10 heroes of WWII. What can dry statistics tell us about the number of those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and full holders of the Order of Glory?

Many women, with small children to take care of, worked in factories and factories.

Children and old people, standing at the machines day and night, made weapons for the soldiers, constantly without enough food, in the cold and overcoming the most difficult conditions. They did everything in their power to help survive the war and defeat the invaders.

Many soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals, many received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The title of Hero of the Second World War was awarded to soldiers, officers, sailors, partisans, and pioneers. All the people of a huge country began to defend their Motherland. Everyone gave their strength to fight the enemy, both those who fought at the front and those who worked in the rear. Only thanks to the exploits of millions of people, the new generation received the right to a free life.

We must remember the names of the heroes who gave their lives in the struggle for liberation: Alexander Matrosov, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Nikolai Gastello and many others who will be discussed.

Alexander Matrosov

Matrosov Alexander Matveevich - machine gunner of the 2nd separate battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I.V. Stalin of the 6th Stalin Siberian Volunteer Rifle Corps of the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front, private.

Born on February 5, 1924 in the city of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). Russian. Member of the Komsomol. Lost his parents early. He was raised for 5 years in the Ivanovo security orphanage (Ulyanovsk region). In 1939, he was sent to a car repair plant in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara), but soon escaped from there. By the verdict of the people's court of the 3rd section of the Frunzensky district of the city of Saratov on October 8, 1940, Alexander Matrosov was sentenced under Article 192 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to two years in prison for violating the passport regime (the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR on May 5, 1967 overturned this sentence) . He served time in the Ufa children's labor colony. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he repeatedly made written requests to send him to the front...

He was drafted into the Red Army by the Kirov District Military Commissariat of the city of Ufa, Bashkir ASSR in September 1942 and sent to the Krasnokholm Infantry School (October 1942), but soon most of the cadets were sent to the Kalinin Front.

In the active army since November 1942. He served as part of the 2nd separate rifle battalion of the 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I.V. Stalin (later 254th Guards Rifle Regiment, 56th Guards Rifle Division, Kalinin Front). For some time the brigade was in reserve. Then she was transferred near Pskov to the area of ​​Bolshoi Lomovatoy Bor. Straight from the march, the brigade entered the battle.

On February 27, 1943, the 2nd battalion received the task of attacking a strong point in the area of ​​the village of Pleten, west of the village of Chernushki, Loknyansky district of the Pskov region. As soon as our soldiers passed through the forest and reached the edge, they came under heavy enemy machine-gun fire - three enemy machine guns in bunkers covered the approaches to the village. One machine gun was suppressed by an assault group of machine gunners and armor-piercers. The second bunker was destroyed by another group of armor-piercing soldiers. But the machine gun from the third bunker continued to fire at the entire ravine in front of the village. Attempts to silence him were unsuccessful. Then Red Army soldier Alexander Matrosov crawled towards the bunker. He approached the embrasure from the flank and threw two grenades. The machine gun fell silent. But as soon as the fighters went on the attack, the machine gun came to life again. Then Matrosov stood up, rushed to the bunker and closed the embrasure with his body. At the cost of his life, he contributed to the accomplishment of the unit’s combat mission.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was born in September 1923 in the Tambov region, the village of Osino-Gai. The father was a priest. The younger brother received the Hero of the Soviet Union award. In 1930, the family settled in Moscow. Here Zoya graduated from the ninth grade of high school.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Zoya strove to go to the front. To do this, she turned to the district Komsomol committee. A few days later she was sent to military unit No. 9903. This military unit was sent to the Mozhaisk front on instructions from the headquarters. Zoya was behind enemy lines twice. In November 1941, in the village of Petrishchevo, Moscow Region, she was captured by the Germans.

To find out secret information, she was subjected to various tortures. But Zoya was silent, not saying anything, not even her first and last name. After severe torture, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was executed in the village square of the village of Petrishchevo on November 29, 1941.

Nikolai Gastello

Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello was born in May 1908 in Moscow. My father was a German who lived in Russia for a long time. In 1933, Nikolai graduated from the Lugansk flight school and began serving in aviation on a bomber. During the Soviet-Finnish War he took part in air battles. He took part in the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River, for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin. And by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was already a squadron commander in aviation.

Victor Gastello, the son of a pilot, repeatedly spoke about the death of his father and his crew. This version was published in well-known Russian publications.

This version looks like this. On June 26, 1941, at the very beginning of the war, the 3rd Long-Range Bomber Corps carried out strikes on the enemy throughout the entire day. Military operations took place in Belarus, in the Radoshkovichi-Molodechino region near the village of Dekshany. The 207th Aviation Regiment was carrying out its second combat mission of the day. The regiment consisted of two aircraft. Nikolai Gastello's crew consisted of four people: navigator Lieutenant Anatoly Burdenyuk, gunner-radio operator Sergeant Alexei Kalinin and squadron adjutant gunner Lieutenant Grigory Skorobogatoy. Little is known about the second aircraft, only that its pilot was Senior Lieutenant Fyodor Vorobyov, and the navigator was Lieutenant Anatoly Rybas. A little more than an hour after the start of the flight, a column of enemy military equipment was discovered from a height. Only one plane, piloted by Lieutenant Vorobyov, returned to base. Upon arrival, he and the navigator submitted a report in which they described the feat of Commander Gastello and his crew. According to them, the downed plane crashed into a column of armored vehicles, and a powerful explosion destroyed the bulk of the armored vehicles.

For many years, only this version of what happened that day existed. But in the 90s of the last century others began to put forward. So, in 1994, the Izvestia newspaper published an article “Captain Maslov’s crew is worthy of the title of heroes,” which stated that two bombers did not return from a combat mission that day. The 1st was under the command of Nikolai Gastello, and the second was under the command of Captain Alexander Spiridonovich Maslov, commander of the 3rd squadron of the 42nd aviation division.

Marat Kazei

War struck the Belarusian land. The Nazis burst into the village where Marat lived with his mother, Anna Alexandrovna Kazeya. In the fall, Marat no longer had to go to school in the fifth grade. The Nazis turned the school building into their barracks. The enemy was fierce.

Anna Aleksandrovna Kazei was captured for her connection with the partisans, and Marat soon learned that his mother had been hanged in Minsk. The boy's heart was filled with anger and hatred for the enemy. Together with his sister, Komsomol member Ada, the pioneer Marat Kazei went to join the partisans in the Stankovsky forest. He became a scout at the headquarters of a partisan brigade. He penetrated enemy garrisons and delivered valuable information to the command. Using this data, the partisans developed a daring operation and defeated the fascist garrison in the city of Dzerzhinsk...

Marat took part in battles and invariably showed courage and fearlessness; together with experienced demolitionists, he mined the railway.

Marat died in battle. He fought to the last bullet, and when he had only one grenade left, he let his enemies get closer and blew them up... and himself.

For his courage and bravery, pioneer Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A monument to the young hero was erected in the city of Minsk.

Lenya Golikov

He grew up in the village of Lukino, on the banks of the Polo River, which flows into the legendary Lake Ilmen. When his native village was captured by the enemy, the boy went to the partisans.

More than once he went on reconnaissance missions and brought important information to the partisan detachment. And enemy trains and cars flew downhill, bridges collapsed, enemy warehouses burned...

There was a battle in his life that Lenya fought one on one with a fascist general. A grenade thrown by a boy hit a car. A Nazi man got out of it with a briefcase in his hands and, firing back, began to run. Lenya is behind him. He pursued the enemy for almost a kilometer and finally killed him. The briefcase contained very important documents. The partisan headquarters immediately transported them by plane to Moscow.

There were many more fights in his short life! And the young hero, who fought shoulder to shoulder with adults, never flinched. He died near the village of Ostray Luka in the winter of 1943, when the enemy was especially fierce, feeling that the earth was burning under his feet, that there would be no mercy for him...

Outstanding military leader of the Great Patriotic War, Army General Alexei Innokentievich Antonov

Valya Kotik

He was born on February 11, 1930 in the village of Khmelevka, Shepetovsky district, Khmelnitsky region. He studied at school No. 4 in the city of Shepetovka, and was a recognized leader of the pioneers, his peers.

When the Nazis burst into Shepetivka, Valya Kotik and his friends decided to fight the enemy. The guys collected weapons at the battle site, which the partisans then transported to the detachment on a cart of hay.

Having taken a closer look at the boy, the communists entrusted Valya with being a liaison and intelligence officer in their underground organization. He learned the location of enemy posts and the order of changing the guard.

The Nazis planned a punitive operation against the partisans, and Valya, having tracked down the Nazi officer who led the punitive forces, killed him...

Utah Bondarovskaya

Wherever the blue-eyed girl Yuta went, her red tie was always with her...

In the summer of 1941, she came from Leningrad on vacation to a village near Pskov. Here terrible news overtook Utah: war! Here she saw the enemy. Utah began to help the partisans. At first she was a messenger, then a scout. Dressed as a beggar boy, she collected information from the villages: where the fascist headquarters were, how they were guarded, how many machine guns there were.

Zina Portnova

The war found the Leningrad pioneer Zina Portnova in the village of Zuya, where she came for vacation, not far from the Obol station in the Vitebsk region. An underground Komsomol-youth organization “Young Avengers” was created in Obol, and Zina was elected a member of its committee. She took part in daring operations against the enemy, in sabotage, distributed leaflets, and conducted reconnaissance on instructions from a partisan detachment.

It was December 1943. Zina was returning from a mission. In the village of Mostishche she was betrayed by a traitor. The Nazis captured the young partisan and tortured her. The answer to the enemy was Zina’s silence, her contempt and hatred, her determination to fight to the end. During one of the interrogations, choosing the moment, Zina grabbed a pistol from the table and fired at point-blank range at the Gestapo man.

The officer who ran in to hear the shot was also killed on the spot. Zina tried to escape, but the Nazis overtook her...

The brave young pioneer was brutally tortured, but until the last minute she remained persistent, courageous, and unbending. And the Motherland posthumously celebrated her feat with its highest title - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Galya Komleva

When the war began and the Nazis were approaching Leningrad, high school counselor Anna Petrovna Semenova was left for underground work in the village of Tarnovichi - in the south of the Leningrad region. To communicate with the partisans, she selected her most reliable pioneers, and the first among them was Galina Komleva. During her six school years, the cheerful, brave, inquisitive girl was awarded books six times with the caption: “For excellent studies.”

The young messenger brought assignments from the partisans to her counselor, and forwarded her reports to the detachment along with bread, potatoes, and food, which were obtained with great difficulty. One day, when a messenger from a partisan detachment did not arrive on time at the meeting place, Galya, half-frozen, made her way into the detachment, handed over a report and, having warmed up a little, hurried back, carrying a new task to the underground fighters.

Together with Komsomol member Tasya Yakovleva, Galya wrote leaflets and scattered them around the village at night. The Nazis tracked down and captured the young underground fighters. They kept me in the Gestapo for two months. They beat me severely, threw me into a cell, and in the morning they took me out again for interrogation. Galya didn’t say anything to the enemy, didn’t betray anyone. The young patriot was shot.

The Motherland celebrated the feat of Galya Komleva with the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

Kostya Kravchuk

On June 11, 1944, units leaving for the front were lined up in the central square of Kyiv. And before this battle formation, they read out the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding the pioneer Kostya Kravchuk with the Order of the Red Banner for saving and preserving two battle flags of rifle regiments during the occupation of the city of Kiev...

Retreating from Kyiv, two wounded soldiers entrusted Kostya with the banners. And Kostya promised to keep them.

Lara Mikheenko

For the operation of reconnaissance and explosion of the railway. bridge over the Drissa River, Leningrad schoolgirl Larisa Mikheenko was nominated for a government award. But the Motherland did not have time to present the award to her brave daughter...

The war cut the girl off from her hometown: in the summer she went on vacation to the Pustoshkinsky district, but was unable to return - the village was occupied by the Nazis. The pioneer dreamed of breaking out of Hitler's slavery and making her way to her own people. And one night she left the village with two older friends.

At the headquarters of the 6th Kalinin Brigade, the commander, Major P.V. Ryndin, initially found himself accepting “such little ones”: what kind of partisans are they? But how much even very young citizens can do for the Motherland! Girls were able to do what strong men could not. Dressed in rags, Lara walked through the villages, finding out where and how the guns were located, the sentries were posted, what German vehicles were moving along the highway, what kind of trains were coming to Pustoshka station and with what cargo.

She also took part in combat operations...

The young partisan, betrayed by a traitor in the village of Ignatovo, was shot by the Nazis. The Decree on awarding Larisa Mikheenko the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, contains the bitter word: “Posthumously.”

Vasya Korobko

Ernigov region. The front came close to the village of Pogoreltsy. On the outskirts, covering the withdrawal of our units, a company held the defense. A boy brought cartridges to the soldiers. His name was Vasya Korobko.

Night. Vasya creeps up to the school building occupied by the Nazis.

He makes his way into the pioneer room, takes out the pioneer banner and hides it securely.

Sasha Borodulin

There was a war going on. Enemy bombers were buzzing hysterically over the village where Sasha lived. The native land was trampled by the enemy's boot. Sasha Borodulin, a pioneer with the warm heart of a young Leninist, could not put up with this. He decided to fight the fascists. Got a rifle. Having killed a fascist motorcyclist, he took his first battle trophy - a real German machine gun. Day after day he conducted reconnaissance. More than once he went on the most dangerous missions. He was responsible for many destroyed vehicles and soldiers. For carrying out dangerous tasks, for demonstrating courage, resourcefulness and courage, Sasha Borodulin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in the winter of 1941.

Punishers tracked down the partisans. The detachment escaped them for three days, twice broke out of encirclement, but the enemy ring closed again. Then the commander called for volunteers to cover the detachment’s retreat. Sasha was the first to step forward. Five took the fight. One by one they died. Sasha was left alone. It was still possible to retreat - the forest was nearby, but the detachment valued every minute that would delay the enemy, and Sasha fought to the end. He, allowing the fascists to close a ring around him, grabbed a grenade and blew them up and himself. Sasha Borodulin died, but his memory lives on. The memory of the heroes is eternal!

Vitya Khomenko

Pioneer Vitya Khomenko passed his heroic path of struggle against the fascists in the underground organization “Nikolaev Center”.

At school, Vitya’s German was “excellent,” and the underground workers instructed the pioneer to get a job in the officers’ mess. He washed dishes, sometimes served officers in the hall and listened to their conversations. In drunken arguments, the fascists blurted out information that was of great interest to the Nikolaev Center.

The officers began sending the fast, smart boy on errands, and soon he was made a messenger at headquarters. It could never have occurred to them that the most secret packages were the first to be read by underground workers at the turnout...

Volodya Kaznacheev

1941... I graduated from fifth grade in the spring. In the fall he joined the partisan detachment.

When, together with his sister Anya, he came to the partisans in the Kletnyansky forests in the Bryansk region, the detachment said: “What a reinforcement!..” True, having learned that they were from Solovyanovka, the children of Elena Kondratyevna Kaznacheeva, the one who baked bread for the partisans , they stopped joking (Elena Kondratievna was killed by the Nazis).

The detachment had a “partisan school”. Future miners and demolition workers trained there. Volodya mastered this science perfectly and, together with his senior comrades, derailed eight echelons. He also had to cover the group’s retreat, stopping the pursuers with grenades...

He was a liaison; he often went to Kletnya, delivering valuable information; After waiting until dark, he posted leaflets. From operation to operation he became more experienced and skillful.

The Nazis placed a reward on the head of partisan Kzanacheev, not even suspecting that their brave opponent was just a boy. He fought alongside the adults until the very day when his native land was liberated from the fascist evil spirits, and rightfully shared with the adults the glory of the hero - the liberator of his native land. Volodya Kaznacheev was awarded the Order of Lenin and the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st degree.

Nadya Bogdanova

She was executed twice by the Nazis, and for many years her military friends considered Nadya dead. They even erected a monument to her.

It’s hard to believe, but when she became a scout in the partisan detachment of “Uncle Vanya” Dyachkov, she was not yet ten years old. Small, thin, she, pretending to be a beggar, wandered among the Nazis, noticing everything, remembering everything, and brought the most valuable information to the detachment. And then, together with partisan fighters, she blew up the fascist headquarters, derailed a train with military equipment, and mined objects.

The first time she was captured was when, together with Vanya Zvontsov, she hung out a red flag in enemy-occupied Vitebsk on November 7, 1941. They beat her with ramrods, tortured her, and when they brought her to the ditch to shoot her, she no longer had any strength left - she fell into the ditch, momentarily outstripping the bullet. Vanya died, and the partisans found Nadya alive in a ditch...

Fedyuninsky Ivan Ivanovich

van Ivanovich Fedyuninsky was born on July 17 (30), 1900 in the village of Gilevo, 36 km from Tyumen, into a working-class family.

He joined the Red Army in 1919. After the end of the Civil War, during which he was wounded in the leg, I.I. Fedyuninsky worked for 3 months at the Tyumen military registration and enlistment office, from where he was sent to Omsk to take courses at a military infantry school. After successfully completing it in 1924, he chose the Far East as his place of service.

At the new duty station, the situation was extremely turbulent due to constant conflicts on the Chinese Eastern Railway. By 1929, I.I. Fedyuninsky received command of the 6th company of the 36th Infantry Division of the Special Far Eastern Army. It was in this post that he distinguished himself during the largest clash with Chinese troops, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In 1930, the young commander was sent to Moscow to study at the Shot course, which he graduated with honors and returned to the Far East. Having risen to the rank of commander of the 24th Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division, Major I.I. Fedyuninsky in 1939, when the division was already a motorized rifle division, particularly distinguished himself during the battles at Khalkhin Gol, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. There, on August 20, 1939, he received a second wound in the leg. After leaving the hospital in 1939-40, he commanded the 82nd Motorized Rifle Division in Mongolia.

In April 1941, having completed the Improvement Course for Senior Commanders, Colonel I.I. Fedyuninsky was transferred from the Far East, where he commanded a rifle division, to the Kiev Special Military District, heading the 15th Rifle Corps.

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Philip Sergeevich Oktyabrsky (real name - Ivanov) was born on October 11 (23), 1899 in the village of Lukshino (now Staritsky district of Tver province) in a peasant family. He graduated from four classes of a rural school, after which in 1915 he went first to Shlisselburg and then to St. Petersburg to earn money. He worked as a fireman, then as an assistant driver on ships sailing along Ladoga, Svir, and Neva.

In 1918, F.S. Oktyabrsky voluntarily joined the ranks of the Baltic Fleet. During the Civil War, he served as a sailor on ships of the Baltic Fleet, and from 1920 on the auxiliary cruiser Lieutenant Schmidt in the Northern Military Flotilla. In 1922, he completed courses at the Petrograd Communist University, after which he worked in the maritime department of the Political Administration of the Red Army, in the political department of the flotilla. In 1928 he completed courses at the M.V. Frunze Naval School. Subsequently, he commanded a division, and then a detachment and a brigade of torpedo boats in the Baltic and Pacific fleets. In 1935, already a brigade commander, F.S. Oktyabrsky was awarded his first Order of the Red Star, which he received for mastering boats in the new naval theater and developing methods for the interaction of ships with aviation, coastal defense and ground forces.

From February 1938 to August 1939, F.S. Oktyabrsky commanded the Amur military flotilla.

From August 1939 to April 1943 he commanded the Black Sea Fleet. The period of his leadership witnessed the most difficult days of the Great Patriotic War.

On June 22, 1941, at one in the morning, by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov, the Black Sea Fleet was put on combat readiness. At 3.17 on the same day, the aviation and air defense of the fleet, as well as the ships' anti-aircraft batteries, began repelling the first Luftwaffe air raid. Enemy planes dropped not only bombs, but also mines, which were supposed to impede the fleet's actions at sea. Organizing the fight against them became a top priority for the fleet commander.

A.V. Ostrovsky

"... during a combat campaign he showed courage, bravery, and high qualities of a submarine commander..."

In the Soviet submarine fleet, perhaps, you will not find an officer with such a difficult fate as Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko, in whom heroism, extreme composure and days-long binges, desperate courage and a disregard for the assigned task coexisted side by side. He is the first “heavyweight” among Soviet submariners: he has four sunk transports weighing 42,557 gross register tons. But he also suffered more than anyone else: in October 1941, he was excluded from candidates for party membership; trial by military tribunal (did not take place due to the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlov); reduction in rank from captain 3rd rank to senior lieutenant; expulsion first from the submarine fleet, and then from the Navy in general.

N.G. Kuznetsov, People's Commissar and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy during the war, who signed the order to transfer A. I. Marinesko to the reserve in November 1945, many years later wrote: “To the numerous serious offenses of A. Marinesko in the service and in everyday life, I, as Admiral, I have a very definite negative attitude. But knowing his courage, determination and ability to achieve major military successes, I am ready to forgive him a lot and pay tribute for his services to the Motherland.”1

Their due, albeit late, was paid: on May 5, 1990, almost 27 years after his death, A.I. Marinesko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and a monument was erected to him in Kaliningrad, which numerous guests of the city consider it their duty to visit.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was born on January 31 (February 12), 1900 in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, Venevsky district, Tula province (now Moscow region) into a peasant family. In 1911 he graduated from four classes of the Serebryanoprudsk rural school. In 1912 he graduated from the 1st grade of the Higher Primary School. At the age of 12, he left home to work in St. Petersburg, where he worked in the Celebey Baths, and then in furnished rooms. In August 1914 he entered the spur workshop as an apprentice. In December 1916, he returned to his native village and took up peasant labor.

In December 1917, V.I. Chuikov left for Kronstadt and entered the mine training squad as a cabin boy. In April 1918, he and his older brothers, who served as sailors in the Baltic Fleet, were demobilized and left for the village, but soon V.I. Chuikov went to Moscow, where he entered the Military Instructor Courses of the Red Army, participated in the suppression of the rebellion of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries . After completing the course in August 1918, he was sent to the Southern Front.

During the Civil War, V.I. Chuikov from August to November 1918 was an assistant company commander in the 1st Special Ukrainian Brigade of R.F. Sivers, from November 1918 to May 1919 - assistant commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment of the 28th 1st Infantry Division V.M. Azin in the combat unit, and then, until July 1921, as the commander of the 40th Infantry Regiment, renamed the 43rd Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division. He fought as part of various units of the Red Army against the troops of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, against Polish troops on the Western Front. During the fighting he was wounded four times and shell-shocked twice. In 1920 and 1925 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, as well as a gold watch. After the end of the Civil War, for six months he was the head of combat site No. 4, the head of the garrison of the city of Velizh and the chairman of the commission on banditry.

In 1925, V.I. Chuikov graduated from the M.V. Frunze Military Academy. In the fall of 1926, V.I. Chuikov visited China for the first time as a diplomatic courier. In November 1927, he graduated from the Eastern Faculty of the same educational institution. After graduation, he was sent to the position of chief of the 1st department at the headquarters of the Moscow Military District, which he held until January 1928. Then, until September 1929, he was in China as a military adviser. In September 1929 - August 1932, he was the head of the headquarters department of the Special Far Eastern Army (from January 1, 1930 - the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army). As part of it, he participated in military clashes in Manchuria. From August 1932 to October 1935, V.I. Chuikov was the head of the Advanced Courses for Intelligence Commanders.

Twelve of several thousand examples of unparalleled childhood courage
Young heroes of the Great Patriotic War - how many were there? If you count - how could it be otherwise?! - the hero of every boy and every girl whom fate brought to war and made soldiers, sailors or partisans, then tens, if not hundreds of thousands.

According to official data from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense (TsAMO) of Russia, during the war there were over 3,500 military personnel under the age of 16 in combat units. At the same time, it is clear that not every unit commander who risked raising a son of the regiment found the courage to declare his pupil on command. You can understand how their father-commanders, who actually served as fathers to many, tried to hide the age of the little fighters by looking at the confusion in the award documents. On yellowed archival sheets, the majority of underage military personnel clearly indicate an inflated age. The real one became clear much later, after ten or even forty years.

But there were also children and teenagers who fought in partisan detachments and were members of underground organizations! And there were much more of them: sometimes whole families joined the partisans, and if not, then almost every teenager who found himself on the occupied land had someone to avenge.

So “tens of thousands” is far from an exaggeration, but rather an understatement. And, apparently, we will never know the exact number of young heroes of the Great Patriotic War. But this is no reason not to remember them.

The boys walked from Brest to Berlin

The youngest of all known little soldiers - at least according to documents stored in military archives - can be considered a graduate of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 47th Guards Rifle Division, Sergei Aleshkin. In archival documents you can find two certificates of awarding a boy who was born in 1936 and ended up in the army on September 8, 1942, shortly after the punitive forces shot his mother and older brother for connections with the partisans. The first document, dated April 26, 1943, is about awarding him the medal “For Military Merit” due to the fact that “Comrade. ALESHKIN, the favorite of the regiment,” “with his cheerfulness, love for his unit and those around him, in extremely difficult moments, inspired cheerfulness and confidence in victory.” The second, dated November 19, 1945, is about awarding students of the Tula Suvorov Military School with the medal “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945”: in the list of 13 Suvorov students, Aleshkin’s name comes first.

But still, such a young soldier is an exception even for wartime and for a country where the entire people, young and old, rose up to defend the Motherland. Most of the young heroes who fought at the front and behind enemy lines were on average 13–14 years old. The very first of them were defenders of the Brest Fortress, and one of the sons of the regiment - holder of the Order of the Red Star, Order of Glory III degree and medal "For Courage" Vladimir Tarnovsky, who served in the 370th artillery regiment of the 230th rifle division - left his autograph on the Reichstag wall in victorious May 1945...

The youngest Heroes of the Soviet Union

These four names - Lenya Golikov, Marat Kazei, Zina Portnova and Valya Kotik - have been the most famous symbol of the heroism of the young defenders of our Motherland for over half a century. Having fought in different places and having accomplished feats of different circumstances, they were all partisans and all were posthumously awarded the country's highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Two - Lena Golikov and Zina Portnova - were 17 years old by the time they showed unprecedented courage, two more - Valya Kotik and Marat Kazei - were only 14.

Lenya Golikov was the first of the four to receive the highest rank: the decree on the assignment was signed on April 2, 1944. The text says that Golikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union “for exemplary execution of command assignments and demonstrated courage and heroism in battle.” And indeed, in less than a year - from March 1942 to January 1943 - Lenya Golikov managed to take part in the defeat of three enemy garrisons, in the blowing up of more than a dozen bridges, in the capture of a German major general with secret documents... And died heroically in battle near the village of Ostray Luka, without waiting for a high reward for capturing the strategically important “tongue”.

Zina Portnova and Valya Kotik were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union 13 years after the Victory, in 1958. Zina was awarded for the courage with which she conducted underground work, then served as a liaison between the partisans and the underground, and ultimately endured inhuman torment, falling into the hands of the Nazis at the very beginning of 1944. Valya - based on the totality of his exploits in the ranks of the Shepetovka partisan detachment named after Karmelyuk, where he came after a year of work in an underground organization in Shepetivka itself. And Marat Kazei received the highest award only in the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory: the decree conferring on him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was promulgated on May 8, 1965. For almost two years - from November 1942 to May 1944 - Marat fought as part of the partisan formations of Belarus and died, blowing up both himself and the Nazis surrounding him with the last grenade.

Over the past half century, the circumstances of the exploits of the four heroes have become known throughout the country: more than one generation of Soviet schoolchildren has grown up on their example, and even today’s children are certainly told about them. But even among those who did not receive the highest award, there were many real heroes - pilots, sailors, snipers, scouts and even musicians.

Sniper Vasily Kurka

The war found Vasya a sixteen-year-old teenager. In the very first days he was mobilized to the labor front, and in October he achieved enrollment in the 726th Infantry Regiment of the 395th Infantry Division. At first, the boy of non-conscription age, who also looked a couple of years younger than his age, was left in the wagon train: they say, there is nothing for teenagers to do on the front line. But soon the guy achieved his goal and was transferred to a combat unit - to a sniper team.

Vasily Kurka. Photo: Imperial War Museum

Pilot Arkady Kamanin

15-year-old Arkady Kamanin arrived at the location of the 5th Guards Attack Air Corps with his father, who had been appointed commander of this illustrious unit. The pilots were surprised to learn that the son of the legendary pilot, one of the seven first Heroes of the Soviet Union, a participant in the Chelyuskin rescue expedition, would work as an aircraft mechanic in a communications squadron. But they soon became convinced that the “general’s son” did not live up to their negative expectations at all. The boy did not hide behind the back of his famous father, but simply did his job well - and strived towards the sky with all his might.

Sergeant Kamanin in 1944. Photo: war.ee

Ten-year-old Yura ended up in the army by accident. In July 1941, he went to show the retreating Red Army soldiers a little-known ford on the Western Dvina and did not have time to return to his native Vitebsk, where the Germans had already entered. So he left with his unit to the east, all the way to Moscow, from there to begin the return journey to the west.

Yuri Zhdanko. Photo: russia-reborn.ru

By February 1944, the chest of the 13-year-old intelligence officer was decorated with the medal “For Courage” and the Order of the Red Star. But a shell that exploded literally under his feet interrupted Yura’s front-line career. He ended up in the hospital, from where he was sent to the Suvorov Military School, but did not pass due to health reasons. Then the retired young intelligence officer retrained as a welder and on this “front” he also managed to become famous, having traveled almost half of Eurasia with his welding machine - building pipelines.

Infantryman Anatoly Komar

Among the 263 Soviet soldiers who covered enemy embrasures with their bodies, the youngest was 15-year-old private of the 332nd reconnaissance company of the 252nd rifle division of the 53rd army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Anatoly Komar. The teenager joined the active army in September 1943, when the front came close to his native Slavyansk. This happened to him in almost the same way as to Yura Zhdanko, with the only difference being that the boy served as a guide not to the retreating, but to the advancing Red Army soldiers. Anatoly helped them go deep into the German front line, and then left with the advancing army to the west.

Young partisan. Photo: Imperial War Museum

In the cracked photograph, a boy of about ten stands against the backdrop of sailors in black uniforms with ammunition boxes on their backs and the superstructure of a Soviet cruiser. His hands tightly grip a PPSh assault rifle, and on his head he wears a cap with a guards ribbon and the inscription “Tashkent.” This is a student of the crew of the leader of the Tashkent destroyers, Borya Kuleshin. The photo was taken in Poti, where, after repairs, the ship called for another load of ammunition for the besieged Sevastopol. It was here that twelve-year-old Borya Kuleshin appeared at the Tashkent gangplank. His father died at the front, his mother, as soon as Donetsk was occupied, was driven to Germany, and he himself managed to escape across the front line to his own people and, together with the retreating army, reach the Caucasus.

Boris Kuleshin. Photo: weralbum.ru

Musician Petr Klypa

Fifteen-year-old student of the musical platoon of the 333rd Infantry Regiment, Pyotr Klypa, like other minor inhabitants of the Brest Fortress, had to go to the rear with the beginning of the war. But Petya refused to leave the fighting citadel, which, among others, was defended by his only relative - his older brother, Lieutenant Nikolai. So he became one of the first teenage soldiers in the history of the Great Patriotic War and a full-fledged participant in the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress.

Peter Klypa. Photo: worldwar.com

He fought there until the beginning of July, until he received an order, together with the remnants of the regiment, to break through to Brest. This is where Petya's ordeal began. Having crossed the tributary of the Bug, he, along with other colleagues, was captured, from which he soon managed to escape. I got to Brest, lived there for a month and moved east, behind the retreating Red Army, but did not reach it. During one of the overnight stays, he and a friend were discovered by police, and the teenagers were sent to forced labor in Germany. Petya was released only in 1945 by American troops, and after verification he even managed to serve in the Soviet army for several months. And upon returning to his homeland, he again ended up in jail because he succumbed to the persuasion of an old friend and helped him speculate with the loot. Pyotr Klypa was released only seven years later. For this he had to thank the historian and writer Sergei Smirnov, who piece by piece recreated the history of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress and, of course, did not miss the story of one of its youngest defenders, who, after liberation, was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established by the Decree of the USSR Central Executive Committee of April 16, 1934. Later, on August 1, 1939, as an additional insignia for Heroes of the USSR, the Gold Star medal was approved, in the form of a five-pointed star fixed on a rectangular block, which was issued to the recipients along with the Order of Lenin and a diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. At the same time, it was established that those who repeatedly performed a feat worthy of the title of Hero would be awarded the second Order of Lenin and the second Gold Star medal. When the hero was re-awarded, his bronze bust was installed in his homeland. The number of awards with the title Hero of the Soviet Union was not limited.

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union

The list of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union was opened on April 20, 1934 by polar pilots, participants in the rescue of passengers in distress on the legendary steamship Chelyuskin: Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Nikolai Kamanin, Vasily Molokov, Mikhail Vodopyanov, Mavriky Slepnev and Ivan Doronin.

Heroes of the Soviet Union of the Great Patriotic War

More than 90 percent of the total number of Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared in the country during the Great Patriotic War. 11 thousand 657 people were awarded this high title, 3051 of them posthumously. This list includes 107 fighters who became twice heroes (7 were awarded posthumously), and the total number of those awarded included 90 women (49 - posthumously).

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War were:

Air Force:

Fighter pilots junior lieutenants Mikhail Petrovich Zhukov, Stepan Ivanovich Zdorovtsev and Petr Timofeevich Kharitonov, who distinguished themselves in air battles with enemy bombers.

On June 28, these pilots, using their I-16 fighters, used ramming attacks against enemy Ju-88 bombers (the first ram was carried out 15 minutes after the start of the war by Dmitry Kokorev).

Navy:

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the Navy was first awarded to a sailor of the Northern Fleet, squad commander, senior sergeant Vasily Pavlovich Kislyakov, who distinguished himself during the landing in Motovsky Bay in the Arctic in July 1941 (replaced the killed commander, and then held the altitude for 7 hours) .

Infantry:

The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the ground forces was the commander of the 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army, Colonel Kreiser Yakov Grigorievich, for organizing the combat operations of the division, which, having launched a counterattack to the enemy, delayed his advance for two days at the line of the Berezina River.

Armored troops:

The first (no other data found) Heroes of the Soviet Union were the tank commander of the 1st Tank Regiment of the 1st Tank Division of the 14th Army of the Northern Front, senior sergeant Alexander Mikhailovich Borisov and the deputy commander of the tank battalion of the 115th Tank Regiment of the 57th Tank Division 20th Army of the Western Front, captain Kaduchenko Joseph Andriyanovich.

Artillery:

The first artilleryman to become a Hero of the Soviet Union was the gunner of the anti-tank battery of the 680th Infantry Regiment of the 169th Infantry Division of the 18th Army of the Southern Front, Red Army soldier Yakov Kharitonovich Kolchak.

People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs:

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union were the border guards of outpost No. 5 of the 25th Kagul border detachment of the Moldavian border district, who entered the battle on the Prut River on June 22, 1941: senior lieutenant Alexander Konstantinov Konstantinov, junior lieutenant Ivan Dmitrievich Buzytskov, junior sergeant Vasily Fedorovich Mikhalkov. For 11 days, the outpost was completely surrounded.

Also, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the head of outpost No. 12 of the 25th Cahul border detachment of the Moldavian border district, Lieutenant Vetchinkin Kuzma Fedorovich.

Partisans:

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union were the Belarusian secretary of the district party committee, commissar of the Red October partisan detachment Tikhon Pimenovich Bumazhkov and the commander of the same detachment Fedor Illarionovich Pavlovsky.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is held by four full holders of the Order of Glory:

Four times Heroes There are only two on the list - USSR Marshals Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.

Among all the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 35% were privates and non-commissioned officers (soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen), 61% were officers and 3.3% (380 people) were generals, admirals and marshals.

In September 2000, in Makeyevka, on the initiative of the then mayor Vasily Dzharty, by decision of the executive committee of the city council, the Alley of Heroes was founded, on which a memorial obelisk was erected, where the names of 64 Heroes of the Soviet Union who lived and worked in Makeyevka were immortalized.

The honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest degree of distinction of the USSR. He was awarded for outstanding services during combat operations or for accomplished feats.

1.

On May 9 we will celebrate Victory Day - the holiday of the USSR's victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War.
This victory was achieved with a huge number of casualties. Almost twenty-seven million Soviet men and women gave their lives selflessly fighting the fascist invaders. Eight out of ten German soldiers were killed on the Eastern Front in epic battles on Soviet soil, such as Stalingrad and the Battles of Kursk, which were turning points in the direction of the war. In May 1945, Berlin finally fell.
During the Great Patriotic War, 11,657 people officially received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and 90 of them were women.
The honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest degree of distinction of the USSR. He was awarded for outstanding services during combat operations or for accomplished feats. In addition, as an exception, in times of peace.
Many of us know the names of the great commander Georgy Zhukov, who was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero four times, Semyon Budyonny, Kliment Voroshilov, Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub were awarded three times. 153 people were awarded this high title twice. There were also heroes whose names are remembered less often, but their exploits were no less significant. Let's remember some of them.

2. Evteev Ivan Alekseevich. 1918 - 03/27/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union.

Evteev Ivan Alekseevich - armor-piercing officer of the 384th separate marine battalion of the Odessa naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, a Red Navy man.
Born in 1918 in the village of Vyazovka, now Tatishchevsky district, Saratov region, into a peasant family. Russian. In 1939, he was drafted into the Border Troops of the NKVD of the USSR, served as the helmsman of the boat MO-125 in the maritime border guard in the city of Batumi, and then in a separate battalion of marines at the Odessa naval base. In May 1943, Red Navy man Evteev was sent to the position of armor-piercing officer in the formed 384th separate marine battalion of the Black Sea Fleet. In the second half of March 1944, troops of the 28th Army began fighting to liberate the city of Nikolaev. To facilitate the frontal attack of the attackers, it was decided to land troops in the port of Nikolaev. A group of paratroopers was allocated from the 384th Separate Marine Battalion. It included 55 sailors, 2 signalmen from army headquarters and 10 sappers. One of the paratroopers was the Red Navy man Evteev. For two days the detachment fought bloody battles, repulsed 18 fierce enemy attacks, destroying up to 700 enemy soldiers and officers. During the last attack, the Nazis used flamethrower tanks and toxic substances. But nothing could break the resistance of the paratroopers or force them to lay down their arms. They completed their combat mission with honor.
On March 28, 1944, Soviet troops liberated Nikolaev. When the attackers burst into the port, they were presented with a picture of the carnage that had taken place here: charred buildings destroyed by shells, more than 700 corpses of fascist soldiers and officers lying around, the conflagration stank. From the ruins of the port office, 6 surviving paratroopers emerged, barely able to stand on their feet, and 2 more were sent to the hospital. In the ruins of the office, they found four more living paratroopers who died from their wounds on the same day. All the officers, all the foremen, sergeants and many Red Navy men fell heroically. Ivan Evteev also died heroically. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 20, 1945, Red Navy man Ivan Alekseevich Evteev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

3. Ogurtsov Vasily Vasilievich 1917 - 12/25/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union.

Ogurtsov Vasily Vasilyevich - commander of the saber squad of the 1st platoon of the 4th squadron of the 45th Guards Don Cossack Red Banner Cavalry Regiment of the 12th Guards Don Cossack Korsun Red Banner Cavalry Division of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Red Banner Cavalry Corps 2nd Ukrainian Front, Guard staff Sergeant. Born in 1917 in the village of Dobrynskoye, now Suzdal district, Vladimir region, into a peasant family. Russian. In July 1941 he was drafted into the Red Army. In battles he was wounded three times (September 25, 1941, November 17, 1942 and April 16, 1943). He particularly distinguished himself during the Debrecen offensive operation. On December 25, 1944, during the Budapest offensive operation, Ogurtsov, in the ranks of his squadron, was one of the first to break into Kecsked station. During a street battle, carried away by the pursuit, he ended up at the disposal of the fascists, and a horse was killed under him. He continued to destroy the Germans with machine gun fire, and when the cartridges ran out, he killed four fascists with a small sapper shovel. He died in this battle, hit by a machine-gun fire from an enemy armored personnel carrier. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
He was buried in the suburbs of Budapest.

4. Akperov Kazanfar Kulam ogly 04/04/1917 - 08/03/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union

Akperov Kazanfar Kulam ogly
04.04.1917 - 03.08.1944
Hero of the Soviet Union
Akperov Kazanfar Kulam ogly – gun crew commander of the 1959th anti-tank artillery regiment of the 41st anti-tank artillery brigade of the 2nd tank army of the 1st Belorussian Front, senior sergeant.
Born on April 4, 1917 in the village of Jagri, now Babek region of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, in a peasant family. Azerbaijani. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1944. In the spring of 1941 he graduated from the Nakhichevan Teachers' Institute named after Mammadkulizade. He began working as the director of Koshadiz Secondary School. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was drafted into the Red Army. He graduated from the regimental school and from August 1941 took part in battles with the Nazi invaders. He fought bravely to defend his native Caucasus. He mastered weapons and knew sapping very well. For the courage and bravery shown in battles with the fascist invaders, already in the first year of the war he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal “For Courage”. Senior Sergeant Akperov particularly distinguished himself in the battles for the liberation of Belarus and Poland in the summer of 1944.
On August 3, 1944, in the area of ​​​​the settlement of Nadma (northeast of Warsaw), the crew of Senior Sergeant Akperov’s gun entered into single combat with tanks. Using gun fire and anti-tank grenades, the artillerymen destroyed 4 tanks and about 100 enemy soldiers and officers. Akperov personally knocked out two tanks, taking the place of the wounded gunner. Being wounded, he continued to fight. Died in this battle. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 26, 1944, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism displayed, senior sergeant Akperov Kazanfar Kulam ogly was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

5. Aksenov Alexander Mikhailovich 07/23/1919 - 10/16/1943 Hero of the Soviet Union

Aksyonov Alexander Mikhailovich - commander of a rifle company of the 6th Guards Airborne Rifle Regiment (1st Guards Airborne Division, 37th Army, Steppe Front) guard senior lieutenant.
Born on July 23, 1919 in the city of Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk) in the family of an employee. Russian. In 1941 he graduated from the Chita Military Infantry School and in the fall of the same year he was sent to the active army. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War since February 1943. He fought on the North-Western and Steppe fronts. The commander of the guard rifle company, Senior Lieutenant Aksyonov, distinguished himself when breaking through a heavily fortified enemy defensive line in the area of ​​the village of Likhovka (now the village of Pyatikhatsky district, Dnepropetrovsk region) in October 1943.
The commander of the 6th Airborne Guards Regiment, Colonel Kotlyarov, wrote on the award list on October 20: “Guard Senior Lieutenant Aksenov, when breaking through the heavily fortified enemy defenses at the Nezamozhnik collective farm in the Likhovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region, showed exceptional heroism and ability to command a unit. Shooting the Nazis on the move, he and his company were the first to break into the populated area. Despising danger and death, the company commander inspired the guardsmen to heroic deeds by personal example. On October 16, in the battles for the village of Verkhne-Kamenistoye, the enemy threw a company of “tigers” against Aksenov’s paratroopers. The guards bravely accepted the unequal battle. By order of their commander, they threw grenades at the tanks, shot at the cracks and, without moving a single step, repelled all enemy counterattacks. Guard senior lieutenant Aksenov, at a critical moment of the battle, rushing with a grenade at an enemy tank, died a hero’s death.”
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 22, 1944, guard senior lieutenant Alexander Mikhailovich Aksyonov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

6. Naboychenko Pyotr Porfirievich 06/22/1925 - 07/14/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union

Naboychenko Pyotr Porfirievich - machine gunner of the 12th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 5th Guards Rifle Division of the 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, guard corporal.
Born on June 22, 1925 in the village of Lednoe (now within the city of Kharkov) in a peasant family. Ukrainian. He graduated from 6th grade and worked on a collective farm. In the Red Army since 1943. In the active army since August 1943. Moving west, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front reached the Neman River. At dawn on July 14, 1944, units of the 12th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 5th Guards Rifle Division of the 11th Guards Army, in which guard machine gunner Corporal Naboychenko served, began to cross the river north of the village of Merech (Myarkine, Varensky district of Lithuania). Having installed a machine gun on a hastily put together raft, Naboychenko and a group of fighters were one of the first in the division to cross to the opposite bank under heavy enemy fire and opened fire, covering the crossing of the leading battalion.
Trying to prevent our troops from capturing a bridgehead, the enemy unleashed a barrage of fire on a handful of brave men. At the same time, the infantry launched a counterattack. Pyotr Naboychenko allowed the enemy soldiers to come within close range, opened well-aimed machine-gun fire and forced them to lie down. The enemy spotted the firing point and hit it with company machine guns. Mines began to explode around the brave machine gunner. Naboychenko changed his firing position and, holding back the counterattacking enemy with machine-gun fire, ensured the crossing of the regiment's units across the Neman.
In this battle, Guard Corporal Naboychenko died. Thanks to his heroic actions, the regiment successfully crossed the river and captured a bridgehead on its right bank.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, guard corporal Pyotr Porfiryevich Naboychenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

7. Elena Konstantinovna Ubiyvovk 11/22/1918 - 05/26/1942 Hero of the Soviet Union

Elena Konstantinovna Ubiyvovk is the leader of the underground Komsomol youth group “Unconquered Poltava”.
Born on November 22, 1918 in the city of Poltava (Ukraine). Ukrainian. In 1937, she graduated from the 10th grade of school No. 10 in Poltava and was a pioneer leader there. She entered the astronomical department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kharkov University, and in 1941 she completed 4 courses. Soon the group was joined by underground fighters from the surrounding villages and hamlets - Stepkhy, Abazovka, Maryanovtsy, Shkurupiy. The number of the group reached 20 people (including one communist and 5 Komsomol members). The group had two radio receivers, with the help of which Sovinformburo reports were received and then distributed among the population. In addition, members of the group produced and distributed anti-fascist leaflets. Over the course of 6 months, the underground distributed up to 2,000 leaflets, helped 18 prisoners of war escape and join a partisan detachment, blew up the department for exporting youth to Germany, and prepared acts of sabotage. On May 6, 1942, the Gestapo arrested active members of the group. Among them was Lyalya Ubiyvok. After brutal torture on May 26, 1942, she was shot along with other underground fighters.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8, 1965, Ubiyvok Elena Konstantinovna was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

8. Babaev Tukhtasin Babaevich 01/12/1923 - 01/15/2000 Hero of the Soviet Union

Babaev Tukhtasin (Tukhtasim) Babaevich - squad commander of the 154th separate reconnaissance company (81st Infantry Division, 61st Army, Belorussian Front) junior sergeant.
Born on January 12, 1923 in the village of Dzhan-Ketmen, now the Uzbekistan region of the Fergana region of Uzbekistan in a peasant family. Uzbek. He graduated from high school and worked on a collective farm. In August 1942, he was drafted into the Red Army by the Koknad regional military registration and enlistment office. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War from November 1942. He spent his entire combat career as part of the 81st Infantry Division, was a reconnaissance officer, and commander of a section of the 154th separate reconnaissance company. On August 5, 1943, in the area of ​​​​the village of Krasnaya Roshcha (Oryol region), Red Army soldier Babaev, acting on reconnaissance, during a combat mission, broke into the enemy’s location and threw anti-tank grenades at three machine gun points, captured a machine gun and 2 prisoners, whom he delivered to the command. Awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.
On the night of October 2, 1943, junior sergeant Babaev, carrying out a reconnaissance mission, secretly crossed the Dnieper River with his squad in the area of ​​​​the Zmei farm (Repkinsky district of the Chernigov region of Ukraine). On the morning of October 2, while conducting reconnaissance, he burst into the enemy trenches with three soldiers, threw grenades at 6 light machine guns and destroyed 10 Nazis. The scouts repelled 3 counterattacks and retreated to the platoon's location when the ammunition ran out. On October 3 and 4, he took part in repelling 6 counterattacks, despite being seriously wounded, he roused his soldiers to counterattack. He was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
After recovery he returned to his company. On the night of December 21, 1943, in the area of ​​​​the village of Prudok (Belarus), junior sergeant Babaev, as part of a reconnaissance group, participated in the capture of a control prisoner. Personally destroyed a machine gun point and 4 Nazis, captured documents and a prisoner who gave valuable information. Awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd degree.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 15, 1944, junior sergeant Babaev Tukhtasim was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

9. Emirov Valentin Allahyarovich 12/17/1914 - 09/10/1942 Hero of the Soviet Union

Emirov Valentin Allahyarovich - commander of the 926th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 219th Bomber Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army of the Transcaucasian Front, captain.

Born on December 17, 1914 in the village of Akhty, now the Akhtyn region of Dagestan, in a working-class family. Lezgin. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1940. He studied at an aviation technical school and graduated from the Taganrog Aero Club. In the Red Army since 1935. In 1939 he graduated from the Stalingrad Military Aviation School. Participant in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. The commander of the 926th Fighter Aviation Regiment (219th Bomber Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, Transcaucasian Front), Captain Valentin Emirov, by September 1942, had flown 170 combat missions, and personally shot down 7 enemy aircraft in air battles. On September 10, 1942, while escorting bombers near the city of Mozdok, the pair entered into battle with 6 enemy fighters, shot down one of them, then rammed the second with his burning plane, at the cost of his life...
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated December 13, 1942, Captain Emirov Valentin Allahyarovich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Awarded the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner.

10. Yakovenko Alexander Sviridovich 08/20/1913 - 07/23/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union

Yakovenko Alexander Sviridovich - tank driver of the 58th Tank Brigade (8th Guards Tank Corps, 2nd Tank Army, 1st Belorussian Front), junior sergeant.

Born on August 7 (20), 1913 in the village of Piskoshino, now Veselovsky district, Zaporozhye region (Ukraine) in a peasant family. Ukrainian. Primary education. He worked as a tractor driver. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was evacuated to Azerbaijan. In the army since March 1942. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since 1942 as a tank driver of the 58th Tank Brigade. He particularly distinguished himself during the liberation of Poland.
On July 23, 1944, skillfully maneuvering on the battlefield, he led his tank through dense anti-tank defenses and broke into the city of Lublin, an important enemy stronghold that covered the path to Warsaw. At the same time, 3 enemy cannons and 4 mortars were destroyed. Rapidly moving through the city and destroying enemy vehicles and carts with his tracks, A.S. Yakovenko was the first to break into the central square, which the Nazis had turned into a heavily fortified stronghold. The tank was set on fire by intense enemy fire, but A.S. Yakovenko managed to extinguish the flames and continued to carry out the combat mission assigned to the crew. The enemy concentrated fire from anti-tank guns on his vehicle and knocked it out. The brave tanker left the burning tank and, hiding behind its armor, began to destroy the Nazis who surrounded him with grenades and machine gun fire. At the moment when it seemed that the Nazis managed to take our warrior prisoner, a strong explosion shook the air - it was a tank that exploded, burying Alexander Yakovenko under its rubble. Along with him, dozens of enemies who surrounded him found a grave here. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 22, 1944, guard junior sergeant Yakovenko Alexander Sviridovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
Awarded the Order of Lenin (1944; posthumously).
He was buried in the city of Lublin (Poland).

11. Zhdanov Alexey Mitrofanovich 03/17/1917 - 07/14/1944 Hero of the Soviet Union

Zhdanov Alexey Mitrofanovich – battalion commander of the 287th Infantry Regiment (51st Infantry Vitebsk Red Banner Division, 6th Guards Army, 1st Baltic Front), major.
Born on March 17, 1917 in the village of Krugloye, now Krasnyansky district, Belgorod region, into a peasant family. Russian. During the Great Patriotic War in the active army - from June 1941. He fought on the Western, Northwestern, Western again, and 1st Baltic fronts. Twice wounded, shell-shocked.
He particularly distinguished himself during the Siauliai offensive operation.
On July 14, 1944, together with his battalion, he was surrounded near the village of Beinary (Braslav district, Vitebsk region). Taking up a perimeter defense, the battalion repelled enemy attacks for several hours. In these battles, 3 tanks and 2 assault guns were knocked out, and over a company of enemy soldiers and officers was destroyed. He organized a breakthrough of the enemy ring, while he himself and a small group of fighters covered the battalion from the rear. Saving the fighters of his battalion, he personally fired from a machine gun until the last cartridge, until he was mortally wounded and died on the battlefield. The battalion broke through to its own.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, Zhdanov Alexei Mitrofanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

12. Rafiev Najafkuli Rajabali oglu 03/22/1912 - 12/24/1970 Hero of the Soviet Union

Rafiyev Najafkuli Rajabali oglu - commander of a tank platoon of the 3rd tank regiment of the 37th mechanized brigade of the 1st mechanized corps of the 1st Belorussian Front, junior lieutenant. Born on March 22, 1912 in the city of Ordubad, now the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, in a working-class family. Azerbaijani. In 1935 he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the armored forces. After completing military service, he remained in the army and entered a military school. On the eve of the war he graduated from the Leningrad Higher Armored School. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Already on the fourth day of the war, June 26, tanker Rafiev entered into battle with the Nazis near the Ukrainian city of Kremnets. He was wounded in the head but remained in service.
During the retreat, Rafiev distinguished himself in many battles near the Ukrainian cities of Zhitomir and Kharkov. In just one battle near Poltava, Rafiev’s tankers disabled two heavy German tanks, six guns and more than fifty Nazi soldiers.
During the battle in the Matveev Kurgan area, Rafiev was wounded for the third time, and again did not leave the battlefield. Rafiev's crew destroyed an enemy tank, two heavy guns, a mortar and thirty-five Nazi soldiers. For his courage and bravery, the brave tanker was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
The tank platoon commander, junior lieutenant Rafiev, particularly distinguished himself in the battles for the liberation of Belarus. He skillfully organized the platoon's actions during the offensive. On June 26, 1944, near Bobruisk, tankers captured the crossing of the Ptich River and, riding the Bobruisk-Glusk highway, cut off the enemy’s escape routes. On June 27, pursuing the enemy, a tank platoon broke into the village of Lenino (Goretsky district of the Mogilev region). On July 8, Rafiev’s tankers were the first to enter the streets of Baranovichi.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 26, 1944, junior lieutenant Rafiev Najafkuli Rajabali oglu was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

13. Ivanov Yakov Matveevich 10/17/1916 - 11/17/1941 Hero of the Soviet Union

Born on October 17, 1916 in the village of Selivanovo, now Volotovsky district, Novgorod region, in a peasant family. Russian. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1941. In 1936 he graduated from the Higher Parachute School and worked as an instructor pilot at the Novgorod Aero Club.
In the Navy since November 1939. He graduated from the Yeisk Naval Aviation School named after I.V. Stalin in August 1940. Sent to the 32nd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Participant in the defense of Sevastopol. He flew for reconnaissance and attack of enemy troops. Participated in air battles.
November 12, 1941, junior lieutenant Ivanov Ya.M. was on duty at his airfield. Upon an alarm signal, he took to the skies on a MiG-3 aircraft paired with Lieutenant Savva N.I. to repel an enemy air raid on the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. When approaching Sevastopol, they discovered 9 enemy He-111 bombers. Hiding behind the clouds, our pilots unexpectedly attacked the enemy. After a few minutes of battle, Ivanov managed to shoot down one Heinkel. The formation of the bombers broke down, and one by one they began to make their way to the target. Having made a combat turn, Ivanov found himself next to another Heinkel. The enemy shooter opened fire on him. Having fired several bursts, Ivanov made a final decisive approach, caught the bomber in his sights and pulled the trigger, but no shots were fired. Then he came close and struck the Heinkel’s tail with his propeller. Having lost control, it went like a stone to the ground and exploded on its own bombs. With a damaged hood and propeller, Ivanov landed at his airfield.
A few days later, another enemy plane was shot down in an air battle. On November 17, 1941, while repelling a massive air raid on the city in a battle with 31 enemy bombers, accompanied by fighters, he shot down a Do-215. Then the second one attacked. Enemy riflemen opened fire on him from all firing points. Ivanov managed to knock out the Dornier with a well-aimed burst. The damaged bomber tried to escape towards the sea. Ivanov caught up with him at full throttle and destroyed him with a ram. The wreckage of both planes fell into the sea.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Yakov Matveevich Ivanov on January 17, 1942.
Awarded the Order of Lenin.

14. Safronova Valentina Ivanovna 1918 - 05/01/1943 Hero of the Soviet Union

Safronova Valentina Ivanovna - partisan reconnaissance officer of the Bryansk city partisan detachment.
Born in 1918 in the city of Bryansk. Russian. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since August 1941.
Partisan of the Bryansk city partisan detachment, Komsomol scout Valentina Safronova, in early September 1941, as part of a reconnaissance and sabotage group, was thrown behind enemy lines into the Kletnyansky forests, where she took part in ambushes and sabotage, in collecting intelligence information about the deployment of enemy troops. She repeatedly crossed the front line. In occupied Bryansk, she created 10 underground hideouts; delivered explosives, mines, leaflets, and newspapers to the city. For the detachment, she obtained information about the air defense system, about the movement of enemy railway trains, and a diagram of the location of aircraft at the Bryansk airfield. According to her information, 58 enemy aircraft and 5 anti-aircraft batteries, an oil depot, an ammunition depot, and several railway trains were destroyed.
On December 17, 1942, while performing a combat mission, the brave partisan intelligence officer V.I. Safronova was seriously wounded and was taken prisoner in an unconscious state. Tortured in the dungeons of the Gestapo on May 1, 1943.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 8, 1965, Valentina Ivanovna Safronova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
She was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Star.

Description of the presentation Heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 -1945. by slides

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 -1945. The work was carried out by a 9th grade student of the municipal budgetary educational institution "Rusanovskaya secondary school" Krening Angelina

Vasily Zaitsev Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev is a sniper, only during the Battle of Stalingrad between November 10 and December 17, 1942 he was able to destroy 225 soldiers and officers of the German army. Among the enemies he killed were 11 snipers, including Major Koenig himself, the head of the Wehrmacht sniper school. Naturally, Zaitsev’s actions were not limited to the Battle of Stalingrad, but he brought the greatest impact as an instructor who trained 28 novice snipers who destroyed more than three thousand enemy soldiers.

Ivan Kozhedub Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Ivan became a famous fighter pilot during the Second World War. During the war, he flew 330 combat missions and took part in 120 air battles. He managed to achieve something unprecedented - to shoot down 62 enemy aircraft, 2 heavy bombers, 16 fighters, 3 attack aircraft and 1 jet fighter. Another record of the pilot-hero is this interesting fact - Kozhedub was never shot down during the entire war. Ivan shot down his first plane only during his fortieth flight.

Khanpasha Nuradilov Chechen by nationality Khanpasha Nuradilovich Nuradilov - already in his first battle he destroyed 120 fascists with his machine gun. In January 1942, he destroyed another 50 enemy soldiers, suppressing 4 enemy machine gun points. In February, wounded in the arm, Khanpasha Nuradilov remained behind the machine gun, killing about 200 Nazis. In the spring of 1942, Nuradilov killed more than 300 soldiers of the enemy army. The record was recorded by the squadron commander. Unfortunately, on September 12, 1942, the hero was killed in battle. Before he died, he destroyed another 250 fascists and 2 machine guns. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Marat Kazei, a 14-year-old teenager, a member of a partisan detachment, went on reconnaissance missions along with his older comrades - both alone and with a group, participated in raids, and undermined trains. In January 1943, wounded, he roused his comrades to attack and made his way through the enemy ring, Marat received the medal “For Courage”. And in May 1944, while performing another mission near the village of Khoromitskiye, Minsk Region, a 14-year-old soldier died. Returning from a mission together with the reconnaissance commander, they came across the Germans. The commander was killed immediately, and Marat, firing back, lay down in a hollow. There was nowhere to leave in the open field, and there was no opportunity - the teenager was seriously wounded in the arm. While there were cartridges, he held the defense, and when the magazine was empty, he took the last weapon - two grenades from his belt. He threw one at the Germans right away, and waited with the second: when the enemies came very close, he blew himself up along with them. In 1965, Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.

Valya Kotik The youngest Hero of the USSR, partisan reconnaissance in the Karmelyuk detachment. In a village occupied by German troops, he fought his own little war - the boy secretly collected weapons and ammunition and handed them over to the partisans. Since 1942, he carried out intelligence assignments. And in the fall of the same year, Valya and her boys the same age received their first real combat mission: to eliminate the head of the field gendarmerie. In October 1943, the young soldier scouted out the location of the underground telephone cable of Hitler's headquarters, which was soon blown up, and also participated in the destruction of six railway trains and a warehouse. On October 29, 1943, while at his post, Valya noticed that the punitive forces had staged a raid on the detachment. Having killed a fascist officer with a pistol, the teenager raised the alarm, and the partisans managed to prepare for battle. On February 16, 1944, five days after his 14th birthday, in the battle for the city of Izyaslav, Kamenets-Podolsk, now Khmelnitsky region, the scout was mortally wounded and died the next day. In 1958, Valentin Kotik was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Lenya Golikov. Lenya joined the partisans as a 16-year-old teenager. He took part in 27 combat operations, destroyed 78 German soldiers and officers, blew up 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, and blew up 9 vehicles with ammunition. . . On August 12, in the new combat area of ​​the brigade, Golikov crashed a passenger car in which Major General of the Engineering Troops Richard Wirtz was located. For his feat, Lenya was nominated for the highest government award - the Gold Star medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But I didn’t have time to receive them. From December 1942 to January 1943, the partisan detachment in which Golikov was located fought fiercely out of encirclement. Only a few managed to survive, but Leni was not among them: he died in a battle with a punitive detachment of fascists on January 24, 1943 near the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov region, before he turned 17 years old.

Sasha Chekalin After the occupation of his native village by Nazi troops in October 1941, 16-year-old Sasha joined the “Advanced” partisan exterminator detachment, where he managed to serve for just over a month. One day, a group of partisans, including Sasha Chekalin, set up an ambush near the road to the city of Likhvin (Tula region). A car appeared in the distance. A minute passed and the explosion tore the car apart. Several more cars followed and exploded. One of them, crowded with soldiers, tried to get through. But a grenade thrown by Sasha Chekalin destroyed her too. At the beginning of November 1941, Sasha caught a cold and fell ill. The commissioner allowed him to rest with a trusted person in the nearest village. But there was a traitor who gave him away. At night, the Nazis broke into the house where the sick partisan lay. Chekalin managed to grab the prepared grenade and throw it, but it did not explode. . . The Nazis hanged a teenager in the central square of Likhvin. After the liberation of the city, partisan Chekalin’s comrades buried him with military honors. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Alexander Chekalin in 1942.

Zina Portnova In 1942, Zina joined the Obol underground Komsomol youth organization “Young Avengers” and actively participated in distributing leaflets among the population and sabotage against the invaders. Since August 1943, Zina has been a scout in the Voroshilov partisan detachment. In December 1943, she received the task of identifying the reasons for the failure of the Young Avengers organization and establishing contacts with the underground. But upon returning to the detachment, Zina was arrested. The brave, courageous young partisan did not lose heart in front of the Gestapo; over a long period of torture, the girl turned gray. “... Once in the prison yard, prisoners saw how a completely gray-haired girl, when she was being led to another interrogation-torture, threw herself under the wheels of a passing truck. But the car was stopped, the girl was pulled out from under the wheels and again taken for questioning...” On January 10, 1944, in the village of Goryany, now Shumilinsky district, Vitebsk region of Belarus, 17-year-old Zina was shot. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Zinaida Portnova in 1958.