Heroes and feats

Rank: Red Army Soldier. My grandmother often told me how her grandfather, Ivan Bleyalkin, died in the war. He was born in 1908 in the village of Syreika, Kinelsky District, Samara Region. Ivan worked for the farm "Lenin's Banner". He married Ekaterina Garanina in 1929. Their first child, Nikolai, was born in 1930, after Anna and Alexander. The couple lived together amicably and happily. Ivan was a tractor driver, and Ekaterina was a stable girl. But there was a terrible time for our country - the Great Patriotic War began. Soon he was called up to the Red Army. From what his wife learned at that time: he fought at Smolensk and died on 27.02.1942. He was fighting for our Country for only 2 months. When the war ended, a fellow villager, returning from the front, came to visit my great-great-grandmother Ekaterina Firsovna and told how her husband died. It was like this. They appointed him a munition man. These were the bravest fighters who were not afraid to supply ammunition during the bombing. They were together with a fellow villager, on that sad day for our family. In the village of Koumiss Smolensk Region began an air raid. All the soldiers began to hide under the carts, and Ivan, grabbing a machine gun and running across the field with hope and faith in the strength of the Soviet army, began to shoot back with a machine gun. At this point, one of the enemy's planes made a low descent over the field and, shooting people who ran for cover or fired back, dropped a bomb on them. After the end of the shelling, the Soviet troops gathered all the dead, among them was my great-great-grandfather. He was buried in a mass grave in the village of Kumys. So he died with hope and faith in our peaceful future. He died on 27.02.1942. Eternal memory to the brave soldiers!

Rank: Red Army Soldier. Unit: 69th motorized division. The immortal regiment. My grandfather, Gennady Bryukhov was born on July 11, 1925. He was 16 years old, when the Great Patriotic war began. In 1943, as a boy of eighteen year old, he was called up to the front. He got to fight in a motorized rifle regiment. My grandfather participated in the battle of Kursk and Orel, liberated Belgorod and Kharkov as soldier of the Voronezh Front in July-September 1943. During the battle for the liberation of the city of Kharkov in Ukraine on September 25, 1943, the unit in which he served as an assistant platoon commander attacked a well-fortified hill. At this height, there was a reinforced concrete bunker, from which a German machine gun fired. All attempts to attack the height on the move were unsuccessful. Then the company commander ordered my grandfather to take grenades, get close to the bunker and destroy it to ensure the company's progress. Following the order, he crawled to the bunker. The German machine gunner was firing continuously at our soldiers. When the grandfather crawled very close and stood up to throw grenades, the machine gunner turned the fire on him. He was seriously injured in the right shoulder, arm and right leg ss a result. Only a day later, this height was taken by our troops. And all this time my grandfather was lying wounded on the battlefield, bleeding, repeating with the last of his strength: "Mother, save me!” Only after the battle, the Ukrainian nurse pulled him from the battlefield, took him to the medical unit, thus she saved his life! For the courage and heroism shown in the battles for the Motherland, Gennady Bryukhov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree and several medals. In 1998, on September 13, my grandfather died after a long illness, but he will always remain in our hearts. ETERNAL MEMORY TO HIM!

Rank: Petty Officer. Branch of Service: Armored and Mechanized troops. Grigory Barminsky was born in 1919 in the village of Rakitnoye, Belgorod Region. He received a 4-year education at the Rakityan School. Passed courses of the driver in Motorviehacle Company. In 1939, he was drafted into the Soviet army. He served in the North Caucasus in a unit of the automobile battalion. On June 22, 1941, at the end of his term of service, he was supposed to leave the army for home, but at 4 o'clock in the morning, the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was announced. In this regard, the departure home had to be postponed for a long five years. Grigory fought on the Caucasian Front, was wounded in 1942 and sent to a hospital. After he was discharged from the hospital, he again went to fight, and was sent to the Transcaucasian Front. During the battle for the Caucasus, when the Soviet army was advancing, he was seriously wounded again. During the surgery, doctors were unable to remove all the fragments from his chest. After the hospital, he again asked to go to the front. From 1943 to 1945, he fought on the Transcaucasian Front. For courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic war, Grigory Barminski was awarded medals For courage, For the defense of Caucasus, the Order of the Red Banner, Order of Glory 3rd degree and 2nd degree. In July 1945, Grigory returned to his native village, with the rank of Petty Officer, where he created a family. Until his retirement, in 1978, he worked as a car mechanic in the Rakityan Motorviehacle Company. The life path of Grigory Burminsky was listed in the book of memory of the Rakityansky District of the Belgorod Region. Grigory Prokofievich died in 2000 at the age of 81.

Rank: Red Navy Sailor Branch of service: Land Forces, Air Force (except for Naval Aaviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guards Unit: 189th Rifle Division (1st formation). Fedor joined the people's militia at the age of 17 and defended Moscow during the first days of the war. He was seriously wounded and hospitalized on February 1, 1942. He was called up to the Navy Coast guard on September 15, 1942. From 15.09.1942 to 12.04, 1944 - Commander of a 120 mm gun, in the 301st Separate Artillery Division of the Baltic Fleet, Sailor. From 12.04.1944 to 09.05.1945 - Commander of the 122 mm gun in the 189th Heavy Howitzer Brigade of the 1st Belorussian Front, Specialist. Awarded the Order of the Red Star. According to his registration card data: "During the break through of the enemy's defenses on the Western Bank of the Oder River, Specialist Babenkov, thanks to the skilful management of the fire of his gun and the skilfulness in the work of his personal crew, destroyed a six-barrelled mortar in the Military town area, which ensured the advance of our units." In the battles on the distant approaches to the city of Berlin, the fire of the gun of Specialist Babenkov destroyed the enemy's artillery battery, 6 cars and up to 40 soldiers and officers on April 23, 1945. In the street battles for the city of Berlin, Specialist Babenkov destroyed one house with an enemy observation post located there and destroyed up to 7 firing points that prevented the advance of our troops with their fire. Awarded the Medal For Bravery. According to his registration card: Sailor Babenkov a Gunner of the 600th battery in a combat operation on July 22, 1943 proved to be a well-versed gunner. Exeptionaly quickly and accurately carrying out the commands Babenkov, as a gunner, ensured that his gun opened fire on the incoming enemy railway train. As a result of direct hits destroyed several cars and set fire to the train. On the same day, his gun hit 3 enemy heavy tanks and burned one.

Yuvenaliy was born in 1915, in a peasant family of the village of Selitba Josevskiy Comunity Gorbatov District. His father Anatoly was a Communist and contributed to the formation of Soviet power on the territory of the Comunity. His mother Anna was a humble woman. She put all her motherly love into her children, and then into her grandchildren. Juvenaliy worked for the collective farm of his native village before the war. He was called up by the Sosnovsky District Military Commissariate in 1937. He was assigned to the 95th Special Task Border Regiment of the NKVD troops, which was stationed on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. While serving, he married a Ukrainian woman, Irina, and they had a son, Vyacheslav. Just before the war, Juvenal managed to send his wife and son to their homeland. In the beginning of the war, the border units took the first blows of the German-Italian fascists. Border guards mercilessly fought with the enemy, but the forces were unequal. The regiment was retreating… Therefore, they left the Ivano-Frankovsk Region in where they met the war. Kiev was also abandoned in heavy defensive battles. The regiment was pushed back to the Donbass. The 95th Border Regiment joined combat operations of the 74th Rifle Division in the Debaltsevo area in early December according to the order of the commander of the Southern Front. The commander of the 74th Rifle Division ordered the regiment to capture the town of Debaltsevo in cooperation with the 109th and 360th Rifle Regiments. The offensive began at 17.00. Having destroyed the enemy's combat guards, the battalions of the 95th Border Regiment reached the outskirts of Debaltsevo by 20: 00. They broke into the southern outskirts of Debaltseve, but further progress became impossible, since the 109th and 360th Rifle Regiments would not support the offensive, despite a number of orders from the commander of the 74th Rifle Division. Division Commander ordered the 95th Border Regiment to withdraw at 23.00. Thus, the task of capturing the city of Debaltseve failed on 16.12.41, and the 95th Border Regiment was withdrawn to Chernukhino to prepare for a second offensive. The regiment began to advance on Debaltsevo for the second time on 22.12.41 at 9.00. Having broken the enemy's resistance with decisive actions, they captured the city at 15.00. The Germans began to infiltrate the outskirts of the city, creating a threat to encircle the regiment on 23.12.41. By order of the commander of the rifle division, the regiment was withdrawn from the city and took up the defense. An award list of Yu. Bochkarev dated December 14, 1941, was found in the funds of the Central Atchive of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, which stated: "Skillfully managing a machine-gun crew Specialist Bochkarev in the period of 6.12.1941 to 10.12.1941 repelled 4 attacks of the enemy advancing with superior forces agains the 1st Company. Caused significant losses to the enemy, scattered the rest, thereby ensuring the retention of the front edge of the company's defense. For his courage and perseverance in the fight against the German-Italian fascists, he is worthy of the Medal For Bravery.” After the war, relatives received a death noties. It stated that Specialist Yuvenaliy Bochkarev was killed in the battle for the defense of the Socialist Motherland on December 25, 1941. He was buried on the outskirts of the South-East of the city of Debaltsevo in the Stalino Region.

Rank: Colonel Branch of Service: Land Forces, Air Force (except for Naval Aviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guards Unit: 68th Guards Proskurov Red Banner Rifle Division Born on April 6, 1909 in the village of Vozdvizhenka, Ussuri District, now part of the Ussuri City District of Primorsky Region. From a peasant family. Russian. The commander of the 200th Guards Rifle Regiment (68th Guards Rifle Division, 40th Army, Voronezh Front), Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Bushtruk, performed an outstanding feat during the battle of the Dnieper. The regiment under his command crossed the Dnieper under fire on assembled fishing boats and makeshift rafts, captured a bridgehead and took a favorable height with a fight on the night of September 24-25, 1943. Skilfully organized the defense of the regiment on the bridgehead, led the repulse of numerous enemy attacks. Not limited to defense, in turn, he organized counterattacks on the enemy, steadily expanding the territory of the bridgehead. All the forces of the regiment attacked an important dominant height, strongly fortified by the enemy on September 28, 1943. As a result of a carefully prepared attack, the superior forces of the enemy were driven out of there, the height was captured and held. The enemy lost the ability to conduct targeted artillery fire on Soviet crossings. During the five days of the battle, from September 25 to 29, the regiment's soldiers destroyed up to 700 enemy soldiers and officers, causing great damage to the enemy's equipment. For the successful crossing of the Dnieper River South of Kiev, the strong consolidation of the bridgehead on the Western Bank of the Dnieper River and the bravery and heroism shown Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Bushtruk by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of October 23, 1943, was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal. During the years of service, he was also awarded: three Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad and others. Since 1956 in reserve. Died in 1958 in the city of Samara.

My great-grandmother, Valentina Bolshakova (maiden name - Mogilnikova) was born in the village of Zlokazova, the Kusa District of the Chelyabinsk Region on December 15, 1927. Her family was large - 8 people: father, mother and six children. She was the second oldest child. She finished 5 classes with good and exelent grades, but she did not go to the 6th class, because she had to go to work to help her parents to feed their family. In the summer, Granny and her little brothers were walking back along the tracks from their grandmother's house in a neighboring village, and they saw a lot of people gathered at the club, all shouting: "the war, the war has begun." She had to leave school at the age of 15 and earn a living. Granny went to the office of the timber plant and registered as a handyperson for a brick factory. At the factory, worker carried clay on themselves, mixed it with horses, transported it on trolleys, and made bricks out of it. They built a chemical plant out of bricks. Granny was immediately hired to work for the chemical plant as an assistant of an engineer. The factory produced powders, and then sent them to other factories, where the shells were filled with it and sent for the front. During the war, in 1943, her father was taken to work in the city of Kopeysk, for chemical factory where they produced explosive powder, and my great-grandmother had to run a farm with my mother, there was a full yard of cattle: pigs, cows, chickens, sheep, and she also had to go to work. When the war ended in 1945, on May 9, the plant was stopped, all people ran out into the street and rejoiced: some sang songs, and some cried with joy, and some with grief that their relatives did not return from the front. After the war, the factories were closed, and Granny went to work for a local hospital as a nurse and cook, and worked there until she retired. She married in 1948 and had three daughters. She died on April 25, 2016, when she was 88 years old, I love her very much, and I am proud of my great-grandmother! Great-granddaughter Elena Fedyunina

Rank: Lieutenant. Branch of Service: Signal Troops. Unit: 21st Guards Nevelskaya Rifle Division. Illarion was born in the village of Kotovka, Odessa Region on 27.04.1915 in a working-class family. He graduated from the 4th grade of the Kotovka Elementary School in 1930. In a war, it is good to have infantry, artillery, tanks, aircraft, ships. Not having signal troops is very bad. Illarion Barabolya was called up by the October District Military Commissariate of Moscow in October 1937 and became a cadet of the 51st Rifle Division, a Separate Signal Battalion. In August 1938, he was transferred as a Petty Officer of the battery of the 284th Artillery Regiment of the Border Guards Unit. He was dismissed to reserve, with the rank of Second Lieutenant after November 1939. The battle path of an officer of the Soviet army – Lieutenant Illarion Barabolya, began when the Nazis, without a Declaration of war, on June 22, 1941, attacked the Soviet Union and crossed the Western border of the USSR. He was an Assistant Commander of a platoon in the the 811st Rifle Regiment of the Central Front from June 1941. He became a Commander of a Signal Platoon of the 14th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 7th Guards Rifle Division of the South-Western Front in August 1941. Became a member of the CPSU(b) in 1942. He was transferred to the North-Western Front in January 1942, where he fought the enemy until December 1943. He received the rank of Lieutenant on November 10, 1942. He fought as a commander of a staff signal platoon on the 2nd Baltic Front from December 1943. He was a commander of a signal platoon of the 64 Guards Rifle Regiment, the 21 Rifle Division from January 1, 1944. In offensive battles in the area of Novosokolniki, Kalinin Region from February 1 to 7, 1944, he provided a stable communication between the command post, observation post and the regimental headquarters, despite heavy shelling from the enemy. He personally fixed the phone line when artillery shelling caused a damage. He received the government award for courage and heroism. Since August 12, 1944, He fought on the Baltic Front as Commander of the Staff Signal Platoon of the 59th Guards Rifle Regiment, 21st Guards Rifle Division. He became the Commander of the Staff Platoon of the 69th Guards Rifle Regiment, 21st Guards Rifle Division on 08.01.1945. He was lightly wounded on the 2nd Baltic Front on 22.02.1945. He was on the Baltic Front, as a commander of a staff signal platoon from May 1945 to 26.07.1946. After the war, he worked for transportation enterprise. Married, son Yuri. He died on 27.03.1993, and was buried at the Mitinsky Cemetery in Moscow.

Rank: Corporal. Unit: 207th Pomeranian Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division. Alexander Barabanov was born on September 17, 1920 in the village of Zubovka, Sergeyevsky District, Samara Region, in the family of Andrey and Anna Barabanov. The family had three children: Natalia, Alexander, Ivan and later Nina was born. They had a prosperous farm, therefore, they were recognized as “kulak” and Andrey and his family were exiled to Central Kazakhstan in 1935. In the first year, Natasha died due to hunger and diseases, and only three of them survived: Alexander and Ivan and their one-year-old daughter Nina. A new life had to start in terrible cercumstances: long frosty winters, hunger, lack of basic living conditions. However, gradually life returned to normal. The mutual assistance of the disadvantaged people helped in many ways. Andrey worked for a Shoe-making workshop. He was a very good furrier, he was an excellent Skinner and made shoes and fur coats. Alexander started his career very early, Andrey suddenly disappeared for many years and the family was left without a breadwinner. The Great Patriotic war began. Alexander went to the front in May 1942. He took the military oath in Akmolinsk on May 20, 1942. On June 22, 1942, as part of 496 enlisted men, He arrived in to Ivanovo from Akmolinsk as in a group of 496 men and was enlisted in the 594th Rifle Regiment of the 207th Rifle Division. The 52nd Separate Rifle Brigade arrived for staffing in Ivanovo at dawn on June 4, 1942. It was reformed into the 207th Rifle Division. 82% of division personell did not previously participate in battles. Compared to the 52nd SRB, this is a depressing situation. There were many soldiers in the brigade after medical treatment. The composition is qualified and even in this case the losses were terrible; b) the number of convicted persons - 15% ! Every seventh soldier was previously convicted! 5% were in captivity or on the occupied territory, every twentieth was under the "German"! 34% were of limited fit and older than 35 years. Every third one was of limited use! There were just two months for training The workers of the Ivanovo Region at a solemn meeting in the village of Krasnoe presented the division with the Red Battle Banner, as well as the banners of the rifle regiments on August 06, 1942. The 207th Rifle Division of the first formation existed from June to November 1942, only 5 months, but what months it were! The division was formed, replenished with weapons and equipment, and trained from June 4 to August 22. Of the 685 people of 52nd SRB, the division already had 10,414 men by August 1942. On August 23, 1942, A train with 594th Rifle Regiment of the 207th Rifle Division was sent from Ivanovo to Stalingrad. The Division took defence near Berezovsky in the Stalingrad Region on August 29, 1942. The Germans attacked it near the village of Grachi on September 05, 1942. Alexander was seriously wounded with a fractured tibia by an explosive bullet during the battle on September 06, 1942 (Sunday). At first, he was sent to 255th Medical Battalion, and later to the evacuation hospital #3502 in Omsk (Kuibyshevsky District, school #64, Chkalov Street, 33). The division was in a combat for more than a month from 5.9. to 12.10. 1942. During the month there were two periods of continuous fighting: from 05-23.09.1942 (19 days), then there was a short break from 24.09 - 09.10.1942 (two weeks), and again the offensive, from 09.10-12.10.42 (4 days). The division was sent to reserve after 23 days of the Stalingrad meat grinder... Out of 10,414 people in the ranks only 2,620 people were left… Three weeks of fighting: 75% loss of personnel! In December, Alexander was called up to the front again, an as not fit for combat service was sent to train as a driver. He arrived int the Tashkent on 29.12.1943 and was enrolled in the 4th separate training motor transport battalion (subordination of Central Asian Military District). Upon completion, he was enrolled in 125th Reserve Regiment. He served in the 70th transport regiment (reference: 188 iptap 4 battery (188th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment existed from 25.3.45 to 11.5.45) from 15.01.1944 to March 1945. A. Barabanov took part in the battles from 10.06.1944 to 11.03.1945. He was driving GAZ with a howitzer in a tow on the roads of the First Ukrainian Front since 1943. He drove through Europe, up to Prague.He was wounded again on 10.08.1944. He was enrolled in 53rd Anti-tank Artillery Brigade (Reference: 53rd Anti-tank Artillery Brigade existed from 25.3.45 to 11.5.45) from 01.03.1945 to October 1945. Enlisted in the 7th Guards Anti-tank Artillery Brigate Motor Transport Regiment from 25.10.1945 . With He was enrolled in 321 KV IPGAP as a driver from 08.12.1945 to June 1946. Awards: Medal of Military Merit (#325020 E from 22.12.1955) Medal for the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War (#105321) Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree (#754204) Jubilee medal: 20 years (from 09.08.1966), 30 years (from 22.11.1977), 40 years (from 05.05.1985), 50 years (from 22.02.1970), 60 years (from 23.10.1979) 70 years (from 05.11.1988). Demobilized in March 1946. For military services, he was awarded medals. His main award - the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree found its hero only in 1985. Having received two serious injuries during the war, Alexander Andreevich did not seek disability, and did not use benefits. When honoring war veterans on Victory Day May 9, he always stood modestly on the sidelines. Alexander was extremely modes and intelligent. He was a wise mentor to young people. He was distinguished by hard work and ingenuity. He was always among the leading men. He worked for 40 years as a machine operator for the state farm "Peredovik", in the Shock Motor Tractor Station, which was later renamed the State Farm of the XXI-Party Congress (Priishimskoe village, Osakarovsky District, Karaganda Region). There were only two entries in his employment record. One - "accepted to the collective farm as a driver", the second - "dismissed due to retirement". During his vacation in 1943, Alexander married Maria Rubanova. Their daughter, Valentina, was born on December 31, 1943. Their family was surprisingly strong and friendly: three daughters and five sons (Valentina, Tatiana, Nikolai, Natalia, Anatoly, Vladimir, Alexander and Yuri). He was not a particularly strict father, but he taught his children to work and to be disciplined from childhood. He taught them to be honest and fair. In the 1980-s the front-line soldier was given an old jeep, which passed military combat roads. Alexander Barabanov died on July 27, 1991.

Rank: First Lieutenant Branch of service: Artillery From the memoirs of my brother, Mikhail Shtykov: "...In 1941. Vladimir finished 10 classes, but the war began. He enlisted in a fighter battalion, where they took young guys, Komsomol members, who for one reason or another were not called up to the army. These battalions were used sometimes plug the holes in the defence. These untrained guys, poorly armed, were killed in the first battle, and those who were captured were shot by the Germans. Vladimir was lucky, because an order was issued for the immediate evacuation of young people born in 1923-1924. Those who came to the military enlistment office were taken to the rear and sent, if they had an education, to commander's schools or courses. Vladimir graduated from such a school, received the rank of Lieutenant and in the winter of 1942-1943 participated in the battle of Stalingrad. His service record was associated with the 159th Fortified Region, 93rd Machine Gun and Artillery Battalion. Fortified regions were formed as units that held the defense in secondary areas, thereby freeing the main forces, and allowed the command to concentrate these forces on the main directions. However, the firepower of such a battalion was equal to the power of an entire division. I have a book by the Commander of the 159th Fortified District, in which he mentions the heroic death of captain Belov. But I got a little ahead of myself. During the time that Vladimir was at the front, from Stalingrad until his death on February 23, 1945, he was wounded seven times. According to the letters of his fellow soldiers that I have, he was a very brave officer. According to my reasoning, his subordinates simply betrayed him, shamefully fled, and left their commander alone against the Germans. V. Belov's parents received a letter from the Chief of Staff of the 93rd Separate Machine-gun and Artillery Battalion in March 1945. He who wrote in this letter that Vladimir had died while performing a task, correcting the battery's fire, i.e. performing his direct duties. Then he stopped firing, and they got close to him, they saw that the bullet had hit him in the head. Even when I read this letter out loud, I realized that this is not so. While Vladimir's parents were there, I did not take any steps to establish the truth. Then, after their deaths, I found Vladimir's fellow soldiers, and they all confessed to me that he had shot himself to avoid capture. By order #270 of August 1941, an officer who was captured was declared a traitor, and his family was subject to reprisals. Of course, the Commander of the 159th Fortified Region in his memoirs, describing the events of February 23, 1945, could not say about the loss of vigilance in the subordinate Fortified Region. The loss of vigilance, the lack of combat guards in the Separate Machine-gun and Artillery Battalion, led to a tragedy - the death of officers and soldiers. The was no investigation of this fact..."

Red Army Soldier Stepan Boltunov was born in 1903 in the Vitebsk Region, Lioznensky District, Dobromyslensky Village Council, the village of Gorbovo (Natives). In January 1941, at the age of 38, Stepan was drafted into the Soviet army by the Lioznensky District Military Enlistment Office, and his family was left waiting at home: his wife Fekla, children Ivan, Maria, Anna, and Zinaida. Division: 6th Mixed Aviation Division (2nd formation). Stepan went missing on July 6, 1943. Thanks to the work done by Stepan's relatives, it was established that the last place of his service was the 6th Guards Army, formed in June 1941 in the city of Kuibyshev, which began its combat path from the first days of the Patriotic War. Its troops smashed the German hordes on the South-Western, Don, Voronezh, 1st and 2nd Baltic and Leningrad Fronts. In 1941, there were battles on the territory of Belarus and Ukraine, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Belgorod-Kursk. The Guards Banners of units and formations carried their military glory from the Volga to the shores of the Baltic sea. The army troops covered 12,560 km. They liberated 20,000 localities, including Zhlobin, Rogachev (1941), Stalingrad (1943), Vitebsk, Polotsk, Dvinsk (1944), and Vindava (1945). The army participated in the Battle of Kursk from July 5 to August 23. The army formations that were defending the southern flank of the Kursk salient were attacked by the German 48 Tank Corps on July 6. After a powerful artillery preparation, the enemy threw up to 300 tanks and assault guns, supported by aircraft, against them. According to the data of the OBD “Memorial”, Stepan Boltunov was listed as missing just after that bloody battle. The battle of Cherkassk on July 5, 1943 is one of the undeservedly forgotten feats of Soviet soldiers and commanders during the great Battle of Kursk. The Central front lost 33800 men from July 5 to July 11. The main blow of the German troops fell on the center of the 6th Guards Army. Especially fierce battles unfolded on July 5-12, 1943: "... near the village of Cherkassk, Kursk Region, the defense was held by the 6th Guards Army, which during fierce battles destroyed more than 3 dozen tanks, 4 cars and several hundred enemy personnel, which made a turning point in the course of the fighting in this direction...". After a long search for information, it turned out that Stepan Boltunov was captured on July 6, 1943. He did not go missing, did not die and was not buried as an unknown soldier – he became a prisoner of war under the camp #18166. The city of Belgorod - the place of captivity, the camp-Stalag #367. Stalag #367 Czestochowo - a camp for private and non-commissioned personnel in Czestochau. It operated from September 1941 to August 1944. Stalags – the main camps for working prisoners of war (concentration). Prisoners of War #367 Warthelager. Prisoners of war from this camp died on its territory (from hunger, disease) or were executed – there or in the vicinity of the Jewish cemetery. The conditions of Soviet prisoners of war were very difficult. Because of hunger, they had eaten all the grass inside the camp. The guards consisted of former compatriots who had joined the Germans, so they were extremely cruel. During the war, 17,000 prisoners of war died in this camp. All the dead were buried by the Germans in the Jewish cemetery. In 1948-1949, 9,640 prisoners of war were exhumed and buried in a mass graves at the Kule cemetery. Stepan Boltunov was buried in one of these graves. He died on May 26, 1944.

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Unit: 372nd Novgorod Red Banner Rifle Division. Ivan Bolotov was born in 1902 in the village of Novoselskoe. From here, in 1924, he was drafted into the Workers and Peasants Red Army, service in which became his profession. He met the war in the rank of a Major, and by May of 1942 he was already a Lieutenant Colonel, Commander of the 1238th Rifle Regiment of the 372nd Rifle Division. The date of his death is considered to be May 30, 1942. However, there is evidence that on the morning of May 31, when the Nazis closed the encirclement with a powerful blow, cutting off the 59th Army, as a result of which its 1238th and 1240th Regiments, along with the 2nd Shock Army, were in the so-called Volkhov cauldron, he was still in command of his unit. A lot has been written about what happened in the period from January to June 1942 in the area of the villages of Lyubino Polye and Myasnoy Bor in the present Novgorod Region. Military men and historians still argue about the reasons for the unsuccessful counteroffensive designed to break the blockade of Leningrad, which was dying of hunger and cold. The scale of the tragedy is illustrated by at least this figure: more than 37 thousand people were buried at the Myasnoy Bor and Lyubino Pole memorials. They were found in the area surrounded by search teams, starting from 1986. Only a few people came out of the Bolotov’s regiment to join their own, but they could not say anything definite about the fate of their commander. There were many versions of what happened to Bolotov: from death to capture and treason. Each of them was quite real. After all, in the same Volkhov cauldron was the Commander of the 2nd Shock Army Vlasov, whose name later became synonymous with betrayal. General Vlasov led the "Russian Liberation Army" (ROA) created by the Nazis, and there were many "Volkhov" soldiers and officers in the ranks of the Vlasovites. So finding the remains of Bolotov helped - not just set the place of death of the regiment commander. It confirmed that our countryman remained faithful to the oath of defender of the Motherland until the end of his life, preferring death to captivity. The Lieutenant Colonel's medallion was found in 1996 by the search team from Nizhnekamsk. The birch grove on the Bank of the Polist River in the "island" area is still a giant mass grave of Soviet soldiers. Here, every year, the remains of hundreds of people are brought to the surface with a shovel and brush. A decade and a half ago, one didn't even have to dig the ground. Almost all the dead were not buried and rose directly from the surface, less often - from artillery craters. On the side of one of these craters the remains of Ivan Bolotov were found. His ashes were buried on August 30, 1996 at the Myasnoy Bor memorial near the village of the same name in the Novgorod Region. It is known that the Bolotov’s family at the time of war lived in the city of Suchan, Primorsky Region, but Ivan's relatives remained in Novogolsky. There is information that in 2008, his nephew was looking for him.

Rank: Specialist. Branch of Service: Air Force. He was called up to the front in June 1941. He fought in the 120th Separate Guards Aviation Regiment as a telephone operator with the rank of Guards Private. He finished the war as a senior telephone operator with the rank of Specialist. Awards: - Medal For Military Merit 12.06.1944, - Medal For the Defense of Moscow, 28.08.1944, - Medal For the Capture of Berlin, - Medal For the Victory over Germany, 09.07.1946. Extract from the order #017/n of June 12, 1944 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR: " to award the telephone operator of the air regiment of the Red Army Guards Private Mark Borovikov the medal For Military Merit, for the fact that during the Patriotic War he proved to be an exceptionally disciplined and executory signalman. He puts a lot of effort and energy to ensure trouble-free operation of wired communication. During the relocation period, he skillfully overcomes the difficulties encountered and establishes telephone communication between divisions and units immediately. His personal example and hard work draws the rest of the staff to the fastest execution of command tasks..." My great-grandfather met the Victory In Berlin. After the war, he returned to his village, raised seven sons and two daughters. He died on January 24, 1979 at the age of 67. It is the duty of every person to preserve the memory of those days! We are grateful to our great-grandfathers for defending the freedom of our country so that we could live under a peaceful sky!!!

Nikolay Bogdanov Branch of Service: NKVD Border Guards Naval Forces. Rank: Senior red Navy officer. From the Nikolay’s memoirs: "I started to serve in the Soviet Army in 1940. I began to participate in military operations in June 1942 in the North, in the naval aviation of the Northern Fleet, as a master of aviation equipment. I had to prepare the warplanes for departure. When we arrived at the location, we were lined up and told that the regimental commander would speak to us. He said: "Team attention! Hello, comrades!" - he said little. I remember his words that the situation at the front was extremely tense, the fascists were approaching Stalingrad, Voronezh, and here in the North, the situation was also not easy. You arrived just in time. As he spoke, a German spy plane appeared. The commander looked at the sky and said that now wait, they will start bombing. He walked around the line and said that if in peacetime mistakes were forgiven or punished, then here, in such a tense situation, one would be shot for mistakes, and his words were later fully confirmed. Otherwise, there would be no Victory. You are preparing the plane for a combat flight, you must install four machine guns and 100 kg bombs on the plane. The aircraft was prepared for a combat by several people (technician, motorist, gunsmith, instrument maker, electrician). If someone made a mistake, for example: incorrectly prepared machine guns for firing or incorrectly hung bombs, then this mistake would be the death of the entire crew of the aircraft. The pilot and his crew, getting on the plane, fully relied on the master, who prepared the plane for a battle. That would be the mistake the commander was talking about. The plane must be ready to take off at any time, regardless of bombing, shooting from the air or frost. There was a case with me: they were preparing the plane for departure, when everything was ready and everyone left, I decided to make sure once again that the plane was ready for a battle. After looking at everything again, I began to get out of the cockpit of the plane, when suddenly anti-aircraft guns started to fire and German planes appeared, Junkers in the amount of about 88 pieces. There was no shelter, the dugout was about 30 meters away from me. Everything was decided by seconds and suddenly there was a small gap nearby. The bombs were howling, and was deafen by explosions. I threw myself into this gap and, literally, a minute later, the plane was blown up by a bomb that hit it, and another bomb fell nearby. I was shell-shocked. This was only one episode from front-line life, and how many of them were there during the war? I ended the war on May 9, for which I was awarded the Medal for the Defense of the Arctic.

Rank: Guards Corporal Branch of service: Artillery Ivan Bitsura was born in 1924 in the village of Suzdal, Goryacheklyuchevsky District. The Great Patriotic War began. His father was sent to the front from the first days of the war. Many of Ivan's friends also defended their Homeland. He also decided to go to defend his Homeland, even though he was not 18. He came to a conscription office in order to take a summons to war. "Bring your documents and we'll mark you," the Lieutenant said. - "My documents are lost..." He was still given a summons to come to the assembly point. He told his mother about this, who bitterly cried: "I only recently saw my father off, and now you..." He passed the commission, was pronounsed fit for military service and sent to active military service. He took the military oath on August 29, 1942 at the 1258th Anti-aircraft Regiment. So he became a small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery gunner. He received his baptism of fire on Malaya Zemlya. He was shell-shocked, an enemy shell exploded near him. He was in a hospital in Novorossiysk. He couldn't hear or speak for a month. When the North Caucasus was liberated from the German invaders, his regiment moved West. Ivan was visited at the hospital by his military friends to say goodbye, but he did not hesitate to pack up his things and went with his friends to his regiment. Received the Medal For the Defense of the Caucasus #005125 dated 27.09.1944. He left the hospital without treatment, and became deaf and stuttered after being injured. But he shot well. In one of the place, there was fierce fighting. It was urgent to find out where the main German fortifications were located. It was necessary to bring a prisoner ("language"). It was nessesary to pick up scouts who could swim well. Bitsuru was a good swimmer, and there was a river on the rough terrain. After a while, they brought a "language" that gave valuable information. The German defenses were broken. He was awarded the Medal For Bravery #624371 dated 15.07.1943. Ivan was awarded the Order of the Red Star #1419884 of 5.05.1945 and valuable gifts for his military services. After the war, his fellow soldiers fought in the rear with the Nazis, then I. Bitsura was a clerk at the headquarters. He was discharged in 1945. The concussion showed itself in old age: he was almost blind, stuttered, and became deaf. In addition, the leg was amputated due to a common disease. He became disabled, but not a disabled war veteran, because there was no certificate that he was shell-shocked. We sent a request to Podolsk. They replied that he was not absent from the unit. Sent to Leningrad to the medical archive. They replied that there was a I. Bitsura, but he was born in 1927 and was born in Belgorod. But until the end of his life, he was proud of the fact that he received the Order of the Red Star and went through the entire war defending his Homeland.