On the polar seas and in the south,

Along the bends of angry swells,

Between basalt rocks and pearl

The sails of the ships rustle.

The swift-wings are led by captains,

Discoverers of new lands

Who is not afraid of hurricanes

Who has known the maelstroms and stranded.

N. Gumilyov. "Captains"

“... There are people who, perhaps, in addition to their good will, instinctively, put the glory and benefits of their Fatherland above personal benefits and their own peace of mind; such patriots undoubtedly belonged to Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy, at that time still a young lieutenant commander, ”wrote the first biographer of Nevelsky A. K. Sidesner in 1913 at the celebrations in honor of the centenary of the birth of G. I. Nevelsky.

Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (1813–1876)

Many detailed scientific, popular science and artistic works have been written about Gennady Ivanovich Nevelsky, where he is given heartfelt characteristics; studies of its activities and the results obtained by it were carried out. Since inexorable time brings us closer to its 200th anniversary, it will, should be celebrated in 2013, it seems useful to remind the modern reader of the XXI century. about this amazing person who successfully combined the best qualities of a Russian naval officer - navigator and hydrographer; about a man of inflexible will and mighty energy, a Russian patriot with pure soul; about the head of the remarkable Amur expedition of 1850-1855.

100 years after the studies of G. I. Nevelskoy and his glorious associates, the author of these lines was lucky to repeat many of the routes they laid down while working in the Far East in 1956–1958. in a complex scientific expedition of the same name - the Amur expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

First of all, the contribution of G.I. Nevelskoy and his expedition in elucidating the main features of the relief structure of the Amur region, starting with the orientation of mountain ranges and the direction of large rivers, about which until the middle of the 19th century, deserves attention. there was a vague and largely erroneous idea. The author considers it permissible to supplement the main milestones of the activity of G. I. Nevelsky with personal memories of natural features places opened by our hero Far East in connection with the incredible difficulties that G. I. Nevelskoy, his officers, sailors and Cossacks encountered when conducting routes in this wild, full of dangers, new for the Russian region with a new local population, new to them natural conditions and new challenges.

In the history of the Russian State there are many heroic names that glorified our Motherland, who made a great contribution to the formation of our huge country, stretching from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. The modern outlines of Russia have become so familiar that sometimes we treat them as something permanent, given from ancient times. To begin with, over the past thousand years, on the territory of the future Russia, there has been a complex process, saturated with constant wars and strife, the process of conquering, uniting lands, increasing its territory, searching for an outlet to Europe and the Pacific Ocean. And in this process there was only one unique case of the peaceful, bloodless annexation of the vast territory of the Far East to Russia without military action, without a single shot being fired. Without blood and violence. Without the oppression of local peoples. This significant event took place a century and a half ago, in the era of constant wars, in the era of the division of the world by large European states, in the era of creating a picture of the world close to the modern one. It is associated with two names: Captain G. I. Nevelsky (future admiral) and Governor of the Siberian Territory N. N. Muravyov (future Count Muravyov-Amursky).

Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy was born into an old noble family, in the estate of Drakino, Soligalichsky district. Kostroma province November 23 (December 5), 1813 In the 90s. the past century, the author happened to visit this glorious and memorial place, located to the south-west of the town of Soligalich, and bow to the traces of the estate overgrown with weeds. The estate, once granted to the ancestor of the Nevelskys for saving Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on a hunt.

Left without a father at the age of 10, Nevelskoy communicated with the family of the grandfather of the sailors Polozov (his mother's grandfather and brother), where his interest in sea voyages, in new Russian possessions in North America, to the discoveries of the remarkable navigators La Perouse, Brauton and I. F. Kruzenshtern in the east of Asia; especially to the mouth of the Amur - the great and unknown river. At the age of 15, he enters the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg; in 1832 he became a midshipman, and in 1836 he graduated from the officer classes of the Naval Academy.

The high patriotic aspirations of the young sailor were formed in a very favorable environment, especially in the one in which he received his education. Together with him, they graduated from the course later glorified Russian fleet officers: Alexei Butakov, Pavel Kozakevich, Alexander Stanyukovich, Nil Zelenoy, Mikhail Elagin, Ivan Nazimov, Vasily Sokolov and others. A year or two later, Pavel Istomin, Feodosy Veselago and Pyotr Kozakevich were released from the corps.

In the rank of lieutenant G. I. Nevelskoy began maritime service under the flag of the ten-year-old Grand Duke Konstantin and under the command of the remarkable Russian navigator and scientist Rear Admiral F.P. Litke, who was appointed by the emperor as Konstantin's educator. “I had the good fortune to serve with His Imperial Highness from 1836 to 1846 on the frigates Bellona and Aurora and the ship Ingermandand. During this time, for 7 years, he was a permanent watch lieutenant of His Highness. When arming the ship "Ingermandand" in Arkhangelsk, he was an assistant to His Highness as a senior officer. At all times we sailed under the flag of F. P. Litke…” – G. I. Nevelskoy recalled shortly before his death. Swimming in the Baltic, Northern, White, Barents and mediterranean seas and Atlantic Ocean formed him as an experienced sailor of the Russian - Golovninskoy maritime school (V. M. Golovnin - twice round-the-world navigator, an outstanding educator of first-class sailors).

In 1846, G. I. Nevelskoy, at his personal request, was transferred to the Baikal transport, which was assigned to Pacific Ocean to work between the Ayan settlement on the mainland, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Russian America in order to serve the Russian-American Company.

At the end of August 1849, the Baikal, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Nevelsky, arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and immediately began to study the island of Sakhalin, south coast Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the mouth of the Amur, formally having no right to do so, since he has not yet received instructions approved by the emperor for conducting research in the southwestern part of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bOkhotsk. Nevelskoy took full responsibility for this campaign and warned his officers about this: “Be sure, gentlemen, that I would never involve you in an enterprise that would be accompanied by any risk for you. I am your boss, and by obeying me, you are only doing your duty. I take on all the heavy responsibility before the throne and the Fatherland. The officers expressed their full readiness to the commander to serve the common cause and promised to keep everything secret.

This responsibility was great for a number of reasons, primarily because of the possible severe punishment by the sovereign and the acuteness of the Amur issue, which was acquiring in that era. The history of the Amur issue begins in the 16th century. from the distant and difficult campaigns of Russian explorers who accomplished an unprecedented feat.

The explorers came barefoot

Cutting a path with an axe.

Do not forget them, my Russia,

remember with a good name, -

Outside the 21st century. But, despite this, military conflicts do not subside, including those involving Russian army. Courage and valor, courage and bravery are qualities characteristic of the soldiers of Russia. Therefore, the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers require separate and detailed coverage.

How ours fought in Chechnya

The exploits of Russian soldiers today do not leave anyone indifferent. The first example of boundless courage is the tank crew headed by Yuri Sulimenko.

The exploits of the Russian soldiers of the tank battalion began in 1994. During the First Chechen War, Sulimenko acted as a crew commander. The team showed good results and in 1995 took an active part in the storming of Grozny. The tank battalion was defeated by 2/3 of the personnel. However, the brave fighters led by Yuri did not run away from the battlefield, but went to the presidential palace.

Tank Sulimenko was surrounded by Dudaev. The team of fighters did not surrender, on the contrary, began to conduct aimed fire at strategic targets. Despite the numerical superiority of the opponents, Yuri Sulimenko and his crew were able to inflict colossal losses on the militants.

The commander received dangerous leg injuries, burns to his body and face. Viktor Velichko, in the rank of foreman, was able to provide him with first aid in a burning tank, after which he carried him to a safe place. These exploits of Russian soldiers in Chechnya did not go unnoticed. The fighters were awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

Yuri Sergeevich Igitov - a hero posthumously

Very often the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers today become well known after the death of heroes. This is exactly what happened in the case of Yury Igitov. Private was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously for the performance of duty and a special task.

Yuri Sergeevich took part in the Chechen war. The private was 21 years old, but, despite his youth, he showed courage and valor in the last seconds of his life. Igitov's platoon was surrounded by Dudayev's fighters. Most of the comrades died under numerous enemy shots. The gallant private, at the cost of his life, covered the retreat of the surviving soldiers to the last bullet. When the enemy attacked, Yuri blew up a grenade without surrendering to the enemy.

Evgeny Rodionov - faith in God until the last breath

The exploits of Russian soldiers today cause boundless pride of fellow citizens, especially when it comes to young boys who gave their lives for a peaceful sky above their heads. Boundless heroism and unshakable faith in God was shown by Yevgeny Rodionov, who, under threat of death, refused to take off his pectoral cross.

Young Eugene was called to serve in 1995. He served on a permanent basis in the North Caucasus, at the border point of Ingushetia and Chechnya. Together with his comrades, he joined the guard on February 13. In carrying out their direct task, the soldiers stopped an ambulance carrying weapons. After that, the privates were captured.

For about 100 days the soldiers were tortured, severely beaten and humiliated. Despite the unbearable pain, the threat of death, the fighters did not take off their pectoral crosses. For this, Yevgeny was beheaded, and the rest of his colleagues were shot on the spot. For martyrdom Rodionov Evgeny was awarded posthumously.

Yanina Irina - an example of heroism and courage

The exploits of Russian soldiers today are not only heroic deeds men, but also the incredible prowess of Russian women. A sweet, fragile girl was a participant in two military operations as a nurse during the First Chechen War. 1999 was the third test in Irina's life.

August 31 became fatal. At risk to her own life, nurse Yanina saved more than 40 people by making three trips in an APC to the line of fire. Irina's fourth trip ended tragically. During the counter-offensive of the enemy, Yanina not only organized the lightning-fast loading of wounded soldiers, but also covered the retreat of her colleagues with automatic fire.

Unfortunately for the girls, two grenades hit the armored personnel carrier. The nurse rushed to the aid of the wounded commander and the 3rd private. Irina saved the young soldiers from certain death, but did not have time to get out of the burning car herself. The armored personnel carrier ammunition detonated.

For his valor and courage, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously. Irina is the only woman who has been awarded this title for operations in the North Caucasus.

Maroon takes posthumously

The exploits of Russian soldiers today are known not only in Russia. The story of Sergei Burnaev does not leave anyone indifferent. Brown - that's what his comrades called the commander - was in the "Vityaz", a special division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2002, the detachment was sent to the city of Argun, where an underground weapons warehouse with numerous tunnels was discovered.

It was possible to reach opponents only by going through an underground hole. Sergei Burnaev went first. The opponents opened fire on the fighter, who was able to answer the call of the militants in the darkness. The comrades hurried to help, it was at this moment that Bury saw a grenade that was rolling towards the fighters. Without hesitation, Sergei Burnaev closed the grenade with his body, thereby saving his colleagues from certain death.

For the accomplished feat, Sergei Burnaev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The school where he studied was open so that young people could remember the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers today. Parents were given maroon beret in honor of the memory of a brave soldier.

Beslan: no one is forgotten

The exploits of Russian soldiers and officers today are the best confirmation of the boundless courage of men in uniform. September 1, 2004 became a black day in history North Ossetia and all of Russia. The seizure of the school in Beslan left no one indifferent. Andrey Turkin was no exception. The lieutenant took an active part in the operation to free the hostages.

At the very beginning of the rescue operation, he was injured, but did not leave the school. Thanks to his professional skills, the lieutenant took an advantageous position in the dining room, where about 250 hostages were placed. The militants were eliminated, which increased the chances for a successful outcome of the operation.

However, a militant with an activated grenade came to the aid of the terrorists. Turkin, without hesitation, rushed to the bandit, holding the device between himself and the enemy. Such an action saved the lives of innocent children. The lieutenant posthumously became a Hero of the Russian Federation.

Combat Sun

In ordinary everyday life of military service, the feats of Russian soldiers are also often performed. or the battalion commander Sun, in 2012 during the exercises he became a hostage of the situation, the way out of which became a real feat. Saving his soldiers from death, the battalion commander covered the activated grenade with his own body, which flew off from the edge of the parapet. Thanks to Sergey's dedication, tragedy was avoided. The battalion commander was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

Whatever the exploits of Russian soldiers today, every person should remember the valor and courage of the military personnel of the army. Only the memory of the deeds of each of these heroes is a reward for the courage that cost them their lives.

For which the non-commissioned officer was granted immediately with all degrees of the St. George Cross.

The Order of St. George, or the St. George Cross, was the highest award for privates and non-commissioned officers of the tsarist army. It could only be obtained for exceptional merit and valor. The award had several degrees, and the full St. George Cavalier met infrequently.

In 1915, Aleksey Danilovich Makukha, a telephone operator of the 148th Caspian Infantry Regiment, was awarded all degrees at once, and his name appeared on the pages of newspapers and magazines. For many soldiers, he became an example of resilience and a true national hero.

On the fronts of the First World

There was an exhausting positional war. For several months now, Russian troops have held the territories occupied during the Battle of Galicia. The Austrians repeatedly stormed the fortifications of the Caspian regiment. Among the defenders was Private Alexei Makukha.

On March 21, 1915, during the fighting in Bukovina, the enemy carried out massive artillery preparation and launched an offensive. The Austrians managed to capture one of the Russian fortifications. The wounded Alexei Makukha was captured and interrogated.

The Austrians hoped that the telephone operator, who heard the conversations of the command, had important information about the location of the Russian troops. Threats failed to force the captured soldier to give out military secrets, and the Austrian officers turned to physical torture.

“The officers threw him to the ground on his face and twisted his arms behind his back. Then one of them sat down on him, and the other, turning his head back, with the help of a dagger-bayonet opened his mouth and, stretching out his tongue with his hand, cut him twice with this dagger. Blood gushed from Makukha’s mouth and nose,” the Iskra weekly magazine described what happened in 1915.

Liberation and glory

The cut-up telephone operator could no longer tell his captors anything, and they lost interest in him. At this time, the counteroffensive of the Russian troops began. With a bayonet attack, the Austrians were driven out of the newly occupied fortification. Private Makukha was found lying in blood and handed over to the orderlies. In the infirmary, they sewed his tongue, hanging on a thin piece of skin, and then sent him to the hospital.

It was precisely such cases that the front-line press was looking for in order to inspire the soldiers. When the newspapers wrote about the exploit of Alexei Makukha, a wave of popular indignation arose. The people were indignant at the atrocities committed by representatives of a cultured nation. Glory came to the telephone operator.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich promoted him to junior non-commissioned officer and ordered him to be awarded all degrees of the St. George Cross.

In addition, the Grand Duke asked Emperor Nicholas II to assign a double pension to the telephone operator as an exception. The sovereign supported the proposal, and Makukha, after being dismissed from service, was entitled to a pension of 518 rubles and 40 kopecks a year.

The Petrograd clergy presented the hero with an icon of St. Alexis the Man of God, and photographers from popular publications asked him to pose with crosses on his chest and his tongue hanging out. Gradually, the telephone operator recovered and after a few months he could talk in a whisper. How his future fate turned out, history is silent.

However, Makukha was not the only hero who survived captivity and a terrible interrogation. Newspapers of that time report on the corporal of the Kharkov escort team Vasily Vodyany, who was captured by the Germans in April 1915. During interrogation, his ears and tongue were cut off. Junior sergeant Ivan Pichuev had stripes cut out on his legs with a knife and his tongue was also cut off. Senior constable Ivan Zinoviev was tortured by the Germans with electric current and red-hot iron.

THE COMMANDER WHO DID NOT LOSE A SINGLE BATTLE

Russia has always been famous for its generals. But the name of Ivan Paskevich stands apart. During his life he won four military campaigns (Persian, Turkish, Polish and Hungarian) without losing a single battle.

minion of fate

In 1827, a commemorative medal "For the Capture of Tabriz" was cast. On it, a group of Persian foremen bows with respect to a Russian warrior, holding a spear in his right hand, and a shield in his left. So the sculptor Fyodor Tolstoy depicted Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich, who in the 19th century was a symbol of the valor and invincibility of Russian weapons.

Last but not least, Paskevich's character traits helped to achieve recognition: on the one hand, slowness and prudence, on the other, decisiveness and ruthlessness. They seemed to balance each other, creating the image of an ideal commander.

Fortune smiled at the young officer from the first days of his service. Ranks and orders stuck to him, and bullets and cannonballs flew past. During Patriotic War In 1812, luck and talent helped the 30-year-old major general to distinguish himself in the most important battles at Borodino, near Saltanovka, Maloyaroslavets and Smolensk.

After the war, Paskevich was given command of the First guards division, where among his subordinates are the Grand Dukes Mikhail Pavlovich and Nikolai Pavlovich - later Emperor Nicholas I. This played a role in the later career of a military leader and his relationship with the tsar.

Paskevich first met Nikolai Pavlovich in defeated Paris. During the review of the troops, Alexander I unexpectedly introduced the commander to his younger brother: “Meet one of the best generals my army, whom I have not yet had time to thank for his excellent service. In correspondence, until the end of his life, Nicholas I would respectfully call Paskevich "father-commander."

Count of Erivan

The year 1826 prepares new trials for Ivan Paskevich. Sending a loyal general to the Caucasus, Nicholas I officially asks him to assist Alexei Yermolov, but in fact plans to remove the wayward "proconsul". The management of the Caucasus and the outbreak of war with Persia required a person with such characteristics as Paskevich.

September 3, 1826 Valerian Madatov occupies Elizavetpol. Paskevich hurries to help him, as the huge army of Abbas-Mirza moved to liberate the city. The general battle began on September 14 with an artillery skirmish.

Under the cover of artillery, the Persian infantry battalions moved forward towards the grenadier regiments, while pushing back the ranks of the Cossack and Azerbaijani militias. They retreated, and the inspired Persians did not notice how they fell into a trap - a large ravine where they were forced to stop.

The main forces of the Russians immediately attacked the Persians and finally defeated them by evening.

The brilliant victory of the 10,000th corps under the command of Paskevich over the 35,000th army of Abbas Mirza put this battle in a series of legendary victories for Suvorov.

Later, Paskevich took a stronghold - the Erivan fortress, which did not submit to either Gudovich or Tsitsianov. “The destruction of hell would not have the same price for sinners as the capture of the Erivan fortress for the Armenians,” Khachatur Abovyan sings of the feat of the Russian general.

Before the Russian-Persian battles had died down, the newly minted Count Paskevich-Erivansky was preparing for a new challenge - the war with the Ottoman Porte. In June 1828, he was forced to besiege the fortress of Kars, under the walls of which he defeated the Turkish cavalry. Considered impregnable by the British, the fortress surrenders with a large number of guns and gunpowder.

When Paskevich approached Erzerum, the city of 100,000 chose to open the gates in a panic. And then the fortresses of Akhalkalaki, Poti, Khertvis, Akhaltsikhe fell. During the capture of Akhaltsikhe, even the 30,000th Turkish corps, which came to defend its walls, did not help.

The state did not remain in debt and marked Paskevich with the orders of St. Andrew and St. George, 1st degree.

Rebel Europe

Poland rebelled in 1830. The Polish elite wanted to return to the borders of the Commonwealth, and the people protested against foreign power. The constitution granted earlier by Alexander I allowed the Poles to have their own army, and now the good intentions of the tsar became an indirect cause of the ongoing Russian-Polish war.

An attempt by General Dibich to suppress the uprising did not give the desired result. A harsh winter and Diebitsch's death from cholera allowed the rebellion to grow. Predictably, Paskevich was thrown to suppress the rebellion.

The field marshal, in the spirit of his best victories, impeccably laid siege to Warsaw, and a day later, on August 26, 1831, the Polish capital capitulated - exactly on the day of the 19th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.

The field marshal quickly restores order: “Warsaw is at your feet, the Polish army, on my orders, is retreating to Polotsk,” he reports to the emperor. The war soon ended, but it took 8 whole months to restore the destroyed Polish cities.

“There is a law, there is strength, and even more there is a constant strong will,” he wrote another time to Nikolai. Paskevich, the new governor of the Kingdom of Poland, is guided by this rule when arranging post-war country. He is concerned not only with the army, but also with civil problems - education, the situation of the peasants, the improvement of roads.

A new wave of revolutions swept across Europe in the late 1840s. Now Paskevich is needed in Hungary - the Austrian government turned to him with such a request.

Having made a difficult transition through the Carpathians, on June 5, 1849, Paskevich was preparing to put an end to the rebels in one maneuver. “Do not spare the canals!” Nicholas I admonished him.

The denouement came quickly, and the 30,000-strong Hungarian army surrendered to the mercy of the winner. Karl Nesselrode wrote: "Austria must forever remember the service rendered to her by Russia in 1849." Paskevich then received the rank of Field Marshal of Prussia and Austria.

In beams of glory

AT Crimean War, which broke out in 1853, in which several states opposed Russia at once, Paskevich no longer took such an active part as before, but his balanced position and strategic foresight helped the empire retain its eastern possessions.

“Everywhere is Russia, where Russian weapons rule,” Paskevich said. He not only declared, but also proved with his military victories. The popularity of the commander was huge - both among the people and among the military and civilian ranks.

“Well done, Erivan grip! Here is a Russian general! These are Suvorov manners! Resurrection Suvorov! Give him an army, then he would surely take Tsargrad, ”Griboedov conveyed the enthusiastic reaction of the masses.

Paskevich's influence on Russia's military policy can hardly be overestimated. Any selection of candidates for positions from the commander of the regiment to the commander of the corps was coordinated with him. By the 1840s, under the command of Paskevich were four infantry corps - the core ground forces empire. At the behest of Nicholas I, the general received from the troops the same honors as he himself.

He was held in high esteem not only at home. As the historian V. A. Potto wrote, “the Shah of Persia sent Paskevich diamond signs of the Order of the Lion and the Sun on a diamond chain worth sixty thousand rubles, so that this order would be hereditarily transferred to the names of Paskevich.”

Paskevich became the fourth and last cavalier in the history of Russia, awarded all four degrees of the Order of St. George, and his military path was so long that he managed to capture four emperors. Paskevich was in the rays of glory. Even the aging commander enjoyed the unlimited trust of the emperor. When at the beginning of 1856 Ivan Paskevich passed away throughout the army and a 9-day mourning was declared in the Kingdom of Poland.

This is how the “downtrodden” Russian soldiers fought, defending the “rotten tsarism”, until the revolution decomposed the exhausted and tired army. It was they who held back the terrible blow of the German military machine, preserving the very possibility of the country's existence. And not only his own. “If France was not wiped off the face of Europe, then we owe this primarily to Russia,” Marshal Foch, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, later said.

In the then Russia, the names of the defenders of the Osovets fortress were known to almost everyone. That's on whose feat to educate patriotism, isn't it? But under Soviet rule, only army engineers were supposed to know about the defense of Osovets, and even then, only in a utilitarian way. technical section. The name of the commandant of the fortress was deleted from history: not only was Nikolai Brzhozovsky a “royal” general, he also later fought in the ranks of the Whites. After the Second World War, the history of the defense of Osovets was completely transferred to the category of taboos: comparisons with the events of 1941 were too unflattering.

Russian soldier on duty.

By the end of August 1915, due to changes in Western front, the strategic need for the defense of the Osovets fortress lost all meaning. In connection with this, the supreme command of the Russian army decided to stop defensive battles and evacuate the garrison of the fortress. In 1918, the ruins of the heroic fortress became part of independent Poland. Starting from the 1920s, the Polish leadership included Osowiec in their system of defensive fortifications. A full-scale restoration and reconstruction of the fortress began. The restoration of the barracks was carried out, as well as the dismantling of the rubble that hindered the further progress of work.
When parsing the rubble, near one of the forts, the soldiers stumbled upon a stone vault underground tunnel. The work went on with passion and a wide hole was quickly punched. Encouraged by his comrades, a non-commissioned officer descended into the gaping darkness. A burning torch tore out of the pitch darkness the damp old masonry and pieces of plaster underfoot.
And then something incredible happened.
Before the non-commissioned officer could take a few steps, from somewhere dark depth through the tunnel, a firm and menacing cry resounded loudly:
- Stop! Who goes?
Unther was dumbfounded. “Uterus Bosca,” the soldier crossed himself and rushed upstairs.
And as it should be, at the top, he received a proper thrashing from an officer for cowardice and stupid inventions. Having ordered the non-commissioned officer to follow him, the officer himself went down into the dungeon. And again, as soon as the Poles moved along the damp and dark tunnel, from somewhere in front, from the impenetrable black haze, a shout sounded just as menacing and demanding:
- Stop! Who goes?
Following that, in the ensuing silence, the bolt of a rifle clearly clanged. Instinctively, the soldier hid behind the officer. Thinking and rightly judging that the evil spirits would hardly have armed themselves with a rifle, the officer, who spoke Russian well, called out to the invisible soldier and explained who he was and why he had come. In the end, he asked who his mysterious interlocutor was and what he was doing underground.
The Pole expected everything, but not such an answer:
- I, the sentry, and put here to guard the warehouse.
The officer's mind refused to accept such a simple answer. But, nevertheless, pulling himself together, he continued the negotiations.
“Can I come over,” the Pole asked excitedly.
- Not! came a stern voice from the darkness. "I can't let anyone into the dungeon until I'm relieved of duty."
Then the stunned officer asked if the sentry knew how long he had been here, underground.
“Yes, I know,” came the reply. “I took over nine years ago, in August 1915. It seemed like a dream, an absurd fantasy, but there, in the darkness of the tunnel, was a living person, a Russian soldier who had been on guard for nine years. And most incredible of all, he did not rush to people, perhaps enemies, but still, people of society with whom he had been deprived for nine whole years, with a desperate plea to release him from terrible imprisonment. No, he remained faithful to his oath and military duty and was ready to defend the post entrusted to him to the end. Carrying out his service in strict accordance with the military regulations, the sentry declared that he could only be removed from his post by a divorcee, and if he was not there, then “the Emperor”.
Long negotiations began. They explained to the sentry what had happened on earth during these nine years, they said that the tsarist army, in which he served, no longer exists. There is not even the king himself, not to mention the breeder. And the territory he guards now belongs to Poland. After a long silence, the soldier asked who was in charge in Poland, and, having learned that the president, demanded his order. Only when Pilsudski's telegram was read to him did the sentry agree to leave his post.
The Polish soldiers helped him to climb up to the summer land filled with bright sun. But before they could see the man, the sentry shouted loudly, covering his face with his hands. Only then did the Poles remember that he had spent nine years in complete darkness and that they had to blindfold him before taking him outside. Now it was too late - the soldier, unaccustomed to sunlight, was blind.
Somehow they calmed him down, promising to show him to good doctors. Closely surrounding him, the Polish soldiers looked at this unusual sentry with respectful surprise.
Thick dark hair fell in long, dirty tufts over his shoulders and back, descending below the waist. A broad black beard fell to his knees, and on his face, overgrown with hair, only sightless eyes stood out. But this underground Robinson was dressed in a solid overcoat with shoulder straps, and on his feet he had almost new boots. One of the soldiers drew attention to the sentinel's rifle, and the officer took it from the hands of the Russian, although he parted with the weapon with obvious reluctance. Exchanging exclamations of surprise and shaking their heads, the Poles examined this rifle.
It was an ordinary Russian three-line model of 1891. Only her appearance was amazing. It seemed as if it had been taken from a pyramid in a model soldier's barracks just a few minutes ago: it was carefully cleaned, and the bolt and barrel were carefully oiled. In the same order were clips with cartridges in the pouch on the sentry's belt. The cartridges also shone with grease, and there were exactly as many of them as the guard commander had given them to the soldier nine years ago, when he took up his post. The Polish officer was curious about what the soldier was lubricating with his weapons.
- I ate canned food, which is stored in the warehouse, - he answered, - and oiled the rifle and cartridges.
The soldier was offered to stay in Poland, but he eagerly rushed to his homeland, although his homeland was no longer the same, and was called differently. The Soviet Union met the soldier of the tsarist army more than modestly. And his feat remained unsung, because, according to the ideologists of the new country, there was no place for feats in the tsarist army. After all, only a Soviet person could perform a feat. Real feat real person turned into a legend. In a legend that did not retain the main thing - the name of the hero.

Updated 05 Jan 2019. Created 02 May 2014

During the years of the Great Patriotic War, not much was known about the incredible feat of a simple Russian soldier Kolka Sirotinin, as well as about the hero himself. Perhaps no one would have ever known about the feat of a twenty-year-old artilleryman. If not for one case.

In the summer of 1942, an officer of the 4th died near Tula tank division Wehrmacht Friedrich Fenfeld. Soviet soldiers found his diary. From its pages, some details of that very last battle of Senior Sergeant Sirotinin became known.

It was the 25th day of the war ...

In the summer of 1941, the 4th tank division of the Guderian group, one of the most talented German generals, broke through to the Belarusian city of Krichev. Parts of the 13th Soviet Army were forced to retreat. To cover the withdrawal of the artillery battery of the 55th rifle regiment the commander left artilleryman Nikolai Sirotinin with a gun.

The order was brief: to hold up the German tank column on the bridge over the river Dobrost, and then, if possible, catch up with their own. The senior sergeant carried out only the first half of the order...

Sirotinin took up a position in a field near the village of Sokolnichi. The cannon sank in high rye. There is not a single noticeable landmark for the enemy nearby. But from here the highway and the river were clearly visible.

On the morning of July 17, a column of 59 tanks and armored vehicles with infantry appeared on the highway. When the lead tank reached the bridge, the first - successful - shot rang out. With the second shell, Sirotinin set fire to an armored personnel carrier at the tail of the column, thereby creating a traffic jam. Nikolai fired and fired, knocking out car after car.

Sirotinin fought alone, he was both a gunner and a loader. He had 60 shells in his ammunition load and a 76-millimeter cannon - an excellent weapon against tanks. And he made a decision: to continue the battle until the ammunition runs out.

The Nazis rushed to the ground in a panic, not understanding where the shooting was coming from. The guns were fired at random, in squares. Indeed, on the eve of their intelligence could not detect Soviet artillery in the vicinity, and the division advanced without any special precautions. The Germans made an attempt to clear the blockage by pulling the wrecked tank off the bridge with two other tanks, but they were also knocked out. The armored car, which tried to ford the river, got bogged down in the swampy bank, where it was destroyed. For a long time the Germans failed to determine the location of the well-camouflaged gun; they believed that a whole battery was fighting them.

This unique battle lasted a little over two hours. The crossing was blocked. By the time Nikolai's position was discovered, he had only three shells left. Sirotinin refused the offer to surrender and fired from a carbine to the last. Having entered the rear of Sirotinin on motorcycles, the Germans destroyed a lone gun with mortar fire. At the position they found a lone cannon and a soldier.

The result of the battle of Senior Sergeant Sirotinin against General Guderian is impressive: after the battle on the banks of the Dobrost River, the Nazis lost 11 tanks, 7 armored vehicles, 57 soldiers and officers.

The stamina of the Soviet fighter aroused the respect of the Nazis. The commander of the tank battalion, Colonel Erich Schneider, ordered to bury a worthy enemy with military honors.

From the diary of Lieutenant Friedrich Hönfeld of the 4th Panzer Division:

July 17, 1941. Sokolnichi, near Krichev. In the evening they buried an unknown Russian soldier. He alone stood at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone was amazed at his bravery… Oberst (colonel – editorial note) said in front of the grave that if all the Fuhrer’s soldiers fought like this Russian, they would conquer the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary?

From the testimony of Olga Verzhbitskaya, a resident of the village of Sokolnichi:

I, Verzhbitskaya Olga Borisovna, born in 1889, a native of Latvia (Latgale), lived before the war in the village of Sokolnichi, Krichevsky district, together with my sister.

We knew Nikolai Sirotinin and his sister until the day of the battle. He was with my friend, bought milk. He was very polite, always helping older women to get water from the well and in other hard work.

I remember well the evening before the fight. On a log at the gate of the Grabsky house, I saw Nikolai Sirotinin. He sat and thought about something. I was very surprised that everyone was leaving, and he was sitting.

When the fight started, I was not at home yet. I remember how tracer bullets flew. He walked for about two or three hours. In the afternoon, the Germans gathered at the place where the Sirotinin gun stood. We, the locals, were also forced to come there. To me, as knowing German, the chief German of about fifty with orders, tall, bald, gray-haired, ordered to translate his speech to local people. He said that the Russian fought very well, that if the Germans had fought like that, they would have taken Moscow long ago, that this is how a soldier should defend his homeland - fatherland.

Then a medallion was taken out of the pocket of our dead soldier's tunic. I remember firmly that it was written there “the city of Orel”, to Vladimir Sirotinin (I don’t remember his patronymic), that the name of the street was, as I remember, not Dobrolyubova, but Freight or Lomovaya, I remember that the house number was two digits. But we could not know who this Sirotinin Vladimir was - the father, brother, uncle of the murdered man or someone else - we could not.

Deutsch chief boss told me: “Take this document and write to your relatives. Let a mother know what a hero her son was and how he died.” Then a young German officer who was standing at the grave of Sirotinin came up and snatched a piece of paper and a medallion from me and said something rudely.

The Germans fired a volley of rifles in honor of our soldier and put a cross on the grave, hung up his helmet, pierced by a bullet.

I myself saw the body of Nikolai Sirotinin well, even when he was lowered into the grave. His face was not covered in blood, but the tunic on the left side had a large bloody stain, his helmet was pierced, and there were many shell casings lying around.

Since our house was not far from the battlefield, next to the road to Sokolniki, the Germans were standing near us. I myself heard how they spoke for a long time and admiringly about the feat of the Russian soldier, counting the shots and hits. Some of the Germans, even after the funeral, stood at the cannon and the grave for a long time and talked quietly.

February 29, 1960

Testimony of the telephone operator M. I. Grabskaya:

I, Grabskaya Maria Ivanovna, born in 1918, worked as a telephone operator at the DEU 919 in Krichev, lived in my native village of Sokolnichi, three kilometers from the city of Krichev.

I remember well the events of July 1941. About a week before the arrival of the Germans, Soviet artillerymen settled in our village. The headquarters of their battery was in our house, the battery commander was a senior lieutenant named Nikolai, his assistant was a lieutenant named Fedya, of the fighters, I remember the Red Army soldier Nikolai Sirotinin the most. The fact is that the senior lieutenant very often called this fighter and entrusted him with both tasks as the most intelligent and experienced.

He was a little above average height, dark brown hair, a simple, cheerful face. When Sirotinin and senior lieutenant Nikolai decided to dig a dugout for the locals, I saw how he deftly threw the earth, noticed that he was apparently not from the boss's family. Nicholas jokingly replied:

“I am a worker from Orel, and I am no stranger to physical labor. We, the Oryols, know how to work.”

Today, in the village of Sokolnichi, there is no grave in which the Germans buried Nikolai Sirotinin. Three years after the war, his remains were transferred to the mass grave of Soviet soldiers in Krichev.

Pencil drawing made from memory by a colleague of Sirotinin in the 1990s

The inhabitants of Belarus remember and honor the feat of the brave artilleryman. In Krichev there is a street named after him, a monument has been erected. But, despite the fact that the feat of Sirotinin, thanks to the efforts of the workers of the Archive of the Soviet Army, was recognized back in 1960, he was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A painfully absurd circumstance got in the way: the soldier's family did not have his photograph. And it is necessary to apply for a high rank.

Today there is only a pencil sketch made after the war by one of his colleagues. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, Senior Sergeant Sirotinin was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, first degree. Posthumously. Such is the story.

Memory

In 1948, the remains of Nikolai Sirotinin were reburied in a mass grave (according to the military burial record card on the OBD Memorial website - in 1943), on which a monument was erected in the form of a sculpture of a soldier grieving for his dead comrades, and on marble boards surname Sirotinina N.V.

In 1960, Sirotinin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.

In 1961, a monument in the form of an obelisk with the name of the hero was erected at the site of the feat near the highway, next to which a real 76-mm gun was installed on a pedestal. In the city of Krichev, a street is named after Sirotinin.

A memorial plaque with a brief note about N. V. Sirotinin was installed at the Tekmash plant in Orel.

The museum of military glory in secondary school No. 17 of the city of Orel has materials dedicated to N. V. Sirotinin.

In 2015, the council of school No. 7 of the city of Orel petitioned for the school to be named after Nikolai Sirotinin. Nikolai's sister, Taisiya Vladimirovna, attended the celebrations. The name for the school was chosen by the students themselves on the basis of their search and information work.

When reporters asked Nikolai's sister why Nikolay volunteered to cover the retreat of the division, Taisiya Vladimirovna replied: "My brother could not have done otherwise."

The feat of Kolka Sirotinin is an example of loyalty to the Motherland for all our youth.

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