Order of the Patriotic war

My father, Sokolov Anatoly Andreevich was born on December 4, 1926, in the village of Issad, Novoladozhsky district of the Leningrad Region, in the family of Andrei Antonovich and Maria Afanasyevna Sokolovs. In 1937 he graduated from the primary Issad School and entered the 5th grade of the Novaya Ladoga School. In 1940 he graduated from the seven-year course in Novaya Ladoga. After School, he worked as a minder at a water station in the nearest military unit._x000D_ On November 21, 1943 he was drafted into the army. There was a war going on. For three months my father was in Leningrad, in a "training", where young recruits were taught to fight. His father's military specialty is a communication technician, he was sent to the 14th Separate Reserve Line Communications Regiment, located in Leningrad. He and his comrades ensured communications among the troops on the "Nevsky Pyatachka", fought in the Sinyavo swamps. Since May 5, 1944, Private Sokolov, a line supervisor of the 45th Separate cable-pole company of the 54th army of the 3rd Baltic Front, took part in the liberation of the Baltic. _x000D_ For excellent mastery of his military specialties and skillful transfer of his experience to others, he was awarded the badge "Excellent communication technician" (this is an extract from the order to the Signal Troops of the SGV No. 160 dated November 5, 1945). For the courage and courage shown in the elimination of damage to the communication line by order of the Commander of the 3rd Baltic Front No. 0189 of 21.07.1944, the Pope was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". Since November 1944, as part of the 45th Separate cable-pole company of the 5th Guards Tank Army of the 1st Baltic Front, and then the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts, he participated in the battles in East Prussia. _x000D_ The memories of my father, Anatoly Andreevich Sokolov, published in the book "Soldiers of Victory" in 2011, have survived about the events of those fiery years. After the end of the war, he passed military service in the Northern Group of Forces, in Poland in the positions of the shooter of the 34th military depot and the postman of the 3047th military depot station. On June 15, 1950 he was dismissed (demobilized) to the Reserve. _x000D_ Awards: "For Capture of Konigsberg", "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", as well as the "Zhukov Medal", jubilee medals ("20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War "," 30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy "," 60, 70 years of the Armed Forces "). In 1985, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Victory, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. _x000D_ In the family archive there is a certificate dated August 20, 1945: “Issued to the Red Army Soldier Anatoly Timofeevich Sokolov that he actually served in the 45th Division of the Order of the Red Star in the cable 6th company, which was part of the 5th Tank Army when liberated city of Warsaw. The certificate was issued for the right to receive the medal "For Liberation of Warsaw". Apparently, due to a technical error, the father's middle name was confused and he does not have such a medal. Dad had no desire to be associated with the combats, did not want to talk about any part of that period of life , apparently, it was a forbidden and very painful topic for him. He only said that this was a cruel and terrible war. He was seventeen years old at the front. Old, experienced soldiers taught young people what to do in order to survive and how they could, took care of them. _x000D_ My dad had served in the army until June 15, 1950, after the end of the service he returned to Issad. In July 1950 he got a job at the Novoladozhsky shipyard as a worker. There he met my mother, Kozlova Nadezhda Ivanovna. They got married on February 15, 1952. In the same year he entered the courses of mechanics._x000D_ On July 15, 1952, he came to work at the Novoladozhskiy fish processing plant as a mechanic at the PTS (receiving and transport vessel). He worked on the ships Volkhovstroy and Svir for 34 years. In 1986 he retired. For peaceful labor, he was awarded the honorary badges "Winner of Socialist Competition" (1973, 1974, 1976, 1979), badges "Strike Worker" (9th and 10th five-year plans), the medal "Veteran of Labor". _x000D_ The family has two children: Tatiana (born in 1953) and Alexei, born in 1963), three grandchildren: Elena (born in 1974), Anton (born in 1985) and Artem (born in 1990) , as well as the great-granddaughter Tatiana, born in 1993 and the great-grandson Ivan, born in 2014. We all loved our parents very much, we remember them and are grateful to them for everything. Dad passed away on April 16, 2010, mom passed away on February 21, 2006.

Rank: Junior Sergeant _x000D_ Branch of troops: ground forces, air force (except naval aviation), coastal service, NKVD troops, border troops_x000D_ My grandfather is Vasily Tarasovich Smirnov. He was born in the quiet and beautiful village of Semeikino, Buisky district, Kostroma Region in May 1926. Since his childhood he had been very hardworking, dexterous, raised in a simple village family. Like all rural children, he attended School, although it was not easy to get to it. There was no automobile transport, as it is now, we had to walk to School 10 km along with the village children straight through the forest in any weather. _x000D_ But the war time had come and this damned war broke many simple destinies of the village guys. One after another they went to the front, tears welling up in the eyes of mothers, sons, daughters, wives, but everyone understood that he was going to defend his family, perhaps at the cost of his life. My grandfather was drafted into the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1943. He was only 17 years old. Vasily Tarasovich, a strong, dexterous, savvy guy, quickly mastered military training and began to serve in the 230th Stalin Division of the 990th Rifle Regiment. He participated in the liberation of the Polish city of Gniezno, for which he received gratitude from the higher command. He showed his courage, bravery, and fearlessness of the Soviet soldier in battle at a combat for the capital of Nazi Germany, Berlin. _x000D_ During the capture of the settlement of Karlsbise (province of Brandenburg), he destroyed two Panzerfaust soldiers from his light machine gun, and, thereby, contributed to the overall success in capturing the capital of Germany, Berlin. On the right bank of the Oder, he was also seriously wounded, destroyed the enemy, did not retreat a step back until nightfall, then was sent at the insistence of the Commander to the rank of unit. _x000D_ Awards: the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st and 2nd degrees. _x000D_ After the end of the war, he married my grandmother, a labor veteran, and had two sons and a daughter. All his life he was a responsible, hardworking, responsive, true patriot of his Motherland. He passed away in 1997.

Rank: Sergeant. _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery. _x000D_ Division: 80th Cavalry Division. _x000D_ From the diary of my hero-grandfather:_x000D_ _x000D_ “Even though our Division carried out many combat missions successfully, the war was like a war, there were some casualties. We lost many fighters, and many people faced a dramatic outcome. I will give an example of our unsuccessful completion of the operation. It was at the beginning of 1944 ... _x000D_ After a mission we were given some rest, but the rest was short-term. The command hastily assigned a new mission. This time there was no front breakthrough. We were in a forest area of Ukraine, not far from the city of Dubno. We were told to pack up quickly and advance. Evening came. We were on horseback, and ammunition, mortars and other necessary things on a cart drove into the forest. It was only our 29th Cavalry Regiment. We moved forward along the forest roads without noise, like ghosts, but with great speed. We moved all night, moving along narrow country roads, forward and forward. _x000D_ By morning we came out into a clearing, and in front of us we could see some buildings, either a village or a city, it was not clear yet. Suddenly, a shell flew and exploded behind our column. Then a second round flew by, making a gap in the front. So we hit the "fork"! And according to all the laws of military theory, the third shell must explode in the middle of the column. Therefore, we quickly took action: dismantled the mortars, took the horses away, the squadrons went forward in a chain, and we set up mortars and began shelling. _x000D_ The Germans went on the offensive. About an hour passed, and our squadrons gradually moved forward, and we, mortar-men, fired at. So we reached the outskirts of the city (it was the city of Dubno) and occupied one street. Suddenly the shooting halted, but not for long. Soon, the Germans went on the offensive again. It was evident that the Germans had more forces and reinforcements, and we had to retreat. We occupied a nearby cemetery, creating defenses there and repelling German attacks. Sometimes the Germans came so close that they approached the outskirts of the cemetery. But we continued to fight successfully, because the whole day passed in an unequal battle. By the evening, our ammunition was almost gone. The Germans destroyed all our stocks with cartridges and mines in the forest. Both people and horses were killed. We held out with great difficulty for another day, many were killed and wounded. There was no one even to provide medical assistance. The mines were practically over, and many mortars were simply out of order. _x000D_ I heard that the Regiment Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Simbukhovsky, was killed by an enemy bullet. The situation was turning critical. The Germans continuously attacked and strenuously attacked. Five meters from our mortar, a mortar was destroyed by a direct hit from a mine or a shell, and the entire crew perished. There were fewer and fewer of us ... Many killed and wounded lay nearby, we barely held back the German attack. It was already going towards evening, then we decided to collect all the surviving machine guns, get together and create a small detachment. Some soldiers were ordered to delay the attackers until their last breath, and the rest were ordered to run to the lake, which was behind us at a distance of 300-400 meters. We quickly moved to the lake and entered it. And the remaining group with their machine guns showed desperate resistance to the Germans. We slowly began to move along the lake, the water first reached to the waist, then to the chest. _x000D_ At this time, the Germans had already broken through our barrier and began to shoot at us from machine guns and machine guns from the shore of the lake. Mines began to fall and explode. Just now, with difficulty, soldiers were walking on the water, and a minute later many were gone. It was already dark and the surviving soldiers could hardly move forward. I don't know how long we walked, we lost track of time. Finally the German shooting halted. They probably thought that everything was over with us. _x000D_ Exhausted, drenched, barely keeping our feet, we reached the opposite bank. We scrambled together. The Lieutenant, the commander of our platoon, Malyugo, had survived. He counted us, 32 fighters were around, besides him. It was the remainder of the entire regiment ... (there were at least 1500-1600 people in the regiment). It was a complete crushing defeat, the death of our glorious 29th Regiment. _x000D_ While still in the lake, we heard the roar of shells exploding and machine gun fire in the east, where we had been two days ago. Later it was explained to us that while we were fighting in the rear of the Germans near the city of Dubno, a big Soviet offensive had started. Being in the rear of the enemy, our regiment distracted them, and our comrades, starting an offensive from the front, "pressed" the Germans, and they were forced to retreat. So the death of the 29th Regiment helped our troops to capture the city of Dubno and move on. _x000D_ After reorganization, when our Ddvision was revived, we had to participate in similar operations several times. Many raids of our division behind enemy lines ended successfully, and the command highly appreciated our actions. The surviving soldiers were awarded orders. And I was awarded the Order of Glory. There were some not very successful campaigns to the rear of the enemy, but they were not very serious. _x000D_ Our Division had to carry out an operation to destroy the Banderaites. The front line had already gone far, there were combats on the territory of Poland and Romania. And in the rear, in Western Ukraine, militants of the so-called Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) raged. It was a large gang led by a Commander named Bandera. This gang robbed the population, killed representatives of the Soviet regime, and smashed the family of the Red Army soldiers. Their combat mission was to declare Ukraine an independent republic, establishing a bourgeois order. _x000D_ And so we were sent to the rear for 400 kilometers. Our combat mission was to defeat this army of bandits. For a whole week we stormed forests and villages, catching militants who were well disguised. The main parts of the UPA were destroyed, the rest were hiding. The threat of an attack on us from the rear was eliminated. _x000D_ As part of my 80th Division, I had passed Poland, Romania, Hungary. We entered the territory of Czechoslovakia. And so, on May 8, not far from the capital of Czechoslovakia, Prague, in the forest, the end of this great war was announced. After several days of rest, we made a long campaign, on horseback we went through the territory of Czechoslovakia, Poland and arrived in the city of Rovno. We stood there until the end of the year. Demobilization had gradually started. First, fighters of the older generation (born in 1905) went home, and at the beginning of December 1945 it was the turn of the teachers. Along with others, I was demobilized ... "

Rank: Sergeant_x000D_ Branch of troops: ground forces, air force (except naval aviation), coastal service, NKVD troops, border troops. _x000D_ Division: 55th Cavalry Division. _x000D_ Не was born on August 5, 1922 in the village of Rynok, Ikryaninsky District, Stalingrad Region. On December 8, 1942, he volunteered for the war front, due to illness he was not called up. He was sent to fight in the cavalry near Stalingrad, in the area of Kotelnikovo. Being in the 8th Cavalry Corps, the 55th Cavalry Division in January 1943 he liberated the city and the Morozovsk railway station with a swift attack. Then moving forward, the Tatsinskaya station, Belaya Kalitva were liberated with stubborn battles._x000D_ In early February 1943, having broken through the Nazi defenses, the 55th cavalry Division entered the Donbass raid along the rear of the German troops south of Voroshilovgrad. Liberating the left-bank Ukraine, the village of Typichev, Gorodnyansky district of the Chernigov Region, Sergeant Sumenkin Boris Fedorovich was awarded the medal "For Courage" for the accomplished efforts of the Guard. The report reads: _x000D_ "For the fact that during the offensive on Tupichev on September 23, 1943, under rifle fire, he disabled the enemy's crew and heavy machine gun. He helped the adjoining platoon move forward and capture the enemy's firing depot." _x000D_ Having liberated the city of Chernigov, the cavalry crossed the river Dnieper on the move and seized a foot strong on its western bank in the Dymarka and Nedanchichi Region. _x000D_ Since January 1944, liberating Belarus from the Nazi invaders, he had taken part in the Mozyr operation, where he was wounded. After being cured, he was declared unfit for military service. On April 6, 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

Rank: Major_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces, Air Force (except naval aviation), coastal service, NKVD troops, border troops _x000D_ Subdivision: 209th motorized Division. _x000D_ After graduating from the Smolensk Military-Political School, with the rank of Junior Political Instructor, he was sent to Western Belarus as the Secretary of the newspaper of the 209th Motorized Rifle Division, where he was caught by the war. After August 1941 he was sent to the 64th Infantry Division, which was stationed in Smolensk before the war. For successful battles in the defense of Minsk and in the Yartsevo area, the divisions were awarded the title of 7th Guards. _x000D_ In June 1942, Stadnyuk I.F. was transferred to the newspaper "Courage" of the 27th Army, with which he went all the way to Victory. Until 1958 he served in the army, held various positions in the military press. Member of the USSR JV since 1954. Member of the board of the RSFSR JV (since 1965) and the USSR JV (since 1971). _x000D_ He was Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Ogonyok magazine in 1965-1972. In the 1980s, he was a member of the editorial board of the heroic-patriotic literary and artistic almanac "Podvig". He was the secretary of the Moscow Writers' Organization. _x000D_ Works written by IF Stadnyuk: novels "People are not angels", "War" (in 1983 the novel was awarded the State Prize of the USSR), "Moscow 41st", memoirs "Confessions of a Stalinist", the story "A Man Does Not Give Up", script of the film "Maxim Perepelitsa", the drama "Bitter Bread of Truth" (was in the repertoire of the Academic Theater of the Soviet Army), "Keys from Heaven". He passed away on April 29, 1994. _x000D_ Awards: twice the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Patriotic war of the 2nd degree, twice the Red Star, the Labor Red Banner, "Badge of Honor", the October Revolution, Lenin; medals: “For Capture of Budapest”,“For Capture of Vienna”,“For Defense of Moscow”,“For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”,“For Military Merit”.

Rank: Senior Lieutenant, Pilot, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union_x000D_ _x000D_ Senior Lieutenant Vasily Vasilyevich Siroshtan, was one of the fighter pilots of the 512th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Warriors who gave their lives for the bright future of our Motherland will forever remain in the memory of the people. Vasily Siroshtan was born in 1918 in the village Malye Khutora (Small Farmsteads) of Vinnitsa Region in a large and friendly working class family. Before serving in the army, he graduated from the School of factory training (FZU), worked as a mechanic at an auto repair plant. At the front he had been since June 22, 1941. _x000D_ In a small letter at the beginning of the war, he wrote home that he had received a fighter and was eager to meet the enemy as soon as possible. He was married. His wife was called, like his mother, Anna. He had two daughters, Zina, born in 1938 and Valya, born in 1940. Co-workers said about Siroshtan that he had the soul of a poet. True, he did not write poetry, but he loved it very much and knew many poems, especially by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. In the village of Malye Khutora in Vinnytsia, where he was born, they appreciated a good word and a sincere folk song. There Vasily first heard Svetlov's "Grenada", which amazed the teenager. He knew it by heart and often read: "We rode at a pace, we raced in battles and held the song" Yablochko" in our teeth. Ah, this song is still kept by young grass of steppe malachite. " _x000D_ Vasily Siroshtan, being a Squadron Commander, knew how to organize work on the ground so that it would be easier to defeat the enemy in the air. He had excellent organizational skills and skillfully combined them with combat work, showing daily concern for his subordinates. For the entire period of work on the front of the Patriotic War, Siroshtan showed himself to be a fearless and decisive pilot, skillfully applying all military cunning in air combat. He flew 421 sorties. He flew I-16, Lagg-3 and Yak-1. He participated in 97 air battles, as a result of which he personally shot down 8 enemy aircraft and 6 in a group. He conducted 17 assault sorties along enemy columns and airfields (Poltava, Kharkov, Chuguev, Rogan), while personally lighting 2 enemy aircraft on the ground, destroyed or damaged 2 tanks, 14 vehicles with troops and cargo, 3 anti-aircraft guns, scattered or destroyed up to companies of enemy soldiers. He had made 103 sorties to escort attack aircraft, 22 to cover his troops and crossings, 58 Reconnaissance missions, of which 4 were special missions from the front command. He was a distinguished Soviet ace after two rams of enemy fighters. _x000D_ On September 1, 1941, the flight Commander, Lieutenant Siroshtan, flew to the I-16 to escort SB bombers heading to bomb a river crossing in the Kremenchug Region. Suddenly, a group of Me-109 appeared from behind the clouds. An air battle ensued. During the battle, Siroshtan came under fire from one Messerschmitt. The machine gun fire damaged the tail of his aircraft. Then he rushed down and cut off the Me-109 plane with the wing of his plane. Tumbling, he went to the ground on August 1, 1942, near Novoalekseevka, shot down another Me-109 enemy plane with a ramming strike and again remained alive. _x000D_ Siroshtan continuously taught young pilots how to fight the enemy and emerge victorious from the battle. The air battle was skillful and competent. With his fearlessness, courage and military exploits, he always inspired the entire personnel of the Regiment to destroy the fascist vultures. _x000D_ On 08/24/1942, heading the shock group for escorting attack aircraft, Art. Lieutenant Vasily Vasilievich. Siroshtan together with the young pilot led by Sergeant Nikolai V. Milovanov in the Davydovka area near Stalingrad entered into an unequal air battle with 12 enemy ME-109 aircraft. Covering the young pilot, the Commander bravely repelled the frantic attacks of German fighters. The air battle lasted about an hour, and even after the death of Nikolai Milovanov, the fearless falcon, without leaving the battlefield, continued to fight himself until an enemy bullet hit him in the head. “On this day, Vasily Siroshtan and the young pilot Nikolai Milovanov did not return to their airfield. At the head of the group, the Squadron Commander accompanied the Soviet Il-aircrafts.“Twelve Messerschmitts appeared,”he said on the radio at the command depot. The receiver caught the command: “I will take over the fight, the rest follow the course of the attack aircraft.”Then the abrupt: "Kolya, four to the left ..." "Attack, cover." "Like this". And again: "Closer to me ...", "Beat! ..", "Well done, Nikolai ..."_x000D_ For the courage and heroism shown in the battles with the Nazi invaders, the command of the 512th Fighter Aviation Regiment V.V. Siroshtan was twice presented to the highest state award with the title “Hero of the Soviet Union” (in 1941 and 1942). He was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner and the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree (posthumously).

Rank: Corporal_x000D_ The last military rank is a retired Starshina_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces, Air Force (except for naval aviation), coastal service, NKVD troops, border troops_x000D_ Subdivision: 14th Guards Cavalry Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division. _x000D_ Starikov Ignat Mikhailovich was born on January 7, 1924 in the village Chundzha of the Uygur Region of the Almaty Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan (at that time the Alma-Ata Region of the Kazakh SSR). He was the eldest child and the only son in a large peasant family. In 1939 he graduated from the 7th grade and began to work in the kolkhoz helping his family. _x000D_ At the beginning of the war, the head of the family, Mikhail Pavlovich, went to the front and Ignat Mikhailovich remained in charge, but on August 20, 1942, he was drafted by the Panfilov Comissariat of the Alma-Ata Region into the Red Army, and mother Evgenia Gavrilovna was left with four daughters—Tonya, Rita, Lilya and recently born Katya. The eldest daughter Zoya worked in the mines of the city of Karaganda on the call to the Labor Army, in the so-called. "Labor Reserves"._x000D_ From June 1943 he took part in the battles against the German fascist invaders. From the first days at the front, Ignat Starikov showed to be a brave, proactive warrior, he became a recon for a foot Reconnaissance platoon. He fought on the Western and 1st Belorussian Fronts as part of the 14th Guards Cavalry Division. _x000D_ On the night of July 25, 1944, Private Starikov Ignat Mikhailovich, as part of a group of the 50th Guards Cavalry Regiment, participated in reconnaissance of the enemy defense in the area of the city of Lublin (Poland). In the village of Zembezhitsa, the recons encountered a group of enemy soldiers. Undeterred, Private Starikov entered into an unequal combat and destroyed two Hitlerites with machine gun fire, and took four prisoners. At the headquarters of the Regiment, the "tongues" gave valuable information about the location of their units. By order of August 17, 1944, the Red Army Soldier Starikov Ignat Mikhailovich was awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree (No. 89362). _x000D_ On January 27, 1945, the Guard Corporal Starikov, as part of a Reconnaissance group, was in a combat mission in the area of the city of Zielona Gora (Poland). The guardsmen engaged a group of machine gunners in two armored personnel carriers and were the first to open fire. _x000D_ In this battle, Starikov personally knocked out an enemy armored personnel carrier with an anti-tank grenade and destroyed more than 10 Nazi soldiers with machine gun fire. By order of March 12, 1945, the Guard Corporal Starikov Ignat Mikhailovich was awarded the Order of Glory, 2nd degree (No. 16111). March 10, 1945, in the combat on the river Oder (south-west of Berwalde, Germany), during reconnaissance patrol of the enemy defense in the forest area, which is three kilometers west of the place of Kletkov, Starikov with two recons came across an enemy ambush. Suddenly opening fire, the Germans killed Starikov's comrades in arms. The Corporal was left alone. Frequently changing position, he fired from a machine gun, approaching the enemy. The enemy decided that reinforcements approached the daredevil and retreated, leaving five dead and a light machine gun on the field. For this battle, the Guard Corporal Starikov was presented with a new award. _x000D_ By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 15, 1946, for exceptional courage and fearlessness shown at the final stage of WWII in battles with the Nazi invaders, the Guard Corporal Starikov Ignat Mikhailovich was awarded the Order of Glory, 1st degree (No. 1406) and became a full cavalier Order of Glory. _x000D_ In 1947 I.M. Starikov was demobilized. After the war he lived and worked at the Kandagach station (Aktobe Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan). Later he moved to Altai capital, city of Barnaul (80th Guards Division Street, 30). He worked as a mechanic at the Transmash plant. He was married, raised two of his children and one adopted. He passed away on November 11, 1991. He was buried in Barnaul at the Mikhailovsky cemetery. _x000D_ He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, two Orders of the Red Star, the Orders of Glory of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd degrees, and medals. The name of the Hero is given to a street in his native village of Chundzha, Uygur district, Alma-Ata (now Almaty) Region. Memorial plaques were installed on the house in Chundzha, where Starikov I.M. lived before he had been drafted into the Red Army and in Barnaul, where he lived his last years,.

Rank: Red Army Soldier_x000D_ Branch of troops: Armored and mechanized troops _x000D_ My great-grandfather Nikolai Andreevich Sirotenko is a native Crimean. Born in 1918 in the city of Karasubazar (now Belogorsk). In the same year, the Red Army Soldier Andrei Sirotenko, his father, was killed during the Civil War in Russia. Mother Feodosia Romanovna, by the way, the grand-niece grand-niece of the legendary revolutionary Zhelyabov, raised three children herself, and my great-grandfather Nikolai became the support of the family as a teenager. After finishing the seven-year School, Kolya Sirotenko got a job in the Pobeda shop, which made equipment (crowbars, picks, shovels, carts) for the builders of the Taigan reservoir. _x000D_ Most of the people worked at the construction site were prisoners of GULAG. Nikolai saw the hands of these people, which were worn to blood, and therefore tried to plant a smoother hand on a shovel or an axe. In this he had no equal in the shop. His surname decorated the Hall of Fame. The outbreak of the war completely canceled everything. _x000D_ Nikolai Andreevich began his six-year frontline journey back in 1939, during the Finnish campaign. In his car ZIS-5, he transported wounded soldiers of the Red Army from the front line to the rear. Under the fire of Finnish snipers, he deftly maneuvered in a car between trenches and craters, each time delivering the wounded, as they say, without loss, to a medical Battalion or hospital. Sirotenko's car number 4477 had been famous throughout the front line. From the memoirs of my great-grandfather: _x000D_ “After the Finnish war, I served in the garrison of the Brest Fortress. And on June 22, 1941, the Germans unleashed on Brest all the might of their offensive strike. Heavy Artillery fire, raids by bomber aircraft turned the peaceful border town into an absolute hell. We defended ourselves as best we could. I was a fuel truck driver and delivered fuel to the hottest spots. God had mercy: the enemy never hit my car either from the air or from the ground. " _x000D_ With the retreating units in the summer and autumn of 1941, Nikolai reached Moscow and from there began his military journey to the West. He carried ammunition and medicines, weapons and foodstuffs, shells and mines, and had a chance to carry unit commanders. In Austria, he came under shelling, was seriously wounded. But he got out. _x000D_ After the hospital they wanted to commission him, but he asked to go to the front line. My great-grandfather recalled the following incident: _x000D_ “It was in Hungary. For one of the settlements near Lake Balaton, we clashed not with the Germans, but with the Magyars. Evil, fearless brutes, I tell you. Of course, they did not have German organization and discipline. But they had more than enough anger and rage. Then I drove the Chief of Artillery of the Division, Colonel Ivan Timofeevich Tochilin. The Magyars surrounded my "jeep" (by the way, a good car), pouring fire on it. Tochilin and I were shooting back. And then I remembered about the wooden box with grenades, which I always carried with me. I threw four pieces one after the other, and managed to break through. In the morning I looked at the car: Mother of God! All in holes, the wheels are also punctured. And how did they survive?"_x000D_ In 1946, the front-line driver Nikolai returned to his native Belogorsk. He immediately became a driver of the city Fire Brigade. At home, my great-grandmother Akulina Denisovna was waiting for him, whom he married back in 1938. By the way, in 1988 my great-grandfather and great-grandmother played a golden wedding, which was attended by half the city.“I have lived a long life,”my great-grandfather said in 2007 in an interview for the newspaper“Krymskaya Pravda”,“and I consider every day I have lived to be happy. I have no anger for God and fate: I lived as my mind advised me. And I will die with a pure heart. Do you know what darkens my life in my declining years? A feeling of annoyance that the mighty Soviet Union was destroyed by the narrow-minded politicians. I am a Russian person and I am proud of it. I am not a nationalist, but I am insulted when the current Ukrainian government slanders great Russia, when it tries to make heroes out of Bandera, when it leaves the majority of the population of Ukraine below the poverty line. I want everyone to live happy...” Written by Larisa Ternopolova.

Rank: Sergeant_x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ Subdivision: 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division _x000D_ "I must live my life for my brothers, and, if possible, happily ..." _x000D_ Muhangali Turmagambetov is one of the few survivors who had to go through the entire war from the first to the last day. Before the war, Muhangali lived in the village of Balykshi, Guryev Region. In 1939, at the age of 19, he was drafted into the Red Army. He began his service in Kharkov. As an excellent student in military service, Muhangali was sent to study at an anti-aircraft regimental School. And then the war started. _x000D_ The cadets were put into echelons and sent to the front. The mood was cheerful: everyone was sure that they would quickly defeat the Germans and return home with victory. They could not even imagine that a heavy, bloody war would stretch for four long years ... _x000D_ From the Turmagambetov family, Muhangali was the first to join the army. Then his brothers Kurman and Uzakkali became soldiers, a little later it was the turn to go to the front for the third brother Kuben. Once, instead of the long-awaited "brother triangle", a death notification came, brother Kurman was killed. A year later, the hero Uzakkali died, and the seriously wounded Kuben lay in the hospital for a long time. Soon he also died from wounds ... _x000D_ On July 17, in Belarus near Bobruisk, Muhangali took part in his first combat. He had to fight first in the infantry, since the anti-aircraft units were not provided with military equipment. It was scary. The Red Army turned out to be unprepared for a war with a well-armed enemy. The losses were huge, no one counted them, the death squads simply buried the dead._x000D_ At the beginning of November 1941, Sergeant M. Turmagambetov's anti-aircraft battery was stationed near Moscow. And he had a chance to participate in the historic military parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, when the fascist troops approached Moscow dangerously close, and right from the parade he went to the front. A few days later, Muhangali was wounded and hospitalized. As soon as things got better, he returned to his anti-aircraft Artillery. _x000D_ Near the town of Izyum on the Seversky Donets River in March 1942, he shot down his first enemy plane. And then there was Stalingrad. On the defensive lines, rare moments of silence were the harbingers of new fierce attacks. They, replacing each other, rolled in a continuous succession, battle after battle. In Kalach-on-Don, near Stalingrad, the gunners held the defensive for a week, following the order: "Not a step back!" German planes raided the city every day. The battery of the gun Commander M. Turmagambetov guarded the pontoon bridge 4 kilometers long. The Germans bombed day and night. And the anti-aircraft gunners had to take care of the shells. Then they built a raft, put a cannon on it and began to fire at the German tanks with direct fire with anti-aircraft guns. In the battles for Stalingrad, Muhangali Turmagambetov shot down two enemy aircraft, destroyed three tanks, not allowing the enemy to pass through his positions. For these bloody combats, he received the Order of the Red Star, and the entire combat crew was awarded medals. _x000D_ After the Battle of Stalingrad, they became part of the third Simferopol Artillery Division. The liberation battles in the western direction were no less hard and bloody, but the realization that the enemy was retreating, and they were liberating cities and peoples one by one, helped greatly and gave new strength to the soldiers. _x000D_ Muhangali Turmagambetov fought Bessarabia, Romania, Hungary, Carpathians. The anti-aircraft gunner shot down his last plane on April 13, the day of the liberation of the Austrian capital, Vienna. The war for him ended on May 13, 1945 in Czechoslovakia, northeast of Prague, where Field Marshal Scherner's group resisted. He received the Order of Glory, 3rd degree, which he was very proud of as the main soldier's order. _x000D_ On June 24, 1945, Mukhangali Turmagambetov took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. He got into this anti-aircraft Regiment, having passed a tough selection from almost ten thousand people! The requirements were really strict: height had to be 1 meter 70 centimeters, good bearing, at least three state awards on the chest. _x000D_ After the parade, he returned to his unit, which was stationed in Budapest. Forty years after these events, in 1985, at the parade dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Victory Day, Mukhangali Yesenovich Turmagambetov again had a chance to march on Red Square. He got there as a participant in the 1945 Victory Parade. _x000D_ In Moscow, in the Museum of the Armed Forces, there is an anti-aircraft gun on which it is written: “The gun of Senior Sergeant Mukhangali Turmagambetov of the 15th anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion of the 6th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, of which 16 aircraft were shot down in battles with the Nazis, a record number during the Great Patriotic War. _x000D_ Mukhangali Yessenovich Turmagambetov is a man of unusual destiny. A guy from a village lost in the Kazakh steppes, miraculously survived and marched three times on Red Square, taking part in three Victory Parades. After the end of the war, anti-aircraft gunner M. Turmagambetov abruptly changed his life. Even before the war, he graduated from a fish technical School. After the war he decided that he should study further. In 1946 M. Turmagambetov entered the Moscow Institute of Fisheries. As it turned out, he was the first Kazakh who graduated from this institute and worked for over 20 years in the fishing industry of Kazakhstan.

Branch of troops: Artillery_x000D_ Vasily Petrovich Skarga was a Commander of the Mortar Crew of the 24th Guards Cavalry Regiment (5th Guards Cavalry Division, 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, 2nd Belorussian Front), Guard Senior Sergeant. Vasily Petrovich Skarga was born into a peasant family in the village of Alinovka [Rossoshanskiy district]], Voronezh Region. He graduated from the 6th grade of School, worked in kolkhoz. _x000D_ In July 1942, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army at the Mikhailovsky District Military Commissariat of the Voronezh Region. In the battles in the Grodno Region near the village of Yashchebna on July 20-25, 1944, the Guard Senior Sergeant Skarga with his crew destroyed 2 machine guns and a platoon of enemy soldiers, which ensured the Squadron's combat mission. By order of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps on August 6, 1944, he was awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree. _x000D_ On January 31, 1945, during the offensive battles in the area of the town of Orneta, Warmia and Mazury Voivodeship, the Guard Senior Sergeant Skarga and his crew destroyed 3 enemy machine-gun points and over 10 soldiers. In the offensive battles on February 16, 1945 in the area of the town of Konitz (Chojnice in the Pomeranian Voivodeship), he, in command of his crew, destroyed 2 machine guns and over 10 enemy soldiers.By order of the 2nd Belorussian Front on March 6, 1945, he was awarded the Order of Glory, 2nd degree. _x000D_ In a battle on the outskirts of the city of Hindenberg (Eastern Prignitz-Ruppin, Lindov (Mark)), Guard Senior Sergeant Skarga, personally finding out the location of the enemy's firepower, destroyed 3 firing points with his crew and a sub-machine gunners detachment, which made it possible to complete the combat mission for the Squadron. On the same day, his crew destroyed 2 firing points, scattered and struck many enemy soldiers in the area of the settlement of Tsekhov, 8 km west of Hindenberg, which allowed the vanguard of the Regiment to seize the airfield. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 29, 1945, he was awarded the Order of Glory, 1st degree. _x000D_ Guard Starshina Skarga was demobilized in December 1947. He graduated from the mechanization School in the city of Grozny, after which he was sent to the city of Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Territory. He worked as a minder in the Tikhoretsk road repair and construction Department. _x000D_ In 1985, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Victory, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Rank: Lieutenant_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces, Air Force (except naval aviation), coastal service, NKVD troops, border troops _x000D_ This is one of my grandfathers—Viktor Grigorievich Tikhonov. _x000D_ From the first days of the war, he was at the forefront in the city of Leningrad. From November 1942 he served in the Battalion as a Platoon Commander. His platoon, located in a combat facility, was three hundred meters from the enemy. Despite the continuous shelling, Grandfather and his platoon particularly distinguished in improving the area defense and turned it into an impregnable fortress by installing additional engineering obstacles. “Tracking down the enemy every day, comrade Tikhonov and his platoon destroyed up to 58 Finnish soldiers. He has 15 exterminated Finns on his personal account.” His garrison was one of the best garrisons in the Battalion. _x000D_ In the battles for the Motherland, the first time he was seriously wounded near Tikhvin. As a result, he ended up in the hospital. By the great conduct of the Lord, he fell into the hands of the surgeon Tikhonov Grigory Semyonovich, his own father and my great-grandfather. Who personally gave life to grandfather Victor for the second time! But for a real hero, this would be too simple an ending to the story. Further it was even more interesting. _x000D_ After recovering from his injury, Grandfather continued his liberation campaign. He went all the way to Berlin. And in victorious battles from the second to the fourth of February 1945 near the village of Greifenstein, Grandfather replaced the machine-gun company Commander, left the ranks. He skillfully organized the company and proved to be a bold, brave and courageous Commander. In the battle near Greifenstein with the soldiers of their company, they destroyed up to 200 enemy soldiers and officers. _x000D_ On 02/03/1945 in the Steinau area, when the enemy attacked our battle formations with forces of up to two infantry battalions supported by sixteen tanks, he personally organized the defense of the left flank of the Steinau village. And personally, in close combat with a machine gun in his hands, he destroyed 10 Germans. And also made anti-tank barricades in the street to block the path of enemy tanks. Enemy tanks were forced to pass along the flank, where they were knocked out (four of them) by our gunners. For this effort, Grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star! _x000D_ There is also another effort to commemorate: he, together with his friend, ensured the advancement of two battalions, destroying seven enemy bunkers ... Only two of them did that!!! _x000D_ In the photo, you can really see a twinkle in the eyes. My grandfather came home and continue his life with dignity, raising children and grandchildren. Viktor Grigorievich passed away old from battle wounds, at home. Eternal Glory!

Mikhail Soloviev (1923-1944), Hero of the Soviet Union. Born in the village of Klyuchiki of Cherkassy uyezd (now Volsky district).

Subdivision: 1st Guards Cavalry Stavropol Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division named after M.F. Blinova._x000D_ Stepanov Yegor Ilyich was born in 1916 in the village of Bagorodsk, Voznesensky District, Gorky Region in 1916. He was drafted into the Red Army Voznesensky Comissariat, Gorky Region, Voznesensky District in 1939. He served in the 1st Guards Cavalry Stavropol Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division named after M.F. Blinov at the 1st Ukrainian Front. _x000D_ His military unit participated in the following operations: Bukrin offensive operation 10/12/1943-10/24/1943. Kiev offensive operation 3.11.43-13.11.43 Defensive operation in the Kiev front. _x000D_ From November 13 to December 23, 1943 Zhitomir-Berdichev offensive operation. 12.24.43 to 15.1.44 Korsun-Shevchenko offensive operation. From January 24 to February 17, 1944 (Operation 2nd Strike). Defeat on the right-bank Ukraine. February-March 1944 Proskurovo-Zhmerinskaya offensive operation. From March 4 to April 17, 1944. (Operation of the 2nd impact). 6th strike. Defeat of the Germans in Western Ukraine. July-August 1944 Lvov-Sandomierz offensive operation. From July 13 to August 30, 1944 (Operation 6th Strike). Fighting on the Sandomierz foot strong. 30.8.44-12.1.1945 Sandomierz-Silesian offensive operation (January offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front). 12.1-28.1.1945 Lower Silesian offensive operation. From February 8 to February 28, 1945, the March offensive of the left wing of the 1st Ukrainian Front (Oppelnaya operation). 15.3-31.3.1945. Berlin offensive operation. 16.4-8.5.1945. _x000D_ Having defeated the Stettin grouping of the enemy, the front's troops ensured the offensive of the 1st Belorussian Front's strike grouping to Berlin from the north and by 6.5.1945 reached the Stralsund line, Wismar, east of Schwerin, Grabov, the eastern bank of the river Elbe to Wittenberg, moving up to 200 km. _x000D_ The troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, defeating and destroying the main forces of 9 A and 4 TA of the enemy, on 2.5.45 captured the capital of Germany, the city of Berlin. With the capture of Berlin and the defeat of the entire German army on 8.5.45 Germany surrendered. _x000D_ During the operation, Soviet troops advanced up to 180 km. _x000D_ His efforts: on 04/20/1945 in the area of Niski, during a counterattack of the enemy Comrade Stepanov from under artillery and mortar fire, carried out two seriously wounded Polish soldiers and provided them with first aid. He was awarded the medal "For Courage". _x000D_ On April 28, 1945, in the area of the village of Nauvalde, a group of Germans was discovered. Comrade Stepanov destroyed two Germans and captured one German prisoner. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree. Several years after the end of the war, he moved with his family to the Irkutsk Region, the city of Angarsk, the village of Yugo-Vostochny, 3-9-3. _x000D_ He raised five sons. Egor Ilyich Stepanov passed away in 1998.

Rank: Senior Sergeant Branch of troops: Ground Forces. Subdivision: 338th Infantry Neman Red Banner Division. My grandfather's name was Ivan Vasilievich Sibirev. He was born in 1921 in the village of Zhukovo, Brodokalmaksky District, Chelyabinsk Region. Grandfather was drafted into the army in September 1940. He fought with the rank of Sergeant. On June 22, 1941, when the war started, his troops were in the area of the city of Brest. My grandfather began his combat path as part of the 173 Air-Fighter Battalion, then he was the Commander of the machine-gun crew of the 1136 Rifle Regiment of the 338 Rifle Division of the 33rd army of the Western Front. He fought with the rank of Sergeant, and in 1942 he was awarded the rank of Senior Sergeant. Grandfather took part in battles near the cities of Kaluga, Minsk, Mogilev, Roslavl, Baranovichi, Belgorod, Orel, Przemysl, etc. He was wounded three times. The most severe head wound was in March 1943 during the liberation of the city of Yelnya. Then he was awarded the Medal for Military Merit. He had awards "For Courage", the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, a medal "For the Defense of Moscow". _x000D_ All his life my grandfather lived with a shell fragment in his head. Grandfather died on January 24, 1997. Unfortunately, he did not like to talk about the war and we know little about his combat path. Two of his siblings, Aleksey and Alexander, were killed in the war. I am proud of my grandfather and I consider him a true hero! Thanks to my grandfather and all the participants of the Great Patriotic War for the Victory, for the peaceful sky overhead! We will never forget him!

Rank: Junior Sergeant Subdivision: 23rd Guards Rifle Dnovsko-Berlin Red Banner Division. He was called to the front in January 1942. Аt first, we fought first on the North-Western Front. In June 1942 he was wounded during an offensive near the town of Staraya Russa. After that he was the gunner of the mortar of the 82nd Company of the Mortar Guards. In the battles in the Poddor'e Region, aimed fire from a mortar on 18.05.1944 he destroyed 2 enemy firing points. 24.05.1944 received a severe wound in the left forearm during the offensive. He was considered dead, and the death notice was sent to his relatives that: _x000D_ Seminsky M.I., Junior Sergeant, 1922. birth, killed in action on May 24, 1943. He was buried in the village of Borulino. But he survived, and was awarded the medal "For Courage" for his efforts. After his recovery, he was a fitter-assembler of motors of the 247th Separate Repair and Restoration Battalion. Working as a locksmith, he proved himself to be a good, exemplary and exemplary master of his craft. He devoted all his skill, strength and ability to his work, engine repair. There was no failure in his work. He fulfilled the production norms by 175%, despite the enormous fatigue. _x000D_ On 30.06.1945 by the order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the SSR for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the German invaders and for the valor and courage shown at the same time, he was awarded the second medal "For Courage". After the war, Mikhail Ivanovich lived in the city of Alapaevsk. He worked in the police, Head of the Criminal Department. On February 21, 1987 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.