No matter how bitter it is to admit it, there were collaborators among the Heroes. Soviet Union... Even the "Panfilov hero" turned out to be the enemy's accomplice. It is known that the fighters of the 316th Rifle Division (later the 8th Guards) under the command of Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, who participated in 1941, were called Panfilovites.
In the defense of Moscow. Among the soldiers of the division, 28 people ("Panfilov heroes" or "28 Panfilov heroes") from the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment received the greatest fame. According to the widespread version of events, on November 16, when a new enemy offensive against Moscow began, the soldiers of the 4th company, headed by political instructor V.G. Klochkov in the area of the Dubosekovo junction, 7 kilometers southeast of Volokolamsk, performed a feat, destroying 18 enemy tanks during a 4-hour battle. All 28 heroes died (later they began to write "almost all"). The official version of the feat was studied by the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR and recognized as a literary fiction. According to the director of the State Archives of Russia, Professor Sergei Mironenko, "there were no 28 Panfilov heroes - this is one of the myths imposed by the state." At the same time, the very fact of heavy defensive battles of the 316th rifle division against the 2nd and 11th German tank divisions in the Volokolamsk direction on November 16, 1941 is beyond doubt. The conclusion of the investigation by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office: “Thus, the materials of the investigation established that the feat of 28 Panfilov guardsmen, highlighted in the press, was a fiction of the correspondent of Koroteev, the editor of Krasnaya Zvezda Ortenberg, and especially the literary secretary of the newspaper Krivitsky” (47).
The fate of the "Panfilov hero" Dobrobabin (Dobrobaba) Ivan Evstafievich turned out to be unusual. On November 16, 1941, Dobrobabin, being part of the outpost at the Dubosekovo junction, was covered with earth in a trench during the battle and was presumed dead. Finding himself behind enemy lines, he was captured by the Germans and placed in the Mozhaisk POW camp, from which he escaped or was released as a Ukrainian. At the beginning of March 1942, he arrived home in the village of Perekop, Valkovsky district, Kharkov region, which had by that time been occupied by the Germans.
In June, Dobrobabin voluntarily entered the police and until November of the same year served as a police officer at the Kovyagi station, where he guarded the railway line, ensuring the movement of fascist echelons. Then he was transferred to the police in the village of Perekop, where until March 1943 he served as a policeman and head of the guard shift. In early March, when the village was liberated by Soviet troops, Dobrobabin was arrested with other police officers by a special department, but in connection with the retreat of our army, he was released. After the second occupation of the village by the Nazis, he continued to serve in the police, was appointed deputy chief, and in June 1943 - chief of the rural police. He was armed with a carbine and a revolver.
While serving in the police, Dobrobabin participated in sending Soviet citizens to forced labor in Germany, carried out searches, confiscated livestock from peasants, detained persons who violated the occupation regime, and participated in interrogating detainees, demanding the extradition of communists and Komsomol members of the village. In July 1943, a former Soviet soldier Semyonov was detained and sent to a concentration camp by his subordinate policemen. When the Nazis retreated in August 1943, Dobrobabin fled to the Odessa region and, when the Soviet troops liberated the occupied territory, hiding his police service, he was drafted into the army. In 1948, he was sentenced to 15 years for cooperation with the German-fascist invaders, and in relation to him the decree on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was canceled. In 1955, the term of imprisonment was reduced to 7 years, and Dobrobabin was released. He sought rehabilitation, but he was denied rehabilitation. Rehabilitated by the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dated March 26, 1993. Died in 1996 in the city of Tsimlyansk.
How difficult the fate of the "fascist accomplices" was during the war, can be seen in the example of Pyotr Konstantinovich Mesnyankin (1919-1993) - a lieutenant in the Soviet Army, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, Hero of the Soviet Union (1943), stripped of his title and awards in connection with condemnation. Mesnyankin was born in the village of Komyakino (now the territory of the Ivaninsky district of the Kursk region) in the family of a wealthy peasant. In the 1930s. the Mesnyankin family was subjected to dispossession and deportation to the Arkhangelsk region. A few years after the expulsion, she managed to move to Kharkov, where Mesnyankin graduated from high school in 1939 and entered a technical school. In the fall of 1939 he was drafted into the army and served in the 275th artillery regiment. From June 1941 - at the front, took part in the Smolensk battle, the Elninsky operation. In November 1941, Mesnyankin's unit was surrounded and he was captured. He was kept in the Oryol prison, from where he escaped in early 1942 and returned to his native village. In February 1942, without a livelihood, he joined the police. He held the positions of assistant chief of police, investigator of the magistrates' court at the district council, and from December 1942 - chief of police. During his service in the police, he earned the respect of the local population by the fact that "he did not commit atrocities, but, on the contrary, arrested only police officers and chiefs who committed atrocities towards the residents." After the liberation of the region by units of the Red Army, he did not flee the village, he was arrested and interrogated in a special department of one of the formations. At the request of local residents, he escaped the death penalty, and by order of the Military Council of the 60th Army, he was sent to a penal company for a period of three months. He served his sentence in the 9th separate army penal company. During his stay in the penal company, he was wounded three times and early released from punishment. Upon returning to the unit, at the request of the SMERSH employees, he was re-sent to the penal unit - the 263rd separate army penal company. After his release from the penal company, Mesnyankin fought in the 1285th rifle regiment of the 60th rifle division of the 65th army, was the commander of the crew of a 45-millimeter gun. Distinguished himself during the battle for the Dnieper. On October 17, 1943, near the village of Radul, Repkinsky district, Chernihiv region, Mesnyankin, using improvised means, together with his gun crew, crossed the Dnieper and, entrenched on the right bank, with artillery fire destroyed several enemy firing points, "which facilitated the crossing of other units to the bridgehead" ( 48).
October 30, 1943 by Decree of the Presidium The Supreme Council For the "exemplary performance of the combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown in this" Red Army soldier Pyotr Mesnyankin was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal numbered 1541, becoming the first into the regiment as a hero. After the end of the war, he remained to serve in the Soviet Army. He graduated from an artillery school, received the rank of lieutenant, commanded a training platoon of the 690th artillery regiment of the 29th separate guards rifle Latvian brigade. April 5, 1948 Hero of the Soviet Union Lieutenant
Mesnyankin was arrested and urgently transported to Moscow. In the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR, he was charged with treason, expressed in the fact that he “... as he came from a kulak family, surrendered to the Germans and collaborated with them on the territory of the temporarily occupied Kursk region ... Living in the village of Komyakino Ivaninsky district, Mesnyankin began to restore his former kulak economy, moved into a house previously confiscated from them, summoned his relatives, and in February 1942 voluntarily entered the service of the German punitive authorities ... carried out searches, took food and belongings from local residents , arrested Soviet citizens, interrogated them and carried out pro-fascist agitation; the property taken from the collective farmers was handed over to the kulaks who had returned to the region through a “magistrate” court; handed over to German punitive organs 10 communists and Komsomol members, in respect of whom he conducted an investigation; took part in the shooting former chairman the communist collective farm Rassolov ... ".
By the decree of the Special Meeting at the USSR Ministry of State Security dated August 21, 1948, Mesnyankin was sentenced to 10 years in forced labor camps. He served his sentence in the Vorkuta camps, worked in the medical unit. In 1954 he was released early from the camp. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 7, 1955, the conviction was removed. He lived in Kharkov, worked at a state farm as a foreman of a vegetable-growing brigade. He repeatedly sent requests for reinstatement in the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but they were all rejected. Petr Mesnyankin died on July 14, 1993. He was buried at the 3rd city cemetery in Kharkov (49).
The fate of the Stalinist and Vlasov "falcon" Semyon Trofimovich Bychkov (1918-1946), a Soviet military pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union (1943), stripped of titles and awards in 1947 for participating in the "Vdasov" movement during the Great World War II. He was born on May 15, 1918 in the village of Petrovka, Nizhnedevitsky District, Voronezh Region. Graduated from the flying club (1938), Borisoglebsk Aviation School named after V.P. Chkalov (1939). From 1939 he served in the 12th reserve aviation regiment. From January 30, 1940 - junior lieutenant, from March 25, 1942 - lieutenant, then senior lieutenant, from July 20, 1942 - deputy squadron commander. In 1942, he was sentenced by a military tribunal to 5 years of forced labor camps for committing an accident, serving a sentence after the war. In the same year, the conviction was removed. From May 28, 1943 - captain. In 1943 - navigator of the 937th Fighter Aviation Regiment, deputy commander of the 482nd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 322nd Fighter Division. For distinction in battles he was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner. On September 2, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for personally shot down 15 enemy aircraft (in addition, one aircraft was shot down by him in the group).
In the presentation for the award, it was noted that Bychkov “proved himself to be an excellent fighter pilot, who combines courage with great skill. He enters the battle boldly and decisively, conducts it at a high pace, imposes his will on the enemy, using it weaknesses... He proved himself to be an excellent commander-organizer of group air battles. " December 10, 1943 Bychkov was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft artillery fire and was taken prisoner wounded. Contained in prisoner of war camps. In early 1944, Colonel Viktor Maltsev, who had worked with the German authorities since 1941, convinced him to join the Ostland aviation group.
During the investigation in 1946, Bychkov claimed that he took this step under the strongest pressure, since another Hero of the Soviet Union, Bronislav Antilevsky, who by that time had already collaborated with the Germans, allegedly beat him. According to other sources, Bychkov made the decision to go over to the side of the enemy voluntarily, and they were friends with Antilevsky. Participated in ferrying aircraft from aircraft factories to field airfields Eastern Front, as well as in anti-partisan hostilities in the Dvinsk region. Together with Antilevsky, he addressed the captured pilots in writing and orally with calls to cooperate with the Germans. After the disbandment of the Ostland group in September 1944, Bychkov, under the leadership of Maltsev, took Active participation in the formation of the 1st Aviation Regiment of the ROA Air Force, became the commander of the 5th Fighter Squadron, which was armed with 16 aircraft. On February 5, 1945 he was promoted to major. At the end of April 1945 he surrendered to the American troops, together with other "Vlasov" pilots he was interned in the French city of Cherbourg and in September 1945 handed over to the Soviet authorities. On August 24, 1946, he was sentenced to be shot by a military tribunal of the Moscow Military District. The verdict was carried out in Moscow on November 4 of the same year (50: 22-30).
The Stalinist and Vlasov "falcon" was also Bronislav Romanovich Antilevsky (1916-1946) - Soviet military pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union (1940), stripped of titles and awards in 1950. Born in 1916 in the village of Markovtsy, Uzdensky district, Minsk area in a peasant family. Pole. Graduated from the technical school (1937), the special aviation school in Monino (1938), the Kachinskoye Red Banner military aviation school (1942). From October 1937 he served in the Red Army. During Soviet-Finnish war he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. From April 1942 - junior lieutenant, participated in the Great Patriotic War as part of the 20th Fighter Regiment of the 303rd Fighter Division of the 1st Air Army.
On August 28, 1943, the deputy squadron commander, Senior Lieutenant Antilevsky, was shot down in an air battle and taken prisoner. Contained in prisoner camps. At the end of 1943 he joined the Ostland aviation group. Like Semyon Bychkov, he took part in the ferrying of aircraft and in anti-partisan hostilities, urging captured pilots to cooperate with the Germans. After the disbandment of the Ostland group, he took an active part in the formation of the 1st Aviation Regiment of the ROA Air Force. From December 19, 1944 he was the commander of the 2nd assault squadron of night attack aircraft. On February 5, 1945 he was promoted to captain. He was awarded two German medals and a personal watch. In April 1945, Antilevsky's squadron took part in the hostilities on the Oder against the Red Army.
There is information that at the end of April 1945 Antilevsky was supposed to fly the plane on which General Andrei Vlasov was supposed to fly to Spain, but Vlasov refused to flee.
He was interned from the American sector of Germany in September 1945. On July 25, 1946, he was sentenced to be shot by a military tribunal of the Moscow Military District under Article 58-1 "b" of the RSFSR Criminal Code. The sentence was carried out on the same day (51: 17-22).
It is believed that the third Hero of the Soviet Union in the ROA may have been Ivan Ivanovich Tennikov, a career pilot, Tatar by nationality. Fulfilling a combat mission to cover Stalingrad on September 15, 1942 over Zaikovsky Island, he fought with enemy fighters, rammed the German Messerschmitt-110, shot it down and survived. There is a version that he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for this feat, but his name is not in the list of persons who were deprived of this title. Tennikov served in Soviet aviation until the fall of 1943, when he was shot down and was reported missing.
While in a prisoner of war camp, he entered the service of the German intelligence and was then transferred to the Vlasov army. For health reasons, he could not fly and served as a propaganda officer. O further destiny after April 1945 nothing is known of this person. According to the documents of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the Ministry of Defense, he is still listed as missing (104).
The fate of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, father and son Sokolov, turned out to be difficult. Emelyan Lukich Sokol was born in 1904 on the Pomeki farm in the Lebedinsky district of the Sumy region of Ukraine. He graduated from six classes. In 1941-1943. Sokol lived with his family in the territory temporarily occupied by German troops. After his release, he was drafted into the army and became a machine gunner in the 1144th Infantry Regiment of the 340th Infantry Division of the 38th Army of the Voronezh Front. Together with him, his son Grigory, born in 1924, served in one machine-gun crew. Both were awarded medals "For Courage". Father and son distinguished themselves during the battle for the Dnieper, on October 3, 1943, when repelling the attack of enemy units, they cut off the infantry from the tanks with machine-gun fire, and then destroyed the tank and the armored personnel carrier. After that, Grigory Sokol with a grenade interrupted the track of the second German tank.
After the end of the battle, it was reported to the headquarters that Emelyan and Grigory Sokoly had died, and on January 10, 1944, by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "for courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders" they were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, it turned out that the Sokols father and son survived, it turned out that they had changed the "mortal medallions" of the killed soldiers and surrendered. According to some reports, Emelyan Sokol, while in captivity, served as the headman of a prisoner of war barrack, and then joined the police and became the head of the department. On May 5, 1945, he was released from captivity by Czechoslovak partisans. After passing the check, he was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. In 1945, Emelyan Sokol was transferred to the reserve, returned to his native village, and worked on a collective farm (52).
According to some reports, in captivity, Sokol Jr. served as the head of the investigation department in the police. On May 5, 1945, like his father, he was released from captivity by Czechoslovak partisans. After passing the check, he was also awarded the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin. He continued to serve in the army as a foreman in a military bakery. In April 1947, Grigory Sokol was transferred to the reserve, returned to his native village and also began working on a collective farm (53). In 1947, Sokola's father and son were arrested by employees of the Ministry state security USSR on charges of voluntary surrender. The court sentenced the father to 10 and the son to 8 years in forced labor camps. On November 14, 1947, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of January 10, 1944 on awarding them the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union was canceled. After serving their sentence, they both returned to their native village. The father died in 1985, and the son in 1999.
Heroes of the Soviet Union Ivan Kilyushek, Pyotr Kutsyi, Nikolai Litvinenko and Georgy Vershinin also turned out to be accomplices of the enemy. Kilyushek Ivan Sergeevich was born on December 19, 1923 in the village of Ostrov, Roven region of Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, he ended up in the occupied territory. After his release in March 1944, Kilyushek was drafted into the army and three months later distinguished himself during the crossing of the Western Dvina River. On July 22, 1944, Kilyushek was awarded the title of Hero, awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for “the courage and courage shown during the capture and holding of the bridgehead on the banks of the Western Dvina River”. On July 23, 1944, Kilyushek received a month's leave at home, and on August 10, militants of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army broke into his house and kidnapped him. It is not known for certain whether Kilyushek voluntarily agreed to an armed struggle against the "Muscovites", or was forcibly held by the militants, but on March 14, 1945, he was arrested in the attic of his house with a submachine gun in his hands. He was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, participation in the shooting of the family of a partisan of five people, including two children, and the recruitment of youth into the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
During the investigation, Kilyushek pleaded guilty, but justified himself by the fact that he was forcefully involved in the formation of the UPA and remained there only under the threat of reprisals against his family. On September 29, 1945, a military tribunal of the 13th Army sentenced Kilyushek to 10 years in prison with disqualification for 5 years and confiscation of property. In 1958 he was released and lived in the Irkutsk region. In 2009, during the opening of a bunker in the Volyn region, in which the UPA formation was based during the war, Kilyushek's Gold Star medal was discovered (54).
Kutsyi Peter Antonovich at the beginning of the war also ended up in the occupied territory. In the spring of 1942, Kutsyi joined the police commandant's office in the neighboring village of Veliky Krupol, Zgurovsky district, Kiev region, which was headed by his father, and his uncle was the secretary. He took part in the hijacking of Soviet citizens to Germany and raids on partisans, during which he was twice wounded. After the liberation of the region, he was called up to serve in the Red Army, where he held the post of squad commander of the 1318th Infantry Regiment. On the night of October 1–2, 1943, Kutsyi with his squad crossed over to Zhukovka Island near the southern outskirts of Kiev, recaptured it from German units, thereby ensuring the crossing for other units of his regiment. October 29, 1943 by decree
The Red Army soldier Pyotr Kutsyi was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for "exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the German-fascist invaders and the courage and heroism shown at the same time."
At the beginning of 1953, together with two comrades, Kutsyi arrived in his native village and started a fight there in a club, during which he beat up the chairman of the village council. In February 1953 he was arrested. Petro Kutsyi was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Berezansky District Court of the Kiev Region. A few days later he was released under the "Beria amnesty", but during the investigation, testimony against him was given by fellow villagers who fought in partisan detachments during the war. On their basis, a petition was written, and by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 30, 1954, for "misconduct defaming the title of an order bearer", Pyotr Kutsyi was deprived of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (55).
Litvinenko Nikolai Vladimirovich at the beginning of the war also ended up in the territory occupied by the Germans. In December 1941, he began to cooperate with the occupation authorities. At first he worked as an extra in an agricultural community in his native village, then as a secretary of the village council. From March 1942 Litvinenko served in the German police. As a policeman, he took part in punitive operations against partisans in Sumy, Chernigov and Poltava regions, and also guarded from partisans settlements... In August 1943, during the offensive of the Red Army, he was evacuated to the Vinnitsa region, to the rear of the German troops, where he was until the arrival of Soviet troops, and in January 1944 he was mobilized into the active army. On September 23, 1944, Junior Sergeant Nikolai Litvinenko was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union for "exemplary performance of command assignments and displayed courage and heroism in battles against the Nazi invaders". In January 1945, Sergeant Major Litvinenko was sent to study at an infantry school in Riga, and in June 1946, the facts of his betrayal were revealed. In August 1946, Litvinenko was arrested, and on October 11 of the same year, by a military tribunal of the South Ural Military District, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison with disqualification for 3 years. On October 14, 1947, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Litvinenko was stripped of all titles and awards. Nothing is known about his further fate (56).
Vershinin Georgy Pavlovich served as a squad leader in the bomb disposal company of the 23rd airborne brigade of the 10th airborne corps. He distinguished himself during operations in the German rear, when on May 29 - June 3, 1942, the 23rd airborne brigade in the amount of 4,000 people was landed on the territory of the Dorogobuzh district of the Smolensk region. The brigade was tasked with providing the exit from the encirclement of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of Major General Belov and the 4th Airborne Corps of Major General Kazankin.
On the night of June 3, 1942, the battalion of the airborne brigade, in which Vershinin served, secretly approached the village of Volochek, destroyed the German patrols, broke into the village, destroyed more than 50 German soldiers and officers and captured 2 armored personnel carriers and 4 mortars. A German tank column was passing near the village, the tankers of which made a halt next to the ambush of the paratroopers. The tankers who got out of the vehicles were destroyed and 22 tanks were captured. Fighting off the attack, Vershinin's squad destroyed the bridge across the river along with three German tanks on it. Holding back the enemy until darkness fell, the paratroopers withdrew, having completed the main task - to pull off part of the enemy's forces in order to enable the encircled corps to break out of the encirclement. Junior Sergeant Vershinin was considered killed in the explosion of the bridge, and on March 31, 1943, 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 for “courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders”. In fact, Vershinin survived and ended up in German captivity... On interrogation, he gave out all the information he knew about the landing, expressed a desire to serve in the German armed forces, and in June 1942 he was enlisted in an auxiliary guard battalion. He served as a guard on a railway bridge in the rear of the German troops. For sleeping while on duty, he was arrested and sent to a prisoner of war camp, where he contracted typhus. After recovering in May 1943, he again entered the service of the Germans in the workers' sapper battalion. He collaborated with the Germans until June 1944, and when the German troops were defeated in Belarus, he went over to the partisans. When joining the partisans with units of the Red Army, he was transferred to the SMERSH authorities, was checked in a filtration camp in the Murmansk region, where he worked as a driller at the Severonikel plant. On February 28, 1945 Vershinin was arrested. On July 6, 1945, the military tribunal of the NKVD troops of the Murmansk region sentenced him to 10 years in forced labor camps with disqualification for 5 years with confiscation of property and deprivation of awards. He died on January 1, 1966 (57).
During the Great Patriotic War, more than 11 thousand soldiers of the Red Army were awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They were pilots, sappers, tankmen, artillerymen. But acquiring an honorary title is a reversible process. 72 Hero of the Soviet Union were deprived of their status for serious misconduct, and with it freedom, respect, and some of their lives. What crimes were unforgivable in the USSR, even for heroes?
Theft of socialist property
The events in which Lieutenant Nikolai Arseniev showed himself as a hero are worthy of creating an action-packed film. He participated in the crossing of the Dnieper River in the Zaporozhye region. The Nazis defended this area especially fiercely, since behind the defensive line there were approaches to the most important economic regions.
At the end of October 1943, the soldiers of the Soviet landing, among whom was Arsenyev, captured and held the island of Khortitsa in boats. During the first day, while Soviet soldiers defended the occupied bridgehead, intensively fired at from German machine guns, many were killed or injured.
Further, Arseniev, who became the commander of a rifle battalion due to the injury of his predecessor, received a new task - to expand the bridgehead. After several difficult battles, in which they used not only firearms, but also sapper shovels and stones, the task was achieved. The bridgehead has been expanded to 250 meters along the front. The Nazis desperately tried to reclaim their territory, making 16 counterattacks over the next few days. Large losses among Soviet soldiers became the reason for the order to leave the island. The Nazis destroyed the ferry and tried to kill all the retreating Red Army soldiers who were swimming away from the island, among them was the surviving battalion commander Arseniev.
Fierce battles for the island of Khortitsa on the Dnieper, and with it the approaches to important economic regions
After these events, when the ability to lead a battle in the most difficult circumstances was demonstrated, Nikolai received the title of Hero of the USSR. Subsequently, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.
General Arseniev in 1962 lost the title of Hero and all awards, and was also sentenced to 8 years in a penal colony with confiscation. Such a severe sentence was due to the theft of state property for a large amount - 4,700 rubles. In addition, the severity was explained by the desire to prevent subsequent economic crimes, which in the Soviet Union were among the most serious.
Betrayal of the Motherland
Collaboration with the occupiers was considered a very serious crime that could not be redeemed by heroic deeds. The story of a hero of the USSR is known, who, after the end of the war, ceased to be a respected citizen, at the moment he turned into a traitor.
Such a personality was Ivan Dobrobabin, one of 28 Panfilov's men, who, without proper anti-tank weapons, confronted a powerful tank group at the Dubosekovo junction (7 km from Volokolamsk). After the indicated battle of 1941, Dobrobabin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
But the fighter survived - he received a shell shock and was captured, from where he successfully fled to his native village, which at that moment was under the control of the Germans. Here he worked in the police - it was this fact of the guardsman's biography that was regarded as an indelible shame. Although after this episode, Dobrobabin again fled to territory controlled by the Soviet Union, honestly served in the Red Army, participating in battles and risking his life until the end of the war.
Panfilov, a guardsman of the division, was arrested in 47, for cooperation with the Germans he was imprisoned for 15 years, like all well-deserved awards.
Murder
Murder was considered a less serious crime in comparison with betrayal of the Motherland or theft of socialist property. The title of Hero of the USSR in such cases served as a mitigating circumstance. There is only one known case of a sentence to capital punishment of a WWII hero for murder “in civilian life”. This fate befell the pilot Pyotr Poloz.
He was a participant in many battles, including during the defense of Odessa, during the Izyum-Barvenkovo operation (it was carried out at the same time as the Battle of Kursk and largely determined its favorable outcome). Also Poloz participated in the Khalkin-Golsky battle.
Poloz took part in a spectacular action on May 1, 1945, when a group of Soviet planes dropped scarlet banners instead of bombs on the defeated Reichstag as a sign of the triumph of the USSR. These canvases contained inscriptions glorifying the Soviet soldiers who had installed the red banner over Berlin.
In 1962, Pyotr Poloz committed a deliberate double murder, the motives of which have not been clarified. The victims were Fomichev (Khrushchev's head of security) and his wife. There is an opinion that it was the high status of the victims that became the reason for the death sentence. The brave pilot was posthumously deprived of all awards.
According to lawyer Semyon Ostrovsky, Peter was forced to commit a bloody crime by his wife. In an interview for the Telegraf publication, he made it clear that it was not the first time that the accused's wife had incited her husband to murder, abusing his mental instability and love for her.
Defense of Odessa, in which the pilot of the Red Army Pyotr Poloz took part
A dashing disposition is inappropriate in a peaceful life
The problem of self-realization in a peaceful life was relevant for the participants in the Second World War. Many Red Guards, who with dignity passed all the hardships of the war, showed themselves to be brave heroes, could not get used to it when the sounds of sirens and the noise of tank tracks fell silent.
This happened with the sergeant of the Red Army Vladimir Pasyukov, who by 1943 received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star. Pasyukov performed his main feat during the crossing Kerch Strait(1943). Being in the forefront among the Red Army men who landed on the shore, he destroyed a German cannon firing at the boats.
In the course of the same events, Pasyukov took an active part in repelling several counterattacks by the enemy, numerically superior to the forces of the USSR. And again the soldier showed extreme dexterity and courage, destroying the German machine gun, even engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
After the war, he continued to serve in the military, but discipline weighed down on him. Cases of desertion became more frequent and prolonged, Pasyukov often ignored the orders of the leadership, and regularly drank. Hooligan antics - fights and insults - performed by Pasyukov have become commonplace. In 1947, a soldier was sentenced to serve a sentence in forced labor camps for 7 years, for actions "incompatible with the status of an order bearer" he was stripped of his titles and awards received in the war.
In the spring of 2016, the Cheboksary court made a historic decision. Awarded with the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, he was deprived of it by court verdict.
Yevgeny Borisov, who received the title of Hero of Russia during the Second Chechen Campaign, was deprived of it and punished with a fine of 10 million rubles and imprisonment for 6.5 years for organizing an underground casino and attempting to bribe an official. This case is the first reliably known deprivation of the title of Hero of Russia.
Although the Heroes of Russia have previously appeared in court as defendants in criminal cases (and there are about a thousand Heroes of Russia in total), in previous cases the courts did not deprive them of this title - only cases of deprivation of the Order of Courage are known. In the Soviet Union, there were much more such cases. We studied what and how the heroes were punished in those days.
Throughout the history of the USSR, the title of Hero was received by 12.8 thousand people (12,776, with the exception of those who were stripped of their title or who were canceled for other reasons). In total, more than 70 cases of deprivation of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the discrepancy of the actions of the awarded to the high title are known. Another 61 people were stripped of their rank, but later it was restored. As a rule, this happened if their affairs were related to political repression, and all the awards were returned to the person after his rehabilitation (often posthumously).
For convenience, we will divide all cases of deprivation of awards - which means a whole package of benefits and surcharges - into separate categories and cite the most curious stories.
Defectors
Even heroes could not always withstand the hardships of captivity. Some of them agreed to cooperate with the Germans. Two Soviet hero pilot Bronislav Antilevsky and Semyon Bychkov in 1943 were shot down during combat missions and were captured. Both later joined the Vlasov ROA, which fought against the USSR. The pilots were real masters, and Bychkov, before going over to the enemy's side, had 15 shot down planes and a whole "iconostasis" on his chest: two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Courage, the Order of Lenin and Gold Star.
If for other defendants the availability of awards and, moreover, the title of Hero was, as a rule, a mitigating factor, then in the case of defectors and traitors, this was clearly seen as an aggravating factor. Both pilots were shot, although they did not really take part in hostilities on the side of the enemy.
One of the Panfilov heroes, Ivan Dobrobabin, who took part in the battle at the Dubosekovo junction, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero for this battle. Later it turned out that the journalists significantly embellished the events of that day - and even buried him ahead of time. In fact, he survived, having received a shell shock, and was taken prisoner. He fled from captivity and returned to his native village, which was then occupied by the Germans. At home, Dobrobabin became a headman and served in the police. After the liberation of the village, he fled to his relatives in another village, where he was recruited into the Soviet army for the second time, after which he fought in good faith until the end of the war.
In 1947 he was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the Germans. As a result, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and deprivation of all awards. Later, the term was reduced to 7 years. Until the end of his life, Dobrobabin tried to challenge the deprivation of awards, proving that he did not commit any crimes in the service of the Germans, and was forced to serve under duress, but the awards were never returned to him.
But Ivan Kilyushek lost his awards because of his own perseverance. He distinguished himself in battle two months after being drafted into the army. In honor of the feat, Kilyushek, awarded the Hero's Star, received a month's leave and ended up at home in the ranks of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which also fought for the Reich. At the very end of the war, Kilyushek was arrested in the attic of his own house with weapons in his hands. He himself tried to prove that he was kidnapped and forced to serve in the UPA under the threat of reprisals against his family. The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but did not deprive him of any awards. Having freed himself, Kilyushin tried to appeal the verdict for several years, but this only worsened the situation. In 1972 he was stripped of the title of Hero of the Union.
Artilleryman Aleksey Kulak was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero after the war. After serving in the army, he went into science, and then went to work for the KGB, where he worked for almost 20 years. He was in good standing with the secret service, worked in the United States, and had many awards. He died of cancer in 1984 and was buried with all due honors. And only after his death it turned out that Kulak had collaborated with American intelligence for at least 10 years, transferring secret information and data to Soviet intelligence officers in the United States. In 1990, Kulak was posthumously stripped of all awards and titles. This is the only case of posthumous deprivation of the title of Hero in Soviet history... Nevertheless, it is still indicated on the tombstone that he is a Hero of the Soviet Union.
A slightly more romantic story happened with the Hero of the USSR, Major Georgy Antonov. After the war, he remained to serve in the Soviet garrison in Austria, where he met a local resident. Since relations between them were impossible for political reasons, Antonov, who was going to be transferred from Austria to the USSR, fled to the American sector of Vienna with his beloved in 1949. For this he was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in the camps and stripped of his awards. In the future, he, most likely, changed his surname and his traces were lost.
Breaking Bad
Not all heroes were able to adapt to a peaceful life. Often, soldiers who went to the front at the age of 18 after the war could not find use for their abilities and got along with great difficulty "in civilian life."
Nikolai Artamonov was drafted in 1941 at the age of 18 and went through the entire war to the end. But I did not fit into a peaceful life, for three post-war years received three convictions, and the last crime overwhelmed the patience of the Soviet court, and Artamonov was sentenced to 18 years for participation in a gang rape. He was also stripped of all his awards and titles.
Vasily Vanin also went through the entire war and was unable to return to normal life. After demobilization, Vanin, who had many awards, tried to work in a Stalingrad bakery, but soon quit his job, began to lead an asocial lifestyle, committed several thefts and robberies, as well as rape, for which he was deprived of all awards and sent to prison for 10 years.
The brave one-eyed tankman of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant Anatoly Motsny, who had many awards and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, did not find himself after being discharged from the army for health reasons. After the war, he married, but soon kicked his pregnant wife out of the house and remarried. He was able to avoid punishment for bigamy thanks to numerous awards. He drank a lot, wandered around the country, hid from paying alimony and in the end brutally killed his own five-year-old son for an unknown reason. Received 10 years in prison, but was deprived of awards after his release, after numerous complaints from neighbors, whom he "terrorized every day." He died shortly after being deprived of all awards and titles.
After demobilization, senior sergeant Alexander Postolyuk worked on a collective farm, from where he began his journey along the criminal road. Postolyuk was sent to prison four times for petty theft, each time getting off with a period of about a year. But he lost all the awards after the first crime.
Junior Lieutenant Anatoly Stanev returned to his native state farm, where he began to abuse alcohol, went to prison and lost all awards. After his release, he worked as a tractor driver, continued to abuse alcohol and died in a drunken brawl in 1953.
Egen Pilosyan went through the entire war and had no problems with discipline. Shortly before the victory he received the title of hero, after the war he had the title of captain. Then Pilosian's long criminal path began. First, he stole a car in the Allied occupation zone. Then another, then another. For theft, he received 4 years in prison and was deprived of all awards. After that, he was convicted 4 more times for theft and arson, having spent almost 20 years in prison. In the 70s, he unsuccessfully applied for the return of the awards, after which his traces are lost.
A kind of record was set by Vasily Grigin. He also went through the entire war and lost his eyes at the front. After demobilization, he was convicted 10 times: for hooliganism, fights and petty theft. At the same time, he managed to maintain his title of Hero for a long time, which he was deprived of only after his sixth conviction.
Nikolay Kulba, who even before the war led a criminal lifestyle and was convicted twice, stands apart. Actually, from the camps, he begged to let him go to the front, where he fought very bravely. He was one of the best snipers in the division, repeatedly distinguished himself in battles and after another wound was awarded the title of Hero. But due to an error in the documents, it was not immediately possible to find him, and Kulba did not even know about his award. They found him only in the late 50s. Then it turned out that after the war he returned to his former craft and was convicted twice more for committing grave crimes. As a result, by decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, he was stripped of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Service crimes
A significant part of the Soviet army after the end of the war was demobilized and returned home. However, some soldiers continued to serve in the Soviet garrisons in Europe and the USSR, where they committed acts unworthy of their high title of Hero.
By the end of the war, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Kukushkin had one and a half hundred sorties on an Il-2 attack aircraft, was shot down over enemy territory and was able to get to his own. After the war he continued to serve in Hungary. In 1948, a division officer noticed him drunk in the company of a local girl. The conflict ended with Kukushkin taking out a pistol and shooting the lieutenant colonel, after which he shot himself in the head, but only wounded himself. By the verdict of the tribunal, he was stripped of awards and titles and sentenced to 25 years, later the term was reduced to 10, Kukushkin was released in 1956 ahead of schedule.
In Germany, several of our soldiers created a whole gang that robbed the local population. It included two heroes of the Soviet Union at once - Lieutenant Antonov and Sergeant Loktionov. If Antonov simply encouraged the actions of subordinates, then Loktionov directly took part in them, and also became involved in rape. Later, both were stripped of all awards and titles, but Antonov in the 60s managed to achieve the return of all awards.
Ivan Mironenko, at the age of 19, was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR. After the war, the young soldier continued to serve in Hungary, but this did not last long. In 1947, together with several colleagues, he went AWOL, they hired a taxi, after which they killed the driver, and they tried to sell the car in Budapest. Mironenko, as a hero, escaped with 10 years of camps, but lost his awards.
They also took away the title of Hero for outright hooliganism. Mironenko's peer Vladimir Pasyukov, after the war, continued to serve in the Soviet garrisons, but began to skip work, often went AWOL, drank, fought with officials, and finally, due to the totality of hooligan actions, was sentenced to 7 years in camps and deprivation of awards.
Wartime sins
Sometimes the reason for deprivation of a high rank was hard-hitting facts from the past, discrediting the Hero.
Boris Lunin commanded a partisan brigade in Belarus. In 1941 he was captured, but managed to escape and join the partisans. Despite his alcoholism and craving for arbitrariness, he was in good standing with his superiors thanks to the successful sabotage activities of the partisan group. He got away with several episodes of arbitrariness, one of which, on the basis of a personal conflict, ordered the execution of eight Soviet intelligence officers who had joined the partisan brigade after leaving Minsk. In 1944 he was awarded the Gold Star. The echo of the war overtook the hero of the Union Lunin already in 1957, when he was arrested for numerous previous episodes of lynching against Soviet citizens, including children. Considering military merits, he received not the most severe punishment - 7 years in prison plus deprivation of all awards.
Pyotr Mesnyankin became a Hero after he managed to serve the Germans. At the beginning of the war, his unit was surrounded and captured. Mesnyankin fled and returned to his native village occupied by the Germans, where he got a job in the police. After the liberation of the village, he was again mobilized into the Soviet army, as punishment for cooperation with the Germans, he was sent to the penal battalion, where he was wounded several times. Mesnyankin distinguished himself when crossing the Dnieper, for which he was awarded the title of Hero. However, a few years after the war, he was arrested, sentenced to 10 years in the camps and stripped of his awards for cooperation with the Germans. Later, he repeatedly tried to get the awards returned, pointing out that he had already been punished for working for the Germans by sending him to a penal battalion, but he was never able to return the awards.
A similar fate awaited Yegor Sidorenko. At the beginning of the war, the unit was surrounded, he was wounded, was able to escape captivity and returned to his village, where he became a policeman. After the liberation of the village, he was again drafted into the army, in 1944 he became a Hero of the Union. After the war, he was expelled from the party and deprived of awards for the loss of his party card and service with the Germans, but was not prosecuted.
It is appropriate here to tell why people in the occupied villages went to the police: the Germans paid a fixed salary and this was one of the few opportunities to survive, since under the occupation the economy of the villages did not actually work. Even if there was a vegetable garden, the harvest could be taken away. After the war, Russian police officers were punished for "cooperation with the occupiers": indeed, at times they were involved in searching for partisans in the forests. For service in the police after the war, they were given 7-10 years in the camps, but if fellow villagers testified that the police officer helped the partisans and worked poorly for the Germans, then there was a chance to avoid jail.
Commercial crimes
A separate category of the heroes who were put on trial are business executives. If hooligan youth, as a rule, got stuck in unpleasant stories immediately after the war, not getting used to a peaceful life, then in this case the crimes were often committed many years after the Second World War. Nikolai Arsenyev, a war hero who rose to the rank of general, received 8 years in 1962 for repeated theft of state property, embezzlement and abuse of power.
Ivan Medvedev was demobilized after the war and worked as a department head in Petrovsky Passage (the store was opened in Moscow on Petrovka Street back in 1906). Soon Medvedev was arrested for embezzlement and sentenced to 15 years in prison and stripped of the title of Hero of the USSR.
Some did "combos". Squadron commander Anatoly Sinkov served in Korea after the war, where he raped and robbed a local resident, for which he received 7 years in the camps and was deprived of awards, and later in the USSR he arbitrarily appropriated 3 thousand rubles (for current money it is about 100 thousand rubles) belonging to the organization in which he worked. True, the second time he did not have to sit for a long time, in the same year he was amnestied.
It is curious that in Stalin's times, economic crimes were often punished much more seriously than crimes against the person - for embezzlement or embezzlement they sometimes gave a longer sentence than for murder or violence.
As a rule, the existence of awards greatly facilitated the fate of the defendants. Even for grave crimes, in most cases they did not receive the maximum sentences, if they were not property crimes, which were sometimes punished more severely than murder.
The most serious crime in those days was considered to be treason, and most of the heroes lost their lives because of it. Only in one case was a Hero of the Soviet Union shot for murder in civilian life. We are talking about the pilot Pyotr Poloz, who committed a double murder in 1962. His fate was determined by the fact that Khrushchev's personal security officer Fomichev and his wife, whom Lieutenant Colonel Poloz invited to visit, were killed. The circumstances of the crime and its motives remained unknown. The court sentenced him to death, so Poloz became the only Hero of the Union to be executed who was not executed for going over to the side of the enemy.
The Star of the Hero of the USSR is a special symbol of distinction, which was awarded for collective or personal services to the Fatherland, as well as for accomplishing a feat. In total, 12,776 people were awarded the Golden Star Cavalier, including those who had two, three and even four sets of awards.
But there were also those who, for various reasons, could not preserve the honor and dignity of the hero - the star was taken away from 72 people. Another 61 cavaliers were stripped of their rank, but later reinstated in it.
List of persons deprived of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia:
For betrayal
Having shown courage in battle, some of the heroes could not bear the hardships of captivity and entered into cooperation with the Germans. Soviet pilots Bronislav Antilevsky and Semyon Bychkov are masters of their craft, who showed extraordinary courage and fortitude during the Great Patriotic War. One is a radio operator with 56 successful sorties, the other is the owner of two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star for 15 downed enemy aircraft.
In 1943, while completing a mission, both pilots were shot down in battle and taken prisoner. It is still not known for certain whether their transition to the Germans was forced or voluntary. At the trial, Bychkov explained that the commander of the ROA aviation, Viktor Maltsev, was recruiting Soviet pilots who were in the Moritzfeld camp. For refusing to join the ranks of the Vlasovites, Semyon was beaten to a pulp, after which he spent two weeks in the hospital. But even there it turned out to be psychological pressure... Maltsev assured that upon returning to the USSR, he would be shot as a traitor, and threatened him with an even worse life in concentration camps. In the end, the pilot lost his nerves, and he agreed to join the ranks of the ROA.
Bychkov's words were not believed at the trial. He, like Antilevsky, enjoyed great confidence among the Germans. Records with their calls to go over to the side of the enemy were broadcast on the line of the Eastern Front. The pilots received German ranks, good positions, they were trusted by combat vehicles and personnel.
If for some of the defendants the presence of medals "For Courage" and the title of Hero of the USSR were a mitigating circumstance, in the case with defectors and traitors this factor played a fatal role. Both "Vlasov Falcon" were stripped of all ranks and sentenced to death.
"There were only 28 of them, and Moscow was behind us."
Everyone who is interested in the history of the Second World War knows about the feat of the Panfilov soldiers who stopped the Nazis on the outskirts of Moscow. The biography of one of them - Ivan Dobrobabin (Dobrobaby according to the metric) - could become the basis for an action-packed film. In November 1941, Ivan, at the head of the legendary 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment of the 8th division, took an unequal battle with the enemy. For the feat before the Fatherland in July 1942 he was awarded posthumously.
Meanwhile, Dobrobabin survived. Severely shell-shocked, he was taken prisoner, where he began to cooperate with the Germans, joining the police. In 1943 he crossed the front line and fled to Odessa. He was again enlisted in the ranks of the Soviet soldiers. Only in 1947 did someone recognize him as a former Nazi policeman.
In court, it turned out that Ivan Dobrobabin was one of the Panfilovites, a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was stripped of all titles and awards and was found guilty of collaborating with the occupiers, giving him 15 years in prison.
The story could have ended on this, if in 1955 new circumstances did not open up, confirming the fact that the Red Army soldier went to the police on the orders of the commander of the partisan detachment. In the same year, Dobrobabin was amnestied, and only in 1993, by the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, he was completely released from all charges. The title of Hero of the USSR was never returned to him. Dobrobabin died three years later, fully rehabilitated in the eyes of society, but did not manage to restore historical justice.
Payment for love
The life of Georgy Antonov is a story of great success and rapid decline. The officer met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War as part of the 660th artillery regiment of the 220th rifle division. Experienced commander by that time he had already shown himself in the liberation battles in Western Ukraine and the Karelian Isthmus.
In a clash near Orsha, Antonov replaced the killed chief of artillery, taking command of the regiment, and ensured the fulfillment of the assigned combat missions, for which he was awarded the highest award for the title of captain - the Order of the Red Banner.
Then there were battles on the banks of the Berezina River, where, under the command of Antonov, the artillery of a rifle regiment covered the advancing infantry. For the heroism and courage shown in battles, the commander was presented to the Golden Star.
By the end of the war, Hero of the Soviet Union Georgy Antonov had already served as the commander of an artillery battalion at the Allensteig training ground in Austria. After the surrender of Germany, this large facility was taken over by the Soviet occupation forces.
The military command in every possible way suppressed the contacts of the military personnel with the local population, especially with women. Violation of the order threatened immediate expulsion to the USSR under escort. At home, regardless of rank and position, an officer was expelled from the party and dismissed from the army.
Georgy Antonov, despite his military bearing, turned out to be a very down-to-earth person. Outside of service, he could "take it on his chest", relax and go in search of adventure, for which he was subjected to disciplinary action... However, the title of Hero of the USSR kept the authorities from taking serious measures.
The last straw was intimate relationship Major, whom his wife was waiting for in Moscow, with the Austrian Franciska Nesterval. Due to the "moral decay of the personality", it was decided to expel Antonov to the Transcaucasian Military District. The fact of friendship with former doctor regiment Lazarev, convicted of treason in 1947, the major's public praise for the American military equipment and addiction to alcohol.
Upon learning of the impending departure, the soldier began to plan an escape. As follows from the materials of the criminal case, “On May 26, 1949, Antonov, having packed his personal belongings in three suitcases, took them by truck to Allensteig and handed them over to the storage room, sold his personal car for 5,000 shillings to a taxi driver, an Austrian citizen, and I also agreed with him that he would take him for 450 shillings to Vienna with his concubine. "
The lovers even managed to get over to the part of Vienna that was under the control of the Americans. Antonov, by order of the chief of artillery of the Soviet Army, was recognized as a "traitor to the Motherland and a deserter" and was expelled from the Armed Forces. Due to the inaccessibility of the accused, he was sentenced in absentia to 25 years of forced labor camps with complete confiscation of his personal property. The titles and numerous medals, which he deservedly received for his heroism during the Great Patriotic War, were taken away from him. Antonov was also stripped of all military regalia.
LOST IN ALL THE SEVERE
Not all heroes were able to adapt to a peaceful life. Often, soldiers who went to the front at the age of 18 after the war could not find use for their abilities and got along with great difficulty "in civilian life."
Nikolai Artamonov was drafted in 1941 at the age of 18 and went through the entire war to the end. But he did not fit into a peaceful life, in the three post-war years he received three convictions, and the last crime overflowed the patience of the Soviet court, and Artamonov was sentenced to 18 years for participating in a gang rape. He was also stripped of all his awards and titles.
Vasily Vanin also went through the entire war and was unable to return to normal life. After demobilization, Vanin, who had many awards, tried to work in a Stalingrad bakery, but soon quit his job, began to lead an asocial lifestyle, committed several thefts and robberies, as well as rape, for which he was deprived of all awards and sent to prison for 10 years.
The brave one-eyed tankman of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant Anatoly Motsny, who had many awards and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, did not find himself after being discharged from the army for health reasons.
After the war, he married, but soon kicked his pregnant wife out of the house and remarried. He was able to avoid punishment for bigamy thanks to numerous awards. He drank a lot, wandered around the country, hid from paying alimony and in the end brutally killed his own five-year-old son for an unknown reason. Received 10 years in prison, but was deprived of awards after his release, after numerous complaints from neighbors, whom he "terrorized every day." He died shortly after being deprived of all awards and titles.
After demobilization, senior sergeant Alexander Postolyuk worked on a collective farm, from where he began his journey along the criminal road. Postolyuk was sent to prison four times for petty theft, each time getting off with a period of about a year. But he lost all the awards after the first crime.
Fake hero
On May 22, 1940, the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" published an essay about the "exploits" of the Hero of the Soviet Union Valentin Purgin. The list is so long that it would be enough for several lives. This is the performance of a special mission in the Far East in 1939, and the wound received in battles with the Japanese militarists, and heroic battles with the White Finns in 1940. Following the results of the war with Finland, Valentin Purgin, holder of the Order of the Red Banner and two Orders of Lenin, received the title of Hero of the USSR.
However, according to the photograph published in the newspaper, the employees of the competent authorities recognized Valentin Golubenko as a criminal wanted after escaping from prison. During the investigation, it turned out that the swindler, who already had several prison terms behind him, with the help of his mother, who worked as a cleaner in the building of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, stole orders and award books, put seals on letters of recommendation and orders written with his own hand.
Golubenko-Purgin, skillfully gaining confidence in people and using personal connections, traveled all over the country with forged documents as a journalist for Pravda and Komsomolskaya Pravda. And during the Finnish campaign, he sat with a friend in Moscow, spending business trips for his own pleasure. And even his presence in the Irkutsk hospital with a serious wound was skillfully fabricated.
The innate charm and fame of the "living Ostap Bender" did not help the criminal. In August 1940, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR stripped him of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and all the awards he had illegally received. In November 1940, by the decision of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, at the age of 26, Valentin Purgin was shot.
1914 - 05.11.1940
Stripped of the title of Hero
P Urgin Valentin Petrovich - deputy head of the military department of the editorial board of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, junior platoon commander.
He is the only person in the history of the USSR who managed to fraudulently achieve the official award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The first of the Heroes of the Soviet Union to be deprived of his title.
Real name - Valentin Petrovich Golubenko. A recidivist thief, a swindler.
Born in 1914 into a working class family in the Urals. Russian. I have not studied anywhere. In 1933 he was sentenced to imprisonment for the first time. In 1937, he was convicted again for theft, forgery and fraud, but was able to escape from the camp. Having stolen someone else's passport, he became Valentin Petrovich Purgin.
In 1938 he entered the Military Transport Academy in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). He began to work as a correspondent for the local railway newspaper Putyovka.
Later he moved to Moscow. Using fake documents, I got a job at the Gudok newspaper. Then he became an employee of the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda". By order of the editorial board of Komsomolskaya Pravda dated March 17, 1939, he was appointed assistant head of the military department. By this time, he illegally became the owner of the Order of the Red Banner. I created an image of myself as an employee of the special services.
In July 1939, according to a forged letter from the People's Commissariat of Defense, he was sent on a business trip to Far East, where he had to carry out a special task along with collecting material for the newspaper. Actually departed in an unknown direction. He himself said that he had to fight on the Khalkhin-Gol River. And in the fall of 1939, the newspaper received a letter from a military hospital located near Irkutsk, which said that V.P. Purgin fought heroically against the Japanese militarists, was wounded, and is now being treated and will later be transported to Moscow.
In November 1939 he was sent as a war correspondent in the area of Western Belarus occupied by the Red Army. At the same time, the Order of Lenin appeared on his chest, which he was allegedly awarded for exploits in battles with the Japanese.
While in the units stationed in the Grodno region, the swindler stole the letterheads of a separate 39th Special Forces Division. One of them was used by him to write a letter to the editor, which described his fictional exploits. At the same time, a duplicate of the seal of the 39th Special Purpose Division was made.
He did not fulfill his duties as a correspondent. Only on December 5, 1939, a small sketch of him was published in the newspaper. It spoke of the feat that the driver of the artillery gun tractor performed. He allegedly managed, without weapons, not only to destroy many enemy soldiers, but also to successfully go to the location of Soviet units. Part of this fictional story formed the basis of those exploits for which V.P. Purgin was subsequently awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Striving to establish himself even more in the eyes of those around him, V.P. Purgin decided to reward himself with another Order of Lenin. He issued award documents on the forms of the 39th Special Forces Division. In the same December 1939, through the appropriate department of Komsomolskaya Pravda, he sent a request to the editorial office of the Pravda newspaper for a typographical cliché with an extract from the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding. The resulting cliché contained an image of the seal of the Supreme Council, which he copied in order to make a fake order book. In this order book it was written that V.P. Purgin has already been awarded two Orders of Lenin.
To strengthen his position he decided to join the party. He made two fake recommendations from the old Bolsheviks to resolve this issue.
At the end of 1939, the party meeting of the editorial board of Komsomolskaya Pravda unanimously decided to recommend V.P. Purgin as a candidate member of the CPSU (b).
In January 1940, a new letter appeared in the editorial office, printed on the letterhead of a separate 39th Special Forces Division. It said that V.P. Purgin must be sent to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) with a special assignment, and if he is not returned after three months, he should be considered an enrolled student of the Transport Academy. Presumably, V.P. Purgin was preparing himself the possibility of disappearing from the staff of Komsomolskaya Pravda.
The head of the human resources department of the editorial office, Baranov, questioned the legality of such travel conditions. But Finogenov, a member of the newspaper's editorial board, insisted on not sending a request to the command of the 39th Special Forces Division. As a result, the business trip was issued for a period from January 24 to April 25, 1940.
Since January 24, 1940 V.P. Purgin was allegedly in the ranks of the active army on the Finnish front. But in fact, he did not go anywhere. He was in Moscow and lived in the apartment of his friend from Komsomolskaya Pravda, Mogilevsky. Together with him and another friend of his from the editorial office of Agranovsky, the adventurer and swindler spent business trips in entertainment establishments.
Following the war with Finland, V.P. Purgin decided to appropriate himself the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In March 1940, the People's Commissariat of the Navy received an award list on the letterhead of the 39th Special Purpose Division, certified by the seal and signatures of the command of the military unit. For the heroism and courage shown in battles with the White Finns, the command of the unit presented the junior platoon commander Valentin Petrovich Purgin, who was also the deputy head of the military department of Komsomolskaya Pravda, to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Employees of the award department of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, having looked at the documents of V.P. Purgin, who had already been repeatedly awarded orders of the USSR, who held a post in the central press organ of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, decided that there was no need to double-check, as prescribed, such a presentation. In the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, among many other representations, the presentation for V.P. Purgin.
Have by the kaz of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 21, 1940 to the junior commander Purgin Valentin Petrovich awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
The decree was published in Komsomolskaya Pravda on April 22, 1940. On May 22, 1940, Komsomolskaya Pravda published a long article about V.P. Purgin, written by his friend Agranovsky. The essay listed feats and merits, which would be enough for several people.
During the execution of the award documents, it was revealed that the numbers previously received by V.P. Purgin awards are listed for other people. It was also rash on his part to publish his photo in the newspaper, since he was wanted, as he had escaped from prison. This aroused suspicion and a corresponding reaction from the competent authorities. Already on May 23, 1940, the swindler was arrested in the Kremlin's pass bureau at the time of receiving a pass to enter the premises of the USSR Supreme Soviet. During the arrest of V.P. Purgin, the Order of Lenin (No. 4749) was withdrawn. During a search at his friend's dacha, the second Order of Lenin (No. 3990) and the Order of the Red Banner (No. 8975) were also seized.
In August 1940, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced V.P. Purgin to be shot, depriving him of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and other awards he had illegally received.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 20, 1940, on the submission of the court, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 21, 1940 in terms of conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to V.P. Purgin.
Despite a petition for clemency, on November 5, 1940, the sentence was carried out.
The authorities did not ignore the involvement of the editorial board of Komsomolskaya Pravda in the scam. The military collegium of the Supreme Court sent a private ruling to the Central Committee of the Komsomol, in which it pointed out the unacceptable negligence of the newspaper employees. Many employees received reprimands and demotions. The swindler's friends Mogilevsky and Agranovsky were sentenced to imprisonment.
Also, employees of the People's Commissariat of the Navy were punished for the loss of vigilance and insufficient verification of the award documents.