chief told me: “Take this document and write to your relatives. Let the mother know what a hero her son was and how he died.” Then a young German officer standing at Sirotinin’s grave came up and snatched the piece of paper and medallion from me and said something rudely.
The Germans fired a volley of rifles in honor of our soldier and put a cross on the grave, hanging his helmet, pierced by a bullet.
I myself clearly saw the body of Nikolai Sirotinin, even when he was lowered into the grave. His face was not covered in blood, but his tunic had a large bloody stain on the left side, his helmet was broken, and there were many shell casings lying around.
Since our house was located not far from the battle site, next to the road to Sokolnichi, the Germans stood near us. I myself heard how they spoke for a long time and admiringly about the feat of the Russian soldier, counting shots and hits. Some of the Germans, even after the funeral, stood for a long time at the gun and the grave and talked quietly.
February 29, 1960
Testimony of telephone operator M.I. Grabskaya:
I, Maria Ivanovna Grabskaya, born in 1918, worked as a telephone operator at Daewoo 919 in Krichev, lived in my native village of Sokolnichi, three kilometers from the city of Krichev.
I remember the events of July 1941 well. About a week before the Germans arrived, Soviet artillerymen settled in our village. The headquarters of their battery was in our house, the battery commander was a senior lieutenant named Nikolai, his assistant was a lieutenant named Fedya, and of the soldiers I remember most of all the Red Army soldier Nikolai Sirotinin. The fact is that the senior lieutenant very often called this soldier and entrusted him, as the most intelligent and experienced, with this and that task.
He was slightly above average height, dark brown hair, a simple, cheerful face. When Sirotinin and senior lieutenant Nikolai decided to dig a dugout for the local residents, I saw how he deftly threw the earth, I noticed that he was apparently not from the boss’s family. Nikolai answered jokingly:
“I am a worker from Orel, and I am no stranger to physical labor. We Orlovites know how to work.”
Today in the village of Sokolnichi there is no grave in which the Germans buried Nikolai Sirotinin. Three years after the war, his remains were transferred to the mass grave of Soviet soldiers in Krichev.
Pencil drawing made from memory by a colleague of Sirotinin in the 1990s Residents of Belarus remember and honor the feat of the brave artilleryman. In Krichev there is a street named after him, and a monument has been erected. But, despite the fact that Sirotinin’s feat, thanks to the efforts of the workers of the Soviet Army Archive, was recognized back in 1960, he was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A painfully absurd circumstance got in the way: the soldier’s family did not have his photograph. And it is necessary to apply for a high rank.
Today there is only a pencil sketch made after the war by one of his colleagues. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, Senior Sergeant Sirotinin was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, first degree. Posthumously. This is the story.
Memory
In 1948, the remains of Nikolai Sirotinin were reburied in a mass grave (according to the military burial registration card on the OBD Memorial website - in 1943), on which a monument was erected in the form of a sculpture of a soldier grieving for his fallen comrades, and on the marble plaques the list of those buried indicated surname Sirotinin N.V.
In 1960, Sirotinin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
In 1961, at the site of the feat near the highway, a monument was erected in the form of an obelisk with the name of the hero, near which a real 76-mm gun was installed on a pedestal. In the city of Krichev, a street is named after Sirotinin.
At the Tekmash plant in Orel, a memorial plaque was installed with a brief information about N.V. Sirotinin.
The Museum of Military Glory in Secondary School No. 17 in the city of Orel contains materials dedicated to N.V. Sirotinin.
In 2015, the council of school No. 7 in the city of Orel petitioned to name the school after Nikolai Sirotinin. Nikolai’s sister Taisiya Vladimirovna was present at the ceremonial events. The name for the school was chosen by the students themselves based on the search and information work they did.
When reporters asked Nikolai’s sister why Nikolai volunteered to cover the division’s retreat, Taisiya Vladimirovna replied: “My brother could not have done otherwise.”
The feat of Kolka Sirotinin is an example of loyalty to the Motherland for all our youth.
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