Heroes and feats

Pavel Bokarev was born on January 20, 1920, in the village of Usmanka, Chebulinsky District, Kemerovo Region. He participated in the Tula defensive operation conducted between October 24 - December 5, 1941. It was a part of the Battle of Moscow in 1941-1942. The operation played an important role in stabilizing the front line on the southern approaches to Moscow. Of paramount importance in the success of the operation was the heroic defense of Tula, which withstood the attacks of German troops almost completely surrounded, and bound two enemy tank armies. In the battle of Ivanovo at that time, being a Medical Instructor of the 112nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, my grandfather took three commanders and thirteen Red Army men out of the battlefield under enemy fire, gave them first aid and sent them to the rear. In the battle of Strukov, he worked even in more difficult conditions, since the terrain was open. The whole area was covered by a heavy machine-gun fire. Regardless of the danger, he managed to take out more than ten Red Army soldiers and two commanders from the battlefield. In the battle near the village of Zubovo, he took eighteen people out of the battlefield, helped them, and delivered them to the medical center using horse transport. For that he was presented with the government award of the medal For Bravery. My grandfather served on the 1st Ukrainian Front in 1943. It conducted the Kiev defensive operation. In the battle for the village of Veresy, on November 18, 1943, the enemy broke through to the territory where the battle communication line passed. At the same time, the enemy broke into the village of Veresy. The combat communication line was needed until the very last moment, because the division Commander used it while in the village of Veresy, so it was not possible to remove this line. My grandfather, already was a Sergeant Major, the squad leader of the Cable and Pole Company of the 133rd Separate Signal Battalion of the 30th Rifle Corps. In the evening, having collected his squad, he went to pull the line from the enemy. Using the cover of darkness, they made their way through the German defense line and collected two kilometers of copper wire. What was not possible to collect the grandfather with his soldiers destroyed.On the way back, the Germans noticed a group of brave signalmen and opened fire. Skilfully directing people, the grandfather brought out his squad without losses. For this operation, he was presented for the second time to the government award of the medal For Bravery. After the end of the war, my grandfather returned home.

Rank: Sergeant. Branch of Service: Artillery. Unit: 413th Brest Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Rifle Division. My great-grandfather, Vasily Balandin was born on August 6, 1909, in the family of Fedor Balandin, a peasant, and his legal wife Agafya Isavina (Iivina?). In 1939, he served In the Department of correctional labor colonies of the NKVD Directorate of the Moscow Region, as a platoon commander. As a conscript, he was called up to the front on February 19, 1942. Tagansky District Military Commisariat (Moscow, Tagansky District). Sent to the assembly point of Moscow City Military Commisariat #3 with the rank of Sergeant (minor commanding staff) from the police Department #36. He served in the 982nd Artillery Regiment of the 413th Rifle Division, the 50th Army. He took part in the Orel operation (August 16, 1943) and liberated the city of Zhizdra, participated in the Bryansk operation (October 1, 1943). Units of the division, which was a part of the 50th Army of the Bryansk Front liberated the city of Cherikov. The last letter from him was sent on October 2, 1943 (field post office #66507-n). He was seriously wounded and sent to the Evacuation hospital #2781 (p / p 65502-n) on November 12, 1943. It was located in Zlynka, Bryansk Region. From there he was redirected to the evacuation hospital #2966 in Klimovichi (Balarus). He was admitted to the hospital without documents and in an unconscious state on 14.11.1943. Two weeks later, December 2, 1943 Vasily died and was buried in the city cemetery of Klimovichi, due to the loss of documents in the distant 1943, buried under the rank of private. The family members for more than 70 years considered Vasily missing in action, and only recently became aware of his Fate and the Great price he paid for our peaceful life.

Rank: Lieutenant. Unit: 302nd Ternopil Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Rifle Division. Fyodor Belov was born in 1908 in the village of Ishbulatovo of the Ufa Province, in the family of Belovs Ipat and Maria. He studied at Tynbaevskaya School, which now bears the name of Belov Brothers. He served as a cadre officer from 1930-1932. 1941-1943 - at the front. On June 22, 1941, without a call, he appeared in the Stalinskiy District Military Commissariat of the city of Chelyabinsk with a request to immediately send him to the front. He fought at Odessa (from August 1941), Sevastopol, Stalingrad, and on the Southern Front. He commanded the reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Stepnoy Orel partisan detachment, and was the Chief of Staff of the Chapaev Partisan Detachment. Lieutenant. A letter came to his parents in the autumn of 1942 in which Fyodor reported on his participation in the battles near Odessa and Sevastopol, about being wounded in the arm and being in the hospital. According to archival data from Kiev, after the hospital Fyodor served in the 825th Rifle Regiment of the 302nd Rifle Division. Participated in heavy defensive battles in the Salsk steppes. Then he was in one of the groups under the command of officer Grigory Popov, which later received the official name Stepnye Orly (July 1942). He commanded the reconnaissance and sabotage group of the partisan detachment Stepnye Orly. Archival materials indicate that the actions of the group and the entire detachment were distinguished by extraordinary audacity. During the offensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Stepnye Orly detachment numbered up to 70 people. Fyodor was presented for the award in April 1943. The submission note indicated that as the commander of the reconnaissance group, he showed himself decisive in actions. He personally destroyed twenty seven soldiers and two German officers from September 1942 to January 1943. Operating in the enemy's rear, he identified its vulnerabilities, and successfully organized the transfer of important intelligence data across the front line. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. (CGAOR of the Ukrainian SSR. F. 1. Op. 24. D. 192. L. 31). The troops of the Southern Front began to prepare for an offensive from April 1943 to liberate the Donbass and break through to the Dnieper River. To strengthen the combat work in the enemy rear in the area of Dnepropetrovsk, the command of the Southern Front formed a select partisan detachment consisting of 14 volunteers, giving it the name of V. Chapaev. Fyodor Belov became its Chief of Staff. The Chapaev detachment was air lifted by "Douglas" airplane and landed on parachutes near the river Samara, a tributary of the Dnieper River on the night of May 14-15, 1943, The unit deployed its main base in the forests along Samara River South-East of Novomoskovsk. Having established control over the Zaporozhye - Pavlograd - Kharkov railway line, it began to disable it in one place or another, derailed the enemy train with ammunition and equipment. The front's aviation, having received intelligence data from the detachment, successfully attacked on June 2nd a sanatorium located at Samara River near the village of Orlovschina, where up to three hundred German officers were stationed, disabling more than a hundred of them. A number of objects were destroyed at Sinelnikovo and Pavlograd stations. Partisans on June 3, suddenly attacked the German commandant's office in the area of the State Farm #2 near Khoshchevoe. Up to ten enemy soldiers and two vehicles were destroyed, and a significant amount of food was captured. Fyodor Belov, together with his partner on June 7, 1943, went out with reconnaissance mission to the Panychevo area 5.5 km North of the village of Vasilyevka, apparently intending to observe the movement of the Zaporozhye - Pavlograd - Lozovaya - Kharkov railway from hidden places. They spent the night in the attic of the gatehouse located here, not assuming that their fateful day was waiting for them. How it all happened was found out only 47 years later from the surviving eyewitnesses, residents of the village of Vasilyevka. An unwitting witness of the Fyodor’s death Galina Patyk and other villagers knew about what happened. In the early morning of June 8, 1943 from Vasilyevka to the shed two police officers dressed in the usual peasant dress arrived on carts. Yaloza, the caretaker who met them, pointed mysteriously to the attic of the Lodge. They took a closer look, as if they were unharnessing their horses. One rode quietly along the gully, the other went through the woods on foot, into the bushes, and then up the hill. Not expecting much trouble, but still on the alert, Fyodor and his partner descended from the attic of the gatehouse and secretly, as they hoped, moved up the gully about a kilometer from there. And, just in case, they took shelter in a fairly wide spillway of the lake dam. Meanwhile, the riding policeman has already informed the headman of Vasilyevka Savely Shepel about the identified partisans. Savka Shepel as the villagers called him contemptuously was the first to ride there with a detachment of police on carts. He immediately sent out sentries and tried to approach the scouts' hiding place. Fyodor and his partner, who were armed only with revolvers and a grenade, were trapped and had to open fire. Savka with the policemen hid, but then a large group of punishers from Pereshchepino arrived to help him. In total, up to eighty people gathered against two of them. The policemen started moving towards the spillway in two directions. The partisans realized that they wanted to take them alive and, standing tall, openly began fire at them with revolvers. Several of the policemen were struck. The others layed low. There were no people willing to go under the shots. Then the chief policeman of Vasilyevka ordered to collect up to a hundred children and women working in the field. Galina Patyk was among them. Several boys were placed in an observation cordon: "If you miss them, you'll get shot in the head!" Savka warned each of the teenagers. From the most of the children and women they created a human chain and drove it before them to the partisans. Hiding behind them, the policemen advanced, tightening the ring around scouts. The emboldened Shepel himself began to make his way behind the living barrier to the spillway pipe. Met with fire, stretched out on the ground. Seeing that there were no policemen close behind him, he threw a grenade at the partisans, but, intercepted in the air, it flew back. The shards pierced his arm and head. Children and women, who saw all this, raised loud cries, began to resist, but the policemen pushed them in the back with their butts, and shot over their shoulders. The situation of the scouts was hopeless. Appearing at full height, Fyodor Belov shouted: "Live happily!.. Goodbye!..” He held the revolver to his temple and fired, his partner following him… Lieutenant Fyodor Belov fell in battle on 08.06.1943 near the village of Vasilyevka, Novomoskovsky District, Dnipropetrovsk Region. He was buried in a mass grave in the village of Vasilyevka. Awarded the Order of the Red Star, the medal Partisan of the Patriotic War 1st degree. A memorial granite slab with the names of those who fell near the village and were buried at the grave was opened on May 9, 1990 - on the 45th Anniversary of the Victory: the chief of staff of the Chapaev Partisan Detachment Fedor Belov, scout Olga Shepelenko, underground workers Pavel Chabanenko and his son Nikolay, pilot Chepuryan. Eternal memory to the victims of the Great Patriotic War! Eternal glory to the heroes!

Ivan Betskikh was born in 1916 in Turin District in the village of Komyshanka in a peasant family. His father - Bedskikh Naum (born in 1859), mother - Alexandra Razgildyaeva (born in 1858). He worked as an assistant magician in the Sverdlovsk Circus in his youth. Later he worked at the factories of Nizhny Tagil, where he met his future wife. He married Anastasia Zyryanova and had two sons (Boris and Konstantin). Worked at Irbit Glass Factory. He participated in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (9 months). Went through the war as a private. Was in Finnish captivity. He served in the NKVD troops and had translation skills. For many years before retirement, he worked at the Irbit Glass Factory. Worked in the workshops of orality balls, silikat-blocks; burning shop, insulators and fittings shop. His main specialty was a mechanic-repairman, duty mechanic, duty for draining fuel oil. His hobby was making animal figures, bas-reliefs and busts of leaders, household items from white Ural clay. After studying at the Kyshtym ceramic factory, Ivan brought forms to the glass factory, from which he poured various items for interior decoration in his spare time, etc. On the territory of the insulator shop, a site for orginizing the production of toilets and washbasins for the Sverdlovsk ceramic plant was organized. Then the production of this type of goods was transferred to Sverdlovsk, and the master's sculpture was made unofficially. Ivan, being an active member of the Trade Union Committee, was responsible for patronage work with the village (patronized the residents of the village of Znamenka, Irbit District). He was engaged in the allocation of land plots for plant workers for planting potatoes. Every spring, he could be seen with a wooden pedometer in his hands and pegs for marking out plots. In retirement, he sewed shoes for employees of the factory (sewed slippers, felt bootsi, repaired shoes). Worked as a domestic worker. As a person, he had always been the "soul" of the company, loved the guests. He died in Irbit in 1976.

My great-grandfather, Nikolai Bredikhin was born on February 12, 1919 in the village of Durnevo, Gubkinsky District, Belgorod Region. He was the eldest child in the family. He had three other brothers and three sisters. He was a graduate of the 1st year of the Artillery School. He was a veteranof the war, had many awards and orders. He is a veteran of the 7th Breakthrough Artillery Division of the Top Command Reserve. The first battle of the division was on December 16, 1942 near Astakhov-Kamenka at North-Western sector of the Battle of Stalingrad. It was a part of the 3rd Guards Army of the South-Western Front. My great-grandfather went from the walls of Stalingrad to the Austrian Alps through the Don, Seversky Donets, Dnieper, Southern Bug, Svir, Dniester, Prut, Tissa and Danube rivers. The military exploits of artillery soldiers and the personal contribution of each to the cause of Victory have always lived in the memory and hearts of grateful generations, in the bronze of monuments, in the marble of obelisks, in books and songs. The battle banner of the 7th Zaporozhye and four banners of its brigades covered with glory of Victories and today continue to serve our Motherland faithfully. N. Bredikhin met the victory at the walls of Berlin. After the end of the war, he returned to his native village. He married my great-grandmother Nina In 1947. They lived together for 28 years. After marriage, he continued his service in the city of Gaisin, Vinnytsia Region of Ukraine. They changed more than one place of residence while the great-grandfather was serving. Everywhere they found friends who helped them and did not leave them in trouble. Together they walked hand in hand, supporting each other. On September 28, 1948, their son Viktor was born, and seven years later, on February 28, 1955, their daughter Lyuba, my grandmother, was born. My great-grandfather was demobilized n 1960. The family returned to the Belgorod Region and decided to settle in the city of Stary Oskol. Nikolay worked as a Director of a brick factory, and Nina was a dispatcher. It seemed that life went in the right direction, but there was trouble. On the evening of May 3, 1975, Nikolay became ill with a heart condition. When the ambulance arrived, he was already dead. It was a heavy loss for the family, as the great-grandfather was the real head of a large and friendly family. Many friends, relatives and friends came to see him off on his last journey. But life went on and one had to learn to live without him. They say time heals, no it does not heal, but only dulls the pain of loss. Great-grandmother lived another 32 years, saw the appearance of two grandchildren and two granddaughters, even waited for great-grandchildren, but the bright memory of her husband never left her. Remembering her husband, life after the war, and the difficult times of her life when there was nothing to eat brought tears to her eyes. We her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren tried to support our beloved old lady. She died on October 5, 2006. Now we often go to their graves, remember what they were, we are proud of and admire our ancestors, whose exploits will live forever, and their names are immortal.

Rank: Second Lieutenant. Vasily Benberin was born on May 9, 1918 in the village of Bogoslovka (now Sandyktau District of the Akmola Region of Kazakhstan) in a peasant family. After graduating from secondary school and the school of factory apprenticeship at the motor depot of the kokchetavsky enterprise "Zagozerno", he worked as a driver. He was called up to serve in the Red Army in 1938. Participated in the Polish campaign of the Red Army and the Soviet-Finnish war. He graduated from the Oryol Tank School n February 1944, after which he served on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He joined the CPSU (b) in the same year. Guards Second Lieutenant Vasily Benberin by January 1945, commanded a tank of the 44th Guards Tank Brigade of the 11th Guards Tank Corps of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. Distinguished himself during the liberation of Poland. Being part of the forward detachment, Benberin's tank managed to break through to the Pilitsa River, destroyed the enemy's guards at the approaches to the river, and then went to the southern bank of the river. Acting as part of a company of the Guards First Lieutenant Alexander Orlikov, Benberin was one of the first to ford the river North of the city of Nove Miasto and captured a bridgehead, held it until the main forces of the brigade arrived. During the fighting near the town of Lovechvzvod, a detachment of the Guards First Lieutenant Konstantin Nikonov, which included Benberin, with a group of riflemen and a squad of sappers, approached the bridge over the Bzura River, which divided Lovech into two parts. After that, the tank forces broke into the city. The Benberin tank was sent by Nikonov with the task to capture the railway station, which was successfully completed by the crew. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of February 27, 1945 for "his courage, bravery and heroism in the struggle against German fascist invaders" Guards Second Lieutenant Vasily Benberin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal #6696. Banberin retired to the reserve in 1945. He lived in the city of Alma-Ata. He died on January 24, 2005 in the city of Alma-Ata. He was also awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, as well as a number of medals.

Rank: Major Branch of Service: Land Forces, Air Force (except for Naval Aviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guard Unit: 250th Bobruisk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division July 1943. The division's regiments were moving to the front line of the defense, which ran along the Neruch River. The personnel spent almost three months preparing hard for combat. The newly formed 308 Separate Anti-tank Artilleri Detachment, along with other units, was approaching the front. I as the commander of the detachment was haunted by the thought: how would it show itself in fighting? The detachment after artillery preparation went on the offensive on July 12. The battery had motor tractors. This allowed it to be the first of the artillery units that accompanied the infantry to approach the village. It immediately turned around and began firing direct fire at enemy positions. The gun commander, Sergeant Russkikh, found the machine gun and destroyed it with accurate fire. The observer of another gun reported that an enemy battery was seen in Berezovets, firing at the attackers. Gun crews of Sergeants Kapitonov and Kolodnikov from behind the left flank of the attackers came close to the village along with the infantry, broke into it and captured the 155-mm artillery battery of the Germans. The Nazis did not even have time to disable the guns. The 922nd Rifle Regiment by the end of the day of July 27 captured the dominant height and the village of Novo-Dmitrievka, it approached the station of Stanovoy Kolodez, but could not take it on the move. At dawn on July 28, 922nd and 918th Rifle Regiments , supported by artillery, launched an attack. German aircraft tried to bomb the attackers. Our fighters started an air battle and forced Germans planes to drop bombs on their own positions. On the left flank of the 922nd Regiment, one of the companies layed down. Captain Miroshnikov's anti-tank battery came to the rescue. It destroyed the enemy's firing positions with a direct fire. Especially distinguished were the gun crews of Sergeant M. Sosnin and Specialist Ratushny, who destroyed four machine guns and one artillery piece. Our soldiers liberated the Stanovoy Kolodez station on July 28. Captain Filatov was buried on its forecourt. Later, he was reburied in the mass grave of our soldiers. Before reaching the front line by eighty kilometers, we stopped in the village of Gusevo. Summer. Heat. All undressed and had a rest after the march. I layed down under the gun in the shade. Doze off. Suddenly an explosion, I woke up, and logs were flying at me. A German plane, a single one, bombed our lines. The bastard made two passes. It was a total mess. I was at the front earlier, so it was more or less familiar to me but the recruits did not know where to run and what to do. The losses were decent. Our troops launched an offensive, and we supported them with fire. I suppressed their firing points that with a fire of my battery and we occupied this village, where the Germans had previously been. However, in this village we lost all the horses. They were shot at from the attics. We burned down the houses where this was done. I looked it up later. In each attic, one by one, two Germans were sitting with machine guns. After a while, we were transferred to another section of the front. Here we had to retreat. Part of the army was surrounded, and some managed to escape. They were on the defensive and stood there until the fall. On the eve of the New Year, the task was set to take two localities South of Rzhev. If we take them, the division would become a Guards division, if not, then no. We went on the offensive, took half the city, but the German knocked us out. We're on the defensive. The city burned. Including food warehouses. The people at night picked up food from burning warehouses so it would not burn. We spent the winter near Rzhev, and in the spring we were transferred to the North-Western Front, near Staraya Russa. In the area of Lake Seliger, we got reinforcments and went on the offensive. From there, the remnants of our division in three echelons (and in the normal configuration for the transfer of the division, 16 echelons were necessary) were transferred to Yelets. Further formation took place in the Krasninsky District. Here I was appointed Commander of the 308th Separate Fighter Anti-tank detachment of the 250th Rifle Division. We received men, new guns, anti-tank guns, vehicles and uniforms. After staffing, we were transferred to Orel. It was the summer of 1943. Then the battle of Kursk began. However, the Germans woul not advance in our lane. This happened to the left. Thus, our division did not take Orel, but cut the German communications, which contributed to the capture of the city. I was awarded the Order of the Red Star for my participation in the battles on the Kursk bulge. After the Kursk bulge, our unit was transferred to Belarus on the Sozh River. As I was one of the first to go to the sea, I was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In April 45, we received an order "To Berlin!" We moved to Germany on our own, without stopping anywhere. However, we were not sent to Berlin, but were sent to the rear, so that we could begin to advance to the East. Here we were fighting a strong German group. We were told on May 9, that the war was over.

Rank: Major General of Aviation Branch of Service: Air Force, Military Pilot 1st class Unit: 216th Mixed Aviation Division Pavel Berestnev - Deputy Squadron Commander of the 45th Fighter Aviation Regiment (216th Mixed Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, North Caucasus Front), First Lieutenant. Pavel Berestnev was born on May 20 (June 2), 1913 in the village of Pokrovka (now does not exist, territory of the Hislavichsky District of the Smolensk Region). Russian. He graduated from Junior high school in the village Cherepova (Hislavichsky District). He worked on his father's farm, was a village reporter for the newspaper "Socialist Village". He went to the Donbass in 1930 and worked in a mine. After returning home, he worked for a collective farm, performed tasks of the Village Council for grain procurement. He lived in Moscow since 1933, worked as a roofer and at the same time studied at the school of working youth at the "Hammer and Sickle" Factory. He graduated from the Labor Faculty of the People's Commissariat of Railways in 1936. In the army - since August 1936. He graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1939. In 1940 - Advanced Training Courses for Air Force Navigators in Poltava. He served in combat units of the air force (in the Transcaucasian Military District). Participated in the Great Patriotic War: in March 1942-November 1943 - Adjutant of the Air Squadron, Deputy Commander and Commander of the Air Squadron of the 45th (since June 1943 – 100th Guards) Fighter Aviation Regiment. He fought on the Crimean, North Caucasus, Southern and 4th Ukrainian Fronts. Participated in the defense of the Crimea and the Caucasus, the liberation of Donbass and Melitopol. He was shot down and forced to leave the plane with a parachute in June 1942. He was seriously injured and was treated in a hospital until March 1943. He was sent to study at the Air Force Academy in November 1943. During the period of participation in combat operations, he made 185 sorties on Yak-1 and R-39 "Aerocobra" fighters, in air battles he personally shot down 12 enemy aircraft and 2 as part of a group. For the courage and heroism shown in battle, the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 24, 1943, First Lieutenant Pavel Berestnev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal (#990). He graduated from the Air Force Academy (Monino) in 1945. He continued to serve in combat units of the air force in the Northern Group of Troops (Poland) and in the Group of Soviet Troops in Germany. He was a Deputy Commander and Regimental Commander, a Pilot Inspector for the division's piloting techniques. Then he was Deputy Commander and Commander of the fighter air division (in the Odessa and Transcaucasian Military Districts). In 1958-1961 - Deputy Commander of the 34th Air Army for Air Defense (Transcaucasian Military District). Major General of Aviation P. Berestnev - in reserve since September 1961. He lived in Odessa (Ukraine), then moved to Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia). He died on May 20, 1981. He was buried in the Pantheon of the Ossetian Church in Vladikavkaz. A street in the village of Hislavichi and Cherepovskaya Secondary school are named after him. Awarded: Order of Lenin (24.05.1943), four Orders of the Red Banner (1.02.1943, 22.04.1943, 4.06.1955, 30.12.1956), Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree (5.04.1943), three Orders of the Red Star (3.10.1942, 21.08.1953, 29.04.1954), medals.

Branch of Service: Military Economic and Administrative Staff Unit: 221st Mariupol-Khingan Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division Batalova (Klimina) Olga was born on July 25, 1916 in the village of Zaufa, Krasnoufimsky District, Sverdlovsk Region. From the age of 14, she worked in logging. She became a cook for the factory kindergarten in 1937 and worked there until 1942. She volunteered for the front in 1942. She was enlisted in the 221st Ural Rifle division, which was formed in the Krasnoufimsky District, as a nurse of the evacuation platoon of the medical battalion. Fighting way: Don Front – Kotluban, Gumrak, Pitomnik, Novoalekseevka, Karpovka, Cossack mound. Bryansk Front - Povorino, Tambov, Tula, Zakharovka, Volkhov, Orel, Kursk. Central Front - Chernihiv, Nedanchichi, Radul, Bragin, Khvoyniki. Belorussian Front - Kalinkovichi, Wild Swamp, Kovel, Twisk, Doask, Chelm, Maidans, łódź, Zwoleń, tomaszów, Szczecin, Kalisz, Poznan, Franfurt, Klessen, fürstenwalde, Berlin. Meeting with the Americans on the Elbe River. She returned home from the front on July 19, 1945. After the war, she worked for a kindergarten as a cook, for the Saraninsky Plant of Forging and Pressing Equipment as a cleaner, for a bakery in the shop for making carbonated water. She went on a well-deserved rest since June 16, 1971. My grandmother was a famous chiropractor. Many people remember her with a kind word. She died on April 14, 2000. My grandmother has been dead for 15 years, but our family remembers her. It is impossible to forget the people who, without sparing their strength, health and life, went through such a difficult path in order to liberate our country from the Nazis, so that we could live in a happy world. Let the war never remind you of itself. Bright memory to all the heroes who defended our country.

Rank: Captain Branch of Service: Artillery Leonard Anatolyevich Berezovsky was born on January 28, 1922 in Novosibirsk. From the age of 3 to 7, he lived in Berlin with his parents (on a business trip). He lived in Moscow on 10/1 Maroseyka Street since 1929. Leonard graduated from high school with a gold medal in 1940 and was drafted to the army. The military enlistment office recorded him as Leonid (the name Leonard was not recognized), so some military documents were written with the name of Leonid Berezovsky. When 1941 the war broke out, and he was sent as a cadet to the accelerated courses at the Moscow Supreme Council Combined Arms Military Schol. After graduation in May 1942 he went to the front as a Commander of a Mortar Platoon of the 2nd Separate Artillery Battalion of the Don Front. His first fight was in Stalingrad, when he was only 20 years old! They were not given weapons, because weapons were sorely lacking, so he had to get himself a weapon that he found on the dead German, and it was a knife. Then 69 Army of the Steppe Front and the 4th Ukrainian Front. Since 1944 - Commander of Mortar Companies of the 963rd Rifle Regiment, the 274th Rifle Division of the 1st Belarusian Front. Participated in the battles for the liberation of Warsaw and the capture of Berlin! Was awarded the Order of Patriotic War 1st degree, medal For Defense of Stalingrad, medal For the Liberation of Warsaw, medal For the Capture of Berlin, medal for the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War! During the war, he was shell-shocked, repeatedly wounded, his entire back was covered with shrapnel scars, some fragments remained until the end of his life. The explosion tore off one phalanx of his finger. The orderly quickly tied this phalanx to the finger with a bandage and the finger stucked, though crooked, but a full finger. He was also shot through the arm. At the front, his colleagues called him Lenya. Since then, all his life he was called Lenya. Leonard finished the war with the rank of Guards Captain of Artillery. After the end of the war in June 1945 my father was a Chief of Staff of the Rifle Battalion of the 963rd Rifle Regiment of the 274th Rifle Division in the Group of Soviet Troops in Germany, then from July 1945 until November 1946, he was Chief of Staff of the 180th Guards Rifle Red Banner Berlin Regiment of the (GSTG). While in Berlin, my father decided to visit the owner of the apartment where he lived with his parents before the war (1925-1929). The apartment was located on the American side of Berlin, so he was issued a pass and allocated a Red Army soldier. Surprisingly, the Americans let him go to their part of the city, even more surprisingly, that the house was intact. Approaching the apartment, my father did not even think if she was alive? remembered him? would recognizhim?, because he lived there as a little boy. The door was opened by an old woman, Lenya asked: "Frau Liebchen?" and introduced himself in German. Pause... and the old woman, with a cry, thrown herself on his neck, shouting his name:- "Adya, Adya...!" - so affectionately she called him in those distant years. Then she kept asking about mom and dad and crying and crying... Then the rode the tram together to the checkpoint and surprised passengers: - "In the American zone of Berlin, a Red Army officer is riding in a tram, and a German old woman is sobbing on his shoulder, hugging him, and saying that now she can die in peace." Leonard drew very well and made various sketches of architectural structures in Berlin at any spare moment. This saw one of our soldiers, she liked the pictures and learning that Leonard was from Moscow have advised, upon returning home, to go to MARKHI (Moscow Architectural Institute). Unfortunately, he did ask the first and last name of this servicewoman. After returning home, in 1948, he entered the MARKHI, successfully studied there, entered graduate school, defended his PhD thesis, and became an Associate Professor. After graduation in 1954 Leonard Berezovsky continued to work at the MARHI as a teacher of architectural design, worked as the Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Design, was awarded the badge Winner of the Socialist Competition in 1973, He became a member of the Union of Architects of the USSR and the Architectural Foundation in 1984. All the students loved him very much and remember him with a kind word. He was married since 1951 and had four children.

Rank: Corporal. Branch of Service: Signal Troops. Makhmud Badamshin was born on April 22, 1918 in the village of Novomusino, Sharlyk District, Orenburg Region. He was my paternal grandfather. Rank: Guards Corporal. In the Red Army - since 1938. Place of enlistment: Sharlyk District Military Commissariat, Chkalov Region, Sharlyk District. Went to the front of the Great Patriotic War in 1941. He served in 1941-1942 on the Western Front, from 1942 on the Bryansk, Voronezh, Western, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. He was awarded the medal For Bravery on 26.01.1943. He was sent with combat correspondence from the Corps Headquarters to the 8th Far Eastern Cavalry Division in April 1944, in the area of Klevan. On the way he was fired at by enemy machine gun. Despite the fact that the horse was killed under him, he took the fight and killed one German with a well-aimed shot, and scattered the rest. Combat correspondence was delivered to the Division in a timely manner. For this, he was awarded the medal For Military Merit. When the enemy fiercely pressed on October 12, 1944 against the units defending the city of Haidu-Soboslo, and in difficult moments of the battle, when enemy machine gunners leaked to the outskirts of the city, Badamshin among a group of signalmen engaged the enemy. Having dislodged the Germans from the outskirts of the city, he and another soldier were ordered to comb the forest on the left flank of the Northern outskirts and scout the cornfield occupied by the enemy. After completing the first task, Badamshin discovered an enemy trench in the corn, engaged the Germans, killed two enemy submachine gunners, but was seriously wounded in both legs. When he was taken out of the battlefield, being conscious, he gave the command a valuable data about the enemy. For this, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He was also awarded the medal For the Victory Over Germany, and in 1985 – the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class. He moved to Dushanbe in the 1950th, where he was awarded medals of Veteran of labor and For Valiant Labor in the USSR. He was a disabled veteran of the Great Patriotic War. Brought up two children. He died at the age of 75 and was buried in Dushanbe, Tajik SSR.

Title: Sergeant Major. Branch of Service: Army, Air Force (except for Naval Aviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guard. Unit: 90th Guards Vitebsk-Novgorod Double Red Banner Rifle Division. Vladimir Benov was born in 1923, a native of the Barzassky District of the Kemerovo Region, was called up to the front in September 1942 by the Izhmor District Military Commissariat, Kemerovo Region, Izhmor District. He began his service in the military rank of Red Army Guards Private, and was assigned to the machine-gun crew of the 3rd Rifle Battalion of the 272nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 90th Guards Rifle Division of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps of the 1st Baltic Front. 25.07.1944. Guards Private Vladimir Benov, who by that time already had three wounds, being the commander of the crew of a heavy machine gun, in offensive battles in the Dvina area, during the enemy counterattack, showed courage and bravery, personally repelling a group of enemy soldiers, destroying five and wounding many, for which he was awarded the medal For Bravery. 15.08.1944. Guards Private Benov, being the commander of the crew of a heavy machine gun of the 3rd Rifle Battalion of the 272nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 90th Guards Rifle Division of the 4th Shock Army of the 1st Baltic Front, in an offensive battle when crossing the Memele River, under heavy machine-gun fire of the enemy, his crew moved forward and with well-aimed fire suppressed the fire of an enemy machine gun and destroyed its crew. In this battle, his crw destroyed twelve enemy soldiers. For courage and determination in the battle the Guards Private Vladimir Benov was awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree. 14.09.1944. In an offensive battle, during the breakthrough of the German defense, South-East of the city of Bauska, the machine-gun crew of the Guards Private Benov, during the attack, supported the advancing infantry with its well-aimed fire. Developing an offensive Guards Private Benov with his crew suppressed the fire of enemy machine guns and destroyed their crews, being wounded, did not leave the battlefield. For his courage and bravery, he was awarded the Order of Glory 2nd degree. 22.02.1945. Guards Sergeant Vladimir Banov, being the Squad Leader of the 3rd Rifle Battalion, 272nd Guards Rifle Regiment, 90th Guards Rifle Divisio,n 4th Shock Army of the 1st Baltic Front, heroically died during the offensive operations of Soviet troops in the area of the farm Dedi, Pakulska Parish, Liepaja District, Latvian SSR. He was buried in Latvia at the Priekul Military Cemetery, Mass grave #5.

Rank: Major General of Aviation. Branch of Service: Air Force. Unit: 11th Guards Dnepropetrovsk Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Fighter Aviation Division. Georgy Baevskiy (1921-2005) - Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Military Test Pilot of the 1st class. He served in the Red Army since March 7, 1940. Graduated from the Serpukhov Military Aviation School as an instructor pilot. In 1943 - the 5th Guards Fifhter Aviation Regiment. From December 1943 - Deputy Squadron Commander of the 5th Guards Fighter (Berlin) Aviation Regiment. February 4, 1944 - awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Guard G. Captain Baevsky completed 252 sorties, conducted 52 air battles, and personally shot down 19 enemy aircraft by May 1945. Participated in the Battles of Kursk, Dnieper, and the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. He finished the war in Prague. Participated in a historical Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 on Red Square in Moscow. After the war, he served in the air force. He graduated from the Air Force Aviation Engineering Academy in 1951. He served as a senior pilot of the Soviet Army Air Force Research Institute. He graduated from the Military Academy of the General staff in 1962. G. Baevsky - military test pilot of the 1st class, honored military pilot of the USSR, Major General of Aviation. He worked in detachments of the air force, Deputy Chief of the Air Force Research Institute, Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District. Tested seventy-seven types of aircraft. He performed a secret mission in Egypt on MiG-25RB aircraft in 1971-1972. The prototype of the "Grasshopper" in the movie "Only old men go to Battle", Georgy Baevsky was also the author of the most interesting books: "With Aviation through the Twentieth Century" and "Stalin's Falcons against the Aces of the Luftwaffe". Until his last days, he served and taught at the Zhukovsky Air Force Engeeniring Akademy.

Branch of Service: Army, Air Force (except for Naval Aviation), Coast Guard, NKVD troops, Border Guard. Unit: 372nd Novgorod Red Banner Rifle Division. Vasily Bryuzgin was born in 1896, in the village of Meshanovo, Pskov District, Pskov Province (now Verholino villadge, Pskov District, Pskov Region, more ancient name - Verknnie Oliny) in a peasant family. Before the war, he studied at Verholino Community School. After school, he began to work for a collective farm in the village of Verholino. Married. He had six children: four sons and two daughters. It was a large and close-knit hard-working family. The terrible news of the beginning of the war broke into homes on Sunday, June 22, 1941. My great-great-grandfather Vasily was taken to the front in August 1941, when he was forty five years old. He worried that when left a large family with a baby. However, there was no other choice at that time. It was necessary to defend the Motherland. He and the other men were collected and sent to the station through the village of Verholino. They left their villages to meet the harsh unknown with the short and dry name "front", in groups and singly, still very young men and men in the Prime of life, those who in their youth had not yet had time to meet their first love and fathers from large families. Relatives learned about the departure of Vasily shortly before that. He did not know then that this was the last time he saw his family. He wanted to go up and kiss his children and wife, and got out of line. But he did not have time to approach them. The rough voice of the commander: "Bruzgin, get back in line," stopped him. He saw the tears of his family, but could not do anything. Vasily was a private in the 1238th Rifle Regiment of the 372nd Rifle Division. The winter of 1943-1944 was mild, "rotten". The marshes were covered only with a thin crust of ice, which significantly reduced the maneuverability of the troops, tying them to the roads. The enemy strongholds of Staraya Melnitsa, Bolshoe Lyapino, and Maloe Lyapino, in the Novgorod Region, were defended by garrisons of strength from a reinforced platoon to a company each and were prepared for a circular defense. The commander of the 1st Rifle Battalion of the 1238th Rifle Regiment at 21:00 on January 18, 1943 received the task: in order to quickly reach the enemy's supply routes leading to Novgorod from the West, in 24 hours on January 18, using a weakly fortified area on the enemy's front line, the riverbed of the river Vpryazhka and brush and forest in this area, pass through the last edge secretly, reach the enemy's rear by 7 o'clock on January 19 and destroy it in the stronghold of Staraya Melnitsa. Forbidding the withdrawal of enemy units to the West, hold this strong point until the main forces approach. The 1238th Rifle Regiment reached the Leningrad Region, to the city of Vyborg. There, Vasily was wounded in the leg. In the city of Vyborg, a local resident helped him. She had cured him and Vasily continued to fight on. However, he did not fight for long. When he was delivering shells on a horse, he came across an unexploded mine of the enemy and was killed. He died on July 7 (2), 1944 in the Vyborg District in the town of Vysotsk. Initially, Vasily was buried on the island Ravan-Sari, but the place of perpetuation of his memory is located at the memorial cemetery in the city of Vysotsk, grave #54.

Rank: Corporal. Unit: 336th Zhytomyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division. He graduated from eight classes and six months later, on January 1, 1943, he was called up for the army. Scout the 408th Scout Company of the 336th Zhytomyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division, corporal. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Description of merits from the award list V. Byakhov of 30.05.1945 For the period of service in the scout company comrade Byakhov repeatedly performed the most important tasks of the command, showing himself to be a bold and brave scout. Comrade Byakhov has up to 200 exits to perform combat missions, where with his assistance 32 control prisoners were taken and more than 350 German soldiers and officers were destroyed, as well as 8 exits to the enemy's rear, where 6 German soldiers were killed and very valuable information about the enemy was collected. During the period of offensive battles from 12.01.45, comrade Byakhov, being constantly on the missions, repeatedly, when performing combat tasks, was the first to get to the German cells and rushed at the Nazis, dragging his comrades with him. 27.04.45. When advancing to the height #499, comrade Byakhov was the first to break into the German trenches, destroying 6 German machine-gunners with automatic fire. When the Germans launched a counterattack, comrade Byakhov, using a captured machine gun, did not allow them to approach their positions, destroying more than 20 enemy soldiers. Deserved of the Government award - the Order of the Red Banner. He was slightly wounded in the right leg on October 17, 1943. He was seriously wounded in the right thigh on May 07, 1945. After recovery, he continued his service. Demobilized on 13.03.1948. He lived in the village of Cheremnoye and worked as a carpenter for a state farm. A member of the CPSU - since 1951. He with his wife raised a son and daughter. He was buried in the village of Cheremnoye, Pavlovskiy District.