My great-grandfather's name is Evstafiev Vladimir Vladimirovich. He was born on November 14, 1914 in the Saratov region near the city of Balashov. After graduation he joined the History Department of the Teacher Institute in Tambov (now Tambov State University, named after G.R. Derzhavin). After graduating from the Institute in 1939, he was sent to the village of Kolyschley in the Penza region to teach. At the school he worked as a history teacher until the beginning of the war (June 1941). In October 1941 he was drafted into the army after mobilization. He spent two months in the training battalion and was drafted into the active army in November 1941. During the great Patriotic War he took part in combat operations as part of the First Shock Army on the Western, North-Western, Second and Third Baltic and Leningrad fronts. He took part in the Battle of Moscow in 1941, for which he was awarded the medal "for the defense of Moscow". He also took part in the liberation of the Soviet Baltic States. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree, the Red Star (twice), medals "for bravery", "for military merit", "for victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" and other medals. During the war he was never wounded, only a slight concussion. He ended the war in 1945 with the rank of major in the city of Kandau (Latvia). After the end of the war he continued to serve as a career officer and was sent to the military district of Turkestan, first to the city of Mary (Turkmenistan), then to the city of Tashkent (Uzbekistan), where he served until 1964. At the age of 50 he retired at the rank of colonel. He died on 8 May 1990.