Yaroslav Ognev. Troops of the Northwestern and Kalinin Fronts occupied the cities of Kholm, Toropets, Selizharovo, Western Dvina, Olenino, and Staraya Tropa. Trophies of our troops

06.07.202327.05.2017

During the night of January 22, our troops continued to conduct active fighting against the Nazi troops.

On one of the sections of the Western Front, our fighters, overcoming the resistance of the Nazis, captured 11 guns, 54 vehicles, 15 motorcycles and other military equipment. At another site, part of comrade. Seleznyova, in two days of fierce battles with the enemy, inflicted great damage on the Germans and captured a gun, a mortar, 11 machine guns, 1,500 shells, 21,000 cartridges and other trophies.

Our unit, operating on the Southern Front, captured 30 enemy guns, 28 machine guns, 12 mortars and 300 carts with military equipment in two days of fighting. The enemy lost 1,400 soldiers and officers killed.

The Nazis settled in the heavily fortified village of D. Red Army soldier Piskunov, running from house to house, threw grenades at them and destroyed enemy firing points. Only in one of the houses of comrade. Piskunov killed 8 German soldiers.

A detachment of Leningrad partisans, commanded by Comrade. P., blew up a large railway bridge and thereby suspended train movement, delivering ammunition to German troops. The same detachment blew up two wooden bridges, destroyed enemy telephone communications in many places and mined strategic roads.

The captured chief corporal of the 2nd division of the 67th German army artillery regiment, Robert Michaelis, said: “Soldiers from various units say that in the Russian campaign the German army lost a huge number of tanks. For example, in the 10th Panzer Division there were no more than 15 tanks left, the 4th Army Group lost 80 tanks near Leningrad. This group then suffered colossal losses at Mozhaisk, where over 30 percent of the tanks were lost. There is currently an acute shortage of spare parts for vehicles and guns. We had to make one out of two cars.”

Captured corporal of the headquarters company of the 240th regiment of the 106th German infantry division, Peter Engel, said: “During the last battles, our regiment lost 75 percent of its personnel. I heard the battalion commander, Major Herald, recently complain to the regimental commander Ginzenberg: “Now nothing can be done about the soldiers. They do not hold their position, but run back. No curse words or even threats with weapons will work anymore.”

Residents of the village of Varvarovka, Medynsky district, Smolensk region, now liberated from the German occupiers, drew up an act on the atrocities of Hitler’s scoundrels. The act says that the Germans robbed all the peasants, and when retreating from the village, they set it on fire. Residents who tried to run out of burning houses were shot by the Germans. Among the dead were Platova O. L. and her two sons, Tvorogova A. S. and her six-year-old daughter, Ilyin V. V., his wife, five daughters and son, Zhizhin V. D. and his two sons.

During January 22, our troops continued to advance westward. Our units occupied several settlements, including the city of Uvarovo (the regional center of the Moscow region).

On January 21, units of our aviation destroyed 10 German tanks, 850 vehicles with infantry and cargo, more than 550 wagons with ammunition, 32 guns with servants, 10 anti-aircraft machine gun points, destroyed 35 railway cars, set fire to 11 railway trains, blew up an ammunition warehouse and a warehouse with fuel, scattered and partly destroyed up to 5 infantry regiments and 3 squadrons of enemy cavalry.

Our unit, operating on one of the sectors of the Western Front, having knocked the enemy out of an important populated area, captured 60 enemy vehicles, 40 motorcycles, 16 various guns, 2 aircraft, 200 barrels of gasoline, warehouses of rifle and quartermaster equipment and other trophies. In another area, our soldiers captured 5 German tanks, 8 guns, 38 vehicles, 200 bicycles, 8 machine guns, 5 mortars and many other weapons captured from the retreating enemy.

In three days of fighting, our tank unit in one of the sectors of the Leningrad Front destroyed 10 German tanks, 3 all-terrain vehicles, 10 guns and destroyed 7 dugouts. As a result of the actions of the tankers of our unit, the Germans lost 250 soldiers and officers during this time.

In the battle for the village of K., Lieutenant Razumov, together with five Red Army soldiers, installed a heavy machine gun near one of the barns and fired at the Germans holed up in the village for 16 hours. The Nazis sent 3 medium tanks to the position occupied by the brave fighters. The lieutenant ordered the Red Army soldiers Orlov and Galaktionov to drag an anti-tank gun abandoned by the enemy to the barn and, opening well-aimed fire from it, knocked out the lead vehicle. The rest turned back.

A detachment of Kalinin partisans under the command of Comrade. T. defeated a German convoy. 5 vehicles with military equipment were destroyed, 22 German soldiers and officers were killed.

Our units captured a secret letter from the medical unit of the 26th German Infantry Division to the unit commanders. This document indicates that the physical strength of many Nazi soldiers is exhausted and their morale is undermined. Here is an excerpt from this secret letter: “For Lately Instances of soldiers entering the division's medical units in an extremely weakened state became more frequent. These emaciated riflemen are unsuitable as soldiers, either physically or mentally. Noteworthy is their complete indifference to everything around them, the dulling of all feelings. They are terribly depressed appearance; They absolutely do not adhere to the basic rules of cleanliness (they dress themselves). Often this behavior is explained by simulation. However, these signs of illness should be evident to the boss...”

During their stay in the city of Mozhaisk, the Nazis destroyed the House of Culture, plundered all the exhibits of the local history museum, threw out of the cabinets and burned many thousands of valuable books of the city library, blew up the buildings of the hydroelectric station and the city cinema. The Nazi barbarians blew up the building of the Mozhaisk St. Nicholas Cathedral - the oldest monument of Russian architecture, completely burned the village of Borodino and the famous Borodino Museum, destroying the most valuable national relics of the Russian people.

Driller of the Leninogorsk mine (Kazakhstan) Georgy Khandin produced 2,300 percent of the norm in one shift. On January 17, Sokolny mine driller Sergei Khudyakov fulfilled the shift quota by 3.475 percent.

IN THE LAST HOUR

TROOPS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN AND KALININ FRONT OCCURRED THE CITIES OF KHOLM, TOROPETS, SELIZHAROVO, WESTERN DVINA, OLENINO, AND OLD TOROPA. TROPHIES OF OUR TROOPS

Ten to twelve days ago, troops of the North-Western and Kalinin Fronts, after fierce battles, broke through the enemy’s fortified line south of the cities of Ostashkov and Selizharovo and began to move forward. Fulfilling the assigned task, our troops advanced more than 100 km. forward. After fierce battles, we occupied the cities: PENO, ANDREAPOL, KHOLM, TOROPETS, ZAP. DVINA, SELIZHAROVO, OLENINO, OLD TOROPA.

Thus, one of the main communication lines of the German troops, the Rzhev-Velikiye Luki railway, was cut and captured by our troops.

Over 2,000 settlements were liberated from German invaders.

From January 9 to 22, the following trophies were captured: guns - 350, tanks and armored vehicles - 52, heavy and light machine guns - 430, mortars - 90, cars - 740, motorcycles - 480, bicycles - 846, radios - 20, mines - 26,145, shells - 71,300, cartridges - 805,000, telephone cable - 360 kilometers, one pontoon ferry park, motorized pontoons - 16, tractors - 32, one boat and 8 engines, railway cars - 355 and many other weapons and property.

In the year TOROPETS and ANDRIAPOL, army warehouses with reserves of fuel, food, ammunition and other property, which are being accounted for, were captured.

During the period from January 9 to 22, the Germans lost over 17,000 people killed and several hundred captured.

The troops of Colonel General Comrade YEREMENKO and Lieutenant General Comrade PURKAEV distinguished themselves in battles.

Return to date January 22

Comments:

From the Soviet Information Bureau

During the night of January 22, our troops continued to conduct active military operations against the Nazi troops.

On one of the sections of the Western Front, our soldiers, overcoming the resistance of the Nazis, captured 11 guns, 54 vehicles, 15 motorcycles and other military equipment. At another site, part of comrade. Seleznyova, in two days of fierce battles with the enemy, inflicted great damage on the Germans and captured a gun, a mortar, 11 machine guns, 1,500 shells, 21,000 rounds of ammunition and other trophies.

A detachment of Leningrad partisans, commanded by Comrade. P., blew up a large railway bridge and thereby suspended the movement of trains delivering ammunition to German troops for 10 days. The same detachment blew up two wooden bridges, destroyed enemy telephone communications in many places and mined strategic roads.

Captured corporal of the headquarters company of the 240th regiment of the 106th German infantry division, Peter Engel, said: “During the last battles, our regiment lost 75 percent of its personnel. I heard the battalion commander, Major Herald, recently complaining to the regimental commander Ginzenberg: “Now nothing can be done about the soldiers. They do not hold their position, but run back. No curse words or even threats with weapons will work anymore.”

During January 22, our troops continued to advance westward. Our units occupied several settlements, including the city of Uvarovo (the regional center of the Moscow region).

A detachment of Kalinin partisans under the command of Comrade. T. defeated a German convoy. 5 vehicles with military equipment were destroyed, 22 German soldiers and officers were killed.

Our units captured a secret letter from the medical unit of the 26th German Infantry Division to the unit commanders. This document indicates that the physical strength of many Nazi soldiers is exhausted and their morale is undermined. Here is an excerpt from this secret letter: “Recently, cases of soldiers entering the division’s medical units who are in an extremely weakened state have become more frequent. These emaciated riflemen are unsuitable as soldiers, either physically or mentally. Noteworthy is their complete indifference to everything around them, the dulling of all feelings. They have a terribly sagging appearance; They absolutely do not adhere to the basic rules of cleanliness (they dress themselves). Often this behavior is explained by simulation. However, these signs of illness should be evident to the boss...”

IN THE LAST HOUR

TROOPS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN AND KALININ FRONT OCCURRED THE CITIES OF KHOLM, TOROPETS, SELIZHAROVO, WESTERN DVINA, OLENINO, AND OLD TOROPA. TROPHIES OF OUR TROOPS

Thus, one of the main communication lines of the German troops, the Rzhev-Velikiye Luki railway, was cut and captured by our troops.

Over 2,000 settlements were liberated from German invaders.

In the year TOROPETS and ANDRIAPOL, army warehouses with reserves of fuel, food, ammunition and other property, which are being accounted for, were captured.

During the period from January 9 to 22, the Germans lost over 17,000 people killed and several hundred captured.

The troops of Colonel General Comrade YEREMENKO and Lieutenant General Comrade PURKAEV distinguished themselves in battles.

When guardsmen die in battle, winged glory flies from the military banner and invisibly forms an honorary and permanent guard at the head of the dead. The news of the feat of twenty-eight Panfilov guardsmen who laid down their lives on the battlefield spread far across Soviet soil. We did not yet know all the details of their death, the names of the heroes had not yet been named, their bodies were still resting on the ground captured by the enemy, but rumors were already going around the fronts about the fabulous valor of twenty-eight Soviet heroes.

Only now have we been able to reconstruct the full picture of the death of a handful of brave guardsmen.

It was November 16th. The enemy's armored columns were located on the Volokolamsk highway. They hoped to break into Moscow without stopping the running engines. 316th Rifle Division, now the 8th Guards Red Banner named after General Panfilov,. Comrade Stalin gave the order to detain the Germans at all costs. And an insurmountable wall of Soviet defense rose in the way of the Nazis.

Kaprova’s regiment occupied the defense on the line: height 251 - Petelino village - Dubosekovo crossing. On the left flank, on the saddle railway, was the unit of Sergeant Dobrobabin. That day, intelligence reported that the Germans were preparing for a new offensive. In the settlements of Krasikovo, Zhdanovo, Muromtsevo, they concentrated over 80 tanks, two infantry regiments, 6 mortar and four artillery batteries, strong groups of machine gunners and motorcyclists. A battle broke out.

Now we know that before the twenty-eight heroes, hiding in a trench near the junction, repelled a powerful tank attack, they endured a multi-hour battle with enemy machine gunners. Using hidden approaches on the left flank of the regiment's defense, a company of fascists rushed there. They did not expect to encounter serious resistance. The soldiers silently watched the approaching machine gunners. Sergeant Dobrobabin accurately distributed the targets. The Germans walked as if for a walk, at full height. They were already separated from the trench by 150 meters. There was a strange, unnatural silence all around. The sergeant put two fingers in his mouth, and suddenly a Russian, brave whistle was heard. It was so unexpected that for a moment the machine gunners stopped. Our light machine guns and rifle salvos began to crackle. Well-aimed fire immediately devastated the ranks of the Nazis.

The machine gunners' attack was repulsed. More than seventy enemy corpses lie near the trench. The faces of the tired fighters are smoked with gunpowder, people are happy that they have worthily measured their strength with the enemy, but they still do not know their fate, they do not know that the main thing is ahead.

Tanks! Twenty armored monsters move towards a line defended by twenty-eight guardsmen. The fighters looked at each other. The battle ahead was too unequal. Suddenly they heard a familiar voice:

Hello, heroes!

The company's political instructor, Klochkov, reached the trench. Only now have we learned his real name. The country glorified him under the name Diev. This is what the Ukrainian Red Army soldier Bondarenko once called him. He said: “Our political instructor is constantly die” - in Ukrainian it means - he is working. Nobody knew when Klochkov slept. He was always on the move. Active and tireless, the soldiers loved him like an older brother, like a father. Bondarenko’s apt word spread not only to the company, but also to the regiment. Klochkov's political instructor was listed only in the documents. Even the regiment commander called him Diev.

That day, Klochkov was the first to notice the direction of movement of the tank column and hurried into the trench.

Well, friends,” the political instructor said to the soldiers. - Twenty tanks. Less than one per brother. It's not that much!

People smiled.

Getting to the trench, Klochkov understood what awaited him and his comrades. But now he was joking and, catching the approving glances of the Red Army soldiers, he thought: “we will endure to the end.” Here they were all before him - people with whom he was to share both death and glory.

... Let the army and the country finally recognize their proud names. In the trench were: Klochkov Vasily Georgievich, Dobrobabin Ivan Evstafievich, Shepotkov Ivan Alekseevich, Kryuchkov Abram Ivanovich, Mitin Gavriil Stepanovich, Kasaev Alikbay, Petrenko Grigory Alekseevich, Esibulatov Narsutbay, Kaleinikov Dmitry Mitrofanovich, Natarov Ivan Moiseevich, Shemyakin Grigory Mikhailovich, Dutov Petr Dan Ilovich, Mitchenko Nikolay, Shapokov Dushankul, Konkin Grigory Efimovich, Shadrin Ivan Demidovich, Moskalenko Nikolay, Yemtsov Petr Kuzmich, Kuzhebergenov Daniil Alexandrovich, Timofeev Dmitry Fomich, Trofimov Nikolay Ignatievich, Bondarenko Yakov Alexandrovich, Vasiliev Larion Romanovich, Bolotov Nikolay, Bezrodny Grigory, Sengirbaev Mustafa, Maksimov Nikolay, Ananyev Nikolay.

There was also the twenty-ninth. He turned out to be a coward and a traitor. He alone pulled his hands up when a fascist corporal shouted from a tank that had broken through to the very trench: “Surrender!” He stood pitiful, trembling, disgusting in his slavish cowardice. Before whom do you fall on your knees, creature? A salvo immediately rang out. Several guardsmen simultaneously, without agreement, without command, shot at the traitor. It was the homeland itself that punished the apostate.

The battle lasted more than four hours, and the armored fist of the Nazis could not break through the line defended by the guards. The brave men used anti-tank rifles to knock out enemy vehicles and set them on fire with fuel bottles. Already fourteen tanks stood motionless on the battlefield. But Sergeant Dobrobabin has already been killed, soldier Shemyakin has been killed, Petrenko is bleeding, lying on the straw covering the bottom of the trench, Konkin, Shadrin, Timofeev and Trofimov are dead. At that moment, a second echelon of tanks appeared in the twilight haze. Among them are several heavy ones. Klochkov counted thirty new cars. There was no doubt - they were going to the railway crossing, to the trench of the brave men. You were a little mistaken, glorious political instructor Diev! You said that there would be less than one tank per brother. There are already more than two of them per fighter. Motherland, motherland, give new strength to your sons, let them not falter in this difficult hour.

With eyes sore from tension, Klochkov looked at his comrades.

Thirty tanks, friends,” he told the soldiers, “we’ll probably all have to die.” Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat. Moscow is behind.

The tanks were moving towards the trench. The wounded Bondarenko, bending down to Klochkov, hugged him with his uninjured hand and said: “Let’s kiss Diev.” And all of them, those who were in the trench, kissed each other and raised their guns and prepared grenades. The tanks are getting closer and closer. Now they are already at the very trench. The fearless rise to meet them.

The battle has been going on for thirty minutes, and the brave men no longer have any ammunition. One by one they fail. Moskalenko dies under the tracks of a tank, scratching its steel plates with his bare hands. Kuzhebergens walks straight under the barrel of an enemy machine gun, crossing his arms on his chest, and falls dead. About a dozen tanks have been knocked out and are on fire. Klochkov, clutching the last bunch of grenades, runs to the heavy machine that has just crushed Bezrodny. The political instructor manages to kill the monster's caterpillar and, pierced by bullets, falls to the ground.

Klochkov was killed. No, he's still breathing. Next to him, bloodied and dying, head to head, lies the wounded Natarov. Enemy tanks move past them with a clang and roar, and Klochkov whispers to his comrade: “We are dying, brother... Someday they will remember us... If you are alive, tell ours...”.

He did not finish his sentence and froze. This is how Klochkov died, whose life was given to courageous deeds on the battlefield.

All this was told by Natarov, who was already lying on his deathbed. He was found recently in the hospital. Crawling, he reached the forest that night, wandered around, exhausted from blood loss, for several days, until he came across a group of our scouts. Natarov, the last of the twenty-eight Panfilov heroes who fell, died. He conveyed their will to us living ones. The meaning of this will was understood by the people at a time when we did not know everything that happened at the Dubosekovo crossing. We know what Klochkov wanted to say at that moment when inexorable death hovered over him. The people themselves continued the thoughts of the dying man and said to themselves on behalf of the heroes: “We brought our lives to the altar of the fatherland. Don't shed tears from our lifeless bodies. Gritt your teeth and be persistent! We knew for what we were going to die, we fulfilled our military duty, we blocked the enemy’s path, go into battle with the fascists and remember: victory or death! You have no other choice, just as we had none. We died, but we won."

This testament lives in the hearts of the soldiers of the Red Army. The sun of victory burns brighter and brighter on their banners. The enemy is retreating. He is persecuted by the blood brothers of Panfilov's heroes, exterminated without pity, and revenged without mercy.

It was a quiet, frosty morning, probably the same as on November 16th. Our units again captured Dubosekovo, and we were traveling to the site of the legendary battle of twenty-eight guardsmen. The last night there had been a blizzard, and we were now walking through virgin snow. Sappers with mine detectors moved carefully ahead.

Here,” said Captain Gundilovich.

A smooth white veil spread around. To the left, behind a small grove, stretches a line railway. To the right stood lonely spruce trees. There was nothing to remind us of the events that had taken place here.

We earned money with shovels. A minute, two, three, and gradually the battlefield began to emerge from under the snow. A piece of the trench parapet appeared. Here the corner of the dugout is exposed. The shovel came into contact with something metal, and a helmet appeared, followed by a dagger. We dig further and almost go headlong into the ground - this is the second time a full-profile trench grows into the ground in the same place. The lumps of snow turned yellow-red. The ice crystals, like vessels containing precious liquid, turned red. It is now everywhere, this sacred blood of the dead - on the lower logs of the dugout, on an open gas mask, on a pulled out raincoat, in the snow around.

A body appeared. First the legs, then the torso. The division's military commissar, regimental commissar Egorov, Colonel Kaprov, the head of the division's political department, Galushko, and Captain Gundilovich, carefully lift the hero's corpse into their arms. His head is crushed. It is impossible to find out who it is - Kryuchkov, with a stern, calm face, Yesibulatov, or maybe the cheerful Sergeant Dobrobabin. This is not Klochkov. We learned that local residents, who knew the ebullient political instructor well, secretly from the Germans found his body and buried it behind the trackman’s guardhouse. We lowered the dead man to the ground. The pockets of his overcoat, tunic and trousers were inside out. There is not a single document in them. The Germans carried him away, taking with them the dead man’s earflaps and boots. Next to him in the trench we found only a notebook. It was still clean and only contained the rifle number - 21789. Let's remember it. This rifle fired without missing a beat.

Everyone looked at the fresh grave mound. A platoon of young Panfilov guardsmen lined up next to him. They had been told the story of the exploits of the twenty-eight more than once before, and now they saw one of them themselves.

People froze in silence and sorrow. Everyone bared their heads, and I saw the gray hair of the old warrior Colonel Kaprov, standing in front of his new guards chicks, whom he would make eagles in battle. The head of the political department of the division, Galushko, excitedly pronounced the funeral eulogy: “We remember your will, heroes. We hear your dying voices. We will do everything to be worthy of your valor and honor."

Three ceremonial fireworks thundered. The thunder of our guns echoed back to him, as if with a mighty echo. There were artillery firing positions behind us, and a battle raged several kilometers ahead. And Panfilov’s dead men became so alive in our minds that it seemed as if another moment would pass and, shining with glory, they would rise from the grave to rush to where our regiments were attacking. This consciousness of the living is the immortality of the fallen. || . WESTERN FRONT.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

23 WARRIORS WITH GIFTS FOR FIGHTERS OF THE WESTERN FRONT

A delegation of workers from the Khabarovsk Territory returned to Moscow from parts of the Western Front, accompanying a train with gifts for soldiers, commanders, commissars and political workers of the active army. The Far Easterners sent the front-line soldiers 23 wagons with meat, jam, Far Eastern wine, collective farm cookies, butter, honey, various warm things - felt boots, hats, mittens, woolen socks, etc.

The delegation presented all these gifts in parts of vol. Govorov and Rokossovsky to the brave defenders of the homeland.

In addition to collective gifts, the teams of Khabarovsk enterprises also sent personal valuable gifts to outstanding soldiers of our army.

The Germans were driven out of 27 villages

KALININ FRONT. January 21. (By telegraph from our special correspondent). The offensive of the Kalinin Front units is developing successfully. Our troops are pushing back the Germans, crushing their resistance and inflicting serious losses on them. Within 24 hours, the Nazis were driven out of 27 settlements. 10 tanks, 96 cars, 53 motorcycles, 200 bicycles, 16 guns, a lot of ammunition and other property were captured.

In the last battles with the German occupiers, Sergeant Stankin’s squad distinguished itself (the unit where Comrade Belov was the commissar). The sergeant had to identify the enemy forces in one village and make a decision depending on the situation. It was revealed that there were 13 German soldiers in the village. Stankin quietly advanced with the squad and quickly burst into the village. In a short battle, the squad destroyed 10 Germans and captured one gun, three vehicles, and five carts.

The company commander, junior lieutenant Popov, acts decisively. His company, making good use of firepower, quickly moved forward and drove the Nazis out of the trenches. The enemy fled, losing 30 people only killed. Comrade himself Popov destroyed four fascists in this battle.

THE GERMAN COMPANY SURRENDERED WITHOUT A FIGHT

NORTHWEST FRONT, January 21. (By telegraph from our special correspondent). Recently, in various sectors of the front, cases of Germans surrendering into captivity have become more frequent.

The other day, one infantry company led by a lieutenant surrendered without a fight. When our units entered the village, the company laid down its arms and declared that it did not want to fight anymore.

Warm clothes for children of the liberated area

To help the children of workers of the Krasnaya Polyana factory (Moscow region), who suffered during the rule of the Nazi robbers, Sundays were held at the Nogin, Red October and No. 3 factories. Participants in Sunday work made 500 pairs of warm children's stockings and 900 mittens, jumpers, hats and other items from production waste. The first batch of these items has already been sent to children.

Photo: nikoberg / LiveJournal.

The terrible year 1941 ended. Two days of the New Year have already passed. Will it bring us New Year the end of the terrible massacre called war? The uncertainty in which we find ourselves is becoming more and more unbearable every day.

On the 28th we accidentally heard Moscow. Our receiver is now with the Frischs, because... only Germans can have receivers. And we have no light.

Moscow was heavily beaten. But through the wheezing and screaming, we still made out something. We learned that Kalinin was Soviet. It was about him that the Germans reported that they left him, leveling the front. They learned that Rostov was establishing Soviet life again, and in the Caucasus they were making canned food for the army from lemons and oranges. And they never heard from Moscow again, no matter how hard they tried.

The Germans were seriously driven away from Moscow

From Ukrainian newspapers (now published on gray paper) we “learned” that Eden flew to Moscow for a meeting with Stalin ( British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden.- "GORDON"). This means that the USSR government is in Moscow. This means that Ukrainian propagandists themselves refuted all anti-Soviet rumors about a split in the party. And this also means that the Germans were seriously driven away from Moscow. And in these same newspapers-about strengthening the German offensive on Sevastopol.

It's still scary in captivity. No one is allowed out. Only 300-400 corpses are taken out of the camps every night. This was told by an old man who brought Stepan a note from Rovno, from some prisoner. But the note is unsigned, and Stepan doesn’t know who he should help.

Our authorities presented us with a New Year's gift - Begazia's appeal appeared in the newspaper with the following content: “The heroic German army liberated you, Ukrainians, from the Bolshevik yoke. And now the German knights are fighting for you on the eastern front against the Bolsheviks, for your bright future and the bright future of all Europe “Help the German soldiers with warm clothes - jackets, felt boots, hats!”

And since the Germans promise (and carry out) execution for everything, this appeal was immediately implemented by the local authorities. Yesterday, on the occasion of the New Year, everyone was at home, and general meetings were held in all house administrations, at which a fierce and undeniable allocation was proposed: every hundred residents of Kiev must hand over two jackets, one sheepskin coat, one pair of felt boots, one hat, gloves, sweaters and etc., etc. And not just any old elongated paper things, but all new, woolen ones. And not money, but things. You need to hand over your items two days in advance - January 2 and 3. And it is known that everyone, including infants, must hand over one hundred rubles!! And when handing over things, you still need confirmation that they are not stolen. And everyone sits in despondency, because there is no money, there are no things, and we don’t know what to do.

photo: reibert / LiveJournal

Christmas has passed. We are now rich in holidays. Every week, there are a few free days.

There is no bread, it was given out on ration cards once from the 1st to 200 grams. At the academy they gave 1.5 kg of bread, but at the conservatory, on water transport and in other places they didn’t even give this.

Our life is still difficult and unbearable. Jews are still being hunted down and killed. Who helps the Germans by handing over the Jews? After all, they themselves would never have found them. They still see Jews being led to the cemetery. In the city there is typhus and hunger in many families. Kurenevka, they say, has been declared unreliable, and the access of food products to the city from Kurenevka is prohibited. There are houses in Podol that are completely infested with rash and gastrointestinal tract. They don’t take people to hospitals; there is nothing to heat them and nothing to feed them. They are now paid. A day's hospital stay costs 20 rubles, and they only give you a plate of gruel to eat there once a day.

Our life, our days are filled with melancholy, like that acrid smoke that now fills our dark apartments. The whole day the gruel is cooked on wood chips, because due to the lack of firewood it takes hours to cook. The child is crying. All efforts are spent on obtaining some means of subsistence, and everything is almost for nothing. No money left. Things are sold with great difficulty. Change is even more difficult.

There's a blizzard outside. The wind howls. The prickly, cold snow does not reduce the 24-degree frost. It's dark and cold. There is no light, no water. Three days ago, the schedule for water supply to districts was announced. For now, she’s not there at all. I can't write.

Photo: nashkiev.ua

In the store, Lyubov Vasilievna writes lists with me. But we sit in turns, because it’s impossible to stand it for more than one and a half to two hours. It's 6 degrees below zero in the store. An iron stove was found in the back room, but there was no stove maker and no money to pay him.

The lights were turned off even in those rare apartments where they were provided with special patronage and permission. In this regard, Moscow cannot be heard again.

It's cold, dark, and most importantly, hungry. There are a lot of hungry people. Nechipor rides his horses all the time to the area, 150-200 kilometers away. And in most cases he brings millet and peas, and sometimes some potatoes, in exchange for things. After the fact that Nyusya and Galya were poisoned by frozen potatoes and ate “drapantsy” from frozen potatoes, fried in paraffin, and these potatoes “shot” at the ceiling when touched, the peas brought by Nechipor seem like incredible happiness. In the evening it is soaked in a large bowl for washing, then boiled and fed to those who are already starving. Someone always feeds from them, but it is impossible to feed everyone who wants to eat, even among their closest friends.

An infantry unit of the Wehrmacht is advancing near the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Kiev residents are carrying brushwood and branches for home stoves and “bourgeois stoves”.

And yet among those we know there are no cases of the most catastrophic famine. But it’s only January 15, and the food in the markets is still remnants of what’s left of ours.

Some friend of our library employee came from Kharkov. She is delighted with Kyiv bazaars and Kyiv prosperity. There is a real and terrible famine in Kharkov. You can't get anything at the market for any amount of money. The front is close there and Soviet planes are flying. They drop bombs where the German units are. The population greets them very joyfully.

Yes, we don’t really have to complain about our situation. There is a roof over your head, water has begun to appear in the laundry room, but in other houses they carry it several blocks away and stand in line for hours. We had smuggled light for some time, but others haven’t had it since ours left. We received bread almost all the time at the academy, once a week, one and a half kilograms. Enough for a child. And the peas that Nechipor exchanged for us help us out. The main thing is that we listened to Moscow almost all the time, although we rarely managed to hear anything important.

But we have one important circumstance that many others do not have. We have many like-minded people who want the same thing as we do and are just as eager as we are for any opportunity to connect with ours. The team supports us. No, we don't have to complain. Definitely.

Irina Khoroshunova. Photo from the family archive of Natalia Gozulova

Still, everyone somehow adapts and gets comfortable. Those who sell things, those who have already settled down and work and occasionally receive some cereal and bread. And who buys food from peasants at one market and sells it at a higher price at another? Dunechka bought dozens of flour and potatoes from the peasants, and by selling them individually, she earned 50 rubles. Well, at least something. Nyusya bargained for some money for things and gave it to Nyura so that she could bake pies and sell them at the market. Tatyana and Stepan sew gloves from an old casing and children's dresses for the market. Everyone works at the market. And it has everything on it.

A huge part of the bazaar is occupied by flea market and “glutton market”. There are a lot of sellers and very few buyers at the flea market. Everything is sold - from darning threads and gramophone records to gold and diamonds. There is nothing you can't buy there.

Countless women, blue with hunger and with swollen legs, appeared again, stretching out in long rows of layouts. Enterprising speculators opened lockers with all sorts of things. In particular, a locker with books is open at the Jewish bazaar. It mixes Academia publications with waste paper, classics with well-worn boulevard novels. Together, Darwin and the Bible, technology and poetry, ancient and Soviet writers and poets rain down on the seller’s head. And for all this there are three skins to be torn. And yet there are buyers.

Everything is measured by bread, and there is bread only for a few. Three or four times a month they issue cards of 200 grams per person and 1.5 kilos per week to workers. There is a lot of it at the market, but it costs 40, 50, 60 and 70 rubles per kilogram. Who can buy it? The gluttons trade briskly. The entire bazaar is filled with the cries of this now most profitable trade. Hot pies with peas and potatoes, boiled potatoes, porridge, soup, tea, bread, butter, horse meat cutlets and even pork chops. Steam is pouring from the counters. The hostesses of the food jump and dance in the cold, and the hungry consumers greedily fill themselves right there in the cold, standing, hurrying, getting burned and blissful. Do people who have never experienced hunger know what a humiliating feeling it is - hunger?

In Bessarabka, gluttony is organized even comfortably. She's in the Covered Market. And there at the tables, to the great surprise of not only the Kharkovites, but also ours, you can get a cutlet with potatoes for just ten rubles. True, it's a horse cutlet.

No news from the front. Newspaper reports are short and monosyllabic. The Germans are freezing, but this doesn’t make it any easier for us. The frosts are strong all the time, and the day before yesterday and on Monday the weather was completely impossible - wind, snow and frost. There was no frost below 14 degrees these days. There was a lot of snow. On the square it lies untouched white virgin soil and glitters blindingly in the sun. The tram tracks have been cleared by snow plows, but the streets are mostly not cleared at all. On Lenin Street, Germans drive in both directions along one half of the pavement. The second one is covered with snow. There is no order in the city. Nobody cleans anything.

There are very few cars on the streets. Trams run rarely. There are no street sounds. And only the radio screams on the quiet, silent streets the same foxtrots or songs from the repertoire of Vertinsky and white emigrants. The Kozhus campaign ended completely unexpectedly. Thanks to Vorobyova, we never gave anything away.

Photo: foto.meta.ua

It happens like this: we live the same and monotonous, some more or less monotonous life. And suddenly in one day or hour everything will turn over and start all over again.

So, for example, today I no longer have any relationship with the store. The absurd idea of holding it together with its contents until our people return seems to me today to be as unrealistic as receiving news from those who left. The store was confiscated by the Germans. Without any talking. It’s just that a piece of paper with the German seal “Beschlagnaht” appeared and hangs on the door of the store, which means confiscated. I must say that the blow was unexpected and very strong. The fact is that these days we transported most of the Soviet literature from DKA ( Houses of the Red Army. - "GORDON") And then everything was gone.

Grocery store for Volksdeutsche, that is, for ethnic Germans, Bolshaya Zhitomirskaya Street, 40. Photo: stepandstep.ru

Last Thursday, at the end of the day, Nyusya suddenly came, who does not spoil us with coming to Andreevsky Descent. In the evening we read our two-horned blind Kagan in the semi-darkness. And in the morning we went together to Lipki to the German commandant’s office. The Germans gave a huge part of the books from the library of the House of the Red Army to the director of the conservatory, Ivanovsky, to heat the apartment instead of firewood. The Germans set a mandatory condition - either take away all the books that they consider confiscated, or they will send all these books to the furnace of the commandant's office steam heating boiler.

It was cold in the morning, like all these days. The frosts are even and strong - 15-20 degrees. From the Third International Square, as before under ours, there is a tram, also number three. We went up to Lipki by tram. He stops on the same corners where he stopped before, on both corners of Sadovaya, although the new administrative building is uninhabited. For some reason, the Germans do not occupy this wonderful building, a wonderful work of Academician Fomin.

We haven't been to this area since the Germans arrived. It has not changed at all, only its streets have become more deserted and desolate, and the snow lies on them, as in a village, uncollected. And only narrow paths are trodden in it. Near the city and military commandant's office, which is now in the former House of the Red Army, there are many German cars and Germans. At the entrance there are sentries in helmets and woolen scarves under them. Under their greatcoats they have casings, and on their feet are huge felt boots with thick, ten-centimeter-long soles. They say that these are felt boots made of straw, covered with cloth, worn over boots.

Standing at the commandant's office is prohibited. Petitioners stand on the other side of the street and are received from three to five o'clock. However, they stand in the cold in the morning and wait. Later, civilians are prohibited from standing near the commandant's office.

We did not find the one who disposed of the books, and left in order to find him at the General Commissariat or return by three o'clock. The General Commissariat is located on Bankovaya, 9, in the house of the former district headquarters. There are also a lot of cars at the entrance, and at the doors there are soldiers who, like doormen, open the doors to everyone who enters. And everyone enters freely - both the Germans and our people, no one asks anyone anything. Everything inside is bare, formal and empty. Germans in yellow civilian uniforms with a swastika on a red bandage on their left arm are running around with a businesslike look. And no one knows anything. We walked up the stairs, along the corridors of all floors, meeting few people, we ourselves looked for the one we needed, and as a result we learned that he was not there.

We walked down Lutheranskaya Street, in our name Engels Street. For the first time in three months we saw the protruding ruins of the burnt Khreshchatyk, Sverdlova, Pushkinskaya streets, which were huddled in charred crowds of black pillars under white caps of snow sparkling in the sun. An eerie, ominous, unforgettable picture.

On Lutheranskaya, between the burnt houses, children are sledding along a narrow unrolled strip, and all around from house to house lies untouched snow. There is no one to touch him. And the charred brick ruins smell sharply of recent smoke.

Ruins on Khreshchatyk, 1942. Photo: foto.meta.ua

By three o'clock we reached the commandant's office again, and this time we got to our destination. The translator took us to the basement, where thousands of books lay in huge piles in complete disorder. It was a former library that Soviet librarians had been collecting for years. There were more books on the shelves to the side. Near them stood a German in an officer’s uniform, who spoke to the husband of a conservatory employee in the purest Russian. From the conversation we realized that this German was brilliantly aware of everything that was published in the Soviet Union over the course of all 23 years. He was simply amazingly informed. Now on the shelves he chose all the books on art, economics and geography of the USSR, put them in neat piles, and threw Soviet fiction into piles lying throughout the basement. Not a single political book or pamphlet was visible. There was no classical literature, Russian or foreign.

They pointed out the piles on the floor and we began tying the books with ropes taken from the store. We knitted until we had to hurry away to get home before the forbidden time. The next morning we were again at the commandant’s office, together with Nechipor and the horses. They carried and transported books. They drove me all day, and all the next day. According to approximate estimates, to this day we have transported over five thousand books to the store, but we transported them in half - a load for Ivanovsky, a load for us. And then everything was gone. The store was confiscated this morning.

Photo: borisfen70 / LiveJournal

Today is one hundred and fifty days of occupation.

I haven't written for several days. It was a difficult time. She handed over the store, and most importantly, everyone carried books. Nechipor went to the village, and Nyusha and I carried everything and carried them on small children's sleds. More than three or four packs will not fit. The sled turns over, the legs slide. The frost is terrible. In a word - there are no words.

But in total we transported over 20 thousand books to the conservatory, and more than five to the store. It was unthinkable to leave books to be burned if they could be taken away. And such literature! Most of all Mayakovsky, Ostrovsky’s “How the Steel Was Tempered” and a great variety of other Soviet literature.

They drove it together. Nobody helped. During these days, while we were carrying books, many events happened. The first train with volunteers left for Germany. We have terrible news in our family. Stepan joined the police. Tatiana cries all the time. And he swears that this is necessary, that he will deal only with criminal cases. And that it will still be useful to us. As my first “task” I went to Boryspil to catch thieves. None of this makes it any easier for us. The bazaars are tightly closed. You can't buy anything. There is nothing to eat, the peas are already gone.

The Germans turned on the radio and broadcast the heavy artillery shelling of Leningrad. Just as a hare cannot move, fettered by the gaze of a snake, so we, unable to turn off the radio, listened to an unbearable, monstrous broadcast

The night before yesterday, the Germans suddenly turned on the radio throughout the city and broadcast the shelling of Leningrad by heavy artillery.

Just as a hare cannot move, fettered by the gaze of a snake, and despite mortal danger, does not run, so we, unable to turn off the radio, listened to an unbearable, monstrous broadcast. Everything that is still alive in us is shocked to the core by this monstrous shooting of our great city. Hatred fills us, but our hatred is powerless. After all, there is still no connection with ours, nothing.

And then the Germans turned off the broadcast of the shelling and reported about the newly appointed Commissioner of Ukraine, Mogunia, and about Hitler’s arrival in Ukraine.

The store was transferred along with books from DKA. In the library of the academy, Polulyakh has been replaced, and there is already a new chief - a German named Benzing. His assistant is Louise Karlovna Falkevitz, who was a completely inconspicuous typist in the library. Her rise happened quickly. They say that three days after the Germans arrived, a luxurious German car stopped near the house where she lives and a very important German officer got out. It turned out that this was her own nephew, the son of her sister who lives in Berlin. Two days later, Louise Karlovna became a translator at the General Commissariat, and now she is an assistant director in the academy library.

All of us went to the village to buy food, and we, the ones left behind, are worried.

Photo: borisfen70 / LiveJournal

On February 16, the bazaars reopened. On the same day they talked about the arrival of Mogunia and Hitler. I am completely unemployed and am no longer registered anywhere. The store is completely closed, and the Germans will not open it.

The entire administration was arrested a few days ago. Everything goes to the Germans, and there is no work for those who do not know the language. There are alarming rumors that all unemployed people will be sent to work in Germany.

Needless to say, we fell into complete despondency. The war is on, and the approach of spring has again brought us nothing good. No turning. On the contrary, it turns out that spring brings only a fierce offensive by our enemies. On Friday I was for the last time at the Academy's editorial office, where they drew up an act for the transfer of the store. The editors found themselves good people and they gave us money and bread for the month of recounting.

I left the editorial office, and that was the end of my relationship with the store. It stands with bare windows, shattered by shell fragments, and a pink German confiscation sticker. It became a completely stranger, the store, and just a few months ago soldiers from the front came to it and asked to give them a “spiritual book” to read before a battle, or before death.

Yes, it's better not to think.

The epidemic of rash and gastrointestinal tract is intensifying. No water, no light, no soap.

It's gotten completely warmer. On Friday it started to melt in the sun. And it melted together, as if it were already real spring. And in the shade it was still 20 degrees below zero. In the morning there was a thick frosty fog in the air, like in winter. And it penetrates to the bones. So nature, as if in collusion with our enemies, is always against us.

Two pieces of news have been given to me now. The first is that all courses are closed German language, since students on them were allegedly hiding from labor service.

The second one is incredible. The other day there was a notice in the newspaper that all crippled, armless, legless, men over 45 years of age, and crippled women, regardless of age, can come to the stock exchange and get free bread there. And today, just now, they said that instead of bread they were sent to the Lukyanovskoe cemetery, to Babi Yar.

Would even one sane person believe us if we ever told about this? But after September 29, everything can be trusted.

And in yesterday's newspaper there is an official message about the three hanged people. This is a “edification” for undermining German construction. This is how we live.

Photo: stalingrad-true.ru

I haven’t seen the newspapers from yesterday. I'm dying to sleep all the time. I fall asleep sitting, standing, in any conditions. I slept during the day, then at Nyusia’s we slept heavily all evening, and then all night. This is how cold and hunger get rid of it. Just not to go wild from all this, not to lose what is called human dignity.

Our present is full of unexpected, scary things. People have been hanged on Bessarabka for two days already. The same ones hang in Pechersk. The Germans hang our people “as a warning to the liberated peoples” and write what kind of sabotage this is. What does sabotage have to do with it? They hang our people because they are against the Germans. They are fighting against the Germans. That's all. But we are only scared, and nothing more. Is it possible for us, in our conditions, to do anything significant against the Germans? Only treason and betrayal around. So, probably, someone betrayed those who are now hanging for the second day in Bessarabka and Pechersk.

The newspaper again prints every day, across the full width of the last page, an invitation to voluntarily go to Germany. I don’t know if the second train with volunteers left. But they obviously exist, because at an even greater rate than unemployment, the number of hungry and poor people is increasing. There are more people asking than those who are able to give to them. On all the streets, on all the corners, there are old and very young women, children, old people. The Germans, red, fat, arrogant, walk past as if they were passing wooden pillars, and our people hang their heads low in shame, because they have nothing to give, and it is impossible to see the hungry whom they cannot help. Often hungry, exhausted men, probably coming from captivity, knock on the doors. Everyone is asking for food.

They also brought news that in Kharkov the Germans, just like in Kyiv, had destroyed all the Jews.

A few days ago Nechipor left, completely. He and his comrades from his previous work managed to get a job at the Vesely Podol breeding station. This is 40 kilometers from the village where Nyusina’s old people and sister and children are now. Nechipor gave his one remaining horse to his brother Benedya. Nechipor's comrades know that he is a communist. But no one gave it away. And now several of them have left Kyiv.

International Women's Day for all progressive humanity, and we are on the 172nd day of occupation. And the day before yesterday it suddenly raged all day North wind, piled up a lot of snow again, and again the temperature dropped to 18° below zero. And yet it’s already spring, because yesterday morning the sun warmed up again, and although it was cold in the shade, streams flowed in the sun, and the sky was blue, spring.

It's winter again. Again the cold wind and severe frost. And yesterday it melted, it flowed, the snow turned completely brown and became dirty. And again the toboggan road deteriorated. "Hitler's convoy" moved yesterday with great difficulty. All these unfortunate beggar sledders wander, falling from fatigue, to now distant villages. They don’t change anything about loved ones.

And spring this year will not overcome the harsh winter. This should help our people, but nothing good is heard from the front. We don't know anything about ours. And the Germans are constantly reporting about raids on Moscow and damage to its militarily important facilities in the center, about the next destruction of three Soviet armies, etc. Moscow radio is very jammed, and it is impossible to hear the Information Bureau reports at all. We only get to the combat episodes.

People live in hope. What is it like for us? Many hope for the end of the war soon, but if you look at things objectively, then its imminent end can only bring victory to the Germans. They captured a very large piece of our country. And how much strength do we need now to push them back? It turns out that we need to hope, be patient and wait for our affairs to improve. It’s a paradox, but obviously prolonging the war is now the key to our victory.

Attempts to do anything for ours are pathetic and ridiculous. Nobody knows where the underground groups that are left here to work are. They are searched for, but not found. Everyone is afraid of each other and the walls around them.

N came recently. He came in a German uniform. He says it is necessary for work. Now he is interested in some information that I should get him.

When he came dressed like that, my heart sank. What if I made a mistake about it? But he says that you need to wait patiently, do what he asks. They will come to us when needed.

I am writing because I have taken upon myself the responsibility to tell our people everything when they return. But I understand that if the notes fall into treacherous hands, how many people can I destroy. That’s why I keep all the records in a special box under the firewood in the barn. And only the closest people know about them.

The Germans here are pursuing the most merciless policy of exterminating our people. All life is suffocated. Every day brings new evidence of this.

All shops are closed. Not a single consignment store sells anymore. On all of them hangs the same piece of paper as on the store that was “mine”: “Beschlagnahmf”.

Now the whole life of the city is only in the bazaars. They sell the last skirts they took off, coats and sweaters, things that were hidden for a rainy day, because you can’t think of a blacker day. Blue-faced, half-naked women stand for hours in the mud under the wet snow and often do not even bargain for ten rubles to buy a glass of millet.

Yesterday, an intelligent-looking woman stood outside the former grocery store. She stood with her face buried in her glove, red with shame. Begging is not easy. The second lay in the bazaar in the mud, face up. There were curious spectators standing around, indifferent to her. They watched as the blue lips moved, visible from under the T-shirt with which she covered her face. She was selling this T-shirt and didn't sell it. Nobody raised her.

And right there next to you, fat speculators are counting money in thousands. Their leather bags hanging on their stomachs are not able to hide all the piles of money that they rake in, taking advantage of their hunger. Among those making money are boys who sell cigarettes and saccharine. They stand in flocks under the doors of houses where the Magyars are stationed. And the latter willingly sell matches, saccharin, and soda. Disgusting white tablets, which do not replace sugar in any way, cost the boys five rubles and ten. And not only in the bazaars, but also in the silence of empty streets, you can hear sonorous boyish voices: “Who wants saccharine? Who wants Guniya cigarettes? Who wants Levante cigarettes?” And the people of Kiev are dying.

Work does not provide for those who work. The salary is not enough even for a few days. The workers receive very little, the least. There are a little more employees, but everyone clings to work, because every day more and more institutions are closing, and the number of unemployed is growing catastrophically.

The Academy is closed. All business in it has already been stopped. They are cutting back on work in the city council and other government agencies. The Germans stubbornly pursue a policy of strangling all life in the city.

Nikolai Iosifovich now works in the registry office of the Podolsk government. Recently they brought him 300 passports of those who died in the Kirillovskaya hospital. Among these passports was the passport of my uncle Rodion Ivanovich. We hid this from Lelya. Because it is already known that the Germans killed the mentally ill in the electric chair. The crazy Jews were also killed, but the Germans did not register them.

Yes, the Germans are doing everything to destroy our people. Everything that could in the slightest degree contribute to improving or at least preserving the lives of our people is being closed. The Red Cross has been abolished. There is now only some insignificant mutual aid committee. But nothing is heard about him either. The extensive work that the Red Cross did fruitfully in the early days has now ceased. No one is looking for any more prisoners or missing persons.

There are too many unemployed people to help. "Too much!" - this has now become a symbol of our days. They don’t give bread to everyone because there are too many of us. There is no work for everyone because there are too many of us. The Germans refused rations to library workers on the grounds that there were too many of them. 177 days of occupation - this is really too much! But no one can say how long this can continue. Nobody will tell.

Kyiv Yevbaz, 1942. Photo: Jankovich Ignác / Fortepan

On Tuesday I was in the library. There I learned that Nikolai Vladimirovich Geppener had been appointed director instead of Polulyakha, who had been dismissed, and the library came under the jurisdiction of the General Commissariat. Fifteen people who had been fired by Polulyakh recently were reinstated and all employees were paid a good salary for February. Louise Karlovna and Geppener, although I did not ask them to do so, began to tell Benzing to hire me to work in the library. But Benzing said that he could not find a place for me. So my painful questions are resolved by themselves: to go or not to go to work with the Germans.

And on Wednesday I also went to the editorial office of the Academy about work, but didn’t find anyone there. It turns out that on that day they worked everywhere from 7 am to 1 pm in connection with Shevchenko’s anniversary.

It seems that she has ended her relationship with the Academy. The audit who was sitting there had already finished her work, and she no longer needed any information about the store. The workers scattered to the institutes, although German inscriptions about confiscation appeared on each of them. The Academy no longer exists.

(to be continued)

http://gordonua.com/publications/kievlyanka-horosh...mi-schitayut-dengi-123078.html

Series of messages " ":
In June 2015, the online publication GORDON began a series of publications from the diary of Irina Khoroshunova, a graphic designer, a native Kiev resident who survived the occupation of the Ukrainian capital during the Second World War. This document is unique historical evidence, not memories, but descriptions of events in real time. Irina Khoroshunova was 28 years old at the start of the war. Records begin on June 25, 1491. The editors thank the Institute of Jewish Studies for the materials provided. The editors thank the historian and journalist, employee of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory Alexander Zinchenko for the idea.
Part 1 -
Part 2 -
...
Part 10 -
Part 11 -
Part 12 - PART 8: JANUARY 2, 1942 - MARCH 13, 1942
Part 13 -
Part 14 -
...
Part 25 -
Part 26 -
Part 27 -

Our pilots operating on the Southern Front destroyed more than 240 vehicles, a bus with a walkie-talkie, 23 tanks, 6 guns and killed over 800 enemy soldiers and officers in one day.

Branch Sergeant Savelyev In a battle near the village of Troitskoye, they destroyed 27 Germans. Red Army soldier Karev With two grenades he disabled a machine gun and destroyed 4 enemy machine gunners.

Squadron commander Lieutenant Curly under continuous enemy fire, he crawled to the fascist firing points that were hindering the advance of our units, and threw grenades at them. Noticing an enemy tank, Comrade. Curly quietly crept up to the enemy vehicle and blew it up with an anti-tank grenade.

Soviet military pilot celebrated his 30th birthday Anatoly Ivanovich Balabanov(1912–1980). Squadron commander of the 135th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment (3rd Belorussian Front), by April 1945 he had flown 322 combat missions, of which 147 were for long-range and high-altitude reconnaissance and 175 to bombard the front line of enemy defenses and their strongholds. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on June 29, 1945. After the war, he served in the Air Force as an aviation lieutenant colonel.

Soviet super spy celebrated his 30th birthday Kim Philby(Adrian Harold Russell, 1912–1988), who served in the British intelligence agencies and almost became the chief of British foreign intelligence. From the mid-1930s until his escape to the USSR in 1963, Kim Philby supplied Moscow with the most secret information on Western special operations against the USSR and its allies, the personnel and structure of the British and American intelligence services.

Vasily Mikhailovich Lozovsky(1917–1981), commander of the 1st detachment torpedo boats(Northern Fleet), lieutenant commander, participated in 250 combat missions, sank 9 enemy surface ships and one submarine, carried out mine laying and landings. He became a Hero of the Soviet Union on November 5, 1944. After the war he served in the Navy, rear admiral.

January 2, 1942

A detachment of Soviet sailors destroyed the enemy garrison on the island of Gogland and held the island until March 23.

Tank gunner Zotov in one of the battles he destroyed 2 German anti-tank guns, a 76-mm cannon and shot several dozen enemy soldiers. Being wounded, Comrade. Zotov continued to fire at the enemy until he had used up all the ammunition.

January 4, 1942

Tank crew Lieutenant Fedorenko in one of the battles with the enemy, he destroyed 3 German wood-earth firing points and exterminated 25 enemy soldiers and officers. Gun commander of another tank crew Comrade Mostovitsky destroyed up to a company of enemy infantry with artillery fire.

Sergeant Major Leonov During a battle with the enemy, he killed 16 German soldiers and officers with a machine gun. When the company commander, comrade, was wounded. Leonov took command of the company and boldly led the soldiers into the attack. The enemy was knocked out of their positions.

The Pravda newspaper publishes from the North-Western Front:

A remarkable raid into the enemy rear was carried out by soldiers of a separate reconnaissance company under the command of major comrade Mironenko. Approaching the village, the scouts skillfully mined the road and opened brutal fire on the Nazis. Guard machine gunner comrade. Gankov destroyed 15 Germans with well-aimed fire at an enemy vehicle with infantry. A tank moved against the brave men, but it hit mines and exploded. Without losing a single person, the reconnaissance team successfully returned to its unit.

A prominent Soviet statesman celebrated his 40th birthday Ivan Fedorovich(Tevadrosovic) Tevosyan

(1902–1958), People's Commissar of Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR, who later became Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Hero of Socialist Labor.

A wonderful front-line poet celebrated his 25th birthday Mikhail Lvov(Rafkat Davletovich Gabitov-Malikov,

January 5, 1942

In Yevpatoria from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet troops landed in order to divert enemy forces from besieged Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula. The paratroopers managed to capture most of the city, but the Germans transferred an infantry regiment and 2 battalions from near Sevastopol. After the battle, on January 8, the remnants of the landing force broke through to the partisans. Of the seven hundred paratroopers, less than a hundred survived.

While crossing the river, a tractor-trailer fell through the ice. Sergeant Fedorov, despite the severe frost, he undressed, dived into the water and hooked a cable to a sunken tractor. Coming out of the water, Comrade. Fedorov helped the fighters get the tractor out of the river.

Company commander Comrade Denisenko During the battle, he broke into the enemy’s position in a tank, threw grenades at 7 dugouts and destroyed up to 60 German soldiers and officers.

January 7, 1942

The counteroffensive of the Red Army near Moscow ended (began on December 5, 1941). The Red Army defeated the enemy troops of the Center group and drove them back 100,250 kilometers. This was the first sensitive defeat of the Third Reich and the first, still uncertain, victory of the Soviet army. The Moscow counteroffensive resulted in extreme tension and heavy losses. Here, almost the entire division died, which was transferred from Siberia when it became clear that Japan was not going to attack the USSR in the near future. Richard Sorge reported this in one of his last reports before his arrest, and this time Stalin for some reason believed him.

Hero of the Soviet Union, intelligence officer Richard Sorge.

When they say: Siberian divisions, we imagine huge, big men who, wearing only their shirts, walked in the bitter cold with their bare hands to fight a bear. There were, of course, some. But for the most part, the Siberian divisions were urgently recruited from yesterday's schoolchildren, who, the next day after arriving in Moscow, were given a rifle and thrown into battle (it was in Siberia that the most acute demographic situation arose after the war - in fact, only women remained there. By the way, experts noted and such a thing: the average height of Siberians after the war decreased by 3–5 centimeters). Our losses during the 34 days of the counteroffensive near Moscow amounted to 139,586 people killed and 231,369 wounded. According to Halder’s data, which no one disputed, during the Battle of Moscow, the Germans in the USSR on all (!) fronts lost 79 thousand people killed, wounded and missing. In the Moscow direction, losses hardly exceeded 50 thousand. Historian and publicist Alexander Portnov wrote: “In the forests and swamps of the Moscow region, the Red Army suffered a CRUSHING DEFEAT, AN UNprecedented DEFEAT, literally showering the enemy with the corpses of the defenders of the capital.”

By order of Stalin, a counteroffensive began on all fronts. On this day, troops of the North-Western Front set out (as part of the Demyansk offensive operation). The goal of the operation was to defeat the enemy’s Demyansk group, reach the Dno and Soltsy, and help the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in carrying out the Lyuban operation. At the same time, the Lyuban offensive operation of the Volkhov (4th, 52nd, 59th and 2nd Shock Armies) and part of the forces of the Leningrad (54th Army) fronts began, which lasted until April 30. The purpose of the operation is to release Leningrad. In total, the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and Northwestern fronts numbered 725 thousand people, 9 thousand guns and mortars, 230 tanks. They were opposed by the German Army Group North, which had 665 thousand people, 6 thousand guns and mortars, and 160 tanks. The troops of the Northwestern Front surrounded the enemy's Old Russian and Demyansk groups (6 divisions), but were unable to complete their destruction. Several times the troops of the North-Western, Volkhov and Leningrad fronts launched an offensive, trying to break the blockade of Leningrad, but it was choked due to insufficient training of the troops, due to a lack of equipment and ammunition. Exhausting battles lasted 4 months. Tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers died here uselessly, needlessly.

The saddest fate awaited the 2nd Shock Army. Before the offensive, Stalin sent a note to the commander of the Volkhov Front, K.A. Meretskov. On a simple sheet of paper, without any stamps or stamps, it was written by hand: “Dear Kirill Afanasyevich! The matter that has been entrusted to you is a historical matter. The liberation of Leningrad, you understand, is a great thing. I would like the upcoming offensive of the Volkhov Front not to be exchanged for minor skirmishes, but to result in a single powerful fist against the enemy. I have no doubt that you will try to turn this offensive into a single powerful blow against the enemy, overturning all the calculations of the German invaders. I shake your hand and wish you success. I. Stalin." Thus, the Lyuban operation acquired the character of a personal order from the Supreme Commander, which had to be carried out at any cost. If the decision of the Headquarters itself could be changed or canceled, then no one except him personally could cancel the personal order of the Supreme Commander. There was also a clear subtext here: the recent Chief of the General Staff, Meretskov, was arrested at the very beginning of the war and tortured in the most cruel way. Even Beria in 1953 was forced to admit that “merciless beatings were used against Meretskov, Vannikov and others, it was a real meat grinder...” Apparently, due to the catastrophic situation at the fronts, a process was planned against the “culprits” of Germany’s “sudden” attack on the USSR did not take place. A large group of senior military leaders were shot without any trial, with the exception of B.L. Vannikov and K.A. Meretskov. Moreover, by Stalin's incomprehensible whim they were released; Vannikov was appointed deputy people's commissar of armaments of the USSR, and Meretskov became commander of the Volkhov Front. The troops of the Volkhov Front were exhausted from previous battles; some divisions had only two-thirds or half of their strength. There were only 20 fighters on the entire front. “In the reserve front,” Meretskov wrote after the war, “there were 2 greatly weakened cavalry divisions and 4 separate ski battalions. The front had no second echelon at all. There was nothing to build up the initial blow with the aim of developing success in the depths of the enemy’s defense and delivering the final blow.” Having taken command of the 2nd Shock (which was equal in strength to the corps), Lieutenant General N.K. Klykov learned that there was not a single shell in the army’s batteries. He achieved a small number, but the battery commanders reported for each shell fired. For an “extra” shell fired at the enemy, one could be put on trial. The 2nd Shock Army was thrown into a breakthrough. The enemy's defenses on the Volkhov in the Myasnoy Bor area, off-road, were broken into by the 327th Infantry Division of the 2nd Shock. Its commander, later general, I.M. Antyufeev, recalled: “What can we say about combat training? Until the second half of October, the division had almost no weapons. We learned on wooden rifles and rattles instead of machine guns... The enemy’s front line was about 800-1,000 meters away. Deep snow, frost up to 30 degrees, strong machine-gun and mortar fire from the enemy, and we had no skis or camouflage robes. We were forced to crawl the space to the attack line, burying ourselves in the snow. Only around 2 p.m. did the first echelon companies reach the attack line. People were so exhausted that they seemed unable to take another step.” Lieutenant P.P. Dmitriev complemented his division commander’s story: “By the time of the offensive, we had only 20 shells per howitzer. Having shot them, we found ourselves unarmed.” From January 7 to January 25, the infantry, not covered by either artillery or aviation, rammed enemy fortifications on the high left bank head-on. No one knows how many soldiers Stalin’s note put on the Volkhov ice. The 2nd Shock rushed into the gap that had formed and was drawn into the “bag”, the total length of which along the front soon amounted to 200 kilometers.

From the Western Front, a special correspondent for Red Star reported:

“During the Patriotic War, the drivers of the motor battalion, commanded by Major Mironov, covered about 11 million kilometers. And in the forward positions, in the rear, you can meet the drivers of this battalion. They supply the front with ammunition, equipment, and deliver manpower there. During the six months of the war, dozens of Red Army soldiers traveled twenty or more thousand kilometers in their vehicles without accidents or breakdowns. So, for example, driver Lukin has already done 25 thousand kilometers, Noskov - 24 thousand, Zarubin, Slepnev and Lebedev - more than 22 thousand, etc.

The battalion works hard around the clock; its fighters often go 5-7 days without rest, providing parts of the active army with everything they need. Many times, the automobile echelons of this battalion were subjected to enemy air raids, artillery and mortar fire. Despite this, the cargo was, as a rule, delivered on time.”

January 8, 1942

As part of the general offensive on all fronts, conceived by Stalin, the Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation of the troops of the Kalinin and Western fronts began, which lasted until April 20. The goal of the operation is to defeat the main forces of Army Group Center.

Tank crew Lieutenant Alekshin in one of the battles he destroyed 3 German tanks, 5 machine gun nests, 4 mortars and shot a large group of enemy machine gunners.

Volunteers at an exercise

In one of the battles, our company (Kalinin Front) came under heavy machine-gun fire from one of the enemy bunkers. Red Army hero Poderin crept up to the bunker and closed the embrasure with his body. The machine gun fell silent. The company went on the attack and defeated the enemy.

Submachine gunner platoon commander Comrade Biryukov in the last battle he threw grenades at 3 enemy dugouts and shot with a machine gun the German soldiers trying to escape. In total in this battle Comrade. Biryukov exterminated 16 fascists.

Soviet party and statesman celebrated his 40th birthday Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov(1902–1988), member of the State Defense Committee, who later became a Hero of Socialist Labor, member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

January 9, 1942

As part of the general offensive of all fronts, conceived by Stalin, the Toropetsko-Kholm offensive operation of the troops of the left wing of the North-Western Front began. The purpose of the operation is to defeat the enemy’s Ostashkov group.

Coastal artillery of the Baltic Fleet suppressed 5 German heavy gun batteries.

January 11, 1942

Troops of the Northwestern Front liberated the city of Peno. The troops of the Western Front liberated the city of Kirov.

When taking the mountains. In Mosalsk, one of our units destroyed 2 battalions of the 316th and 406th German infantry regiments and captured over 100 German soldiers and officers. Many trophies were taken, including: 20 guns, 61 cars, 25 motorcycles, several thousand shells.

In hand-to-hand combat Red Army soldier Tatsko stabbed a German sniper and 2 fascist officers.

Junior Lieutenant Timoshenko quietly crawled to the German dugout and with a well-thrown grenade destroyed 5 enemy soldiers.

January 12, 1942

Tankman Lieutenant Tsybulsky With artillery fire and tank tracks, he destroyed 3 anti-tank guns and killed 40 enemy soldiers and officers.

Squad commander Zarubin attacked, together with his fighters, a height occupied by the Germans. With well-aimed shots, the brave commander destroyed several enemy soldiers and captured a German machine gun and machine gun.

At the decisive moment of the battle, the commander of the artillery unit Comrade Zimin stood up to the gun and destroyed 2 enemy tanks and several enemy firing points.

The brilliant Soviet scientist, designer of rocket and space systems celebrated his 35th birthday Sergei Pavlovich Korolev(1907–1966), who then became twice a Hero of Socialist Labor, an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, a man who paved the way for earthlings into space.

A 50-year-old Soviet aircraft designer died in a plane crash in Kazan Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov(1891–1942), creator of the famous heavy bomber Pe-8, which lifted five-ton bombs, and the twin-engine high-altitude fighter "100", which became the prototype of the Pe-2 dive bomber, the main front-line bomber of the Soviet Air Force during the war. In 1937, Petlyakov, along with his teacher Tupolev and a number of other aircraft and rocket designers, was arrested as a member of the mythical wrecking “Russian-fascist party” and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but in 1941 he was released and awarded the Stalin Prize. His best brainchild, the Pe-2, was born in a prison sharashka.

January 13, 1942

Anti-aircraft gunners battery senior lieutenant Alekseev(Western Front) have shot down 7 enemy aircraft over the past three weeks.

On this day, a special correspondent of “Red Star” telegraphed about the brave intelligence officers from the Leningrad Front:

“The scouts of our sapper units bring a lot of trouble to the fascist invaders. They quietly sneak behind enemy lines, mine their roads, and destroy defensive structures. Four scouts of the sapper battalion, commanded by Comrade. Vinogradov, led by Lieutenant Feoktistov, recently penetrated the enemy’s location. The fighters, in addition to personal weapons, carried a sufficient supply of explosives. They quietly crept up to one bunker and blew it up along with the soldiers who were there. Another group of sappers from the same unit received the task of making passages in the minefields at night, which the enemy was covering with machine-gun fire. The brave scouts made four passes, removed and neutralized 125 mines and returned safely to their unit.”

As the Red Army newspaper “Fighter of the Red Army” reported, Red Army soldier Tatevosyan, while on guard duty, shot down a fascist Yu-88 bomber that suddenly appeared above him with a rifle. After Tatevosyan’s third shot, the fascist predator, flying at a low altitude, crashed into the ground. Four German officers, each with three Orders of the Iron Cross, were killed.

The newspaper Pravda writes from the Southwestern Front:

Red Army soldier Vasily Dzhelsky bravely fights against German bandits. With a heroic build, during a battle he hoists a mortar on his shoulders and walks with it after the advancing unit. Having installed the mortar, Comrade. Dzhelsky quickly opens murderous fire on enemy lines. In one of the last battles, Dzhelsky destroyed 50 German soldiers and officers with his mortar fire.

January 14, 1942

Red Army soldier Larin met with a group of German soldiers. Without being confused, comrade. Larin opened fire on the enemy and killed four Nazis. The rest took flight.

Bandmaster Kuzankov Having learned from local residents that a German cart with things looted from the population was moving along a forest road, he hid by the road. With the first shot from a revolver, he killed a German officer sitting on a cart. Comrade Kuzankov captured a light machine gun, a machine gun, six horses and a cart with things.

Red Army reconnaissance soldiers Butygin And Batashev They were the first to break into the village of Melshino, blow up a bunker and destroy 8 enemy soldiers.

The Pravda newspaper published Konstantin Simonov’s poem “Wait for Me,” dedicated to his wife, film actress Valentina Serova. The first publication of the poem was in the double November-December issue of Novy Mir, the circulation of which was small. After publication in the main newspaper of the country, Simonov, as they say, woke up famous. “Wait for Me” was reprinted hundreds of times in front-line newspapers, issued as a leaflet, and constantly read from the stage. They copied it from each other, sent it from the front to the rear and from the rear to the front.

January 16, 1942

Soviet troops liberated the entire Tula region. In 27 of the 29 districts of the region where the Nazis visited, they burned over 37 thousand households and completely destroyed 625 villages.

Lieutenant Odmanov At the height of the battle, I noticed that the crew of one of the machine guns was out of order. The commander lay down behind the machine gun. The lieutenant destroyed 40 German soldiers with well-aimed fire. Soon the machine gun was hit. The Nazis surrounded Comrade. Odmanova. Then he took a rifle and killed another officer and 5 soldiers with well-aimed shots. Taking advantage of the ensuing darkness, the brave commander returned to his unit, delivering two wounded soldiers there.

Platoon of machine gunners-cavalrymen junior commander Pukhalsky destroyed an enemy infantry company in street battles in the village of Malinovka.

A war veteran celebrated his 25th birthday Afanasy Ivanovich Loktionov. As the commander of the 1208th Infantry Regiment (1st Belorussian Front), he distinguished himself in January-February 1945 during the crossing of lakes Benchener See and Kebnetser See, and the Oder (on thin ice). Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel.

A veteran of the war, a Soviet military pilot, celebrated his 20th birthday Ivan Efimovich Baranov, squadron commander of the 807th Assault Aviation Regiment (3rd Baltic Front), by September 1944 he had made 107 successful sorties to attack enemy defense centers and concentrations of troops, inflicting significant damage on the Fritz. Hero of the Soviet Union, aviation colonel.

January 17, 1942

Red Army soldier Kisimov, pursuing the retreating enemy convoy, killed 10 enemy soldiers with well-aimed rifle shots and destroyed 6 carts with grenades.

Sergeant Nechaev, bursting into the village of Revyakino captured by the Germans, with a well-thrown grenade he destroyed 9 enemy soldiers and one officer.

In the battle for the village of Aristovo Red Army soldier Koryagin With machine gun fire he repelled three enemy attacks and destroyed 80 enemy soldiers.

In one battle, the tank commander Comrade Catchers destroyed 7 enemy tanks and 3 heavy machine guns.

An outstanding Soviet illegal intelligence officer celebrated his 20th birthday Konon Trofimovich Young(1922–1970), who lived in 1932-38 with relatives in the USA, where he perfectly studied English language. During the war, he served in Soviet front-line intelligence, after which he served in the foreign intelligence service of the USSR and for 12 years, under the name of businessman Gordon Lonsdale, carried out assignments from the Center in London. He was a successful businessman and a very famous lawyer, selling vending machines for music and notebooks, ballpoint pens and wine, water and sandwiches. He became a millionaire, the owner of four large companies. He had eight cars best brands, a villa near London, several rooms in prestigious hotels, rented for a long time. His station obtained a huge amount of valuable information. In 1961, as a result of betrayal, he was arrested by British intelligence services; during interrogations and trial he behaved extremely courageously. Konon was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 1964 he was exchanged for English agent Greville Wynne. Then he worked in the foreign intelligence apparatus of the KGB of the USSR.

January 18, 1942

The Vyazma airborne operation was carried out from January 18 to February 28, 1942 with the aim of assisting the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts surrounded by part of the forces of the German Army Group Center.

The first group of paratroopers, consisting of the 201st Airborne Brigade and the 250th Infantry Regiment, landed behind German troops south of Vyazma on January 1822. Having intercepted enemy communications, the paratroopers contributed to the offensive of the 33rd Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps.

At the end of January, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps under the command of General P. A. Belov broke through to the rear of the German troops. The possibility of encirclement of the German group emerged. In order to prevent the enemy from withdrawing from the planned encirclement, the Soviet command decides to drop troops in the Vyazma area with the task of cutting the Vyazma-Smolensk railway and highway. On January 27, the 4th Airborne Corps began dropping into the area of the village of Ozerechnya. Due to the insufficient number of transport aircraft, the landing of corps units was carried out one by one, starting with the 8th Airborne Brigade. German aviation actively opposed Soviet troops. As a result of its raids on airfields, part of the aircraft intended for transporting troops was destroyed. In the current situation, the Soviet command was forced to suspend the operation. However, by February 1, three battalions of the 8th Airborne Brigade with a total number of 2,497 people, as well as 34.4 tons of cargo, were landed in the specified area. The drop itself was unsuccessful: most of the cargo was lost, and people were scattered over a large area. As a result, after landing, only about 1,300 people came to the assembly point. Despite all the difficulties, the paratroopers began active operations behind enemy lines and tried to complete the assigned task, that is, cut German communications west of Vyazma. In a few days they managed to disable certain sections of the iron and highways, capture a number of settlements and defeat the headquarters of several German units.

Breakthrough from encirclement

Soon the 8th Airborne Brigade found itself surrounded and units of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps were sent to its rescue. After connecting with the cavalrymen, the landing units were subordinated to the corps commander, General P. A. Belov.

Tank crew in battle Lieutenant Mironov destroyed 4 German tanks, 6 anti-tank guns, 2 armored cars and killed over 30 German soldiers and officers.

Red Army soldier Stefanenko, guarding the airfield, noticed an enemy Yu-88 plane emerging from behind the clouds and fired a long burst. The fascist car exploded in the air.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

A hero can be not only a pilot or a tankman, but also a humble Red Army driver, as long as the heart of a Soviet patriot, full of love for his homeland and hatred for its enemies, beats under his overcoat. Red Army soldier Vosnov was transporting a kitchen with hot food to the forward positions. Suddenly he was attacked by a group of fascist machine gunners. Already from a distance shouts could be heard: “Rus, give up!”

With a rifle shot, Vosnov killed one of the attackers, then two more. The rest disappeared behind the trees. The Red Army soldier lay down and began to hit every enemy that appeared from behind cover. All attempts by the Nazis to seize the kitchen were defeated by the fortitude of our fighter. The whole day passed like this. A detachment of Red Army soldiers who came to the rescue put an end to such an unusual siege. None of the machine gunners escaped alive. So the Red Army kitchen driver refuted the proverb that “alone in the field is not a warrior.”

The 45th anniversary was celebrated by a participant in the 1st World War, the Civil War (squadron commander in the 1st Cavalry Army) and the Patriotic War (from October 1941) Anton Ivanovich Lopatin(1897–1965), who during the war commanded a rifle corps that liberated hundreds of settlements from Vitebsk to Siauliai in the summer of 1944, stormed Koenigsberg and eliminated the Zemland group of Germans. Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Lieutenant General.

January 19, 1942

The enemy tank, firing at our advancing unit, delayed the forward movement of the fighters. Red Army soldier Frolov was able to quietly crawl up to the tank, throw a bunch of grenades into the vehicle's hatch and destroy the tank's crew.

In the battle for the village of Kasilovo Sergeant Major Krotov together with a group of fighters, he captured an enemy cannon, turned it towards the enemy and knocked out a German tank with direct fire.

Near Moscow, in an air battle with eight enemy fighters (shooting down two of them), a fighter pilot, Lieutenant, was killed Timur Mikhailovich Frunze(1923–1942), 18-year-old son of the famous Soviet military leader, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council and People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the USSR Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, orphaned at the age of 7 and raised in the family of Kliment Voroshilov. A graduate of a special secondary school of the Air Force, the Kachin Military Aviation School, at the age of 17 he joined the Red Army. A pilot of the 161st Fighter Aviation Regiment (North-Western Front), he fought for only two weeks, managing to make 9 sorties to cover troops in the Staraya Russa area and shoot down 2 fascist aircraft in air battles (in a group). Posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

A war veteran celebrated his 35th birthday Neon Vasilievich Antonov(1907-1948), commanded a division of gunboats of the Baltic Fleet, the Onega and Amur military flotillas. Hero of the Soviet Union, rear admiral.

January 20, 1942

Battery gunners junior lieutenant Teplyakov, having skillfully camouflaged the guns, brought four German tanks to close range and shot them with direct fire. In the same battle, the battery of comrade. Teplyakova destroyed an enemy mortar battery.

Red Army soldier Vasiliev, having discovered 15 enemy soldiers in the trench, quietly crawled up to the trench and threw grenades at it. All 15 Nazis were destroyed.

January 21, 1942

Red Army scout Kashenko With well-aimed shots he destroyed the crew of a German anti-tank gun. Turning the gun towards the enemy, the brave fighter fired 40 shells at the enemy and inflicted great damage on the Germans.

A special correspondent of “Red Star” reported from the Leningrad Front about the feat of gun commander Vitlosemin:

The Germans, pressed by our units, sought to restore their previous position. On one sector of the front they launched a counterattack, using all their firepower, including tanks. Our artillerymen met enemy combat vehicles with well-aimed fire.

Gun crew Comrade Vitlosemina He immediately knocked out two fascist tanks with direct fire. But the third continued to move toward the gun and came close to it. A few more moments, and the crew would have been crushed by the tracks. Without being confused, Vitlosemin ran up to the tank and threw a tank grenade into the turret. There was an explosion and the tank stopped. The driver looked out from there.

German corpse

Vitlosemin grabbed the fascist and smashed his head on the armor of the tank. An officer jumped out of the tank after the driver. He was finished off with a deft blow from the butt. Having dealt with the crew, Vitlosemin jumped into a German tank and began shooting at the approaching fascist infantry from there.

Soon the carefully prepared German counterattack was repulsed. Leaving several tanks and dozens of corpses on the battlefield, the enemy retreated.

January 22, 1942

The Red Army completed the liberation of the Moscow region. The German occupiers completely destroyed the cities of Istra, Klin and Rogachevo, burned hundreds of villages and villages, destroyed 600 schools, over 100 hospitals, 22 power plants, 188 shops.

Honored Master of Sports in Greco-Roman Wrestling died at the front (1942) Grigory Dmitrievich Pylnov(born September 28, 1907 in the village of Karlovka, Saratov province), seven-time USSR champion in classical wrestling (1933-41). In 1941, he went to the front, was a fighter in the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and died on January 22, 1942 near the village of Staraya Bryn, Sukhinichesky District, at the age of 34. In the 1950-70s, classical wrestling competitions were held in Moscow, dedicated to his memory.

A wonderful Russian poet and translator celebrated his 20th birthday Yuri Davydovich Levitansky(1922–1996), who voluntarily went to the front from his student days in 1941. He took part in the defense of Moscow, in the Battle of Kursk; liberated Ukraine, Bessarabia, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and reached Prague. After the war he became a recognized master of poetic translation and a brilliant parodist.

January 23, 1942

The Red Army completely liberated the Tula region.

Red Army soldier Malygin quietly crawled up to the enemy anti-tank gun and, throwing a grenade, destroyed the gun crew. Then the brave fighter made his way into a village occupied by the Germans and threw a grenade into a house where there were 40 German soldiers. The Nazis began to jump out of the house in panic. The brave fighter opened fire on the Germans and shot 30 soldiers.

Lieutenant Kuznetsov During reconnaissance, he destroyed a fascist officer and captured his motorcycle. In the battle for the village of Kolyshevo, comrade. Kuznetsov killed 10 enemy soldiers and one officer.

January 24, 1942

A special correspondent of “Red Star” reported from the Kalinin Front about the bold strikes of our units:

“Our advancing troops are meeting fierce enemy resistance in many areas. Fights ensued, invariably ending in the defeat of the Germans. Overcoming the enemy's stubbornness, our units force him to retreat and inflict losses on him in manpower and equipment.

Comrade's mortar battery accurately strikes the enemy. Nikolaev. In the battle for the village of Zalesye, she destroyed a dugout, destroyed a fascist machine gun along with the crew and up to 40 more German manpower. In another battle, this battery suppressed two machine gun emplacements and a mortar battery of the enemy, and destroyed a vehicle with infantry. In one of the last clashes, Nikolaev's battery destroyed a German observation post.

Machine gunner Zheleznov from the unit where comrade commissar showed himself to be excellent in battle. Bannykh. The other day he destroyed three enemy firing points with his fire. A detachment under the command of Senior Lieutenant Sysoev acted skillfully behind enemy lines, destroying 15 fascists.”

A war veteran celebrated his 30th birthday (2 Orders of the Red Star) Savva Artemyevich Dangulov(1912–1989), a foreign intelligence officer (under the guise of an employee of a diplomatic mission), who later became a prose writer, the author of action-packed stories, novellas and novels.

January 25, 1942

From January 7 to 25, with only a bayonet and a grenade, not covered by either artillery or aviation, infantry units of the 2nd Shock Army stormed German fortifications on the high left bank of the Volkhov, finally broke through the enemy’s defenses and rushed into the breakthrough at Myasny Bor. Lyuban was nearby. But the 54th Army of the Leningrad Front, which was marching towards the 2nd Shock, did not have quick success and only in March, having broken through to the west of Kirishi, it reached the approaches to Lyuban from the northeast. There were 30 kilometers left before the connection. Meanwhile, the Germans sent additional units to the Myasnoy Bor area, which dramatically changed the balance of forces in the Lyuban direction. The 2nd Shock was in the bag already in January; The breakthrough neck, which was initially 8-10 kilometers long, was repeatedly narrowed to 1-2 kilometers during the almost six-month period of the operation, or was even cut completely. The troops did not have regular supplies. At night, the U-2, literally making its way through the treetops (each of them was hunted by a “Messer”), dropped bags of crackers, shag and mail, and they were often delivered into impenetrable forests and swamps. That harsh winter, the daily ration of a soldier of the 2nd Shock sometimes consisted of a matchbox of cracker crumbs. The 2nd Shock, however, continued to fight, hoping to break through to Leningrad. In March, when the position of the army sharply worsened, and the representative of the Headquarters, K.E. Voroshilov, who visited there, despite all the urgings and threats, was unable to achieve a turn for the better (the “first marshal” did not bring any real help with him), Stalin made a decision send one of the heroes of the victorious battle near Moscow, General A.A. Vlasov, to the already virtually surrounded army.

The Pravda newspaper publishes:

“The Motherland deservedly appreciated the feat of Yelets teacher Varvara Filippovna Lyashkova, who sheltered 33 wounded Red Army soldiers during the occupation of the city by the Germans. The military council of the front awarded the heroic teacher with the Order of the Red Star. The other day, a member of the Military Council of the corps, Commissar A. Kolobyakov, in a solemn ceremony presented the order to Varvara Filippovna Lyashkova.”

January 26, 1942

The commander of the Western Front, G.K. Zhukov, ordered the 33rd Army, the mobile group and the 4th Airborne Corps to take Vyazma in a joint attack with the 11th Cavalry Corps of the Kalinin Front. Over the course of 7 days, starting on January 27, 3 battalions (about 2.5 thousand people) of the 8th Airborne Brigade were landed in the Ozerechnya area, southwest of Vyazma. The cavalrymen managed to break through from the north to Vyazma and cut the Vyazma-Smolensk highway, and the mobile group managed to connect in the Znamenka area with the 8th Airborne Brigade, but these were the last successes of our troops in the Vyazma direction during the general offensive of all fronts, launched on the orders of Stalin Jan. 7.

Platoon of horsemen junior lieutenant Rubets, attacking a column of enemy infantry retreating along a country road, he cut down over 100 German soldiers and officers.

Lieutenant Ryabukhin, bursting into one of the villages with a group of Red Army soldiers, threw grenades at the headquarters of the German unit and destroyed 32 enemy officers.

January 27, 1942

The troops of the Southwestern Front liberated the city of Lozovaya, which the Germans turned into a concentration camp, driving more than 7 thousand captured Red Army soldiers and civilians into cold barracks on the outskirts of the city.

Skiers-Red Army soldiers Kabi-sov, Maksimov And Tolstoy They fired from an ambush at an enemy convoy retreating from the village. 8 German soldiers accompanying the convoy surrendered. Brave soldiers captured a cannon, a machine gun, 30 rifles and several carts with property looted by the Germans from local residents.

January 28, 1942

Subdivision junior lieutenant Esin, operating in the rear of retreating enemy units, in 4 days it disabled about 200 enemy soldiers and officers, destroyed 30 vehicles and dozens of carts with military equipment.

Ski team under command Comrade Topuridze walked 200 kilometers behind German lines and captured 3 tanks, an armored vehicle, 6 guns, and 150 trucks.

Red Army soldier Rybachev, the first to break into a village occupied by the Germans, shot a German officer, disabled a machine gun crew and captured an enemy heavy machine gun.

Soviet military leader, army general celebrated his 50th birthday Ivan Vladimirovich Tyulenev(1892–1978), participant in the 1st World War (recipient of 4 Crosses of St. George), Civil (chief of intelligence of the 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny) and Patriotic War (commander of the Transcaucasian Front) wars. After the war he commanded a number of military districts. In 1940 he was arrested and placed in a camp. He did not sign a single document accusing him, did not name a single name of his “accomplices,” and after the start of the war, unexpectedly for himself, he was returned to the active army along with generals Rokossovsky, Meretskov, Gorbatov, Bogdanov and Kholostyakov. Hero of the Soviet Union.

January 29, 1942

Sergeant, squad commander of the 299th Infantry Regiment, 29 years old Ivan Savich Gerasimenko and privates 40 year old Alexander Semenovich Krasilov and 29 year old Leonty Arsentievich Cheremnov in one battle near Novgorod, when the grenades ran out, saving the lives of their comrades, they rushed to the embrasures of German machine-gun bunkers. All of them were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the battle for the village of Levino Red Army soldier I. I. Grishev Under heavy enemy fire, he crawled up to an enemy tank, stopped it with a well-thrown anti-tank grenade, and later set the tank on fire with a flammable bottle.

Battery Lieutenant Kuptsov in the last days of fighting, it destroyed a company of enemy infantry, destroyed 5 dugouts and suppressed 4 mortar batteries. Battery Lieutenant Shapov destroyed 10 dugouts, an infantry platoon, 2 mortar batteries and an enemy observation post.

Per department Lieutenant Goryankin, clearing the field of enemy mines, was attacked by a platoon of German machine gunners. Having let the Germans get within 30-40 meters, Comrade. Goryankin raised the fighters to attack. Almost the entire fascist platoon was destroyed. Red Army soldier Pashnin stabbed 5 fascist soldiers in this battle.

On the Southwestern Front, three wounded Soviet soldiers - Kulimbo, Kembaev And Borisov were captured by the Nazis. Hitler's executioners tortured them for a long time and, finally, under the threat of death, ordered a German battery of heavy guns to be brought to the desired village.

It was the dead of night. The prisoners walked in front of the battery, accompanied by a guard riding next to them on a sleigh. Having waited until the half-frozen guard buried his head in the straw, Kulimbo turned his horses onto the road leading to the location of our military unit. The battery also turned after the sleigh. Then the prisoners jumped into the sleigh and, tearing away from the battery in the darkness, rushed to their own, along with the guard, dumbfounded from surprise.

The unit commander took urgent measures to capture the battery. A detachment of Red Army soldiers led by Lieutenant Sayenko set up an ambush on the path of the battery, and Kulimbo, quickly returning back to the Germans, reported to the fascist officer that the sleigh had safely reached the village. The battery moved on, and a few minutes later it was captured by Saenko’s fighters.

A war veteran celebrated his 30th birthday Vasily Borisovich Emelianenko, navigator of the 7th Guards Assault Guards Regiment (North Caucasus Front), by August 1943 he had made 88 combat missions, destroyed and damaged 23 enemy aircraft, knocked out and burned dozens of tanks and vehicles and inflicted enormous losses on the enemy in manpower. Hero of the Soviet Union, candidate of military sciences, prose writer, aviation colonel.

January 30, 1942

The troops of the Southwestern Front that broke through to Vyazma repelled enemy counterattacks in the Lyudinovo area; The 33rd Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps were surrounded.

To the observation post where the battery commander was located Lieutenant Lebedev, a German column approached. Comrade Lebedev called fire from our batteries onto himself. The fascist column was defeated. Despite his injury, the lieutenant continued to remain at his post.

The great American statesman and politician, 32nd President of the United States (1933-45) celebrated his 60th birthday Franklin Delano Roosevelt(18821945). Since 1921, as a result of polio, Roosevelt suffered from paralysis of both legs and was “confined” to a wheelchair from the age of 39. In 1910 he became a New York state senator; in 1928 he was elected governor of the state of New York, and in 1932 - president of America. In 1933, his government established diplomatic relations with the USSR, and during World War II advocated support for Great Britain, France and the USSR in their fight against Nazi Germany. At Roosevelt’s call, all Americans began to provide humanitarian assistance to the Russian people, and caravans of ships filled with food, clothing, and equipment reached Russia. He became the only US president to be elected to the highest government office four times (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944).

January 31, 1942

The Barvenkovo-Lozovsky operation was completed. Soviet troops failed to complete the tasks assigned to them - encircling and destroying the Kharkov and Taganrog enemy groups. During the offensive on a 100-kilometer front, they advanced 90-100 kilometers to the west and stood between Balakleya, Lozova and Slavyansk.

A special correspondent of “Red Star” reported from the Leningrad Front:

“A group of reconnaissance officers led by Lieutenant Akhmedov received the task: to identify enemy firing points in one village. The scouts secretly made their way to the enemy dugouts. Sergeant Gurzhenko was the first to burst into one of the dugouts and began to shoot the Germans at point-blank range.

Meanwhile, Red Army soldier Kotneev ran up to the first hut and also opened fire. There was panic in the village. The Germans, deciding that they were under serious attack, brought all their firepower into action. This is what the scouts needed. All enemy firing points were discovered. Having completed the task brilliantly, the brave reconnaissance men returned to their unit.”