Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica in the village of Dmitrovskoye. Small temple with a big history

The reason to meet with the chairman of the regional public organization "Officers' Assembly", retired Major General Oleg Putintsev, was the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Red Army. Oleg Dmitrievich turned out to be an interesting interlocutor. He is from a military dynasty. For several generations now dedicate their lives to serving the Motherland. The history of the family in uniform begins with the father, Dmitry Tikhonovich, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War. Putintsev Sr.’s sons, Boris and Oleg, took up the baton. Boris graduated from the Gorky Radio Engineering Military School. And Oleg became an artilleryman. Now his son, Igor, representing the third generation, continues the tradition.

“My father never thought of being a military man,” says Oleg Dmitrievich. – Graduated from the Bogucharsky Pedagogical School, worked for several months as a history and geography teacher at the Zhuravskaya incomplete school high school. In 1939, my father was drafted into the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. All his peace plans were dashed by the Soviet-Finnish war, after which his father, taking into account his education, was sent to Kharkov. Here, at the school, he met the Great Patriotic War. In December 1941, he was sent to the “Shot” course at the M.V. Frunze Military Academy in Tashkent, which he graduated in March 1942. And to the front! But not a political instructor, but an artilleryman. In the fall of 1942, the 78th Infantry Division, where he served, was transferred to Moscow. In the Rzhev area, regiments stood in the way of the Nazis rushing to Moscow. My father fought in an anti-tank division. At the very front line, the crews of our forty-five guns were the first to meet German tanks.

Since I am an artilleryman myself, I can safely say that these little guns could more or less effectively hit armored targets only from a distance of hundreds of meters or from an ambush. If they missed, fascist tanks, which, as a rule, had guns of a much larger caliber, could destroy an entire crew with just one shot.

As my father said, it was no coincidence that the artillerymen, with black humor, called the forty-fives “Death to the enemy - the end of the calculation,” and instead of “end” they used a much more expressive word. And the feat of every soldier who set fire to tanks with such guns is significant.

My father had the opportunity to liberate the Voronezh region - his small homeland. The division took part in the offensive Operation Little Saturn in December 1942. The headquarters was in Kalach. He fought through Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. He completed his combat journey in Austria. In 1945, my father became seriously ill. I ended up in the medical battalion, where I met my mother. Due to illness, my father was demobilized. So Captain Dmitry Putintsev returned home with awards and with his Cossack wife from Uryupinsk.

– There are still disputes between historians about the date of February 23. Thus, some of them believe that the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was actually created on January 28, 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. What do you think about this?

– To understand what the conversation is about, let me make a small digression. The Civil War flaring up in Russia and the threat of military intervention required Soviet government creation of a regular army. Already on January 28, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Decree on the organization of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), and then, on February 11, the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF) was founded.

It was supposed to recruit 18-year-old boys into the Red Army, and on a voluntary basis. But young people were in no hurry to join the ranks of the Red Army, and front-line soldiers, tired of the war, rested at home. On February 22, 1918, the government was forced to address the people with the Decree-Appeal “The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!” The next day, mass enrollment of Petrograd workers into the Red Army began. In total, about 10 thousand people signed up for February 23-26. About eight thousand officers from the former tsarist army also expressed a desire to serve the young Republic.

And on February 23, 1918, Red Army detachments offered decisive resistance to German troops near Pskov and Narva. Some historians question this fact, since no documentary evidence allegedly exists for this. Perhaps it was not, but, nevertheless, February 23 is, first of all, a tribute to the memory of those people who, at a fateful hour for the young Republic, stood up to defend their Motherland. And, in fact, now this day is called the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland, which, in my opinion, very accurately reflects the essence of what happened a hundred years ago.

– Oleg Dmitrievich, can we say that the Armed Forces were born on the ruins of the tsarist army?

– In principle, it is so. The provisional government finished off the old army through its democratization and liberalization. There was complete confusion at the front - no one could really understand: for whom to fight?! Soldiers in regiments surrendered, fraternized, and deserted from the battlefield. They did not obey their officers either. From the old Russian army, the only units that retained military discipline were the regiments of Latvian riflemen, who went over to the side of Soviet power.

The government of the Soviet state tried with great effort to form an army, but this process, as I already said, was very difficult. The experience of the Russian army was used in the construction of the new Armed Forces. It was necessary to abandon the principle of voluntariness and election of commanders, since it had an extremely harmful effect on the level of combat effectiveness of units. After a series of reorganizations, unity of command was restored. Now the commander and commissar were responsible for order and discipline. On July 29, 1918, military conscription was introduced in the country, which made it possible to increase the size of the Red Army to almost half a million people by mid-September.

Along with quantitative growth, the army was also strengthened qualitatively. Slogans alone that the socialist Fatherland is in danger will not win the war. Experienced personnel were needed, even if they were not fully supported Soviet power. The so-called military experts, that is, officers and generals of the tsarist army, began to be called up en masse. During the Civil War, about 75 thousand former officers from a 150 thousand officer corps were drafted into the Red Army Russian Empire. While 35 thousand tsarist officers served in the White Army. Some of them, after the defeat of the “white movement,” went over to the side of the Bolsheviks. In total, during the Civil War, up to 50 percent of the command staff in the Red Army were military experts. Many later became the pride of the USSR, such as Colonel Boris Shaposhnikov, who became Marshal of the Soviet Union and Chief of the Army General Staff. Another head of the General Staff of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War was Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky. He entered the Civil War as a staff captain.

Military schools and accelerated training courses for Red commanders from among soldiers who had been combat-trained on the fronts of the First World War became an effective measure to strengthen the middle command level. Suffice it to recall Vasily Chapaev, who became a division commander, or Semyon Budyonny, who headed the 1st Cavalry Army.

The Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army went through the crucible of wars, honorably defending the gains of the Great October Revolution. In February 1946, the Red Army was transformed into the Soviet Army, which existed until 1992.

– The Cold War arose shortly after the end of World War II. Yesterday's allies in the spring of 1949 created the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). How did the USSR respond?

– The Soviet Union, trying to protect itself, created a kind of buffer around its border, surrounding itself with countries in which pro-Soviet governments were formed after the end of hostilities, and strengthened this cohesion by creating the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) to jointly solve economic problems in connection with the split Europe. This organization included the USSR, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. Albania, East Germany, Mongolia. And in 1955, a military-political union was created - the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO), which included Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia. Albania. She later denounced the treaty in 1968. The Warsaw Pact became a powerful factor in the containment strategy that the USSR developed in response to the creation of the aggressive NATO bloc.

I had the opportunity to serve in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG), and I can say that its combat potential was comparable to all European armies that were part of the North Atlantic Alliance at that time. The Group's troops belonged to the first strategic echelon - covering troops. Here they were engaged not in drills, but in real combat training. We were fully aware that it was we who had to hold on to the border line of the GDR until the mobilization of all the Armed Forces of the USSR and the countries that were members of the Warsaw Pact. Unfortunately, socio-political transformations in the USSR and other countries Eastern Europe at the turn of the 1980-1990s led to the fact that in February 1991 the participating countries decided to abolish the military structures of the Warsaw Pact. We had to withdraw troops from Eastern Europe, and you know well how it all ended.

– Did you happen to participate in the withdrawal of troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia?

– I was transferred to the Central Group of Forces from the Transbaikal District in 1988, to the post of commander of missile forces and artillery. Here I received the rank of “Major General”. On February 26, 1990, an Agreement was signed in Moscow on the complete withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia. According to the document, the withdrawal of troops was to be carried out in three stages. We weren't taught this at the academy. This is a completely new matter. And it was necessary to withdraw no less, no less, but more than seven thousand people. Plus, equipment, weapons, families. My mouth is full of worries.

Member of the Board of Trustees of the Verkhnemamonsky Cossack Cadet Corps named after Matvey Platov
retired Major General Oleg Putintsev congratulated the team of the educational institution, which became the best
in military-tactical sports competitions"Orthodox Warrior-2017"..
Photo from the website of the Verkhnemamonsky Cossack Cadet Corps.

But the biggest headache- nuclear weapons. On the territory of Czechoslovakia there were storage facilities for nuclear weapons. I had to stay awake at night to control loading and unloading into special cars. The storage facilities were liberated during the first stage of the withdrawal of the TsGV and handed over to Czech representatives already in July 1990. Believe it or not, we said goodbye to our Czech colleagues with tears in our eyes. They understood well what would happen to the country after leaving Soviet soldiers.

After the collapse of the USSR, in May 1992, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were created. The history of the Red Army - the Armed Forces of the USSR ended here. The new army has become armed force states with a new socio-political structure. But the Russian army is rightfully the successor to the military glory and best traditions of the Red Army, which was born in the turbulent events of 1918.

– After Czechoslovakia, where were you sent?

- To Belarus. They offered the position of commander of the missile forces and artillery of the Belarusian Military District. But soon came 1991 - the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nobody needed my military experience, and I had to quit. It was a shame: 48 years old, major general. But there was no need to despair for long. The Russian Ambassador to Belarus, with whom I was in good relations, offered me a job at the CIS Executive Secretariat. I worked there for twelve years. Supervised all law enforcement agencies of the CIS countries.

– Does your son continue to serve in the Russian Army?

– Igor followed in my footsteps. He also graduated from the Leningrad Higher Military Artillery School. And also with a gold medal. So the Putintsevs’ surname is embossed twice in gold letters on marble within the walls of the school. He served in the GSVG, then in Alakurtti near Kandalaksha. In June 2000, Igor successfully graduated from the Mikhailovsky Military Artillery Academy. Now he is a colonel, defended his dissertation, and teaches there, at the academy. In total, the Putintsev family in uniform has been serving the Fatherland for more than seventy years.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate all military veterans and active military personnel on their anniversary and wish them all the best, family well-being, health and peaceful skies above their heads.

Interviewed by Valery KAZANOV.

Oleg Putintsev, son Igor and grandson Evgeny, who dreams
become an officer. Photo from the family archive of Oleg Putintsev.

In the service of the Fatherland

In the past, the fates of some generals and admirals of the Russian Imperial Army and Navy were connected with the territory of the modern Boksitogorsk region. Some of them were born on this land, others found their last refuge on it, others had hereditary estates and estates in the region.

Born back in 1764 Ivan Osipovich Saltanov, rear admiral, participant in the military campaigns of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. His reference data indicates that he came from the small landed nobility of the Tikhvin district of the Novgorod province. Unfortunately, the churchyard (a small administrative-territorial unit of that time) of the admiral’s birthplace in Wikipedia and Russian encyclopedic dictionaries is not registered, and it is not yet possible to indicate the exact homeland of the admiral.

To some extent, these shortcomings can be filled by searching for the Saltanov family estate in our region. Ivan Osipovich had a brother, Prokopiy Osipovich, who was repeatedly elected assessor of the Tikhvin Zemstvo Court. His descendants owned the fortress villages of Churilova Gora, Afrushino and Prudishchi of the Volokoslavsky and Berezuradinsky churchyards, later of the Anisimovsky volost. Perhaps the small homeland of Rear Admiral I.O. Saltanova is located on the eastern shore of Lake Roshchino (Bochatinskoye), where in past times the Afrushino estate was located. But these are just assumptions.

Ivan Osipovich left his childhood at the age of ten and devoted his entire life to serving the sea. After graduating from the Naval Cadet Corps, he is assigned to the battleship Ezekiel of the Baltic Fleet. Takes part in the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-1790. After the end of the war, from 1793 to 1798, he carried out volunteer practice on combat ships of the English fleet, where he received the rank of lieutenant commander.

In March 1798, he returned to Russia and received under his command the battleship "St. Michael" of the Black Sea Fleet. Having taken command of the ship, he departs as part of a detachment of ships under the command of Rear Admiral P.V. Pustoshkin to the squadron of Admiral F.F. Ushakov, operating in the Mediterranean Sea. On the ship "St. Michael" I.O. Saltanov takes part in the assault on Fr. Corfu, and then cruises off the Ancona coast and in the Gulf of Genoa. For victorious actions at sea, upon returning to Sevastopol, in December 1800, I.O. Saltanov was awarded the Maltese Commander's Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

In 1801, Ivan Osipovich was appointed commander of the battleship "Saint Paraskeva", on which three years later he departed for the Mediterranean Sea as part of Admiral Senyavin's squadron. By this time, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank and awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree.

In 1805-1807 I.O. Saltanov on the battleship "Saint Paraskeva" operates in isolation from the main squadron of Admiral Senyavin, which was crushing the Turks, mainly off the islands of Corfu, Malta and the coast of Italy, carrying out special assignments. He blocked the French who occupied the fortresses of Old and New Ragusa. On board his ship, the Sardinian king Victor Emmanuel I fled to Sicily.

The end of the war with France and the signing of the Peace of Tilsit in 1807 complicated the situation in the Mediterranean for Russian ships. Their main enemies are the British and the Turks, who are still at war with Russia (1806-1812). After leaving the Russian Mediterranean squadron under the command of Admiral D.N. under an agreement with the British. Senyavin, command of the remaining ships in the Mediterranean Sea was entrusted to Captain-Commander I.O. Saltanova.

All ships and vessels that were unreliable for navigation were left by him in Corfu, and he himself, leaving the Corfinian raid and avoiding a collision with the British, headed to the Austrian port of Trieste in the north of the Adriatic Sea. On January 8, 1809, Emperor Alexander I promoted Saltanov to rear admiral, but Ivan Osipovich did not have time to receive news of this due to his death on January 26, 1809. He died at the age of 45.

His funeral in Trieste, according to a contemporary’s description, was distinguished by rare pomp, with military honors being given by Austrian troops. In neighboring Venice, poems in Russian, written on the death of Ivan Osipovich Saltanov, even appeared in print. Colleagues, officers and sailors highly regarded the personality of Admiral Saltanov among the sailors as an enemy corporal punishment and a skilled military leader who told his subordinates: “To win, you must be able to prepare for victory!”

Name Major General Ilya Danilovich Mamaev known in our region as the builder of the Resurrection Church of the Suglitsky churchyard, now the village of Zhuravlevo. His biography is full of mysteries and absurdities posted on various Internet sites, but none of them contains a detailed, even short, article about the life and activities of the general. Printed evidence about him is also not very thorough.

His military service took place in the Gatchina troops of the heir of Empress Catherine II - her son Pavel Petrovich. The future Emperor Paul I, who was not allowed to come to power, paid a lot of attention to his army, achieving grace in the ceremonial marching of companies and battalions through continuous drills and frequent executions of soldiers for the slightest offenses.

After the violent death of Emperor Paul I, his Gatchina army served as the object of historical anecdotes. Ivan Danilovich Mamaev, who served in the Gatchina troops with the rank of major general, was also ridiculed. They said about him that one glance at the formation was enough to notice the slightest defect in the uniform of any soldier in the battalion, and that he was not capable of more. They also reproached him for his low level of education and laughed at the fact that he confused the district city of Yamburg (now Kingisepp) with the German city of Hamburg at a reception with the emperor. They laughed at his low origins, claiming that he came from the same palaces of the Rylsky district of the Kursk province.

Participation in military operations of General I.D. Find Mamaev in historical sources failed. But his career path at some point intersected with the career of General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov in 1799. This happened under the following circumstances.

During the famous Italian and Swiss campaigns A.V. Suvorov, one of the Russian corps was sent to Holland to act against the French together with British troops. However, the allied Anglo-Russian army led by the English commander, the Duke of York, was defeated in 1799. The commander of the Russian corps, General I.I. Hermann von Fersen was captured. The remnants of Russian and English troops were evacuated to England.

Emperor Paul I, even before the defeat of the allied forces in Holland, decided to strengthen the command of the corps. For this purpose, he sends military general M.I. to Holland. Kutuzova. Major General I.D. is traveling with him. Mamaev and several officers.

Having received news of the defeat of the Russian corps in Holland, Emperor Paul I changed his plans and decided to recall General M.I., who had already arrived in Hamburg. Kutuzov to Russia. Major General I.D. Mamaev and a group of officers were ordered to leave for England to bring the Russian troops, who had completely exhausted the bitterness of defeat, into full order and prepare them for sending home. In the fall of 1800, the expeditionary force returned to Russia.

Major General I.D. Mamaev enjoyed authority from Emperor Paul I. The Phanagorian Grenadier Regiment was renamed in his honor on September 27, 1799, which was named Major General Mamaev's Grenadier Regiment. The name of the famous Suvorov regiment was returned two weeks after the assassination of Emperor Paul I.

After the death of Emperor Paul I on March 12, 1801, the career of Major General I.D. Mamaev's end has come. There is no news yet about the next few years of his life. Information about his life, dated 1814-1826, is posted on the Open Text website in an article devoted to the history of the construction of the Tikhvin Church in the village of Kekino, now located in the Vorotynsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

In the Kekin parish, where construction of a new stone church began, there were 653 male souls in 1810. These were mainly serf peasants of Major General Ilya Danilovich Mamaev, “through whose care” the church was built. The construction of the church was delayed. First, a chapel of the church was erected in the name of St. Dmitry of Rostov (1817), then the construction of a new chapel in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completed (1822), and in 1826 the main altar of the church was consecrated in honor of the icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin.

As stated in the article, General I.D. Mamaev intended to build another chapel on the second floor of the refectory, which was supposed to be built on, but this plan remained unfulfilled. By this time, the general had other plans, and he was located hundreds of miles from the Kekinsky parish in the Suglitsky churchyard of the Ustyuzhensky district of the Novgorod region.

Ilya Danilovich Mamaev, in the old Suglitsky churchyard, began building a new stone church on the site of old wooden buildings, a temple with an unprecedented number of church chapels under one roof. What prompted him to do this? Unknown. The compilers of websites about the Resurrection Suglitsky Church claim that he greatly revered his parents and decided to build this temple at their graves.

But where are the graves of the general's ancestors? It is still unknown, just as it is unclear where the general’s birthplace is. There are three versions: Kursk land, Nizhny Novgorod land and Suglitsky churchyard. But there is no information about the residence of the Mamaevs in the Suglitsky churchyard until the 1820s, except for the namesake Tatars, newly baptized, who lived there in the 16th century. early XVII centuries that disappeared in the troubles of the Time of Troubles two hundred years before the events described.

The church, conceived by the general, was built by 1830. In total, 8 thrones were consecrated in it. The main one is in the name of the Resurrection of Christ with two chapels - Signs Mother of God and the Apostle John the Theologian, all three were cold and intended for summer worship. Five warm aisles were dedicated on two floors. On the lower floor there is the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Prophet Elijah and All Saints. On the top floor there were chapels dedicated to Nicholas the Pleasant and Elijah the Prophet. Such a combination of chapels in one church was an extremely rare occurrence in the Orthodox Church.

The date of death of Major General Ilya Danilovich Mamaev is still unknown. In the Provincial Necropolis of Sheremetyevo it is designated as 18??. The grave is located in the cemetery of the Suglitsky churchyard near the Church of the Resurrection that he built. Fifteen years after the completion of the temple in 1830, he was still alive.

This is evidenced by certificate No. 77 dated November 28, 1845, issued by the Novgorod Provincial Civil Chamber for the prohibition (restriction of property rights) of the estate of General Ilya Danilovich Mamaev as part of the village of Kalitki (near Somino), consisting of 20 male serfs with their wives and land .

This document indicates that the general was probably a participant in the consecration of the Peter and Paul Church in 1841, for the construction of which he was allocated land plot together with the noblewoman Praskovya Kolyubakina on the territory of Somino in the part called Zasominye, Tyumen also. And most likely, the general’s contribution to the construction of the Peter and Paul Church was not limited to this.

The descendants of Major General Ilya Danilovich Mamaev (or the descendants of his relatives) settled in the Suglitsky churchyard (later Sominskaya volost), erected estates and factories, proving themselves to be the true owners of the land.

(To be continued)

L.A. STAROVOITOV,
local historian

So many people gathered to see off the Guslikovskys to Irkutsk that they occupied almost the entire platform. True, if the customs manager Orlikov and Anton Dmitrievich Sikhri came to see off Alexei himself, then Ankhen and Marie were almost entirely the classes in which they taught or studied. They gave a bunch of bouquets and baskets of pies, which later fed the entire carriage. When they began to say goodbye, many of the girls burst into tears, Ankhen restrained herself, but for a long time afterwards her lips trembled and her eyes sparkled treacherously.
On the fourth day we arrived in Irkutsk, first of all trains with military cargo were allowed through. Thanks to the fact that manager Tatishchev ordered an assistant warehouse supervisor and three inspectors to provide assistance, everything went quickly and without any hiccups. Although Marie was a little embarrassed when moving in a carriage across the pontoon bridge across the Angara, naturally you have to get used to it, that you feel like a blade of grass among a huge mass of water.
The government apartment turned out to be in the same block as the customs office, on the second floor of a former merchant mansion and consisted of seven rooms with all the fruits inherent at that time technical progress in the form of electricity, sewerage and a titanium bath. But the heating was stove and consisted of three Dutch ovens that warmed the rooms and a large stove with an oven in the kitchen, which included firewood, ash and everything that goes with it. There is obviously plenty of furniture, there is even a piano, although it is pretty out of tune.
Ankhen was ready to take a cab right now and, without taking things apart, go to the cadet school to visit her son, but Alexei took the initiative into his own hands:
“Tomorrow, immediately after service, I’ll stop by the school, give him our address and find out if they can let him go on leave.” In any case, we will visit him on Sunday, because there should be a room for visiting with relatives.
Ankhen only had to sigh and nod his head affirmatively. We sorted our things until midnight, and then, after rinsing off a little, we got into bed. The cook was hired from the previous owners, but with a probationary period, so dinner was prepared and breakfast was expected to be excellent.
When moving, Alexey placed his uniform coats and trousers with shirts in special canvas covers, so that he could safely go in the morning to introduce himself to his boss.
In the morning, at breakfast, a small family council was held, at which it was decided that Marie would go to study in the one closest to her home. educational institution- literally two blocks away was the 2nd girls' gymnasium, the wife would go to the headmistress first, and only if the outcome was unfavorable would Alexey himself be delegated there in full form.
Already heading to the customs, Guslikovsky caught himself thinking that 16 years ago he also presented himself to the customs management for the position of assistant manager of the Listvenichnaya customs outpost, and now he is an assistant manager of the Irkutsk warehouse customs of the 1st category, once one of the largest customs offices in the Russian Empire. True, now with the abolition of the port-free regime and duty-free trade on the Russian-Chinese land border in the south of the Far East and the creation of new customs offices and outposts within the borders of the former Amur customs district, which took over those goods that were once processed in Irkutsk, the collection payments fell tens of times. But there are also fiscal functions and the fight against smuggling.
Over so many years, a lot has changed and the customs building is different, and few people remember it. As in Blagoveshchensk, Alexey arrived early, so he undressed and gave his coat to the doorman and went to the manager’s reception area. The office official was already there and, having introduced himself, continued to sort out the papers. And here he is, lean and lean, well over forty. He invites you to go with him to his office.
The room is more spacious than in Blagoveshchensk, and the decoration is richer - a T-shaped table made of bog oak, a comfortable leather chair, curtains on the windows made of cherry plush, only the map of Russia and the portrait of the emperor remain unchanged. I handed over the order...
- I’m glad you arrived, there is a catastrophic shortage of full-time officials, you yourself understand the mobilization, although many have reservations, but they themselves are striving. Here, the manager of the Bodaibo outpost, Saltykov, a former artilleryman and participant in the Russian-Japanese War, an excellent specialist, I will tell you, and not subject to conscription due to his position, wrote a petition for transfer to the position of assistant manager of the Nokhtuy outpost. And then he volunteered for the front. I understand him perfectly well, I am a former officer myself - he graduated from the Kazan Infantry School, but this is also a responsible area,” here the manager got a little distracted and mechanically drummed his fingers on the table.
- Yes, your form has not arrived yet, so if possible, please briefly introduce yourself.
- Born in 1875 in the Yaroslavl province, graduated from high school in Warsaw, then Moscow University. Due to the death of his father, an official at the customs department, he was unable to complete his studies. In 1896, he entered the service as an assistant ship superintendent at the Riga Customs, two years later he was appointed to the position of assistant manager of the Listvenichnaya customs outpost, which is now under your leadership - at these words Tatishchev perked up and interrupted Alexei.
- Wait, sir, after I retired in 1899, I also started as an assistant shipmaster. So it was you who gutted that French galosh at Riga customs...
- How to forget... Charles Joly...
- And you served on Listvenichnaya, so you know the local conditions, so you have the cards in your hands. Please continue..
- Then a business trip to Harbin for two years. He served as manager of the Lakhasus customs outpost on the Sungari for seven years, then at the Ekaterino-Nikolskaya customs outpost on the Amur. Since June 1911 - member of the Blagoveshchensk customs. Married, his son entered the Irkutsk Infantry School this year, his daughter is studying in the sixth grade of the gymnasium. The wife taught in Riga and Blagoveshchensk. I didn’t submit a request for transfer, apparently the Lord heard my wife’s prayers, she really wanted to be closer to her son...
- Yes, our wives, like the wives of the Decembrists, exchanged Riga and Moscow for Irkutsk, although the comparison seems out of place.. And now to the point.. I think that three days is enough to get settled and get acquainted with the work of the departments. Then go around all the outposts and posts. The trip is not for the purpose of an audit; there is an auditor for that. Understand where bottlenecks have appeared with the change in the wartime situation. Upon arrival, I will receive a written report. Start from Bodaibinskaya, it is the farthest, and you need to make it before the freeze-up.
Then there was a knock on the door and an official came in, reporting that the officials had been assembled.
“Let them come in,” Tatishchev turned to Guslikovsky and continued, “now I’ll introduce you to the senior customs officials.”
The officials came in and, almost like a military man, stood in one line along the wall opposite the windows. Tatishchev, followed by Guslikovsky, came between them and the table.
- Gentlemen, I have the honor to introduce you to my assistant, who has arrived at the post, that is, the 1st Deputy Manager of Customs, collegiate assessor Alexey Andreevich Guslikovsky. Only I can cancel his orders... So, as they say, I ask for love and favor. You will get to know each other in more detail during the service. Now personally... Inspector of the 2nd category, collegiate adviser Yasyukevich Gennady Dmitrievich; 3rd category auditor, collegiate adviser Ludwig Matveevich Vizhevsky; controllers of the 2nd category, collegiate advisers Shishmarev Innokenty Petrovich, Zhitkevich Mark Yakovlevich, Perfilyev Ivan Konstantinovich; treasurer of customs, provincial secretary Makeev Valentin Vasilievich; accountant provincial secretary Nikolai Vasilievich Kudelya; Warehouse caretaker, collegiate assessor Fomin Alexander Evgenievich. Well, you will meet the rest while on duty. That's it, all invitees are free. Your office, Alexey Andreevich, is opposite.
Guslikovsky remembered the faces of all the officials presented, but he would have to remember the names and patronymics, but these are all trifles.
The office turned out to be small, but quite cozy. The table, as he likes, is covered with green cloth, the lamp has a green lampshade, detailed map Irkutsk province with flags indicating subordinate institutions. Here is the almost native Listvenichnaya, here is Tankhoiskaya. The bookcase is filled with collections of circulars and legislation on customs matters. I went out to the reception and asked the office official on duty for the customs staffing table. I signed the file form and began to study... It turns out that in addition to Saltykov, two clerical officials and five inspectors have already been drafted into the active army...
Time flew by unnoticed and now it’s time for lunch, two hours are allotted for it, you can do a lot of things, after all, it’s a five-minute walk to the house... Ankhen and Marie have already managed to go to the gymnasium and everything worked out just fine. My daughter was accepted into the best class based on her academic performance, and my wife was immediately offered a position as a teacher. At dinner, anticipating his wife’s question, Guslikovsky began first:
- After the end of the service, I’ll take a cab and go to the school, as I made inquiries, it’s located on Yunkerskaya Street, a decent distance...
- And me?
- Ankhen, Andrey may have classes or, say, cleaning weapons... The male team is scrupulous in many matters, they may be considered a mama’s boy. I’ll find out as much as possible, meet with the commanders, find out if I can go on leave this coming weekend. In any case, I’ll see you and give him our address.
The autumn days are short, at six in the evening it is already light twilight, so I ordered a cab in advance. He wanted to cheat a little and tried to make a detour along Staro-Luteranskaya to Angara Embankment, but Alexey quickly corrected him and he grunted with displeasure and turned onto Savinskaya...
And here is the school... A brick fence, wide iron gates, painted green with double-headed eagle, zebra barrier. A cadet in an overcoat with a broadsword in a sheath is stomping around, with wide longitudinal stripes on his shoulder straps and a bandage on his sleeve... Having asked the cab driver to wait, Guslikovsky went to the man on duty at the checkpoint.
- Mister Junker. My son is in his first year, third platoon... Guslikovsky Andrey. I would like to see him or talk to the commander...
- I’m from my second year, I don’t know him personally. Now self-preparation goes until 19.15, and then dinner at half past seven. I’ll now report to the duty officer at the school, he seems to be in command of the third platoon,” he went up to the barred window facing the street and knocked on the glass. A cadet in a tunic and two stripes on his shoulder straps immediately appeared on the porch.
“Here my father came with a cadet from the first year, report to Second Lieutenant Samoilov,” he listened silently and returned to the duty room.
A couple of minutes later an officer came out, tied with belts and a pistol holster on his belt. Holding the hilt of the checker with his left hand, he put his right hand to the visor:
-Second Lieutenant Samoilov. What do I owe...
Alexey Andreevich didn’t exactly shy away, but for some reason his throat was dry. He took out his service ID from his pocket, still smelling of glue and paint.
- Collegiate assessor Guslikovsky, from the Department of Customs Duties, was transferred to your city, his son is in his first year of study, third platoon. We just arrived yesterday - I wanted to give my son the address, and even better, see it. My wife will be worried if I don't meet...
- You are lucky, Mr. Guslikovsky, I am in command of the third and fourth platoons. Your son is a good student, diligent, not like some loafers... Junker Gumenyuk, change your place and go to the training building, tell the deputy platoon commander that I gave permission to go to the checkpoint... Sorry, I have to go to the canteen, it’s time to take a sample from dinner..
These five minutes seemed like an eternity... Yeah, there's someone running... A cap in his hands. The haircut is short, he has never worn one like this. They hugged until their bones crunched. Then Alexey pushed his son away.
- Let me see... The uniform suits you...
- When did you arrive? How is mom, Marie?
- We arrived yesterday, remember the address... Staro-Luteranskaya 121, phone 31-74. Marie will go to the sixth grade tomorrow, and mom has been hired to teach in the second. For some reason, at the height of the school year there was a vacancy...
- So lucky. This Sunday we take the oath, starting at ten in the morning. Come, they’ll let everyone through, but,” the son hesitated for a moment, “bring a basket of pies.” There are twelve of us in the department, and only I am a local. We need to treat the guys, let them remember the house...
They talked for several more minutes, interrupting each other every now and then, until Guslikovsky realized that he was wearing a coat with a lining, and his son was wearing only a tunic... They agreed that Andrei would contact the deputy. com. platoon to be included in the list of those being dismissed, and the family will come for the oath.
Upon arrival at the apartment, Ankhen bombarded him with questions about what her son looked like and when he could be seen. Haven't you lost weight? Having learned that her son asked to make homemade pies, she promised that she herself would prepare strudels according to Riga recipes. She lamented that there was no container for the bucket, otherwise she would have made cocoa...
Not only parents but also high-ranking officials came to take the oath at the cadet school; the guest stand was rippling with shoulder straps and sewing on greatcoats and uniform coats. Parents and relatives were asked to sit in the alley behind the podium. The bugle began to sing. The cadets came out in platoon columns and lined up on the parade ground. A banner appeared, a banner platoon followed it, and linemen with flags on bayonets took their places. All these actions were commented on by a Cossack officer standing behind them, so everything was clear. One of the guests made a welcoming speech, as the newspapers later wrote - the Irkutsk governor himself, actual state councilor Alexander Nikolaevich Yugan.
Finally, tables were set up opposite the 1st year platoons, and officers stood next to them. The cadets came out one by one, picked up the folder and read the oath. The building was at least forty fathoms away, so the words were difficult to make out.
Andrei came out of the ranks, turned to the ranks, apparently read the text of the oath, signed his name and walked at a marching pace. Ankhen grabbed Alexei’s hand and whispered:
- I dreamed of something completely different. Moscow and St. Petersburg University was waiting for him. And then there's the war.
From the rostrum they again made several bravura speeches about the war to a victorious end, then a loud voice barked - To the banner at attention, then - To the solemn march! The brass band began to play and the boxes of cadets walked past the guests, striking a step...
Finally, the line broke up and they were allowed to communicate with their relatives. The wife could barely hold back her tears and stroked her son’s shorn head with one hand. Marie, like a grown girl, kissed her brother on the cheek, and then took his cap in her hands, put it on her head and put her hand to the headdress - they say, know ours. The cadets standing nearby were eating her with their eyes. Guslikovsky smiled to himself - well, now they will pester Andrei to introduce him to his sister..
Then Andrei and Marie went to the carriage to get some gifts, which were wrapped in a sheepskin coat to keep them warm. We returned, Andrey went away for a couple of minutes and now the basket was empty. His wife grabbed his sleeve and whispered something in his ear.
- Mom, everything is fine. I was already given leave until eight in the morning tomorrow. If you don’t mind, then we can go, I’ll see how we’ve settled in,” Ankhen clasped her hands at these words and began to earnestly cross herself.
At the apartment, Andrei was immediately rushed to the bathroom and, having changed from his uniform to his home clothes, he immediately became the same, as if there had been no departure or separation. And at the table, the wife kept trying to give her son something tastier, until he began to protest... Surprisingly, in bed, Ankhen did not reprimand Alexei about his son’s poor choice...
But it was not possible to go to Bodaibo; frosts struck two weeks earlier and ice drift began. It was still possible to get to the pier in the village of Ust-Kut, located five hundred miles north of Irkutsk, along the Yakutsky tract, but then one would have to wait more than half a month for the establishment of a sleigh route. No, this would not be an affordable luxury...

One of the integral parts of the military history of the Fatherland is the participation of Russian women in wars. The Russians left their noticeable mark on them. Unfortunately this important aspect our history has not yet received due attention. The service of women in the active Russian army has aroused the interest of researchers before. However, these were small works that covered a narrow topic: the service of nurses in military hospitals and on the battlefield; Works dedicated to individuals were published. It should be noted that the study of new archival and literary sources gives grounds to assert that in various historical eras during wars, women took an active part in the active army. If we take a retrospective look into the depths of centuries, then we will see bright, strong, brave natures who fought on the battlefield for Holy Rus'. The epic lines brought to us the mighty prowess of the woodpiles, who not only guarded the borders of the Fatherland, but also entered into fights with male heroes, deftly rode horses, shot accurately from a bow, and wielded a sword superbly. Historically, an extraordinary personality, the Russian princess Olga, perhaps still has no rivals among the extraordinary women with whom Russia is rich. She led her well-armed squad against rebellious neighbors and conquered their lands; Possessing a shrewd state mind, she wisely ruled the principality. The mighty and influential Byzantium sought her favor, and the princes respected and feared her.

In the greatest battle on the Kulikovo field in 1380, the Russian princesses Daria Andreevna Rostovskaya, Feodora Ivanovna Pubzholskaya, the daughter of the governor Fili Thekla, fought with the Horde in men's clothes. Undoubtedly, there were other women, both from privileged classes and commoners, but information about this, unfortunately, has not reached us.

It was not allowed by the way of life, traditions, views on the position of a woman in society to hold a weapon in her hands, although the rank of colonel of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment was held “according to the state” by all independently ruling Russian empresses - Catherine I, Anna Ioannovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine II. And who was not entitled to “according to the state”, during periods of military danger under a man’s name, in men's suit their exploits increased the honor of the uniform and the glory of Russian weapons. In 1807, Alexandra Tikhomirova (known under the name Alexander Tikhomirov), who served in the army for about 15 years, died. Only after her death did her colleagues learn from her confessor that the brave guards captain was a woman. Tatyana Markina, under the surname Kurtochkin, a Cossack from the village of Nagaevskaya, rose from private to the rank of captain, who amazed Catherine II when it became known that the captain " female" The name of staff captain Nadezhda Andreevna Durova is well known. She received her baptism of fire in 1807 at the battle of Gutstadt, and took part in the battles of Heilsberg and Friedland. For her bravery and courage, Emperor Alexander I awarded her the insignia of a military order, allowing her, as a special favor for military merit and courage, to remain in the army under the name Alexandrov. Durova participated in Patriotic War 1812 Served as an orderly for Kutuzov. She took part in the battles near Smolensk and in the Battle of Borodino. Here she was shell-shocked, after recovery she returned to the active army and again distinguished herself in many battles. In 1816 she retired, she, like all officers, was awarded a pension. In the Patriotic War of 1812, many women took part in the popular partisan movement. Some detachments were led by women: elder Vasilisa Kozhina, peasant Anfisa, Praskovya the lacemaker, who led a detachment of 60 people (mostly women), the French placed a large reward on her head. The “women’s teams” caused a lot of harm to the enemy; once they repulsed a detachment of Russian prisoners, among whom was a wounded colonel. The fearlessness of these women, their valor in defending the Fatherland from invaders, was rewarded with an award - a silver medal in memory of the Patriotic War.

Panorama “Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855” Dasha Sevastopolskaya

A study of the tradition of women's participation in the military history of Russia shows that it was especially active in the field of medicine. The documented use of female labor in Russian military hospitals begins with the reforms of Peter I. In the military regulations of 1716, Chapter 34 “On the field hospital” or hospital states that “... it is always necessary to be with ten sick people to serve one healthy soldier and several women who have to serve these sick people and wash their clothes...” After Peter I, there was some lull in the recruitment of women for military needs. And only starting from Crimean War 1853-1856 a woman, like a sister of mercy, does not leave the battlefield, including the last world war. For the first time in world history, 120 sisters of mercy of the Holy Cross community arrived in the Crimean Company at the theater of military operations in Crimea in November 1854 (17 sisters died in the line of duty, 4 were injured). The initiator of the use of female care for the sick and wounded in war was the outstanding military surgeon N. I. Pirogov. The sisters were well prepared professionally and distinguished themselves with exceptional conscientiousness in their work. They mostly came from high circles and the intelligentsia. Among them: E. Khitrova, E. Bakunina, M. Kutuzova, V. Shchedrin and many others. The sisters of mercy worked steadfastly under bullets and cannonballs with a huge amount wounded and sick. It is impossible not to mention the name of the Russian woman who is considered the first sister of mercy - Dasha Sevastopolskaya (Daria Lavrentievna Mikhailova). She proved herself in the Battle of Alma, setting up a dressing station in the ravine. Throughout the 11 months of the siege, this 16-year-old girl worked without straightening her back in hospitals, at dressing stations, enduring all the horrors of war along with the city’s defenders. She was awarded by the Emperor with a monetary allowance and a silver medal, and the Empress sent her a gold cross with the inscription “Sevastopol”.

At the official level, the right of women to participate in war to care for the wounded was recognized during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. For the first time in the history of Russia, women doctors who received medical education abroad worked in various medical institutions in both theaters of military operations - the Balkan and the Caucasus; 40 graduates and 12 final year students of the St. Petersburg Women's Medical Courses were seconded, who worked as doctors and paramedics; as well as nurses trained both in communities and through the Red Cross. The female students were sent to military temporary hospitals and infirmaries, they worked under the guidance of Professor N.V. Sklifosovsky. Women operated on the same basis as male doctors. All participants in the war were awarded medals established in memory of this war. 6 nurses who assisted the wounded on the battlefield were awarded a special silver medal “For Bravery”: Boye, Dukhonina, Olkhina, Polozova, Engelhardt, Yukhantseva. Women doctors who participated in this war were awarded the medal “For Diligence.”

From the field of medicine, let us return again to the service of women in the active army. The first regular female military formation in Russia was the Volunteer Shock Battalion of Death under the command of Maria Leontyevna Bochkareva. This happened during the First World War. A peasant by birth, she voluntarily went to the front in 1914. Despite the harsh discipline, Bochkareva enjoyed unquestioned authority among her “soldiers,” as she lovingly called the battalion fighters. She was distinguished by her courage; she more than once led soldiers into a bayonet attack, for which she was awarded two St. George's crosses and two medals.

As for World War II, the undisputed leader in terms of the scale of female participation was the Soviet Union. Women

Anelya Tadeushevna Kzhivon (1925 - 1943).

replaced the men who went to the front in production and made up the overwhelming majority of the medical staff of military hospitals. They performed auxiliary work in the active army, were part of partisan detachments and finally, they fought alongside men on the front line. The Red Army was the first European army of the 20th century to include separate female combat units on a regular basis. Official Russian historiography suggests that the total number of women involved in combat on the side of the USSR is 800,000.

Colossal losses of Soviet troops in initial stage The wars led to the fact that in 1942 the USSR carried out a mass mobilization of women to serve in the active army and in rear units. Only on the basis of three orders of the People's Commissar of Defense Joseph Stalin dated April and October 1942, relatively recently declassified and published in Russia, 120,000 women were subject to mobilization and deployment to the signal forces, air force and air defense. Following the mobilization of the Komsomol Central Committee, about 500,000 girls were called up for military service, 70% of whom served in the active army. Women were supposed to replace Red Army soldiers sent to the front in auxiliary services and perform the work of signalmen, armed forces, drivers of cars and tractors, telephone operators, intelligence officers, machine gunners, gun crew numbers, storekeepers, librarians, and cooks.

Assessing the military feat of Soviet women, who went through the entire battle path together with men, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. I. Eremenko wrote: “There is hardly a single military specialty that our brave women did not cope with as well as their brothers , husbands and fathers."

The first of the women Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years was 18-year-old partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Highest degree she was awarded the distinction by decree of February 16, 1942 (posthumously). And in total, for their exploits during the Great Patriotic War, 90 women became Heroes of the Soviet Union, more than half of them were awarded the title posthumously.
Sad statistics: out of 27 partisans and underground women, 22 were awarded posthumously, out of 16 representatives ground forces– 13 posthumously.

It should be noted that 30 people found awards after the war. Thus, by decree of May 15, 1946, six female pilots of the 46th Guards Taman Aviation Regiment received the “Golden Stars” of Heroes, and on the 20th anniversary of the Victory, 14 women were awarded at once, although 12 of them were posthumous.
The only foreigner among the Heroes is a rifleman of a company of machine gunners of the 1st Polish Infantry Division

them. T. Kosciuszko Anela Krzywoń - died on October 12, 1943, saving wounded soldiers. On November 11, 1943, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The last time in the history of the USSR the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women on May 5, 1990. The “Gold Star” was awarded to Ekaterina Demina (Mikhailova), a medical instructor of the 369th separate battalion of the Marine Corps. Two pilots, Ekaterina Zelenko and Lydia Litvyak, became heroes (posthumously). On September 12, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Zelenko rammed a German Me-109 fighter in her Su-2 bomber. Zelenko died after destroying an enemy plane. It was the only ram in aviation history performed by a woman. Junior Lieutenant Litvyak is the most successful female fighter who personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft and died in air combat on August 1, 1943.

In the military history of the Fatherland, Women of Russia were active participants in the struggle for its freedom and independence. They mastered any “male” military specialty. As L.N. wrote in Sevastopol Stories. Tolstoy, “Because of the reward, because of the name, because of the threat, people cannot accept all the horrors of war. There must be another, high motivating reason. And there is this reason – love for the Motherland.”

In our time of peace, women continue the military work begun by their compatriots in past times, many girls devote their lives to serving the Fatherland. In some military universities, they are trained as cadets along with boys. In particular, at the Military University of the Ministry of Defense, at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​and Foreign Military Information, girls study in the specialty “translation and translation studies” - future military translators, while they are a model, both in study and service, not inferior to boys. These are: Sergeant Major D.V. Tumartsova, Senior Sergeant N.A. Moroz, Sergeant E.V. Lupanova, Sergeant A.V. Gerasimova, cadets E.M. Konyakhina, E.A. Tarasova, E.V. Gusev and many others. Today in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation among women officers there are generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, senior lieutenants and lieutenants. The tradition of Russian women serving their Fatherland continues.

Congratulations to all women of Russia on the coming of spring and the upcoming wonderful holiday - International Women's Day!

Community Morpolita and Gabriel Tsobehia

Literature:

1. Mordovtsev D.L. Russian historical women. St. Petersburg, 1872.
2. Shashkov S.S. The story of a Russian woman. St. Petersburg, 1879.
3. Zorin A.E. Women are heroin addicts in 1812. M., 1912.
4. Shchebkina E. From the history of female personality in Russia. St. Petersburg, 1914.
5. Durova N.A. Cavalry maiden St. Petersburg, 1887.
6. Pirogov N.I. Historical overview of the actions of the Holy Cross community of sisters in hospitals in Crimea and Kherson province. St. Petersburg, 1876.
7. Military medical report for the war with Turkey 1877-1878. St. Petersburg, 1884.
8. Ivanova Yu.N. The bravest of the beautiful: Women of Russia in wars. M., 2002.
9. Murmantseva V.S. Soviet women in the Great Patriotic War. M., 1974.

In 1783, immediately after the voluntary annexation of Crimea to Russia, a movement arose among the Crimean Tatars for the right of the local population to carry out military service in regional military units. The Council of Murzas and Beys petitioned G. A. Potemkin to form a Crimean Tatar army, and a year later such an army was created by the Highest Decree of the Empress.

Most of the officers and some of the lower ranks belonged to noble Tatar families. By 1790, there were already 6 Crimean Tatar divisions in Russian service. Emperor Paul I dismissed the horsemen to their homes - but having left with their equipment, they had to be ready to get into formation at the first call of the empire. In 1807, 4 Crimean Tatar regiments were formed: Simferopol, Perekop, Evpatoria and Feodosia. The first two regiments distinguished themselves in 1812 in the famous battle of Mir, then at Mogilev, Smolensk, Mozhaisk, Borodino, Gzhatsk and Dorogobuzh. The Evpatoria regiment distinguished itself at Kobrin and Bialystok, at Lutzen and Ulm. Feodosia fought on the Bug. In 1814, the Simferopol and Perekop cavalry Tatar regiments found themselves on the Champs Elysees.

In 1826, the Life Guards Crimean Tatar squadron appeared. The squadron fought at Varna (1828), on the Black River and near Sevastopol during the Crimean War. The team formed by Alexander II on the basis of the squadron in 1877-1878. participated in the battles near Gorny Dubnyak, near Lovcha and Plevna.

The Crimean Cavalry Regiment of Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (from March 4, 1917, the Crimean Cavalry Regiment) traces its origins to the Crimean squadron formed on November 23, 1874 in Bakhchisarai. After the formation of the second Crimean squadron on July 22, 1875, the Crimean division appeared (headquarters in Sevastopol). Division during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78. fought valiantly across the Danube.

When staffing a division with recruits, there was always an over-recruitment, and on 02/21/1906 it was reorganized into a 6-squadron regiment (Crimean Dragoon Regiment, and from 12/31/1907 - Crimean Cavalry).

The regiment was part of the 7th Army Corps and was subordinate to the chief of staff of the corps, who enjoyed the rights of commander of a separate cavalry brigade.

In the fire of the Great War.

Having begun service on the Romanian border, the Crimean Cavalry Regiment became part of the Combined Cavalry Division on the North-Western Front.

The regiment received its baptism of fire in the Augustow forests - in the heavy September battles of 1914: at Aleksandrovsk, Chemohen, and in East Prussia - at Markgrabov. At Aleksandrovsk, having suffered serious losses, the Crimeans covered the division's retreat, holding the line they occupied with the support of His Majesty's 1st Battery. And on September 21, near the village. Chemohen 2nd and 6th squadrons held their positions until the main forces arrived.

The regiment became part of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, and then fought in East Prussia. An eyewitness, recalling the battle of the Crimeans in the December battles in East Prussia, noted that 2 squadrons launched an equestrian attack - at a field gallop and in a closed, deployed formation. With shouts of “Hurray” and “Alla,” the Crimeans, moving into the quarry, rushed at the enemy. The German squadrons, without even trying to resist, took off running. The snow and fatigue of the horse squad after a long reconnaissance work did not allow us to catch up with the German cavalrymen, who were riding beautiful, fresh horses.

Commander of the Crimean Cavalry Regiment in 1912-1915. Colonel S. A. Drobyazgin

The Crimean Cavalry Regiment began the 1915 campaign on the Southwestern Front - in the wooded Carpathians. Arriving in Chernivtsi, he became part of the 30th Army Corps. In January, the Crimeans covered the left flank of the Dniester detachment, operating in the snow-capped mountains in off-road conditions. On January 26, covering the infantry, the regiment fought a stubborn battle with the advancing enemy on the line Oslan Bely - Oslan Cherny, and in February withstood fierce battles near the area. Maidan Sredniy and Olshanitsa.

In April, the Crimean Cavalry Regiment became part of the 33rd Army Corps, participating in battles on the Dniester front.

On April 27, the 5th and 6th squadrons distinguished themselves - under the command of Captain G. A. Bako, they attacked the Austrian infantry located in the trenches near the village. Korniyiv. 7 officers and 465 soldiers were captured. The horse attack greatly helped the 2nd Zaamur Division, which was advancing on Kolomyia.

The regiment began serving as military cavalry.

When on May 27 the enemy put heavy pressure on units of the 1st Zaamur Division, the Crimean division (Her Majesty's and 3rd squadrons) under the command of Captain Altunga attacked the enemy infantry near Cape Chernelitsa - 240 prisoners were taken. The attack helped the Russian infantry cross the Dniester unhindered.

For attacks near the villages of Korniyiv and Chernelitsa, captains Bako and Alunzhi were awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, and the commander of the 5th squadron, captain Zotov, was awarded the Arms of St. George.

Due to the retreat of its northern neighbors, the 9th Army was also forced to retreat in the summer of 1915 - in short shifts. The Crimean cavalry regiment covered its infantry. In the battle on July 15 near the village. In Ivan, the Crimeans covered the gap in the front that had formed between the divisions of the 33rd Corps. The task was completed - the Austrians fled across the Dniester, leaving several captured dragoons in the hands of the cavalry.

On August 1, the military cavalry of the 1st Zaamur division - the 5th squadron of the Crimeans - stood in reserve. The squadron was on the right flank of the division, but by order of the division chief, the squadron commander, Captain Zotov, sent a reinforced platoon under the command of Cornet Sergeev to the left flank. On the right flank of the division, our infantry pushed back the enemy and, moving a little forward, dug in. On the left flank, the enemy trenches were further away and were fortified. But the operational adjutant of the division headquarters, on behalf of the division commander, gave the order to cornet Sergeev to attack the Austrian trenches on horseback. Surprised by this order, the cornet looked questioningly at the adjutant, wondering if he was joking, but the adjutant said with a grin: “What, are you a coward?” Answering: “Crimeans do not know cowardice,” the cornet led his platoon (actually a half-squadron) of about 50 horsemen to the enemy trenches.

The half-squadron at the quarry rushed towards the enemy - the combat impulse was outstanding, but enemy fire began to knock out the rushing horsemen. Cornet Sergeev was one of the first to be hit, but the half-squadron continued the attack without its commander. Riders and horses fell, horses rushed without riders, people moved without horses. Only about a dozen horsemen galloped to the trenches - some of them broke through the wire with pikes, and some jumped over the wire - and the horsemen began to chop and stab the Austrians. But fresh enemy forces were approaching, and the horsemen turned back. The half-squadron suffered heavy losses, but all the wounded were carried out. Cornet Sergeev was seriously wounded in the chest, and during the evacuation, while in a medical detachment, he also caught a cold, ending up in Her Majesty’s Own infirmary in an almost hopeless condition. But through the efforts of the infirmary staff, the cornet was saved from death, but he became disabled and could no longer return to duty.

During this unprecedented attack near the village. In Torsk, someone at the headquarters telephone operators of the 1st Zaamur Division reported to the headquarters of the 2nd Zaamur Division that hunters were urgently needed to carry out the wounded who remained on the enemy’s wire fences. From the headquarters of the 2nd Zaamur Division, a messenger was urgently sent to the commander of the Crimean reserve division, Captain Bako. Captain Bako announced in front of the formation of the division (2nd and 6th squadrons) that 20 hunters were needed to rescue the wounded riders of the 5th squadron. When the command “Hunters move forward 20 steps” was given, the entire formation moved forward. “Not everyone should go,” Captain Bako shouted, “only hunters.” But at the new command, both squadrons again rode forward in full formation. After several seconds of silence, Captain Bako, placing his hand on his headdress, said loudly: “Thank you, well done!” and ordered that every tenth person be taken away. Cornet Evdokimov was appointed head of the hunting team. But when the cornet led the team out, a message came that the wounded had been taken out and no help was required. Thus ended the episode, which showed that the slogan “Die yourself, but save your comrade” was a firmly adopted tradition in the Crimean Regiment.

On September 3, the Crimean regiment again carried out a spectacular cavalry attack - near the village. Lipnik-Dalnyaya he attacked the German artillery, capturing 4 guns.

During the 1916 campaign, the regiment continued to fight as part of the 9th Army of the Southwestern Front - part of the regiment was the military cavalry of the 33rd Army Corps, and the other was the 41st Army Corps.

With the beginning of the Brusilov breakthrough on May 24, 1916, the 3-squadron division of the Crimeans, Lieutenant Colonel Altunga, distinguished itself by attacking the enemy’s fortified positions near the village. Windows. Dismounted, the horsemen operated in the maze of enemy trenches.

On June 15, infantry units of the 41st Army Corps began an offensive near the village. Volczkowice. They broke through the enemy’s front, and the Crimean Regiment was thrown into the breakthrough to pursue the retreating enemy. The commander led the regiment (consisting of five squadrons with machine guns on the flanks) in a mounted attack. In the area of ​​Zablotow, the regiment deployed, having three squadrons in the first echelon - and at the sight of the attacking Russian cavalry, the Austrians panicked, causing the enemy to flee in disarray. Despite the resistance of groups of enemy infantry, the success was complete.

On June 18, the 6th squadron with 4 machine guns under the command of Captain Narvoish conducted intensive reconnaissance of the area northeast of Khlebichin-Lenyiv and Hill 349. Cornet Krivtsov received an order to approach Hill 349 and “tease” the enemy.

The enemy reconnaissance horsemen who rode out from height 349 to meet the patrol of cornet Krivtsov turned back at the sight of the Russians. Pursuing the scouts, the cornet occupied height 349, and enemy artillery immediately opened fire on it. Not wanting to suffer needless losses at the height, cornet Krivtsov descended into the ravine, built a platoon with lava and moved on the attack.

The commander sent a platoon of warrant officer Dobrovolsky to help the scouts. The attack reached the point of striking with cold steel - the horsemen chopped and stabbed the Austrians, who, despite superiority in strength, fled. The Crimean half-squadron suffered heavy losses - 6 horsemen were killed, and 20 privates and a cornet were wounded. The losses were not in vain: this attack prevented the enemy from launching a counteroffensive from the Khlebichin-Lenyiv area and had great help our infantry.

The attack on July 25 near Height 314 near the village was also successful. Kutyska. Units of the 6th squadron attacked the Germans who launched a counter-offensive - many enemy fighters were destroyed, and 132 soldiers and 4 officers were captured.

On September 3, the 2nd squadron of the regiment attacked a German heavy battery near Narayuvka - the crews were cut down and 3 heavy guns were captured. But the German infantry arrived in time and did not allow the trophies to be taken out. An eyewitness recalled the circumstances of this attack: “The regiment commander ordered Captain Glaser with the 2nd squadron in equestrian formation to attack the heights located east of the village of Lipitsa-Dolna on the Naravyuk River and knock out the enemy from the heights.

Having quickly passed through the passages in the trenches and wire fences, the squadron... deployed in a two-rank deployed formation... at the quarry rushed to the attack. Immediately the squadron came under heavy enemy artillery fire, but, not paying attention to the shelling, rushed forward, without even losing alignment. Having galloped about 2-3 miles and not encountering any obstacles, the 2nd squadron jumped up a fairly high mountain (the height indicated by the regiment commander) and found itself in a dense forest. The balance in the forest was upset, communication in the thicket was difficult, the horses were breathing heavily. ... the platoons moved towards the enemy to the edge of the forest. Jumping out of the forest, the 2nd platoon directly ran into the enemy battery, followed by the 4th platoon... The German artillerymen did not want to give up and fired back with revolvers and carbines. Hearing the shooting, the 1st and 3rd platoons immediately turned towards the shots and hurried to help their own... Having experienced the effects of our pikes and checkers, the surviving artillerymen surrendered. Some of the riders chased after the flying limbers; It was possible to stop only two limbers, but the frightened horses rushed to the side and the limbers overturned into the ditch. The squadron was behind enemy lines. Already thick lines of enemy infantry were hurrying from all sides. Having cut the lines, they captured the horses and riders; In total, 20 prisoners and 10 beautiful heavy black horses were taken. Despite the fact that among the cavalrymen attacking the battery there were also captured artillerymen, the German infantry still opened fire with rifles and machine guns. Captain Glaser ordered to retreat. Of course, there was no way to remove the guns; these were light (probably four-inch) howitzers; no one in the squadron knew how to remove the locks from the guns. Entering back into the forest, the squadron dismounted and occupied the edge of the forest... They expected help from their own Crimeans, but our 4th and 6th squadrons were sent in ledges behind the flanks of the 2nd squadron and, having stumbled upon large enemy forces, did not could move forward. The 6th Squadron on the left ledge suffered significant losses, with six men killed. There was no one behind in the second echelon. ... Regardless of any circumstances, the battery was destroyed, the enemy could not remove it and the battery was lost to the Germans, and the guns remained on the territory that the Russian troops had managed to occupy. Without the attack of the 2nd squadron, the battery could have been removed in a timely manner and retreated without losses. For the ranks of the German battery, our cavalry attack was completely unexpected, the artillerymen considered themselves sheltered by the infantry in front, but the German infantry chose to go around the heights to the right and left, avoiding climbing a rather steep and high rise; There was a gap through which the 2nd squadron slipped through without encountering resistance from the enemy infantry. In the 2nd squadron there were three killed, two missing and 12 wounded; Cornet Emmanuel was wounded, 35 horses were out of action."

During the withdrawal of Russian troops from Galicia in August 1917, the rifle squadron of the Crimean Cavalry Regiment distinguished itself in a battle west of the lower reaches of the river. Zbruch he stopped the advance of the German infantry. The squadron had 250 bayonets and 4 machine guns in service, which opened fire on the enemy lines, and the horsemen ran forward at full speed. Many Germans were killed and wounded; the Crimean trophies included 160 prisoners and a heavy machine gun.

In November 1917, units of the Crimean Cavalry Regiment returned to their peacetime locations. But many fighters were not destined to return to their native Crimea, remaining on the battlefields.

And the wars that took place from 1784 to 1917. led by the empire, became a vivid testimony of the love and loyalty of the Crimean Tatars to Russia - to their Fatherland.