The Power of Memory:
To the 80th Anniversary of Victory
To the 80th Anniversary of Victory
The Power
of Memory: To the 80th Anniversary of Victory
of Memory: To the 80th Anniversary of Victory
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Many of us have family members — grandparents, great-grandparents, or other relatives — whose lives were shaped by this pivotal period in history. To preserve these memories and honor our collective history, we would like to share personal stories of Skoltech employees and students — examples of service, fortitude, and resilience.
Stories that are forever in our hearts and memories
Story about his father by Project Manager Vladimir Zhernakov from the AI Center
Story about his family by PhD student Aleksei Mazalov from the Life Sciences program
Story about his great-grandfather by Internal Communications Manager Roman Zubrilov from the Communications Department
Yes, they did whatever they could,
Whoever, whenever, and as much as everyone could.
Sun beat down as they walked
Along hundreds of roads.
Everyone was wounded or contused
And every fourth killed.
The Motherland needed them all
And won’t forget any single name…
Whoever, whenever, and as much as everyone could.
Sun beat down as they walked
Along hundreds of roads.
Everyone was wounded or contused
And every fourth killed.
The Motherland needed them all
And won’t forget any single name…
Zhernakov Ivan
Mironovich
Mironovich
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. Throughout these years, we have taken pride in the immortal deeds of our nation. Nowadays, much can be read about the war, and many movies and documentaries are available to watch. Yet the perception is different — it lacks vivid emotions.
The years go by, doing their work. Regrettably, those who can recount their youthful days on the battlefield are passing away. No family escaped misfortune and grief. When I read and listen to stories about the war, I often think about my close ones — the frontline soldiers I was lucky to know or saw in rare old photographs. But they are all gone now. My father, Ivan Mironovich Zhernakov, told me a lot about what happened in those long-gone years.
The years go by, doing their work. Regrettably, those who can recount their youthful days on the battlefield are passing away. No family escaped misfortune and grief. When I read and listen to stories about the war, I often think about my close ones — the frontline soldiers I was lucky to know or saw in rare old photographs. But they are all gone now. My father, Ivan Mironovich Zhernakov, told me a lot about what happened in those long-gone years.
He called himself the war’s “last remnant.” After the end of his army service he lived and worked in the village of Rebrikha in Altai Krai. Ivan Mironovich Zhernakov passed away in 2011.
That’s how my father recalled those long-gone days: “I hadn’t yet turned eighteen when they rushed me through crash courses on mortars and tanks and sent me off to the front. I endured days on end inside my tank, slept on its armor, went hungry for stretches that lasted days. For some reason, the sounds of war turned out to be the most memorable thing: the so-called air kiss when two shells simultaneously explode in the air, or the heavy groaning of mortally wounded horses... Somehow, we learned to distinguish the sound of mines, shells, and bullets that flew by, and even the trees seemed to hear them, because leaves were trembling in a special way under artillery attacks.
I had to change three tanks during the war. One time, at a German rural place during bombing, our tank sat, as it seemed to us, in a safe shelter. To keep on the safe side, the crew hid under the bottom of the 45-ton vehicle. But it was smashed by a powerful blast. The crew was also wounded. Our technician suffered a tendon injury, the tank commander Klimantovich got a spinal cord injury, and I got a scratch on the knee. I didn’t report to the medical unit and spent two months fighting with a bandaged leg and healing myself.
Near Dresden, our tank battalion’s task was to get past an area swept with the enemy’s fire. The shells fell too close or too far, or hit the tanks. Our vehicle took a hit as well. I went deaf and barely understood the commander’s order to inspect the area. And just when I rounded the corner of a neighboring building, another shell hit our tank. The ammunition detonated and all my crew was killed.
The third episode happened in Berlin. A shell hit the transmission, but the heavy tank named JS (Joseph Stalin) crawled by inertia to a secure location around the corner and came to a standstill. Otherwise, we would have been an excellent target for the enemy. Our wrecked tank was then towed to a safe place. We were going to proceed with repairs in the morning. At that moment, a column of Soviet battle tanks appeared within fifty meters or so from our place. One of them shot at our vehicle, having mistaken it for a German Ferdinand. There were three of us sitting next to each other: a driver, a paramedic, and me between them. They were heavily slashed with shrapnel and I didn’t even get a scratch. Maybe my loved ones’ prayers were that strong.
Just before the end of the war, we were redirected from Berlin to liberate Prague. The borderline between Germany and Czechoslovakia is marked by the Sudeten Mountains. They are rather low, and the roads in Europe are not like ours. Nevertheless, it was difficult for the tanks to climb up. Several vehicles fell down the rocks. One of them landed on its tracks after falling. We were happy to see the crew getting out of the hatches.
Signalmen, gunners, and scouts were maneuvering past the tank column on the mountain road. All of a sudden, in the middle of the night, an infantry major shouted: ‘The war is over, guys!’ The tank column stopped. And so it was on the Sudeten peaks that we received the news of Victory! There were no bounds to the triumph.
The length of my army service was as much as nine years and twenty-one days. This was the destiny of our generation — the war’s ‘last remnants.’ After the enemy’s surrender, I first served with the occupation forces, then as part of Soviet troop contingents in Germany, Poland, Austria, and Hungary. In June 1953, we contributed to the suppression of the antigovernment uprising in Berlin. Our tank unit was accommodated a hundred kilometers from the capital of the German Democratic Republic. We were scrambled on alert, but by the time we dragged ourselves to Berlin, most of the action was already over. As a precaution, they stationed us in some suburb before finally sending us to our unit’s base.
During the war and in later years I mastered all tank professions: I started as a frontline loader, then I was a plugman, a gun commander, a driver, and a vehicle commander.”
That’s the story. I feel immense pride for my family, my father, and his heroic brothers.
Let’s remember those who sprouted
With green grass, roots of trees, and chirrup of birds.
We bear their names deep inside
And bear their features in our faces.
My father was born in 1926, in the village of Tatarkino, Tomsk Oblast. In May 1944, a year before the war’s end, he was drafted into military service while still a ninth-grader and sent off to war. After short training, he was sent to the front line as a tank driver. In the rank of guards sergeant, he earned the Medal for Bravery. He “outlived” three self-propelled guns, reached Wittenberg just outside Berlin by the end of the war and remained there over a decade on extended service. My father finished his ten-year schooling and, upon leaving the army, went to live with his brother Mikhail in Barnaul. He then went to the Mechanization School at the Agricultural Institute. After graduating, he was assigned to the Rebrikha College of Mechanization, where he worked until retirement. As a retiree, he continued to devote all his energy to people around, worked as an instructor in many hobby groups in the local Youth Center, and taught bookbinding and birch bark weaving to children.
This photo, dating back to 1943, features my 16-year-old grandfather with his parents. It represents the equal involvement of both the frontlines and the home front in the fight against Nazi invaders. The picture was taken when my great-grandfather, Andrei Terentievich Arkhipov (1904-1989), was granted leave to visit his family in Moscow after recovering from a wound.
A. T. Arkhipov, recruited in 1941, was a senior sergeant in the medical service with his battalion, part of the first Ukrainian front. He was awarded the soldier’s Order of Glory for providing first aid to the wounded and saving lives on the battlefield. He also received medals for participating in the battle of Berlin and the liberation of Prague. In the post-war period, A. T. Arkhipov was honored with the Order of the Patriotic War (first degree) and the medal for the defeat of Nazi Germany.
A. T. Arkhipov, recruited in 1941, was a senior sergeant in the medical service with his battalion, part of the first Ukrainian front. He was awarded the soldier’s Order of Glory for providing first aid to the wounded and saving lives on the battlefield. He also received medals for participating in the battle of Berlin and the liberation of Prague. In the post-war period, A. T. Arkhipov was honored with the Order of the Patriotic War (first degree) and the medal for the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Arkhipov Andrei Terentievich
Both my great-grandmother, Evdokia Vasilievna Arkhipova (1903-1981), and my grandfather,
Nikolai Andreevich Arkhipov (1926-2008), worked at the Moscow ZIL factory throughout the war. They were engaged in the manufacturing of rocket-powered projectiles for the Katiusha launchers. My great-grandmother was a worker in the foundry, while my grandfather served as an electrician. They were awarded medals for the contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Nikolai Andreevich Arkhipov (1926-2008), worked at the Moscow ZIL factory throughout the war. They were engaged in the manufacturing of rocket-powered projectiles for the Katiusha launchers. My great-grandmother was a worker in the foundry, while my grandfather served as an electrician. They were awarded medals for the contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Denisov Mikhail
Sergeevich
Sergeevich
Place of birth: village N-Pokrovka, Omsk region, Gorky district, village Novopokrovka
Military rank: Red Army soldier
Died during the Battle of Leningrad.
Military rank: Red Army soldier
Died during the Battle of Leningrad.
Story about his great-grandfather by Head of Student Support Center Boris Trigub from the Student Department
Story about his grandmother by Dean of Students Denis Stolyarov
Story about his family by PhD student Dmitriy Petrov from the Life Sciences program
Sychev Vasily
Vasilievich
Vasilievich
Vasily Sychev was born in 1910. He was a senior sergeant. Despite exemption from military service as a valuable professional, he voluntarily went to the battlefield in 1942. As part of the 1st Assault Army, he took part in the defense of Leningrad. He was injured on several occasions and discharged in 1943 due to disability caused by a wound. He was honored with the Order of the Patriotic War (class II), medals For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 and For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, and jubilee awards. He raised five children, including my grandma. He passed away in 1979.
Stolyarova Nadezhda Terentyevna
June 1941
The first days
When the war started, I couldn’t have been more than seven. My birthday is in November, and the war began on the 22nd of June...
A historical note
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and the Great Patriotic War began.
Three years earlier, almost all Europe had fallen to the onslaught of the Wehrmacht. Voronezh Oblast was put on a war footing in the first days of the war. All aspects of the city life were rearranged to suit the realities of wartime.
In the summer of 1941, industrial enterprises in Voronezh were converted to support the war effort. Communist International Plant started to make Katyusha rocket launchers, Voronezh Aviation Plant assembled Il-2 assault aircraft, and Wagon Repair Plant in Otrozhka set up the production of armored air defense platforms. Voronezh-based Dzerzhinsky, Lenin, and Electrosignal plants also switched to military production. The evacuation of production facilities began between the end of 1941 and beginning of 1942.
First of all, they evacuated those who worked at the enterprises engaged in military production. My maternal aunt and cousin Tamara, whose husband built airplanes, fell into this priority category. As for us, we stayed behind.
July 1942
Invaders in the city
Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht army units continued their advance eastwards. Their offensive operation near Voronezh was codenamed Blau. In the early summer of 1942, the city underwent massive air bombing. Schools and nurseries were converted to accommodate wounded soldiers.
On July 7, the Nazi Germany’s armed forces entered the city. They occupied the right bank of the Voronezh river. The Red Army units took up the defense on the left bank and in the birch grove.
I remember that the weather was hot. We had two outdoor dogs: Tuzik and Roska. We never let them roam beyond the yard — they were kept on chains, though the yard itself was quite large.
Then suddenly — uproar, everyone yelling, “Germans are coming down the street!” The Germans all had submachine guns. They came into our yard, the dogs barked, and they immediately shot them so they dangled on the wire. The children instantly quieted down.
The German soldiers marched through the yard, broke down the fence, and forced my father to carry a samovar to their officer on another street for tea. My father didn’t say a single word — those who opposed them were shot for no reason. My poor dad, born in 1902, a disabled Finnish War veteran, was still young at 40.
In just that one day, he seemed to have aged a decade. He came back completely exhausted and sagged like an elderly man. Even the tone of his voice had changed. But, thank God, he had escaped alive. This alone was a great treasure for us.
In the occupied Voronezh territory, the Nazis carried out mass shootings and public executions. When they excavated the mass grave in Peschaniy Log, they found 450 bodies — 35 of them were children.
Several thousand civilians were killed in this region.
July-August 1942
False evacuation
Two weeks or so later, the German soldiers said, “Get ready, you’ll be ‘evacuated’.” They didn’t let us take much stuff. My father was tying things to my sisters — a washbasin for one, a cooking pot for another, a ladle for the next. Through tears, I protested: “I won’t carry a basin or a ladle, nothing! I want to take my dolls!” Because I’d never had my fill of playing with dolls as a child. And, even though I was older than my sisters, my father tied a small sack to my shoulders and only permitted me to take a few things. I took a doll and my favorite toy tableware.
A historical note
The German high command issued a special decree ordering all Voronezh residents to evacuate the city within 24 hours. This marked the beginning of forcible transfer of civilian population.
In the first years of the war, up to 10,000 Soviet civilians were forcibly deported daily from occupied territories to labor camps in the West.
The evacuation involved a very hard and long walk. People were marched under armed guard with dogs. Children would get tired. Your legs felt stiff — simply unbearable! And then they loaded us into uncovered cattle wagons. They packed people in like sardines: We could hardly breathe. That’s something you could never forget. When kids needed to relieve themselves, they had to do it standing up — there was no room to sit. Parents would shield them with their bodies as they went.
September 1942-February 1943
Ostarbeiters
The Nazis herded us into Ukraine. There was another distribution point to assign us to local households. When they brought us in, the Ukrainian residents resisted taking us in — they didn’t want us there. But we had been brought to that place against our will...
In the end, they reluctantly gave us a tiny nine-square-meter room. Dad was sent to work as a gardener because of his disability, and Mom, who was 38, was ordered to tend the pigs. My sister went begging so we’d have something to eat. They gave us work, but there was nothing to eat.
As time passed, by autumn, they began driving us all out of our homes. Father grew a beard and cut my hair, along with my sister’s and mother’s. One day, the three of us were lying on a bench in the house. German soldiers came in and saw that we were bald. Father said, “It’s typhus!” He just tricked them. It was a very risky thing to do.
A historical note
Meanwhile, there was fierce fighting in Voronezh. Leaflets handed out to German troops read, “Soldiers! Your banners have waved over European cities. The last thing you need to do is to capture Voronezh. It is just in front of you. Conquer it, make it bow down! Voronezh is the end of the war. Voronezh is the well-deserved rest. Go ahead!”
Back on July 10, Baron von Weichs claimed that Voronezh was triumphantly captured. But the Nazis never managed to take over the whole city. As soon as the autumn of 1942, the summer success of the Wehrmacht in the East crumbled to dust: Thanks to Operation Little Saturn, more than 200 localities in Voronezh Oblast were liberated. The situation was favorable for the liberation of Voronezh.
After a while, the locals drove us out again to free up their homes. And we had to leave. The same thing as when we were thrown out of Voronezh. We kept walking after dark. And then Dad saw an outermost house. It was a place to run to and spend the night, and not to go any further. It seems like fate guided us. We ran in the house. Dad noticed a cellar and told us to get in there. He cut open some pillows and spread feathers to warm up the cold cellar. As for himself, he stayed up all night on the veranda. At times, he would ask, “Are you awake?”, and she’d reply, “No chance to sleep.” We, the kids, were fast asleep. He kept saying, “I guess our boys will come after all — our boys will come after all.” And she said to him, “Oh, we’ll likely die in this cellar.” “No, my soul feels that our boys will be here.”
And, all of a sudden, our soldiers appeared early in the morning. They were on horseback, and Dad shouted, “Girls, wake up, our men are here, the Russians!” We rushed outside to see our soldiers astride their horses, waving flags and calling, “Come out! Come out!” The streets flooded with people instantly — everyone pouring out at once!
A historical note
Voronezh fought against the Nazi invaders for 212 days and nights.
On January 25, 1943, at the expense of thousands of lives, Voronezh was liberated.
February 1943-April 1945
The return
The regime had changed—now Russians were in charge at the village council. Dad went there. It was the end of January. He learned from the council that Voronezh had been liberated. We thanked God, and Father said, “We must go home immediately!” People in the council replied we’d need to wait for our turn. When Father came back, he said to Mom, “Let’s set out tonight. We have no belongings besides Nadya and Vera. You’ll hold Vera, and I’ll hold Nadya on my lap.” We rode on a train, at a coupling between railcars.
Father was sitting on one side, his feet pressed against the opposite railcar. He almost dropped me out of his hands once. By good fortune, he didn’t.
After we were back in Voronezh, we returned to our house in the city center, on Trudovaya Street. The windows were all broken, and Father filled two window openings with bricks, leaving small gaps on top. We shared our house with another family.
A historical note
After the occupation, Voronezh lied in ruins. According to different estimates, 92% to 95% buildings were destroyed. Before fleeing the city, the Nazis had devastated everything that survived the battles.
The demolished buildings included Voronezh State University (now Children’s Park), the Pioneer House (current site of the Technological Academy), and the Regional Party Committee headquarters (replaced by Nikitin Library).
Nevertheless, evacuated and forcibly transferred people were already returning, and the city’s everyday life gradually improved.
May 1945
The Victory
As victory drew near, electricians came to our street and mounted enormous loudspeakers on the lampposts. We asked, “What are these?” But those with radios already knew — the war would end any minute now.
A historical note
On May 1, 1945, the Soviet soldiers Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria hoisted over the Reichstag the assault flag of the 150th Idritsa Order of the Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division. This was the Banner of Victory.
At midnight on May 8, the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.
May 9, 1945, marked the day of victory in the Great Patriotic War for everyone in the Soviet Union!
There was a great celebration of the long-awaited Victory Day: We children rejoiced at getting coins for ice cream. We ran out on a wide avenue: Music was playing everywhere, the streets were filled with girls and soldiers decorated with medals. Neighbors gathered together, brought and shared whatever they had, and raised glasses to Victory Day, as accordion music set everyone dancing. We had just one accordion player on our entire street — only one — but when he played, the whole neighborhood came alive with delight!
I’ll probably never forget this day, at least as long as my eyes can see. Indeed, I’ll forget when I die.
∞
PS
In fact, when the war was over, we never recalled it. If I only had known that I would live that long, until 80, I could have asked my father a lot of things. But we never asked questions about that war, because it deprived them of all their youth, and took away all our childhood.
Although it’s not easy recollecting it now, we must do it. If we don’t memorialize the war now, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will know nothing about it. All my age mates are elderly people, and there are not many. That’s why we need to share with the youth, and they will then tell all these stories to their children and grandchildren.
The first days
When the war started, I couldn’t have been more than seven. My birthday is in November, and the war began on the 22nd of June...
A historical note
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and the Great Patriotic War began.
Three years earlier, almost all Europe had fallen to the onslaught of the Wehrmacht. Voronezh Oblast was put on a war footing in the first days of the war. All aspects of the city life were rearranged to suit the realities of wartime.
In the summer of 1941, industrial enterprises in Voronezh were converted to support the war effort. Communist International Plant started to make Katyusha rocket launchers, Voronezh Aviation Plant assembled Il-2 assault aircraft, and Wagon Repair Plant in Otrozhka set up the production of armored air defense platforms. Voronezh-based Dzerzhinsky, Lenin, and Electrosignal plants also switched to military production. The evacuation of production facilities began between the end of 1941 and beginning of 1942.
First of all, they evacuated those who worked at the enterprises engaged in military production. My maternal aunt and cousin Tamara, whose husband built airplanes, fell into this priority category. As for us, we stayed behind.
July 1942
Invaders in the city
Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht army units continued their advance eastwards. Their offensive operation near Voronezh was codenamed Blau. In the early summer of 1942, the city underwent massive air bombing. Schools and nurseries were converted to accommodate wounded soldiers.
On July 7, the Nazi Germany’s armed forces entered the city. They occupied the right bank of the Voronezh river. The Red Army units took up the defense on the left bank and in the birch grove.
I remember that the weather was hot. We had two outdoor dogs: Tuzik and Roska. We never let them roam beyond the yard — they were kept on chains, though the yard itself was quite large.
Then suddenly — uproar, everyone yelling, “Germans are coming down the street!” The Germans all had submachine guns. They came into our yard, the dogs barked, and they immediately shot them so they dangled on the wire. The children instantly quieted down.
The German soldiers marched through the yard, broke down the fence, and forced my father to carry a samovar to their officer on another street for tea. My father didn’t say a single word — those who opposed them were shot for no reason. My poor dad, born in 1902, a disabled Finnish War veteran, was still young at 40.
In just that one day, he seemed to have aged a decade. He came back completely exhausted and sagged like an elderly man. Even the tone of his voice had changed. But, thank God, he had escaped alive. This alone was a great treasure for us.
In the occupied Voronezh territory, the Nazis carried out mass shootings and public executions. When they excavated the mass grave in Peschaniy Log, they found 450 bodies — 35 of them were children.
Several thousand civilians were killed in this region.
July-August 1942
False evacuation
Two weeks or so later, the German soldiers said, “Get ready, you’ll be ‘evacuated’.” They didn’t let us take much stuff. My father was tying things to my sisters — a washbasin for one, a cooking pot for another, a ladle for the next. Through tears, I protested: “I won’t carry a basin or a ladle, nothing! I want to take my dolls!” Because I’d never had my fill of playing with dolls as a child. And, even though I was older than my sisters, my father tied a small sack to my shoulders and only permitted me to take a few things. I took a doll and my favorite toy tableware.
A historical note
The German high command issued a special decree ordering all Voronezh residents to evacuate the city within 24 hours. This marked the beginning of forcible transfer of civilian population.
In the first years of the war, up to 10,000 Soviet civilians were forcibly deported daily from occupied territories to labor camps in the West.
The evacuation involved a very hard and long walk. People were marched under armed guard with dogs. Children would get tired. Your legs felt stiff — simply unbearable! And then they loaded us into uncovered cattle wagons. They packed people in like sardines: We could hardly breathe. That’s something you could never forget. When kids needed to relieve themselves, they had to do it standing up — there was no room to sit. Parents would shield them with their bodies as they went.
September 1942-February 1943
Ostarbeiters
The Nazis herded us into Ukraine. There was another distribution point to assign us to local households. When they brought us in, the Ukrainian residents resisted taking us in — they didn’t want us there. But we had been brought to that place against our will...
In the end, they reluctantly gave us a tiny nine-square-meter room. Dad was sent to work as a gardener because of his disability, and Mom, who was 38, was ordered to tend the pigs. My sister went begging so we’d have something to eat. They gave us work, but there was nothing to eat.
As time passed, by autumn, they began driving us all out of our homes. Father grew a beard and cut my hair, along with my sister’s and mother’s. One day, the three of us were lying on a bench in the house. German soldiers came in and saw that we were bald. Father said, “It’s typhus!” He just tricked them. It was a very risky thing to do.
A historical note
Meanwhile, there was fierce fighting in Voronezh. Leaflets handed out to German troops read, “Soldiers! Your banners have waved over European cities. The last thing you need to do is to capture Voronezh. It is just in front of you. Conquer it, make it bow down! Voronezh is the end of the war. Voronezh is the well-deserved rest. Go ahead!”
Back on July 10, Baron von Weichs claimed that Voronezh was triumphantly captured. But the Nazis never managed to take over the whole city. As soon as the autumn of 1942, the summer success of the Wehrmacht in the East crumbled to dust: Thanks to Operation Little Saturn, more than 200 localities in Voronezh Oblast were liberated. The situation was favorable for the liberation of Voronezh.
After a while, the locals drove us out again to free up their homes. And we had to leave. The same thing as when we were thrown out of Voronezh. We kept walking after dark. And then Dad saw an outermost house. It was a place to run to and spend the night, and not to go any further. It seems like fate guided us. We ran in the house. Dad noticed a cellar and told us to get in there. He cut open some pillows and spread feathers to warm up the cold cellar. As for himself, he stayed up all night on the veranda. At times, he would ask, “Are you awake?”, and she’d reply, “No chance to sleep.” We, the kids, were fast asleep. He kept saying, “I guess our boys will come after all — our boys will come after all.” And she said to him, “Oh, we’ll likely die in this cellar.” “No, my soul feels that our boys will be here.”
And, all of a sudden, our soldiers appeared early in the morning. They were on horseback, and Dad shouted, “Girls, wake up, our men are here, the Russians!” We rushed outside to see our soldiers astride their horses, waving flags and calling, “Come out! Come out!” The streets flooded with people instantly — everyone pouring out at once!
A historical note
Voronezh fought against the Nazi invaders for 212 days and nights.
On January 25, 1943, at the expense of thousands of lives, Voronezh was liberated.
February 1943-April 1945
The return
The regime had changed—now Russians were in charge at the village council. Dad went there. It was the end of January. He learned from the council that Voronezh had been liberated. We thanked God, and Father said, “We must go home immediately!” People in the council replied we’d need to wait for our turn. When Father came back, he said to Mom, “Let’s set out tonight. We have no belongings besides Nadya and Vera. You’ll hold Vera, and I’ll hold Nadya on my lap.” We rode on a train, at a coupling between railcars.
Father was sitting on one side, his feet pressed against the opposite railcar. He almost dropped me out of his hands once. By good fortune, he didn’t.
After we were back in Voronezh, we returned to our house in the city center, on Trudovaya Street. The windows were all broken, and Father filled two window openings with bricks, leaving small gaps on top. We shared our house with another family.
A historical note
After the occupation, Voronezh lied in ruins. According to different estimates, 92% to 95% buildings were destroyed. Before fleeing the city, the Nazis had devastated everything that survived the battles.
The demolished buildings included Voronezh State University (now Children’s Park), the Pioneer House (current site of the Technological Academy), and the Regional Party Committee headquarters (replaced by Nikitin Library).
Nevertheless, evacuated and forcibly transferred people were already returning, and the city’s everyday life gradually improved.
May 1945
The Victory
As victory drew near, electricians came to our street and mounted enormous loudspeakers on the lampposts. We asked, “What are these?” But those with radios already knew — the war would end any minute now.
A historical note
On May 1, 1945, the Soviet soldiers Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria hoisted over the Reichstag the assault flag of the 150th Idritsa Order of the Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division. This was the Banner of Victory.
At midnight on May 8, the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed.
May 9, 1945, marked the day of victory in the Great Patriotic War for everyone in the Soviet Union!
There was a great celebration of the long-awaited Victory Day: We children rejoiced at getting coins for ice cream. We ran out on a wide avenue: Music was playing everywhere, the streets were filled with girls and soldiers decorated with medals. Neighbors gathered together, brought and shared whatever they had, and raised glasses to Victory Day, as accordion music set everyone dancing. We had just one accordion player on our entire street — only one — but when he played, the whole neighborhood came alive with delight!
I’ll probably never forget this day, at least as long as my eyes can see. Indeed, I’ll forget when I die.
∞
PS
In fact, when the war was over, we never recalled it. If I only had known that I would live that long, until 80, I could have asked my father a lot of things. But we never asked questions about that war, because it deprived them of all their youth, and took away all our childhood.
Although it’s not easy recollecting it now, we must do it. If we don’t memorialize the war now, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will know nothing about it. All my age mates are elderly people, and there are not many. That’s why we need to share with the youth, and they will then tell all these stories to their children and grandchildren.
Nadezhda was born in Voronezh on November 14, 1934, to Terenty Kondratyevich and Lyubov Tikhonovna Degtyaryov. She was seven years old when the Great Patriotic War began. After the family’s return to Voronezh, a serious illness delayed her schooling until age ten.
After graduating from high school, she got a job at the Voronezh Factory of Radio Components, where she worked for ten years in an electroplating shop. Later she completed a training course on cooking and devoted many years to public catering. She retired at the age of fifty.
In 1958, she married Anatoly Stolyarov. She raised a son and a daughter — Valery and Elena — and had grandchildren — Denis and Marina.
She passed away on October 20, 2021, from COVID-19 complications, just twenty-five days before her eighty-seventh birthday.
After graduating from high school, she got a job at the Voronezh Factory of Radio Components, where she worked for ten years in an electroplating shop. Later she completed a training course on cooking and devoted many years to public catering. She retired at the age of fifty.
In 1958, she married Anatoly Stolyarov. She raised a son and a daughter — Valery and Elena — and had grandchildren — Denis and Marina.
She passed away on October 20, 2021, from COVID-19 complications, just twenty-five days before her eighty-seventh birthday.
Senin Petr Stepanovich
and Senina Ekaterina Alexandrovna
and Senina Ekaterina Alexandrovna
The Great Patriotic War and the Senin-Soloviev family
My great-grandparents, Petr Stepanovich Senin (1898-25 August 1943) and Ekaterina Alexandrovna Senina, nee Solovieva (1900-11 October 1942) before the war lived in the Sinitsyno village, Zubtsov district, Kalinin Oblast (now Tver Oblast). They had five children: Valentina (1924-17 October 1942), Victor (5 June 1926-24 August 1991), Vera (born 30 September 1928), Taisa (26 April 1931-6 April 2017) and Lidia (5 April 1937-27 July 2022). In the mid-1930s, they moved to Pogoreloe Gorodische — the nearest town to Sinitsyno. Petr Stepanovich ran a shop, the family wasn’t poor.
After the war had started, several weeks later Petr was recruited by the Soviet Army, although he had poor eyesight and flat feet. His sister, Alexandra (14 November 1894-3 June 1988) was sent to Ivanteevka in Moscow Oblast for trenching, and this is how she participated in the defense of Moscow. She was awarded a medal for the Defense of Moscow.
The German army came to Tver Oblast. German soldiers stayed at Senins’ home. But in autumn of 1942, when the Soviets started reconquering their territory, the Nazis started abducting Soviet civilians to Germany. The Nazis kicked our family out of our home, burned the house, and abducted severely sick Ekaterina and her children on their way to Smolensk.
Ekaterina died on 11 October 1942 from hydropsy. Six days later, there was a shelling. The oldest sister, Valentina, and the youngest sister, Lidia, were hit by the projectile. Valentina died, and Lidia was shell-shocked.
From Smolensk Oblast the abduction continued through Belarus. My family stayed at local houses in the Staraya Miotscha and Ostrovno villages. The villages were mainly partisan. The locals hid the children. Maybe they could stay there longer, but there was a betrayal. The village headman gave to the Nazis the list of everyone who was hidden. He received material goods for this. All of them were collected in the Krupki town near the railway, and by rail abducted to the Annaberg-Buchholz concentration camp.
Victor and Vera worked at the AEG factory, which made aviation engines. They made the circuit boards. The AEG factory still doesn’t uncover their archives for 1939-1945, so it’s still unknown what exactly was done. Taisa worked for the farmer, or bauer, as they call. Lidia was only six years old, and she had a developmental delay because of the shell-shock. She was unable to work, and she just waited for her siblings in the camp.
Petr fought in the 55th engineer battalion. He died in a hospital on 25 August 1943 in Rossosh, Voronezh Oblast.
Victor, Vera, Taisa, and Lidia were released from the concentration camp on 8 May 1945 at 3 p.m. by the American army. The Americans came to the camp kitchen and saw huge amounts of white boiled rice. The rice was poisoned. The plan was to serve this rice to the prisoners for dinner, and they wouldn’t wake up in the morning.
Via the Stanislavchik immigration point in Ukraine, the siblings returned home. Later Victor and Taisa moved to Ivanteevka, where they lived with Alexandra, Petr’s sister. After several years, they moved to Moscow. Vera and Lidia, however, moved to Leningrad, where they lived with Nadezhda, Ekaterina’s sister.
All siblings received at least secondary professional education. Taisa also received higher education and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
I am Lidia’s grandson, but I was born in Moscow, at Taisa’s home. Taisa and her husband didn’t have their own children, and they always took care of their niblings. Both Lidia and Taisa were my grandmothers. Vera is still alive.
My great-grandparents, Petr Stepanovich Senin (1898-25 August 1943) and Ekaterina Alexandrovna Senina, nee Solovieva (1900-11 October 1942) before the war lived in the Sinitsyno village, Zubtsov district, Kalinin Oblast (now Tver Oblast). They had five children: Valentina (1924-17 October 1942), Victor (5 June 1926-24 August 1991), Vera (born 30 September 1928), Taisa (26 April 1931-6 April 2017) and Lidia (5 April 1937-27 July 2022). In the mid-1930s, they moved to Pogoreloe Gorodische — the nearest town to Sinitsyno. Petr Stepanovich ran a shop, the family wasn’t poor.
After the war had started, several weeks later Petr was recruited by the Soviet Army, although he had poor eyesight and flat feet. His sister, Alexandra (14 November 1894-3 June 1988) was sent to Ivanteevka in Moscow Oblast for trenching, and this is how she participated in the defense of Moscow. She was awarded a medal for the Defense of Moscow.
The German army came to Tver Oblast. German soldiers stayed at Senins’ home. But in autumn of 1942, when the Soviets started reconquering their territory, the Nazis started abducting Soviet civilians to Germany. The Nazis kicked our family out of our home, burned the house, and abducted severely sick Ekaterina and her children on their way to Smolensk.
Ekaterina died on 11 October 1942 from hydropsy. Six days later, there was a shelling. The oldest sister, Valentina, and the youngest sister, Lidia, were hit by the projectile. Valentina died, and Lidia was shell-shocked.
From Smolensk Oblast the abduction continued through Belarus. My family stayed at local houses in the Staraya Miotscha and Ostrovno villages. The villages were mainly partisan. The locals hid the children. Maybe they could stay there longer, but there was a betrayal. The village headman gave to the Nazis the list of everyone who was hidden. He received material goods for this. All of them were collected in the Krupki town near the railway, and by rail abducted to the Annaberg-Buchholz concentration camp.
Victor and Vera worked at the AEG factory, which made aviation engines. They made the circuit boards. The AEG factory still doesn’t uncover their archives for 1939-1945, so it’s still unknown what exactly was done. Taisa worked for the farmer, or bauer, as they call. Lidia was only six years old, and she had a developmental delay because of the shell-shock. She was unable to work, and she just waited for her siblings in the camp.
Petr fought in the 55th engineer battalion. He died in a hospital on 25 August 1943 in Rossosh, Voronezh Oblast.
Victor, Vera, Taisa, and Lidia were released from the concentration camp on 8 May 1945 at 3 p.m. by the American army. The Americans came to the camp kitchen and saw huge amounts of white boiled rice. The rice was poisoned. The plan was to serve this rice to the prisoners for dinner, and they wouldn’t wake up in the morning.
Via the Stanislavchik immigration point in Ukraine, the siblings returned home. Later Victor and Taisa moved to Ivanteevka, where they lived with Alexandra, Petr’s sister. After several years, they moved to Moscow. Vera and Lidia, however, moved to Leningrad, where they lived with Nadezhda, Ekaterina’s sister.
All siblings received at least secondary professional education. Taisa also received higher education and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
I am Lidia’s grandson, but I was born in Moscow, at Taisa’s home. Taisa and her husband didn’t have their own children, and they always took care of their niblings. Both Lidia and Taisa were my grandmothers. Vera is still alive.
Back row, from left to right: Petr, Petr’s relative, Ekaterina.
Front row: Taisa, Valentina, Victor, Vera.
Front row: Taisa, Valentina, Victor, Vera.
Victor and Petr
Victor and Valentina
Vera and Valentina
After the war.
Back row, from left to right: Vera, Taisa.
Front row: Alexandra, Lidia, Alexandra’s friend.
Back row, from left to right: Vera, Taisa.
Front row: Alexandra, Lidia, Alexandra’s friend.
Alexandra’s Medal for the Defense of Moscow.
Story about his grandfather by Professor of the Practice Dmitry Kulish from the Entrepreneurship Center
Story about his great-grandfather by Industry Project Manager Dmitry Tyagusov from the Petroleum Center
Story about his great-grandfather by Industry Project Manager Dmitry Tyagusov from the Petroleum Center
Maslov Vladimir
Petrovich
Petrovich
In June 1941, my grandfather Vladimir Petrovich Maslov was preparing to defend his PhD thesis at Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology in Moscow and, thus, was exempt from the first military draft. By January 1942, the war had intensified dramatically. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology was evacuated to Kokand, and the PhD thesis was successfully defended. Grandfather’s exemption expired, and he was immediately drafted. He took it without anxiety, prepared for that moment long in advance.
War was nothing new for Grandfather. He was born in the Ukrainian town of Shostka in 1915. When he was a three-year-old boy, Ukraine became a Hetmanate ruled by Germany: The Germans were shooting local nationalists — the future Petliurites, followers of Petliura. A year later, Denikin’s forces arrived and began executing the future Petliurites too. Petliura, who eventually won a year later, gave Shostka away to Poland for no apparent reason. A year later, when Grandfather was six, the region descended into lawless chaos — Bolsheviks, Petliurites, Denikin’s Whites, Poles, Germans, and common gangsters all turning their guns on one another. In the end, the Soviet power was established and put things in order.
All that time, Grandfather’s father (my great-grandfather), Pyotr Dmitrievich Maslov, who completed a postgraduate course in chemistry in St. Petersburg, was in charge of the Shostka gunpowder and combustible mixture factory. The factory was too valuable to lose, so Pyotr Dmitrievich kept his position through every regime change. Some rulers of local scale simply felt scared to enter the factory site, which made my great-grandfather a local godfather. In 1922, he managed to protect his friends, the Petliurites, from the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution (so-called Cheka), which was mowing down Ukrainian nationalism again at that time. Twelve years later those Petliurites who survived and grew accustomed to the new order turned into genuine nationalists, received support from Stalin, and wrote a letter to the Cheka denouncing Pyotr Dmitrievich to remove him from his top position. Thanks to his work merits, my great-grandfather’s execution was commuted to exile beyond the 101st kilometer, to Yaroslavl (this meant restrictions on the freedom of movement). It was from there that my grandfather later gained admission to Mendeleev University in Moscow.
Naturally, Grandfather had spent all his Shostka years doing his school homework. It was simply dangerous to go out on the streets. He attended a local school where humanities were taught in Ukrainian and technicals in German. After moving to Yaroslavl, Grandfather forgot the Ukrainian language at once because of his grudge against the Petliurites, who had betrayed Great-grandfather. By contrast, his German proved very useful. Thanks to this, during the wartime he was initially entrusted with command of major units of captured Nebelwerfer rocket mortars. Later Sergey Korolev included him in a team engaged in reverse engineering of Fau rockets at the Kapustin Yar testing site. Together with Korolev, Grandfather advanced to the R-5M rocket, for which he was presented with a third Order of the Red Star together with a large group of design engineers.
After that, grandfather developed fuel mixtures and components for battlefield missiles at the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU). At first, he worked on the Luna missile that later served as a basis for the Tochka-U, and then for the Iskander. By the time the Iskander was put into service, grandfather had retired years ago. Nevertheless, he was proud to say that it retained his personal contribution.
But to return to February 1942. In the middle of the night, Grandfather and a group of conscripts were loaded into a heated goods wagon at the Leningrad railway station and taken somewhere. They weren’t told where they were going. In the morning they were unloaded from the wagons at the Myasnoy Bor station. They were told that from now on they would be the junior commanders of the Volkhov Front artillery, and that their first combat mission was to transport shells to the 2nd Assault Army via the Marta forest trail. The crew of a shell-loaded truck was one driver and one junior lieutenant who supervised the driver and was responsible for the cargo.
They used to set off through the frost, in the early morning. The Marta trail was literally paved with frozen corpses. By afternoon, the spring sun grew fierce — bodies thawed and vehicles got stuck in them. The task was to get through until lunchtime.
Bullets and shells were flying out from the shrub forest all the time. They could have been aimed at the column or arrived by accident, because there was constant fighting in the forest. Lots of German, Soviet, Italian, and Spanish troops, partisans, deserters, servicemen from Cheka and military security unit SMERSH, and intelligence and counterintelligence agents shot at one another.
When machine-gun fire raked the truck, every instinct screamed to flee into the bushes. But those who tried either hit mines or died in shootouts with those who stayed in the shrub forest. Grandfather held himself well in hand and, as you can imagine, was never hit.
They unloaded their cargo at the designated line of defense and held it together with the infantry until morning. In the morning, they managed to dodge orders to attack by insisting the vehicles needed to be driven back first. To evacuate those who were wounded and killed and return with new shells. Only these arguments saved Grandfather from being killed in the ill-famed attacks in front of machine guns during the Battle of Lyuban.
In a month of such trips, more than a half of those junior lieutenants who had arrived with Grandfather were killed by blasts. The other half eventually applied to be transferred to the frontline infantry units. Those who agreed to remain as column leaders were promoted to lieutenants and column commanders and promised the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Grandfather remained. He had a feeling he’d be more useful in the column squad than on the front line.
Skipping ahead, I’ll reveal he never received the Hero’s medal. He was only awarded his first Red Star medal — hardly lavish recognition, but then again, professional relationships rarely are. The same thing occurred again in Königsberg. Two months of directing artillery barrages under the very barrels of German howitzers had supposedly earned him a Hero’s medal — yet all they gave him was a second Red Star. Grandfather never felt offended, however. He knew that with enough bureaucratic wrangling, one could secure the Hero’s medal — but the whole business held no interest for him. The “stars” were all right just as well.
To return to Myasnoy Bor. Only five lieutenants out of the hundred who arrived with Grandfather remained after two months of these trips. As you understand, Grandfather was one of them. All of a sudden, his scientific supervisor from Mendeleev University arrived to take him away. He had landed an R&D contract from the government to design projectiles for rocket mortars, an improved version of Katyusha. They were the ancestors of modern Grad launchers. The scientific supervisor proposed an exemption from military service for participation in the project. Grandfather refused. He explained frankly that he was serving the Motherland where he was, that General Vlasov’s army shouldn’t be abandoned but rescued, and that he still had five good friends left — men he felt at ease with and couldn’t possibly desert.
Being familiar with Grandfather’s temper, the scientific supervisor was prepared for a response like this. He had spared an argument based on hard mathematical logic. He said, “Look, Volodya, if you model your combat trajectory through regression, correlation, and approximation — even accounting for your invaluable battlefield experience — you’ll clearly see you’re statistically guaranteed to die within a month. Your five friends too. Especially if you factor in the muddy spring roads. That truck of yours, getting stuck in corpses while hauling shells? A perfect target — something’s bound to hit it sooner or later.
But if you agree to come with me now, you’ll first become a developer of new engineering systems. Then you’ll return to the front to field-test prototypes, before ultimately commanding a combat unit equipped with your own artillery designs. This path will bring far greater value to the Motherland — and forge you a far more distinguished career — than simply blowing up with your truck within the month.” Grandfather ran the numbers in his head and agreed.
Everything the scientific supervisor told him proved true. Grandfather proved his worth and built a distinguished career. Two and a half years later, during the assault operation at the southern forts near Königsberg, Grandfather became the commander of a battalion of captured six-barreled Nebelwerfer rocket launchers. It was a high-profile and responsible task and a solid career achievement. Once again, his German learned in Ukraine proved useful for reading manufacturer manuals and communicating with foreign experts.
Grandfather’s battalion was sent to critical spots: At night, they would be secretly brought as close as possible to a breakthrough point, and then in the morning they would receive orders for artillery preparation, after which the infantry rushed forward. As a rule, the mortars did a good job, and infantry soldiers were sincerely grateful to Grandfather. Immediately after the artillery preparation, a German reconnaissance airplane would hover over the battalion and transmit the coordinates to howitzers. Junkers were coming at the same time, making it necessary to leave right away. Some men failed to keep up. Within two months, these missions almost destroyed the battalion. The commanders of neighboring battalions were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for similar deeds, but Grandfather only received his second Red Star because the high command didn’t want to admit German mortars had been effective.
During a scheduled artillery barrage, one officer — a brilliant mind and the unit’s lifeblood — arrived late, still reeling from a night of heavy drinking. The outcome was catastrophic: One of the three batteries fired on misaligned coordinates, inflicting disproportionate casualties on the advancing infantry. There was no alternative to executing the brilliant officer in front of his fellow soldiers. What else could they do? The infantry wouldn’t have let that stand. They watched the execution by a firing squad. They’d lost a beloved battalion commander — the officer who’d led his company against unprepared trenches without artillery support. Grandfather took that very emotionally, and since then he hated being late and disliked those who were.
He also had another reason for a paranoid attitude toward late arrivals. His older brother, Anatoly, a combat pilot, missed his Kazan–Moscow train in November 1941 because his girlfriend wouldn’t let him go. The train was to deliver Anatoly to the mandatory assembly — failure to appear would be treated as desertion. Therefore, he had to hurriedly jump into a frozen airplane in the morning and rush eastwards. The airplane crashed. Anatoly was killed. Grandfather had many unanswered questions for his brother and his girl, but one lesson stood crystal clear — tardiness wasn’t good.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Grandfather maintained an active lifestyle — morning exercising, ice-cold baths, and regular mushroom-foraging expeditions in the woods. When I asked him about the source of his energy, he replied with an iconic story about a targeted air raid on his mortar battery in 1943 in Belarus. Three vehicles were running across a field, while two Junkers with a bomb load swooped down on them from the front and from the rear, and a low-flying Messerschmitt attacked them with machine gun fire. One of the vehicles took a direct hit. Many people were also killed in the other two. Grandfather couldn’t guess how he survived. After thinking it over, he concluded that luck must not only be earned but repaid — and that now he repaid it for everyone.
Pashchenko Grigory Romanovich
In 1937, Grigory Pashchenko graduated from a military school in Kyiv.
In 1943, he was evacuated to a military hospital in Kyzylorda after being wounded.
Upon recovery, he was discharged from the army for disability and appointed a military commandant to the city of Shymkent, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
He was recommended for the decoration with the Order of the Red Star.
In 1943, he was evacuated to a military hospital in Kyzylorda after being wounded.
Upon recovery, he was discharged from the army for disability and appointed a military commandant to the city of Shymkent, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
He was recommended for the decoration with the Order of the Red Star.
Tyagusov Mikhail Fedorovich
In 1942, when he was the head of People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) in Kurgan with the rank of captain, he was sent to an intelligence school in Chita. Upon graduation in that same year, he was sent to military security (SMERSH) units as a commander of a sabotage and reconnaissance group. He had a perfect command of German. He was seriously wounded at the Belorussian front in August 1944 on a mission in the German troops’ rear near the city of Vilna (Vilnius).
His group managed to carry him off across the battlefront. At the end of September 1944, he died of wounds in a military hospital in Minsk. He was buried in Minsk. His personal file is still classified.
His group managed to carry him off across the battlefront. At the end of September 1944, he died of wounds in a military hospital in Minsk. He was buried in Minsk. His personal file is still classified.
Story about her grandmother by Head of Recruitment Maryana Bugakova from the HR Department
Story about her grandfather by Head of Recruitment Maryana Bugakova from the HR Department
Story about her grandfather by Head of Recruitment Maryana Bugakova from the HR Department
Fedorets (Igolkina) Evgenia Pavlovna
Evgeniya Pavlovna went off to war as a volunteer in 1943, initially as a private of air defense troops. She reached Berlin with her unit and was promoted to a corporal by the end of the war. She passed away in Moscow in 1995.
Fedorets Mikhail Stepanovich
Junior Lieutenant Fedorets was appointed fire platoon commander to the 1st battery of the 108th Separate Air Defense Battalion, which was part of the 108th Separate Tank Division (later converted to a tank brigade), formed in July 1941. Starting from August 22, 1941, the division was stationed near Olkhovka. From October to December, the brigade fought in Tula Oblast, from March 27, 1942, in Smolensk Oblast.
Between April 8 and April 27, 1942, the battery under the command of Senior Lieutenant Fedorets shot down eight enemy aircraft. Mikhail Stepanovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In July 1943, he became a guards captain and commanded the air defense battalion in the 8th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 9th Tank Corps.
During the defensive action in the Kursk–Orel direction, his battalion dispersed numerous air raids and shot down four enemy aircraft. On August 11, 1943, Mikhail Stepanovich was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class II.
During the offensive battles in the Kursk–Orel direction between August 1 and August 5, his battalion shot down nine and hit four enemy aircraft.
In combat actions in Ukraine between August 27 and September 2, the battalion shot down seventeen and hit four enemy aircraft. Guards Captain Fedorets was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner.
In the spring of 1944, Guards Major Fedorets was appointed commander to the 216th Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the 9th Tank Corps.
On July 6, 1944, the regiment, while giving cover to a crossing near the village of Kozhevo in Belarus, shot down an enemy Messerschmitt 109 and destroyed up to an infantry battalion.
They shot down two Junkers 87 on July 11, two Messerschmitt 109 on July 16, and two Messerschmitt 109 on July 19.
The regiment fought its way from Bobruisk to Brest.
On July 31, 1944, Mikhail handed regiment command over to Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Nikolaevich Tokunov.
In January 1945, he was the deputy commander in the 166th Guards Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the 18th Red Banner Simferopol Air Defense Artillery Division. On 18 January, he directed the defense against enemy infantry counterattacks targeting 1st Battery’s positions. Up to thirty enemy soldiers and officers were killed, and fifty-six were taken prisoners.
On the outskirts of the city of Tomaszow, the fire of the regiment’s foremost units destroyed thirteen vehicles with military supplies, killed twenty, and took forty-three enemy soldiers and officers prisoner.
Nine Focke-Wulf-190 aircraft were shot down in the Tirpitz–Lebus area. Mikhail was recommended for the decoration with the Order of Alexander Nevsky and was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class I.
He also held medals For the Defense of Moscow, For the Liberation of Warsaw, For the Capture of Berlin, and For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945.
In 1950, he was awarded the medal for Battle Merit.
He retired from military service on June 15, 1983, with the rank of major general.
In 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class I.
Between April 8 and April 27, 1942, the battery under the command of Senior Lieutenant Fedorets shot down eight enemy aircraft. Mikhail Stepanovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In July 1943, he became a guards captain and commanded the air defense battalion in the 8th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 9th Tank Corps.
During the defensive action in the Kursk–Orel direction, his battalion dispersed numerous air raids and shot down four enemy aircraft. On August 11, 1943, Mikhail Stepanovich was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class II.
During the offensive battles in the Kursk–Orel direction between August 1 and August 5, his battalion shot down nine and hit four enemy aircraft.
In combat actions in Ukraine between August 27 and September 2, the battalion shot down seventeen and hit four enemy aircraft. Guards Captain Fedorets was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner.
In the spring of 1944, Guards Major Fedorets was appointed commander to the 216th Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the 9th Tank Corps.
On July 6, 1944, the regiment, while giving cover to a crossing near the village of Kozhevo in Belarus, shot down an enemy Messerschmitt 109 and destroyed up to an infantry battalion.
They shot down two Junkers 87 on July 11, two Messerschmitt 109 on July 16, and two Messerschmitt 109 on July 19.
The regiment fought its way from Bobruisk to Brest.
On July 31, 1944, Mikhail handed regiment command over to Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Nikolaevich Tokunov.
In January 1945, he was the deputy commander in the 166th Guards Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the 18th Red Banner Simferopol Air Defense Artillery Division. On 18 January, he directed the defense against enemy infantry counterattacks targeting 1st Battery’s positions. Up to thirty enemy soldiers and officers were killed, and fifty-six were taken prisoners.
On the outskirts of the city of Tomaszow, the fire of the regiment’s foremost units destroyed thirteen vehicles with military supplies, killed twenty, and took forty-three enemy soldiers and officers prisoner.
Nine Focke-Wulf-190 aircraft were shot down in the Tirpitz–Lebus area. Mikhail was recommended for the decoration with the Order of Alexander Nevsky and was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class I.
He also held medals For the Defense of Moscow, For the Liberation of Warsaw, For the Capture of Berlin, and For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945.
In 1950, he was awarded the medal for Battle Merit.
He retired from military service on June 15, 1983, with the rank of major general.
In 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, class I.
Golota Andrey Ivanovich
Andrey Golota was born on December 7, 1926, in the village of Mezenovka in Sumy Oblast, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He served in the Red Army from August 1943 to August 1945 and fought for the liberation of the Soviet Baltic States at the 2nd Baltic Front, in the 8th Alexander Matrosov Guards Rifle Division. He was slightly wounded on several occasions, suffered a major injury in April 1945 and was relieved of military duty in August 1945.
In 1945-1948, he completed his high school education at a working-youth school in Moscow.
Between 1948 and 1956, he was a student and then a postgraduate at the Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Faculty of Philosophy. In 1956 he became a lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Scriabin Moscow Veterinary Academy, candidate of philosophical sciences, professor, and head of department. His military and labor awards include medal for Battle Merit, Order of Glory (class III), medal For the Victory over Germany, Order of the Red Star, silver medal of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, and the title of veteran of labor.
He passed away in May 1999 in Moscow.
In 1945-1948, he completed his high school education at a working-youth school in Moscow.
Between 1948 and 1956, he was a student and then a postgraduate at the Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Faculty of Philosophy. In 1956 he became a lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Scriabin Moscow Veterinary Academy, candidate of philosophical sciences, professor, and head of department. His military and labor awards include medal for Battle Merit, Order of Glory (class III), medal For the Victory over Germany, Order of the Red Star, silver medal of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, and the title of veteran of labor.
He passed away in May 1999 in Moscow.
Story about his great-grandfather by MSc student Nikita Lyashenko from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program
Story about his great-grandfather by MSc student Nikita Lyashenko from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program
Story about his great-grandfather by MSc student Nikita Lyashenko from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program
Shevchenko Grigory Andreevich
My great-grandfather Grigory Shevchenko went through the whole wartime in the 152nd Guards Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment and the 4th Guards Cavalry Cossack Corps. He was born in 1921 in the village of Gusarovka in Kharkiv Oblast. He was wounded three times while serving as a senior reconnaissance trooper on the Ukrainian fronts.
He earned the Medal for Bravery for an act of courage: On October 16, 1944, during the battle for the Serbian village of Tepe, on a reconnaissance mission, he discovered the preparation of an enemy tank counterattack. The information he obtained helped the battery successfully repel the attack and destroy three tanks, four armored troop carriers, and up to twenty enemy soldiers.
Great-grandfather was also awarded the Order of Glory (class III) for a battle near the village of Sukha in Zakarpattia Oblast on April 2, 1945. He secretly reached the front line, located a mortar battery and two machine gun nests, and provided valuable information about the enemy. On April 13, 1945, during further fighting near the village of Kosmice, he applied his skill again, having discovered an artillery battery, three machine-gun nests, and an armored troop carrier in ambush. On April 19 of that year, in a battle near the village of Nikolec, two machine-gun nests and up to fifteen enemy soldiers were destroyed thanks to his battery fire adjustment effort.
My great-grandfather passed away in 2010 and was buried in Slavyansk, Donetsk Oblast.
He earned the Medal for Bravery for an act of courage: On October 16, 1944, during the battle for the Serbian village of Tepe, on a reconnaissance mission, he discovered the preparation of an enemy tank counterattack. The information he obtained helped the battery successfully repel the attack and destroy three tanks, four armored troop carriers, and up to twenty enemy soldiers.
Great-grandfather was also awarded the Order of Glory (class III) for a battle near the village of Sukha in Zakarpattia Oblast on April 2, 1945. He secretly reached the front line, located a mortar battery and two machine gun nests, and provided valuable information about the enemy. On April 13, 1945, during further fighting near the village of Kosmice, he applied his skill again, having discovered an artillery battery, three machine-gun nests, and an armored troop carrier in ambush. On April 19 of that year, in a battle near the village of Nikolec, two machine-gun nests and up to fifteen enemy soldiers were destroyed thanks to his battery fire adjustment effort.
My great-grandfather passed away in 2010 and was buried in Slavyansk, Donetsk Oblast.
Seliverstov Vasily Alekseevich
My great-grandfather Vasily Alekseevich Seliverstov fought on the western front in the 18th Rifle Division and the 206th Reserve Rifle Regiment. He was born in 1901 in the village of Fofonovo in Ryazan Oblast. He went off to war in October 1941, served as a radiotelephonist and rose to the rank of sergeant major.
He continued his combat journey despite a heavy wound suffered in December 1941. In July 1943, he was awarded the medal for Battle Merit for his acts of courage. Unfortunately, in 1944 he was killed in Belarus near Gomel. He is buried in a common grave in the village of Pavlovichi in Kirovsky District, Belarus.
He continued his combat journey despite a heavy wound suffered in December 1941. In July 1943, he was awarded the medal for Battle Merit for his acts of courage. Unfortunately, in 1944 he was killed in Belarus near Gomel. He is buried in a common grave in the village of Pavlovichi in Kirovsky District, Belarus.
Seliverstov Vasily
Vasilievich
Vasilievich
My great-grandfather Vasily Vasilyevich Seliverstov was born in 1923 in the village of Fofonovo in Ryazan Oblast. In autumn 1941, he departed for the front, serving consecutively with the 53rd, 223rd, and 245th Rifle Divisions. His wartime journey began as a private and culminated in command of a platoon. He took part in the battles on the Central and Ukrainian fronts.
In 1944, Great-grandfather was wounded by a sniper in Austria. He returned to the frontline upon recovery and finished his army service in Vienna. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941−1945.
Great-grandfather passed away in May 1999 in the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk Oblast.
In 1944, Great-grandfather was wounded by a sniper in Austria. He returned to the frontline upon recovery and finished his army service in Vienna. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941−1945.
Great-grandfather passed away in May 1999 in the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk Oblast.
Story about his great-grandfather by MSc student Nikita Lyashenko from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program
Story about her great-grandfather by Senior Specialist Oksana Kalmykova from the Student Department
Story about his grandfather by Specialist Pavel Odinev from the Communications Department
Vetchinkin Fedor
Andreevich
Andreevich
My great-grandfather Fyodor Andreevich Vetchinkin was born in 1910 in the village of Primorsko-Akhtarskaya, Krasnodar Krai. In December 1942, his 7th Naval Infantry Brigade took part in the defense of Sevastopol. They defended a strategically important position on Mount Sapun, which offered a panoramic view of the city.
After heavy battles, he was taken prisoner and spent about eight months in Sevastopol. Later he was sent to a special camp of NKVD (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs). After enduring every hardship of war, Fyodor was decorated with both the Medal for the Defense of Sevastopol (1947) and the Medal for the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945 (1958). Great-grandfather passed away and was buried in 1967 in the city of Slavyansk in Donetsk Oblast.
After heavy battles, he was taken prisoner and spent about eight months in Sevastopol. Later he was sent to a special camp of NKVD (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs). After enduring every hardship of war, Fyodor was decorated with both the Medal for the Defense of Sevastopol (1947) and the Medal for the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945 (1958). Great-grandfather passed away and was buried in 1967 in the city of Slavyansk in Donetsk Oblast.
Alexandrov Nikita Alekseevich
Nikita Aleksandrov was born on July 28, 1905, to a peasant family, in the village of Grodovka, which is now an urban settlement in Pokrovsky District of Donetsk Oblast. He was a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks/the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1936. He graduated from the Donetsk Polytechnic Institute. He worked at a mine.
In 1942, Nikita was drafted into the Red Army by the regional military commissariat of Kizel in Perm Oblast. In 1942, he graduated from the Moscow Military Political School. He served in the Great Patriotic War from 1942 onward.
On 28 September 1943, Guards Senior Lieutenant Nikita Alexandrov, political officer of the 239th Guards Rifle Regiment (76th Guards Rifle Division, 61st Army, Central Front), was among the first to cross the Dnieper near the urban settlement of Liubech (Chernihiv Oblast) using improvised means. With a group of soldiers, he secured a bridgehead, helped repel enemy counterattacks, and personally eliminated over ten German soldiers.
On January 15, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree awarding Guards Senior Lieutenant Nikita Alexandrov the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his “exemplary performance in combat missions during the crossing of the Dnieper River and for displaying exceptional courage and heroism.” Along with this honor, he received the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal (No. 2,939).
In 1946, Major Aleksandrov was released from active duty. He lived in Donetsk. He worked at the Donetsk Coal Research Institute for twenty years.
After retiring, the honored veteran remained highly active in public service. He served as a member of the Regional Committee of DOSAAF and the board of the Znanie (Knowledge) Society and worked as a guest lecturer for the Donetsk Regional Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Ukraine.
He passed away on December 31, 1971.
Awards:
Medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Order of Lenin
Two Orders of the Red Banner
Order of the Patriotic War, class II
Order of the Red Star
In 1942, Nikita was drafted into the Red Army by the regional military commissariat of Kizel in Perm Oblast. In 1942, he graduated from the Moscow Military Political School. He served in the Great Patriotic War from 1942 onward.
On 28 September 1943, Guards Senior Lieutenant Nikita Alexandrov, political officer of the 239th Guards Rifle Regiment (76th Guards Rifle Division, 61st Army, Central Front), was among the first to cross the Dnieper near the urban settlement of Liubech (Chernihiv Oblast) using improvised means. With a group of soldiers, he secured a bridgehead, helped repel enemy counterattacks, and personally eliminated over ten German soldiers.
On January 15, 1944, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree awarding Guards Senior Lieutenant Nikita Alexandrov the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his “exemplary performance in combat missions during the crossing of the Dnieper River and for displaying exceptional courage and heroism.” Along with this honor, he received the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal (No. 2,939).
In 1946, Major Aleksandrov was released from active duty. He lived in Donetsk. He worked at the Donetsk Coal Research Institute for twenty years.
After retiring, the honored veteran remained highly active in public service. He served as a member of the Regional Committee of DOSAAF and the board of the Znanie (Knowledge) Society and worked as a guest lecturer for the Donetsk Regional Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Ukraine.
He passed away on December 31, 1971.
Awards:
Medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Order of Lenin
Two Orders of the Red Banner
Order of the Patriotic War, class II
Order of the Red Star
Odinev Nikolay
Vasilievich
Vasilievich
My grandfather Nikolay Vasilyevich Odinyov was born in 1913 in the farm of Peskovatka in Volgograd Oblast. In August 1935, he was enrolled as a cadet in the Stalingrad Military Aviation School and got the position of junior pilot upon graduation in 1938.
During the Great Patriotic War, he served in the Far East in the 29th Fighter Aviation Division and the 149th Fighter Aviation Division of Air Defense. He rose through the ranks from deputy company commander to squadron adjutant. From 1944, he was the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of operational intelligence.
After the war, he continued to serve in the Soviet Armed Forces. He had numerous decorations, including the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Red Banner, medal for Battle Merit, medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945.
Grandfather passed away in 2007 at the age of 93.
During the Great Patriotic War, he served in the Far East in the 29th Fighter Aviation Division and the 149th Fighter Aviation Division of Air Defense. He rose through the ranks from deputy company commander to squadron adjutant. From 1944, he was the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of operational intelligence.
After the war, he continued to serve in the Soviet Armed Forces. He had numerous decorations, including the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Red Banner, medal for Battle Merit, medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945.
Grandfather passed away in 2007 at the age of 93.
Story about her grandmother and grandfather by MSc student Elizaveta Cherkasskaya from the Life Sciences program
Story about her great-grandfather by Senior Specialist Diana Kuznetsova from the Student Department
Story about her grandfather by Senior Research Scientist Olga Burenina from the Bio Center
Cherkasskiy Rosa and
Cherkasskiy Naum
Cherkasskiy Naum
My grandmother and grandfather — Rozaliya Abramovna and Naum Ionovich — met before the war. She rented a room from his family while studying at the Medical Institute. Fate kept them apart for years, but in August 1945, at the end of the war, they were reunited — never to be parted again.
Rozaliya Gorelik (Cherkasskaya) encountered the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War while she was a fifth-year student at a medical institute. All senior medical students were urgently dispatched to the front. Rozaliya was assigned to a mobile field hospital under the 56th Army, which operated on the front line during the defense of the Caucasus and the Taman Peninsula — in the areas of Dzhubga, Arkhipo-Osipovka, Gelendzhik, and Novorossiysk.
Later she continued her service with the 18th Army, alongside the Yampol Division, taking part in the defence of Ukraine, including the Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions. She worked under constant bombardment, providing surgical aid directly on the front line, often in trenches.
Rozaliya Abramovna ended the war in Prague with the rank of commander of a surgical dressing unit. She was only 25 years old at the time. Her awards list thousands of soldiers and officers whose lives she helped save. For her services she was awarded the Medal “For the Defence of the Caucasus,” the Medal “For Battle Merits,” the Medal “For the Victory over Germany,” and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.
After the war, Rosa continued working as a surgeon. Thousands of patients passed through her hands, thanking her for her professionalism and caring soul. She worked as an active doctor until 1997, retiring at the age of 78 and becoming the oldest doctor in the entire Sverdlovsk region.
Naum Ionovich Cherkasskiy and his family were evacuated to Magnitogorsk, one of the country’s main industrial centers and home to a large metallurgical plant. During the war, he worked at the Magnitostroy trust. Despite the harsh conditions, constant hunger and scarcity of resources, Naum Ionovich and his sister, as the sole breadwinners in the family, worked tirelessly for the benefit of both — the front and the home front. After the war, he was awarded the medal “For brave work in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.”
After the war, Naum worked as the head of the installation department in Nizhny Tagil, and at the end of his working life he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. Despite all the hard blows of fate, grandfather remained a man of great love. He was educated, decent, and had a great sense of humour.
Rozaliya Gorelik (Cherkasskaya) encountered the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War while she was a fifth-year student at a medical institute. All senior medical students were urgently dispatched to the front. Rozaliya was assigned to a mobile field hospital under the 56th Army, which operated on the front line during the defense of the Caucasus and the Taman Peninsula — in the areas of Dzhubga, Arkhipo-Osipovka, Gelendzhik, and Novorossiysk.
Later she continued her service with the 18th Army, alongside the Yampol Division, taking part in the defence of Ukraine, including the Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions. She worked under constant bombardment, providing surgical aid directly on the front line, often in trenches.
Rozaliya Abramovna ended the war in Prague with the rank of commander of a surgical dressing unit. She was only 25 years old at the time. Her awards list thousands of soldiers and officers whose lives she helped save. For her services she was awarded the Medal “For the Defence of the Caucasus,” the Medal “For Battle Merits,” the Medal “For the Victory over Germany,” and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class.
After the war, Rosa continued working as a surgeon. Thousands of patients passed through her hands, thanking her for her professionalism and caring soul. She worked as an active doctor until 1997, retiring at the age of 78 and becoming the oldest doctor in the entire Sverdlovsk region.
Naum Ionovich Cherkasskiy and his family were evacuated to Magnitogorsk, one of the country’s main industrial centers and home to a large metallurgical plant. During the war, he worked at the Magnitostroy trust. Despite the harsh conditions, constant hunger and scarcity of resources, Naum Ionovich and his sister, as the sole breadwinners in the family, worked tirelessly for the benefit of both — the front and the home front. After the war, he was awarded the medal “For brave work in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.”
After the war, Naum worked as the head of the installation department in Nizhny Tagil, and at the end of his working life he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. Despite all the hard blows of fate, grandfather remained a man of great love. He was educated, decent, and had a great sense of humour.
Gasyuk Anton Varfolomeevich
Sergeant major, served as a scout in the 1st battery of the 348th Red Banner Artillery Regiment of the 141st Kyiv Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky II degree rifle division. On March 25, 1945, during a breakthrough of the German defenses on the Hron River, he was the first to cross to the western bank of the river and took part in close combat under heavy artillery and mortar fire from the enemy. He killed 5 German soldiers with his personal weapon. As part of his squad, he captured 11 German soldiers. During the battle, he discovered 3 enemy heavy machine guns, which were destroyed by fire from our batteries. Although wounded, he continued to carry out his combat mission. Having ferried the prisoners of war across the river, he handed them over to the command and then, by order of the command, was sent to a medical aid station. For the valor and courage shown in battle, Sergeant major Anton Varfolomeevich Gasyuk was nominated for a government award — the Order of the Patriotic War, second degree. By order of the unit he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. After the end of the war, he returned to his homeland with a wound.
Burenin Boris
Stepanovich
Stepanovich
Air gunner of ground-attack plane Il-2, sergeant major of the 810th Assault Aviation Regiment Rejitskiy since May 1943.
He flew more than 70 combat missions, participated in offensive operations at Bryanskiy, Kalininskiy, and the 2nd Baltic fronts.
He jumped out of a burning plane twice, was severely concussed in December 1944, and was able to return to his regiment only in November 1945.
He was awarded the medal “For Bravery” and two Orders of the Patriotic War, 2nd class.
Two older brothers, Viktor and Nikolai Burenin, had been participating in combat operations since 1941, but went missing in March 1942.
Story about his great-grandfather by Internal Communications Manager Roman Zubrilov from the Communications Department
Story about his great-grandfather by Internal Communications Manager Roman Zubrilov from the Communications Department
Pavlov Dmitry
Semenovich
Semenovich
“Everyone held their tongues as if sworn to secrecy. Once I heard my father telling the men about the war, I was hiding under the bed at that moment, I was 12 years old then. My father did his military service in 1931-1933. During the war, he was involved in the construction of a military airfield in Grodno and participated in battles on the Western Front. Once, while loading shells, he was shell-shocked during a bombing,” recalls his father Pavlov Alexander Dmitrievich.
Pushkin Mikhail
Stepanovich
Stepanovich
He was a tank commander and was rescued by the crew from a burning tank. Mikhail Stepanovich's two younger brothers, Ivan and Konstantin, died in the war.
We remember