Heroes of Braslaŭ Region

Soviet officer-artillerist, participant in the Great Patriotic and Soviet-Japanese wars, Hero of the Soviet Union (March 24, 1945), colonel (1967).
Born on June 12, 1923, in Moscow. Participant of the Great Patriotic War: from May 1942 to May 1943 - commander of the control platoon of the 255th separate guards mortar division of the 41st guards mortar regiment, from May to October 1943 - commander of the group of sergeants of the 6th reserve artillery regiment. Fought on the Karelian Front. Participated in the defense of the Arctic.
From October to December 1943, he was the head of intelligence of the 375th Guards Mortar Battalion of the 90th Guards Mortar Regiment. He fought on the 2nd Baltic Front. He participated in battles in the Vitebsk-Polotsk direction. On December 22, 1943, he was wounded and remained in a hospital in the village of Zaklyuchye (Bologovsky District of Tver Oblast) until February 1944.
In March 1944 - May 1945, he served as the chief of intelligence of the 2nd division and commander of the battery of the 26th Guards Mortar Regiment. He fought on the 1st and 2nd Baltic and Leningrad fronts. He participated in the Vitebsk-Orsha, Polotsk, Šiauliai, Riga, and Memel operations, as well as the blockade of the Courland grouping of the enemy.
Lieutenant A.A. Alekseev distinguished himself during the Belarusian operation in June-July 1944. On July 9, 1944, in the area of the settlement of Vidzy (Braslav District, Vitebsk Region), the forward units of the 89th Tank Brigade of the 1st Tank Corps encountered strong enemy fire resistance. A.A. Alekseev, along with two scouts, moved forward, discovered a concentration of tanks and infantry, called for artillery fire, and disrupted the enemy's planned counterattack.
"For courage and heroism displayed in battles against the German fascist invaders," by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union was conferred upon Guards Lieutenant Alexander Alekseevich Alekseev with the awarding of the Order of Lenin and the medal "Gold Star."

Born in 1916 in the village of Voroshilovka, Tokmak District, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR.
Lieutenant of the Red Army, released from the Braslav prison along with other prisoners of war, organized a partisan group and became its commander.
From May to October 1942, a private soldier of the partisan brigade "The Elusive"; October 1942 - December 1943 - head of the special department of the brigade "The Elusive"; December 1943 - July 1944 - head of the special department of the brigade named after G.K. Zhukov.
On September 9, 1942, as part of a sabotage group, he derailed an enemy train carrying ammunition on the railway near the station "Chorny Brod," which was heading to the front line.
Awarded the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War 1st Class", the Order of the Red Banner, and the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class.

Born on April 16, 1916, in the settlement of Petropavlovka, now within the city of Akhtubinsk in the Astrakhan region, in a working-class family.
In the battles of the Great Patriotic War since March 1942, the Commander of the gun of the 125th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Division (29th Rifle Division, 6th Guards Army, 1st Baltic Front).
Sergeant Babichev, on July 5, 1944, during the repulsion of an enemy counterattack near the village of Tychki (Mior District, Vitebsk Region), destroyed 2 machine guns, 4 motorcycles, and dozens of Nazis with artillery fire. When the battery was surrounded by the enemy, he led the crew into an attack. Despite being severely wounded, he remained in action.
For demonstrated courage in battles in the Shumilino, Beshankovichy, and Braslav districts, the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on March 24, 1945.
Since 1945 - reserve sergeant. Lived and worked in the city of Akhtubinsk.
Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of Glory of the 2nd and 3rd class, and medals.
Died on March 23, 1983.

Born in the village of Kaplantsy, Barysaw District, Minsk Region.
In 1943, by the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus, he was sent to the Braslav district to organize underground party work. In September-October 1943, he served as the commissioner of the partisan brigade named after G. K. Zhukov, which was relocated from the Rossony district to the Braslav district.
At the end of July 1943, he arrived in the vicinity of the village of Zamoshye in the Braslav district. Until October 1943, he served as the secretary of the Braslav underground district committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus, established on September 14, 1943, and based in the partisan brigade named after G. K. Zhukov. He died in battle while covering the retreat of the partisan detachment. He was buried in the village of Zamoshye in a mass grave.
Posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I class for organizing partisan resistance against the German fascist occupiers.

The initiator of the establishment of the first anti-fascist underground organization in Braslaŭ, the son of an Orthodox priest, a lawyer.
A.A. Vasileuski held the position of Deputy Burgomaster of Braslav District. He used his official position to organize underground activities and protect the population. His first assistant in this was his brother – Dmitry Alekseevich Vasileuski, a young doctor who took on the responsibilities of the volost elder in the village of Slobodka.
The underground fighters conducted anti-fascist propaganda, obtained documents, information about the composition and strength of enemy garrisons, the locations of military depots and barracks, as well as other information, and passed it on to the partisans. They procured weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies for the partisans, and saved about 150 party and Soviet workers, as well as prisoners of war, from fascist reprisals.
At the initiative of A. A. Vasilievsky, a partisan group was formed in May-July 1942 under the command of K. E. Antipenko. The underground fighters carried out assignments for the partisan detachment "For the Motherland", then for the partisan brigade "For the Motherland", and from 1943 for the partisan brigade named after G. K. Zhukov. They maintained contact with the Ozeravsk Komsomol youth underground and the Braslav underground Komsomol group.
In September 1943, the Vasilyevsky brothers were arrested by the Nazis: A. A. Vasilyevsky was tortured in prison, D. A. Vasilyevsky was a prisoner of the death camps Auschwitz and Majdanek.

Born on August 30, 1910, in the village of Nichayevo, Tambov Oblast. Commander of the rifle company of the 22nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 9th Guards Rifle Division of the 6th Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front, Guards Captain.
On July 8, 1944, a company commanded by Captain Volchkov near the village of Plyusy, repelling numerous attacks by the Germans, eliminated 100 Nazis. In battle, I. N. Volchkov was killed. He is buried in a mass grave in the city of Braslav.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, for exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the German fascist invaders and for the displayed courage and heroism, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to Guards Captain Ivan Nikitovich Volchkov.
Awarded the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Patriotic War 2nd class, and the Order of the Red Star.

In 1942, Komsomol member Fyodor Deryabo from the village of Kirilino, with the help of battalion commander Spiridon, became a liaison for the partisan brigade "For the Motherland." In 1943, the young man was tasked with creating an underground Komsomol organization in the village of Slobodka. Fyodor and four of his reliable friends procured weapons for the partisans. Occasionally, he was not allowed to go to the forest alone, and then other liaisons were sent to the agreed location. It was to meet Fyodor that Alexandra Maksimovich hurried, but on her way back, she was captured.
With the help of Fyodor and his assistants, a 14-year-old underground fighter nicknamed "Strelka" - Klava Shinkevich - was rescued.
The brave young man was captured in the winter of 1944. Fedya and his brother Spiridon (who was also captured by the police) were shot near the village of Slobodka on the hill "Mercy." A memorial sign has now been erected at this site.

Major of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, participant in the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1945).
In July 1944, Major Alexey Zhdanov commanded the battalion of the 287th Rifle Regiment of the 51st Rifle Division of the 6th Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front.
On July 14, 1944, near the village of Beinary in the Braslav district, Zhdanov's battalion was encircled. Zhdanov organized a circular defense and repelled German counterattacks for several hours. In those battles, the soldiers of the battalion destroyed 3 enemy tanks and 2 assault guns, as well as more than a company of German infantry. On July 15, 1944, the battalion managed to break through the encirclement, but Zhdanov was mortally wounded in that battle. He was buried in Braslav.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, Major Alexey Zhdanov was posthumously awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Orders of Lenin and Alexander Nevsky, as well as several medals.
In honor of A.M. Zhdanov, a school is named in Braslaŭ and in the Krasnensky District of Belgorod Oblast.

Born in the village of Dobryshchevo, Ivanovo-Voznesenskaya Governorate. Participant in the Great Patriotic War, scout of the 52nd Guards Separate Reconnaissance Company of the 6th Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front, Guards Sergeant, Hero of the Soviet Union (March 24, 1945, posthumously).
From July 18 to 20, 1944, a reconnaissance group, which included Sergeant Veniamin Zaitsev, conducted a raid on enemy territory north of Lake Drisvyaty with the aim of establishing the location of enemy forces and fire systems on the front line. While returning from the mission, the group encountered superior enemy forces near the shore of the lake. Sergeant Zaitsev, covering the other members of the group who were crossing the lake, used automatic fire and a grenade to eliminate five enemy soldiers; however, he sustained a wound to the abdomen and, allowing three more Germans to come within 1-2 meters, detonated his last grenade.
On March 24, 1945, by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On the front during the Great Patriotic War since August 1941.
The assistant commander of the platoon of the 1124th Rifle Regiment (334th Rifle Division, 43rd Army, 1st Baltic Front), candidate for membership in the CPSU, Sergeant Isipin was one of the first to cross the Western Dvina River on June 25, 1944, and covered the crossing of the regiment's units with fire from a light machine gun.
On July 6, 1944, near the settlement of Vidzy, a group of the enemy was destroyed, obstructing the advance of the company.
For courage and bravery displayed during the liberation of Belarus, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on July 22, 1944.
Demobilized in 1946. Lived in Balashov. Until 1964, he was engaged in administrative and economic activities.
Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of Glory 3rd class, and medals.

Native of the village of Hirdyushi, Braslav District.
Olga Maksimovich established contact with the scouts of the brigade "For the Motherland." She repeatedly traveled to Braslav for medications for the partisan hospital and was sent to Daugavpils on assignments. Olga delivered leaflets to Sharkovshchina, Opsa, and Slobodka.
At the end of September 1943, she was sent on a mission by the brigade command to Slobodka, where the German garrison was located. After completing her task, Olga was already returning home, but on the way she was captured by the Germans. Even under torture, Olga bravely remained silent. The partisan was executed on the outskirts of the village. A memorial plaque has now been installed at this site.

Junior Sergeant of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, participant in the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1944).
Ivan Medvedev was born on October 18, 1924, in the village of Pustoradikha (now the Staritsky District of Tver Oblast). In October 1941, he found himself under occupation, and after liberation in February 1942, I.P. Medvedev was drafted into the service of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. From the spring of that year, he served on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He was wounded twice in battle.
By June 1944, Junior Sergeant I.P. Medvedev was the assistant commander of the platoon of the 7th Rifle Company of the 1124th Rifle Regiment of the 334th Rifle Division of the 43rd Army of the 1st Baltic Front. He distinguished himself during the liberation of the Vitebsk region. On June 23, 1944, Medvedev was among the first to rise to attack, inspiring his comrades, and took an active part in capturing two enemy trenches in the area of the village of Kozonogovo in the Shumilino district. On June 25, Medvedev's platoon crossed the Western Dvina near the settlement of Beshankovichi and took an active part in the battles for the capture and retention of a foothold on its western bank. On July 6, during the battle near the locality of Vidzy, Medvedev's platoon successfully routed the enemy, easing the task for the other units.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 22, 1944, for "courage and heroism displayed in the Belarusian operation," Junior Sergeant Ivan Medvedev was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union, along with the Order of Lenin and the medal "Gold Star."

I. K. Petkun was appointed to the position of secretary of the Ozeravskoye Komsomol Youth Underground, which operated in the village of Ozeravtsy in the Braslav District from July 1942 to July 1944.
Underground fighters obtained and delivered a large quantity of weapons to the partisan brigade named after G. K. Zhukov and transported prisoners of war to the partisans. They provided the partisans with medical supplies, printing ink, paper, and radio components. They disseminated reports from the Soviet Information Bureau, leaflets, reported on the number and location of enemy military equipment, and warned about punitive operations. On behalf of the partisans, they destroyed bridges and created blockades on the roads. In March 1944, the partisans, warned by the underground fighters, captured a German convoy — 45 carts with food supplies and took 41 Nazis prisoner.
In February 1945, he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army, from which he was demobilized in April of the same year.
In the agrotown of Akhremovtsy in the Braslav district, a memorial plaque has been installed on the school building in honor of the underground Komsomol organization.

One of the leaders of the communist underground and the partisan movement in the Vitebsk region during the Great Patriotic War. Born in the village of Inhulka, Pryvolne District, Mykolaiv Oblast. Member of the CPSU since 1938. Graduated from Minsk Pedagogical Institute (1958). Since 1933, engaged in Komsomol and party work, then in the Red Army. During the Great Patriotic War, from June 1941, served at the front. From May 1942, in the partisans: platoon political instructor, commissioner, squad commander; from July 1943 to July 1944, commander of the partisan brigade "Spartak", simultaneously from September 1943, secretary of the Vidzava underground district committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus. After the war, engaged in administrative, economic, and educational work.
Awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class, and the Medals "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st and 2nd Class, "For Victory over Germany."

Born in 1915 in the village of Dvorets, Zhitkovichi District, Gomel Region.
On June 23, 1941, he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army. At the beginning of the war, he served as a political officer of a company and assistant to the head of the political department of the 267th Rifle Division for Komsomol affairs. From March 1, 1942, to June 26, 1942, he performed the duties of deputy head of the political department of the 267th Rifle Division. He fought on the Volkhov Front.
From July 1, 1943, by the order of the headquarters of the partisan movement of Belarus and the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, he was appointed as the secretary of the Braslav underground district committee of the party and commander of the partisan brigade named after G.K. Zhukov, which operated in the Braslav district. He held this position until the merger with the units of the Soviet Army.
From August to November 1944, appointed as the secretary of the legal Braslav District Committee of the Party.
Awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, the Red Star, and medals.
In the post-war period, he worked in party positions, including in the Braslav region.

Born in 1915 in the village of Tumacino, Ustyubinsky District, Vologda Oblast.
In 1939, he participated in the liberation of Western Belarus. Since 1940, he worked as an instructor in the "Society for the Assistance of Aviation Defense and Chemical Construction" (OSOAVIAKHIM), where he met Vasilyevsky Alexey Alekseevich.
At the beginning of the war, he was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army. He was surrounded along with his unit, later captured, and sent to a prisoner of war camp located in the city of Maladzyechna. He escaped from the camp and returned to the Braslav region. He sought assistance from A.A. Vasileuski, who provided him with the necessary documents.
In January 1942, at the request of Vasilevsky A.A., he organized an underground anti-fascist intelligence group, which was subordinate to Antipenko K.E., and later to Syromakho P.Y.
Tyranov E.A. held the position of head of the undercover anti-fascist intelligence, working under the pseudonym "Pugachov".

Born in 1910, village of Luni, Toropets District. Candidate of Military Sciences, Associate Professor, Colonel.
Participant of the Great Patriotic War: fought at the Kursk Bulge, liberated Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics; fought on the Northwestern, Baltic, Voronezh, and Leningrad fronts. Completed the war in the position of deputy commander of the 29th Polotsky Rifle Division for the combat operations.
For combat achievements in the Great Patriotic War, awarded with combat orders: two Orders of the Red Banner (1943, 1944); Order of Kutuzov 3rd class (1945); Order of Alexander Nevsky (1943); Order of the Patriotic War 1st class (1944), as well as the medal "For Victory over Germany." After the war, for length of service, awarded the medal "For Combat Merits" (1947), Order of the Red Star (1953).
For demonstrated personal courage and bravery in the liberation of the city of Braslav from the German invaders in June 1944, by the decision of the Braslav City Council of People's Deputies dated December 22, 1982, the title of Honorary Citizen of the Braslav District was conferred.

Born on September 14, 1900, in the village of Otrubnevo, Tver Province.
The commander of the 6th Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front, Guards Lieutenant General I. M. Chistyakov, acted particularly brilliantly during the Belarusian Strategic Offensive Operation (including the Vitebsk-Orsha Operation, the Minsk Offensive Operation, the Polotsk Offensive Operation, and the Šiauliai Operation). In the first 14 days of the battle, from June 23 to July 5, 1944, the army's soldiers broke through the front line, advanced approximately 200 kilometers in combat, and liberated 350 populated areas.
The Guard Army of Chistyakov played a significant role in the operation "Bagration" in the summer of 1944. The 22nd Rifle Corps penetrated the fascist defense by 9 kilometers. At night, into the formed breach, the commander introduced the second echelon of the army. Units of the 6th Guard Army crossed the Western Dvina on boats, rafts, and barrels, seizing bridgeheads on the opposite bank, and continued their offensive towards Ushachi, Polotsk, and further into the Daugavpils area.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 22, 1944, for exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front in the fight against German invaders and for the displayed courage and heroism, Colonel General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, with the conferral of the Order of Lenin and the medal "Gold Star."

The liaison of the partisan brigade "For the Motherland" with the underground pseudonym "Strelka".
Pioneer Klava Shinkevich from the village of Uklya in the Braslav district was imprisoned in Hitler's dungeons twice, but she survived. The first time, luck intervened – after brutal torture and interrogations, the weakened girl was considered dead by the enemies and dragged to a wasteland, where she was found by kind people.
Klava Shinkevich joined a sabotage group that blew up 8 trains, destroyed 5 railway and 12 road bridges, and detonated vehicles. In the autumn of 1943, Klava was assigned to visit a large fascist garrison in Slobodka. Approaching the home of the contact, Klava encountered a policeman who had detained her earlier. The girl was tortured for six days. Klava remained silent. Beaten, she was taken for execution. Partisans, learning about the time and place of the execution, set an ambush and at the last moment saved the scout.
The feats of the young partisan have been recognized with eight state awards: the Order of the Great Patriotic War of the 1st class, the Medal "For Courage", the Medal "For Victory over Germany", and others.

A participant in the partisan movement and Komsomol underground in the territory of Braslav District during the Great Patriotic War. Born in the village of Al'brekhtovo, Rossony District, Vitebsk Region. A member of the Komsomol since 1939, he was assigned by the Central Committee of the Komsomol to work as an inspector at the Tekhanavets branch of the State Bank in the Bialystok Region.
At the beginning of the war, engaged in underground work, from 1942 as part of a partisan detachment, then — the partisan brigade named after G. K. Zhukov, operating in the Braslav district of the Vitebsk region, deputy commander of the brigade for Komsomol work, in September-November 1943 served as secretary of the Braslav underground district committee of the Komsomol. Killed in action. Buried in a mass grave in the village of Zamoshye, Braslav district. Posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War I class. In the city of Braslav, a street is named after V. L. Yurenko.