"You can beg for everything! Money, fame, power, but not the Motherland ... Especially one like my Russia"

A tank column is not a combat or tactical unit. They are distinguished by the inscriptions about belonging to the "nominal" series, bought with funds collected by various segments of the population. The most famous of them is the "Dmitry Donskoy" column, but it was far from the first.

Initially, the collection of funds for the construction of tank columns was of an initiative nature, as a natural desire of those remaining in the rear to provide all possible assistance to the front. However, this process was soon introduced into the framework of planned actions with very specific political goals and economic support.

The collection of funds for one or another tank column took place (as a rule) according to the standard scheme. First, at a meeting of villagers or factory workers, the idea itself was formulated (“a call was thrown”), then the proposal was supported by the collective farm board, the plant management or the regional committee, and an appeal was made in the press. After the transfer of money (apparently, part of the funds was still added by the state), an order followed to the plant and a solemn transfer of equipment to the military unit and its subsequent patronage at the front (letters, parcels, exchange of delegations). It often happened that after some time the first column was followed by a second one with the same name, but with a more advanced technique. Often, those who donated funds for it went to the front with a tank column.

You can also note the appearance of tanks of one column or another at the right time in the right place. So, the tanks of the “For Soviet Estonia” column were the first to break into Tallinn. Tanks from the columns "For Radianska Ukraine" took part in the liberation of Ukraine, moreover, one of them was equipped with English tanks "Churchill".

Alphabetical list of the most famous tank columns:

"Aginsky collective farmer". The inhabitants of this remote corner of the country, hidden in the mountains of Transbaikalia, far from the Trans-Siberian Railway passing through the Ingoda valley, raised funds for a whole tank column.

"Azerbaijani collective farmer". Message in Pravda dated December 29, 1942 Collective farmers of the Azerbaijan SSR contributed 81,020 thousand rubles for the construction of the tank column "Azerbaijani Collective Farmer". The second message in Pravda dated January 20, 1943. The population of Azerbaijan contributed more than 60 million rubles additionally. for the construction of the air squadron "Azerbaijani collective farmer" and other weapons for the Red Army. Subsequently, another 170 million rubles were collected. (April 21, 1943) on tanks and aircraft.

"Akmola osoaviakhimovets". Report in Pravda dated December 12, 1942. The workers of the Akmola region collected 1,100 thousand rubles for the construction of a tank column.

"Arkhangelsk collective farmer". The amount of the collection is 35.2 million rubles. (meaning the collection throughout the Arkhangelsk region, for all the years of the war). For the construction of the tank column "Arkhangelsk Collective Farmer" the workers of the Mezensky district contributed over 550 thousand rubles to the country's defense fund. All residents of the district took part in collecting money and things, even large soldiers did not stand aside. So, in the village of Pyya of the Semzhensky village council, the wives of front-line soldiers Afanasia Dmitrievna Filatova and Anna Mikhailovna Sopochkina, who have five dependent children each, contributed 250 rubles each for the construction of a tank column. Collective farmers of Pyi (and there were ten of them in total) collected 1,850 rubles for the construction of a tank column. Krasnoborsky district gave about 900 thousand rubles. For comparison, in the prices of 1941 for 250 rubles you could buy a Cheviot suit or 7.5 liters of vodka or 10 kg of meat or 100 liters of milk ("The Great Patriotic War: the triumph of the Soviet model of the mobilization economy." Alexander Usovsky). According to the calculation of plant No. 183, compiled in May 1941, the T-34 cost 249 thousand 256 rubles 96 kopecks. In 1942, the cost of one tank at plant number 112 was up to 193 thousand rubles.

"Altai collective farmer". The initiative of the Yeltsovsky district was announced at the height of the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1943, the workers of the region contributed 140,495 rubles to a tank column.

"Bazhitsky worker". The self-propelled gun column was handed over to self-propelled gunners of the 1419th self-propelled artillery regiment, 3rd Guards Tank Army in October 1944.

"Combat Friends". Initiative of the wives of veterans of the Omsk region. Fundraising started in January 1942.

"Bolkhovsky collective farmer". In June 1944, residents of the Odnolutsk village council of the Bolkhovsky district, Oryol region collected 140 thousand rubles. for the construction of a tank column.

"Buryat-Mongolia". collection in the autonomous republic. Started mid-December 1941.

"Verkh-Isetsky worker". The Verkh-Isetsky Metallurgical Plant contributed 1 million rubles to the defense fund. to the tank column.

"Vologda collective farmer". Report in Pravda dated December 30, 1942 Collective farmers of the Vologda Oblast collected 50 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column. The second message in "Pravda" dated February 10, 1943. The workers of the Vologda region, in addition to the previously contributed 50 million rubles. contributed another 17 million rubles.”
On March 2, 1943, near Ostashkov on the North-Western Front, a delegation of Vologda residents handed over the Vologda Collective Farmer column to the 1st Tank Army. During the offensive battles of 1943, on vehicles from the Vologda Collective Farmer column, tankers destroyed 88 enemy tanks, 83 guns, 46 vehicles, 22 mortar batteries, 2 aircraft and 3.5 thousand enemy soldiers and officers.

"Voronezh collective farmer". In November 1942, the Talovo collective farmers made a proposal to raise funds for the construction of a tank column. At the same time, they transferred 300 thousand rubles to the State Bank for a tank column. In addition, they handed over from their personal stocks 38,100 poods of bread, 42,715 poods of potatoes to the Red Army Food Fund. At the initiative of the Talovsky collective farmers, the inhabitants of the Kalacheevsky district collected and transferred 2 million rubles to the State Bank in a short time. For 100 thousand rubles. for the construction of tanks, the collective farmer of the agricultural artel named after Dimitrov s. Manino Kalacheevsky district M.I. Beloglyadova and 75-year-old collective farmer from the agricultural artel "Paris Commune" E.F. Kramarev. As of January 10, 1943, 37.348 thousand rubles were collected.

At the end of April 1943, 8 T-34s were transferred to the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps. The Voronezh grain growers purchased a column of eight combat vehicles with their personal savings. Among the members of the delegation were the initiators of fundraising for the tank column: the collective farmers of the village of Manino, Kalacheevsky district, E. F. Kramarev and M. I. Beloglyadova. On the turrets of two cars there were inscriptions: “Kramarev Erast Fedorovich” and “Beloglyadova Marfa Ivanovna”. When the tanks were distributed among the divisions, the car of E. F. Kramarev was handed over to the crew of the guards, Lieutenant Lysenko. The combat vehicle, purchased at the expense of M.I. Beloglyadova, was presented to the crew of the commander of the 2nd tank company of the 2nd Guards. MBR Senior Lieutenant M. V. Vlasenko.

"Vorotynskaya collective farm girl" On January 29, 1943, a meeting of the wives of front-line soldiers was held in Vorotynets. About two hundred women came from all the villages and towns of the region. They discussed the telegram of thanks from Comrade. Stalin to the Gorky collective farmers for helping the Red Army in the fight against German fascism. In a response letter, they wrote: "... Love for the Motherland and hatred for the enemy make us look for new and new ways to help the front." The women of the Vorotynsky district collected and sent 16,400 warm clothes, 12,000 gifts for dear defenders. “At the call of the wife of a front-line soldier, Muscovite Alexandra Smirnova, we collected 2,400,000 rubles. We ask you to use the funds we have collected to build a tank column "Vorotyn Collective Farm Girl". 35 thousand rubles were donated by the collective farmer Abramova from the city of Kstovo, N.P. Saulova contributed 28 thousand rubles, T. Golubeva, N. A. Kozina, A. I. Kholina, V. Bychkov each contributed 18 thousand.
A delegation from the wives of veterans ordered 10 tanks. Handing over combat vehicles to the tankers of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps, V. Bychkova, chairman of the Voroshilov collective farm, said on behalf of the women of the district: “Dear comrades! Each of these machines embodies the boundless love of the collective farmers of the Vorotynsky district for their homeland, the valiant Red Army. Let these formidable tanks mercilessly smash and destroy the fascist evil spirits.”
Combat vehicles built at the expense of agricultural workers of the Vorotynsky district participated in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, near Belgorod and Kharkov. Their crews courageously smashed the Nazis. So, for example, the crew of Lieutenant Taran in the first battle broke about 20 cars and one gun. Art. lieutenant Morozov and his fighting friends knocked out three Nazi tanks, the crew of Lieutenant Vorebok crushed an enemy cannon in their car, destroyed a tank and several dozen Nazis. The crews of other tanks also distinguished themselves in battles.

"Poltava region is released". The Poltava region in the first half of 1944 contributed more than 100 million rubles.

"Guardsman". A tank column of 10 IS-2 tanks entered service with the 57th Guards Separate Heavy Breakthrough Tank Regiment (TTPP) of the 3rd Guards. tank army in October 1944. Fundraising was among cadets, civilians and l / s of the 1st Guards Ulyanovsk Red Banner Tank School. V. I. Lenin. In January 1945, these vehicles advanced from the Sandomierz bridgehead, participated in the storming of Berlin and the liberation of Prague.

"Army General Hovhannes Baghramyan". In the first days of the war, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church addressed the Armenians living abroad, urging them to rise up to fight against fascism and defend their homeland. The participation of foreign Armenians in the anti-fascist movement manifested itself in various forms, in the ideological and armed struggle, as well as in raising funds to help Soviet Armenia. At the initiative of the Iranian Armenians, a tank column was created, which was given the name "General Baghramyan". Patriots from Iran sent a beautifully inlaid gilded sword as a gift to General Baghramyan, which is kept in the State Historical Museum of Armenia.

"Hero of the Soviet Union Popov". The 54th Guards Tank Brigade in October 1944 received 5 tanks with the inscription "Hero of the Soviet Union Popov". The workers of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic named the tanks built with their savings after their countryman-hero.

"Miner". Tank column built with 1.4 million rubles collected in Kolyma.

"Gorky Dynamo". On December 21, 1942, a column of light tanks and armored vehicles, built at the expense of members of the Dynamo sports society, went to the front. 600 thousand rubles were collected and contributed to the construction of the tank column "Gorky Dynamo". Famous athletes from the Gorky "Dynamo" M. Valovova, V. Kuznetsova, G. Lepekhov, M. Shestakova, S. Paromova, V. Dodonova and others, who contributed their personal savings for the construction of tanks, received gratitude from the Supreme High Command of the Red Army. The Dynamo team was also actively collecting warm clothes for front-line soldiers. The transfer of a column of T-70 tanks and BA-64 armored vehicles to the troops took place on December 21, 1942.

"Gorky Komsomol (ets)". On August 18, 1942, the bureau of the regional committee of the Komsomol approved a new undertaking by the Komsomol members - to build a tank column "Gorky Komsomol". All the youth of the Gorky region took part in the creation of the fund. The best Komsomol members received the right to lead 81 tanks into battle.

"Gorky Pioneer". On September 1, 1941, students of the 102nd school in Gorky appealed to all pioneers and schoolchildren of the Gorky region with an appeal to build the Gorky Pioneer tank. They were supported by students from all schools in the region. Meetings and lines of pioneers were held, at which the pioneers made commitments to be more actively involved in the collection of waste paper, scrap metal, and medicinal herbs. In rural schools - to work in units and brigades and transfer all the money earned to the account of the Gorky Pioneer tank. Several months passed, and 250 thousand rubles. have been collected.
A tank was built at the Gorky Plant, which was handed over to tankers on January 18, 1942 in the park of the Kirovsky district of the city. "Our young friends! - wrote the soldiers of the crew. - We express our deep gratitude to you for the Gorky Pioneer tank built at your expense, which is now smashing fascist executioners. From February 14 to February 25, 1942, he destroyed 6 guns, 1 tank, 5 vehicles, 10 mortars, 12 machine guns. Over 100 fascists. The tankers will continue to mercilessly destroy the enemy.”
In total, during the war years, 7 tanks were built with funds raised by pioneers and schoolchildren of the Gorky region.

"Gorky Osoaviakhimovets". On June 24, 1942, the Bureau of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution on raising funds for the construction of the Gorky Osoaviakhimovets tank column and on assisting the Osoaviakhimovets organizations in raising funds for this column.

"David of Sasun". The initiators are residents of the Armenian SSR. In 1943, the Armenians of New York sent 195 thousand dollars, the Armenians of South America - 580 thousand dollars, the Armenians from Tehran - 1 million 67 thousand reais to create the tank column "David of Sasun". By the end of 1943, a column of 21 T-34s moved to the front and was transferred to 119 separate tank regiments.

Then another 22 T-34-85 tanks with a D-5T gun were ordered to the 119th Tank Regiment. The regiment became part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on March 20, 1944. In July 1944, it was transferred to the 1st Baltic Front. The cars were purchased at the expense of the inhabitants of the Armenian SSR and had the inscription "David of Sasun" on the towers, which was written in the letters of the national alphabet. Subsequently, the tank column operated as part of the army led by I.Kh. Baghramyan and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

“David of Sasun” is a medieval Armenian epic that tells about the struggle of the heroes from Sasun (a region in medieval Armenia, now in Turkey) against the Arab invaders. Formed in the 7th-10th centuries. The epic consists of four branches. The first is Sanasar and Baghdasar, the second is Mher, the third is David, the fourth is Mher the Younger. The monument to David of Sasun on the square in front of the station traditionally serves as the emblem of the Armenfilm film studio.

"Far Eastern Komsomol". For the construction of the tank column "Far Eastern Komsomol" in Dalstroy and the national regions of Kolyma in the first days of February 1942, 3,092.1 thousand rubles were collected.

"Dimitri Donskoy". On December 30, 1942, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, appealed to the archpastors, pastors and parish communities to raise funds for the construction of a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy. To begin with, the patriarchate contributed 100 thousand rubles, the Yelokhovsky Cathedral 300 thousand rubles. The Leningrad diocese, under the blockade, collected 3.182 thousand rubles. in response to the appeal of the Metropolitan of December 5, 1943. About 2 million rubles were contributed by believers in Moscow and the Moscow region.
On January 5, 1943, an exchange of telegrams took place between Metropolitan Sergius and I.V. Stalin, who conveyed gratitude to the Russian clergy and believers for caring for the armored forces of the Red Army, after which he was instructed to open a special account in the State Bank of the USSR. Believers of large cities contributed significant funds: Kuibyshev - 650 thousand rubles, Astrakhan - 501.5 thousand rubles, Penza - 500 thousand rubles, Vologda - 400 thousand rubles, Kazan - 400 thousand rubles, Saratov - 400 thousand. rub, Perm - 305 thousand rubles, Ufa - 230 thousand rubles. The clergy and believers of rural churches also contributed large sums. For example, more than 146 thousand rubles were collected from the Ivanovo region. There was not a single parish that would not have made its feasible contribution to raising funds for the construction of the column. In total, about 8 million were collected.

The baton from the believers was taken over by the workers of the tank factory in Chelyabinsk. In a short time, 40 tanks were built. They made up a column with inscriptions on the towers "Dmitry Donskoy". Its transfer to units of the Red Army took place near the village of Gorelki, which is 5 km northwest of Tula, at the location of the components of the military camps. The 38th tank and 516th flamethrower separate regiments received new equipment. The transfer of 19 T-34-85 tanks with a D-5T cannon and 21 OT-34 flamethrower tanks took place on March 13, 1944. On the day of the transfer of the column, a solemn rally took place, at which Metropolitan Nikolai of Krutitsky spoke to the tankers on behalf of the Patriarch of All Russia. This was the first official meeting of a representative of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church with soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. The 38th tank regiment was sent to the southwestern regions of Ukraine, the 516th to Belarus.

The 38th TP participated in the Uman-Batashev operation, at the beginning of April 1944, only 9 tanks remained in the regiment. Within a month, changing the direction of attacks, the regiment fought more than 60 km. The personnel of the 38th regiment distinguished themselves when crossing the Dniester River with subsequent access to the state border of the USSR. For the successful performance of combat missions, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on April 8, 1944, the regiment was given the honorary name "Dnestrovsky". By the end of April, only four tanks remained in the regiment. Developing the offensive, tankers with landing forces liberated the village of Zherven and crossed the Reut River. By 21 o'clock on April 24, 1944, the 38th division. the Dniester tank regiment completed its last battle. However, even after him, the remaining two combat vehicles in the rifle units smashed the enemy until May 5, 1944. In less than two months, the regiment fought over 130 kilometers. During this period, tankers destroyed about 1420 Nazis, 40 various guns, 108 machine guns, knocked out and captured 38 tanks, 17 armored personnel carriers, 101 transport vehicles, captured 3 fuel depots and captured 84 German soldiers and officers. Subsequently, being in the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander, the 38th regiment was renamed the 74th division. ttp, and then reorganized into the 364th self-propelled tank artillery regiment. At the same time, taking into account the high military merits of the personnel during the Uman-Botoshansky operation, he was awarded the title of "Guards" and retained the honorary name "Dnestrovsky".

516th division flamethrower tank regiment, began hostilities on July 16, 1944, together with the 2nd assault engineer-sapper brigade (later the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd class) of the 1st Belorussian Front. In view of the flamethrower weapons installed on the tanks (which were secret at that time), the units of this regiment were involved in the performance of special combat missions on especially difficult sectors of the front in cooperation with assault battalions. A letter of thanks from the command, party and Komsomol organizations of the regiment addressed to Metropolitan Nikolai said: “In liberating our sacred Motherland, we will smash and pursue the German invaders, as long as our eyes see, while our heart beats in our chest, not knowing mercy for the worst enemies of mankind. The name of the great Russian commander Dmitry Donskoy, like the unfading glory of weapons, we will carry on the armor of our tanks forward to the West, to complete and final victory. In January 1945, they bravely stormed the strong fortifications of Poznan, and in the spring they fought on the Seelow Heights. Tanks "Dmitry Donskoy" reached Berlin, liberated Vienna, Prague.

"Dzerzhinets" April 25, 1942 message in the newspaper "Moskovsky Bolshevik". With the funds raised by Komsomol members and youth of the Dzerzhinsky district, a heavy tank was built, which was given the name "Dzerzhinets". The tank was sent to one of the parts of the Western Front.
June 30, 1942, a message in the Moskovsky Bolshevik newspaper: In Moscow, a solemn transfer to representatives of the active army of a column of heavy KB tanks, built at the expense of the workers of the Dzerzhinsky district, took place. Each of the five transferred tanks has the inscription "Dzerzhinets".

"Dmitrievka - to the front". 1943, 16 T-34s.

"Taking the Enemy". Built with funds raised by the families of veterans of the Oryol region. Transferred to the First Guards Tank Army.

"Don Cossack". 15.176.5 thousand rubles from the liberated areas of the Rostov region. was collected for tanks for the 5th Guards. Don Cossack Corps (March 14, 1943)

"Zhizdrinsky collective farmer". In the autumn of 1943, after the liberation of the Zhizdrinsky district, the workers decided to build a Zhizdrinsky Kolkhoznik tank column for the Red Army. Students donated large sums of money. Thus, a student of the Zhizdrinskaya secondary school, Luda Egorova, contributed over 3,000 rubles in cash. and about 3.6 thousand rubles. government bonds, and Viktor Shemetylo - about 1 thousand rubles. in cash and over 2 thousand rubles. bonds. In total, the workers of the region collected 675 thousand rubles for the Zhizdrinsky Kolkhoznik tank column.

"For Our Victory". 10.725 thousand rubles collected and brought in January 1943 by soldiers of the 7th Army. The tanks built with these funds were transferred on October 25-30, 1943 to the 5th tank corps of Sakhno.

"For Zina Tusnolobova". Uralmash workers fired 5 T-34 tanks with a turret "nut" with the inscription "For Zina Tusnolobova" in excess of the plan.

"For Radianska Ukraine"("For Soviet Ukraine"). First. Officially announced on January 21, 1943 in the Pravda newspaper about the collection of 22 million rubles. troops of the Southwestern Front. Obviously, 21 Churchill IV tanks were bought with these funds, with which the 36th Guards was equipped. ttpp, who took part in the Battle of Kursk.

Second. The initiator is the Hammer and Sickle plant. Gathering among the teams of evacuated enterprises of Ukraine and residents of the occupied areas. Each tank had its own name: "Bogdan Khmelnitsky", "Shchors", "Parkhomenko" ... T-34 tanks were received.

"For advanced (Soviet) science". March 1942. Initiative of a group of academicians (V. L. Komarov, A. I. Abrikosov, I. P. Bardin, E. A. Chudakov, E. M. Yaroslavsky), who transferred individual contributions, fees for lectures, a quarter of the fee for publications. Ural Industrial Institute and Polytechnic donated 1 million rubles. to the tank column "For Advanced Soviet Science". April 2, 1942, a message in the Pravda newspaper: A group of academicians and scientists turned to all scientists in the country with a proposal to take an active part in the construction of the tank column "For Advanced Science". April 21, 1942 a message in the newspaper "Moskovsky Bolshevik": A message was published stating that the Council for Scientific Propaganda and the House of Scientists of the USSR Academy of Sciences are holding lectures, the collection from which goes to the fund of the tank column "For Advanced Science".

"For Soviet Moldova"("Soviet Moldova"). In the summer of 1944, funds were raised among Moldovan citizens for the construction of tanks "For Soviet Moldavia". 20.463 thousand rubles, 64.906 pounds of grain, 411 heads of cattle were received from the Moldavian SSR on October 12, 1944.

"For Soviet Estonia". Evacuated Estonians and Estonian national units collected 3.1 million rubles. (for April 2, 1943). It was equipped with T-34 tanks of various modifications. The column was transferred to the active army in June 1943.

"Defender of the South". More than 4 million rubles introduced in January by the front-line regions of the Krasnodar Territory.

"Zvilna Dnepropetrovsk region". Collected 100 million rubles. at the beginning of May 1944

"Ivan Susanin". Report in Pravda on December 12, 1942 Collective farmers of the Yaroslavl region collected 70 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column.

"Ivanovsky collective farmer". A message in Pravda dated December 17, 1942. The collective farmers of the Ivanovo region (including the collective farmer Ryabinin) collected 65.187 thousand rubles for the Ivanovo collective farmer tank column in 5 days of December. These funds were used to build 210 T-34s, 12 SU-152s, 16 SU-85s and 21 SU-76s, which on November 20-30, 1943 were transferred to Anikushkin's 25th shopping mall.

"Named after V. I. Chapaev". Saratov region. The initiator is the Volga Iron Foundry. The collection was organized in November 1941.

"The name of the miners of the Moscow region coal basin". Fundraising was undertaken in early September 1941 on an initiative basis, then was carried out under the auspices of the Tula regional party committee. The work was curtailed due to the proximity of the front.

"Named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya". Tank column from Georgia.

"In the name of the youth of Leningrad". By the beginning of 1942, more than 10.4 million rubles had been collected.

"Named after M. V. Frunze". The initiative was announced by the Ivanovo textile engineering plant on November 4, 1941. They pledged to deduct one-day earnings and called on the entire Ivanovo region to take part. The regional committee naturally approved and issued a special decision "On the collection of funds ...". By the end of the year, they collected about 1.440 thousand rubles.

"Imeni MOPR". A collection under the auspices of the International Organization for Assistance to the Fighters of the Revolution began in Moscow during the period of its defense, with the subsequent involvement of almost all MOPR organizations in the country. In October 1942, MOPR handed over 56 tanks to the army.

"Named after S. M. Kirov". Fundraising was carried out in January at the Moscow Dynamo plant.

"Irkutsk railwayman". In June 1944, included in the 40th Guards. brigade, 1st guards. TA.

"Irkutsk collective farmer". Report in Pravda dated January 21, 1943 Collective farmers of the Irkutsk region collected 58 million rubles. and 5 kg of gold for the construction of the Irkutsk Kolkhoznik tank column. Fundraising by residents of the Irkutsk region began on November 3, 1942.

"Irkutsk Komsomolets". First. By April 24, 1942, the inhabitants of the Irkutsk region collected 2,842,855 rubles for the construction of a tank column. They built a tank column in a dedicated area in front of the exit from the main building of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. The initiators were Komsomol members who had served in the army, tank troops and specialists who had previously worked at tank factories. There were 25 people in total. P. L. Pershin provided the columns with details. Viktor Filimonov was responsible for the quality of the assembly of tanks and parts. L. Borisov selected and made drawings and was responsible for providing tools and materials. A. I. Denisevich directly supervised the assembly of tanks, their testing and delivery to a military representative.
They began to manufacture tanks in November 1941. By the beginning of work, there were only armored hulls, M-5 tank engines, gearboxes, radiators and some of the equipment. In addition, there was a set of drawings in the form of albums for the BT-5 and T-26 tanks. They worked a lot, often did not leave the factory for a day. The assembly was delayed due to the lack of many parts. Along the way, I had to deal with a number of complex issues. The Komsomol members managed to overcome all obstacles and by April 1942, 12 tanks had already been made: 8 BT-5 tanks and 4 T-26 tanks.
The assembly of the BT-5 tanks was completed by February 23, 1942. It remained to carry out sea trials, install weapons and shoot them. Running tanks showed their suitability. All components and assemblies worked properly. The tests were carried out according to the available specifications. They tested outside the city one car a day. After 2 days, weapons were installed. The remaining 4 T-26 tanks were delayed in assembly, because. there were no motors, and they were promised to be sent from a warehouse in a neighboring district. When they were delivered, the T-26 tanks were also tested according to specifications.
Anton Denisevich and Viktor Filimonov were entrusted with presenting the combat gift. The convoy reached Moscow in 22 days. We left Moscow by car to a small railway station, where the tanks were unloaded. All the personnel were lined up there, a solemn meeting was held. They handed over from the Komsomol and the working people of the region fighting gifts and an order to beat the Nazis harder. The best crew of the unit was given a tank with the inscription "Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya".
On May 6, 1942, 6 BT-5 tanks and 2 T-26 tanks were transferred to the 206th reserve rifle regiment, which was sent to the Western Front. In a solemn atmosphere, representatives of the youth of the region handed over formidable combat vehicles to the tankmen of the unit of Lieutenant Colonel D.V. Vasilevsky. October 10, 1942 with the next echelon of gifts to the 7th separate army on the river. Svir sent 4 more tanks.
Second. March 1, 1943 the second tank column "Irkutsk Komsomolets" consisting of 20 tanks was handed over to front-line soldiers. In total, 12.360 thousand rubles were collected for the construction of tanks. According to other sources - 32 T-34 tanks and 2 T-70 tanks.

"Kalinin Front". In December 1942, the collective farmers of the Krasnoye Znamya agricultural artel appealed to organize a fundraiser for the construction of the Kalinin Front tank column.

"Kalinin Komsomolets". Communication in Pravda of February 1, 1943 Collective farmers of the Kalinin region, in addition to the previously contributed 95 million rubles. for the construction of tank columns "Kalinin Front" and "Kalinin Komsomolets" additionally contributed 43,704 thousand rubles. Fundraising began on October 22, 1942.

"Kamchatka fisherman". Communication in Pravda dated February 11, 1943. The workers of the Kamchatka region, in addition to the previously contributed 32 million rubles. in cash and 33 million rubles. government bonds contributed another 14 million rubles. for the construction of the Kamchatka Fisherman tank column.

"Karelian collective farmer". 3 million rubles were collected for the construction of a tank column. from the population of the front-line Karelian-Finnish SSR.

"Kirovets". In 1943, the boys and girls of the Kirov region transferred over 460 thousand rubles to the Kirovets tank column.

"Collective farmer of Armenia". Report in Pravda on December 29, 1942. The collective farmers of Armenia contributed 38 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column. This figure was re-named on February 27, 1943.

"Collective farmer of Georgia". Communication in Pravda dated January 9, 1943 Collective farmers of the Georgian SSR, in addition to the previously contributed 72,500 thousand rubles. 37,500 thousand rubles were additionally contributed to the construction of the tank column "Collective Farmer of Georgia". On April 16, 1943, the same amount was named - 110 million rubles.

"Collective farmer of Transbaikalia". Message in Pravda of December 23, 1943. The workers of the Chita region, in addition to the 20 million rubles previously contributed for the construction of the tank column "Collective Farmer of Transbaikalia". contributed 25,710 thousand rubles for the construction of weapons for the Red Army, as well as 28 kg 611 g of gold.

"Collective farmer of Kazakhstan". The Pravda newspaper reported on fundraising in the republic in December. Collective farmers and collective farmers of the Kazakh SSR collected 270.686 thousand rubles, only in the Alma-Ata region they collected 56.7 million rubles as of March 26, 1943. Tanks built with the funds raised were transferred to the 1st Guards. Don Panzer Corps Panov.

"Collective farmer of Kyrgyzstan". A report in Pravda dated December 27, 1942. The working people of the Kirghiz SSR collected 85 million rubles for the construction of a tank column.

"Collective farmer of Nikolayevshchina". Liberated areas of the Nikolaev region. gave the front 15 million rubles. (“Pravda”, April 2, 1944).

"Collective farmer of North Ossetia". Report in Pravda dated February 8, 1943 Collective farmers of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic contributed more than 3 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column.

"Collective farmer of Tajikistan". A report in Pravda dated December 28, 1942. The collective farmers of Tajikistan contributed 61 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column. The second message in "Pravda" dated January 20, 1943. The working people of Tajikistan collected another 14 million rubles. by March 20, 1943 - more than 81 million rubles in total. The column was handed over to the army in early 1943.

"Collective farmer of Tataria" and "Komsomolets of Tataria". On November 13, 1942, the fundraising was approved by the Tatar Regional Committee. Collective farmers of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic collected more than 100 million rubles. Of these, it was collected by residents of Yelabuga and the Yelabuga region for the construction
tank columns "Komsomolets of Tataria" and "Collective Farmer of Tataria" more than 4 million rubles On May 5, 1943, the tank column was transferred to the 10th tank corps

"Collective farmer of Udmurtia". A message in Pravda dated December 28, 1942. Collective farmers transferred all earnings for June and July of the 42nd to the construction of a tank column named after the Udmurt Republic. In total, about 41 million rubles were collected. The transfer of tanks to combat crews took place in October 1942.

"Collective farmer of Uzbekistan". On December 22, 1942, Pravda announced that the collective farmers of the Uzbek SSR had collected 260 million rubles in 6 days. in cash.

"Collective farmer of Chuvashia". A message in Pravda dated December 27, 1942. "Tractor driver of Chuvashia" and "Kolokhoznik of Chuvashia" cost the Chuvash ASSR 31.552 thousand rubles. As of January 13, 1942, 1.565 thousand rubles were collected. 42 KV-85 heavy tanks transferred to the 27th Guards. TTP and 30th Guards. TTP October 30, 1943

"Komsomolets of Altai". Report in Pravda dated October 12, 1941 Komsomol members and youth of the Rubtsovsky district of the Altai Territory proposed to build a tank column "Komsomolets of Altai" at the expense of youth. Earned on the Komsomol Sunday work 462 thousand rubles. and 146 thousand workdays were given to the construction of the column. The initiative of the Rubtsovsk Komsomol members was widely picked up by the youth of the entire Altai Territory. By the end of the year, the Altai Territory gave 3,600 thousand rubles. The execution of the order was protracted. In the publication of Pravda, the collection is mentioned in the first half of 1943.

"Komsomolets of Kazakhstan". 46 vehicles were purchased in the autumn of 1942 and transferred to the tank unit operating on the outskirts of Stalingrad.

"Komsomolets of Uzbekistan". Report in Pravda dated December 22, 1942 Collective farmers of the Uzbek SSR contributed 260 million rubles. for the construction of tanks and aircraft.

"Red Tofalaria". In the first half of 1944, the workers of Tofalaria contributed 645,000 rubles for the construction of a tank column. and 1 kg of gold. Tofalars (self-name - Tofa, former name - Karagasy), a small (620 people, according to the 1970 census) Turkic-speaking people living in the Nizhneudinsky district of the Irkutsk region. Officially, they were converted to Orthodoxy, but they also retained traditional beliefs - in the spirits of nature, ancestors, and a fishing cult. Before the October Revolution of 1917, the basis of the economy was taiga nomadic reindeer husbandry and hunting; preserved signs of the primitive communal system. In Soviet times, they switched to a settled way of life and began to work in cooperative fur farms.

"Krasnoyarsk collective farmer" and "Krasnoyarsk worker". Report in Pravda dated January 12, 1943. The working people of the Krasnoyarsk Territory contributed 70 million rubles from their personal savings. for the construction of tank columns "Krasnoyarsk Collective Farmer" and "Krasnoyarsk Worker". In addition, the collective farmers transferred 190,000 poods of grain from their personal stocks to the Red Army Fund. The collection was carried out already in December 1942. The second report in Pravda dated February 17, 1943. The working people of the Krasnoyarsk Territory contributed an additional 30 million rubles. and transferred 110,000 poods of grain to the Red Army Fund.

"Krasnoyarsk Chekist". In 1944, fundraising began for the construction of the Krasnoyarsk Chekist tank column. Then 745,776 rubles were collected in cash and 1,543,765 rubles in bonds. The second telegram of gratitude from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was the answer to the new patriotic initiative.

"Red Worker". Plant them. Voroshilov passed 5.125 thousand rubles.

"Kuban Komsomolets". August 1941 Apparently, one of the first fundraising campaigns for the construction of tank columns. Started on the initiative of the Novorossiysk cement plant "October".

"Kuibyshev collective farmer". On February 20, 1943, the transfer of the 117th brigade, the 1st tank corps of the column, built with funds raised by the working people of the region, took place.

"Latvian shooter"(“Latvijas Strelnieks”). It was sorano 2.5 million rubles. from the evacuated population of Latvia and the shooters of the Latvian national units. They built T-34 tanks.

"Lembitu". Built at the expense of the workers of the Estonian SSR. Shortly before the assault on Koenigsberg, 37 T-34-85 tanks were transferred to the 51st Tank Regiment, which was part of the 1st Insterburg Red Banner Tank Corps of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
In 1211 Prince Lembitu led the struggle of his people against the crusaders. In 1217 he entered into an alliance with Novgorod. Therefore, the personality of Lembitu symbolized not only the history of the struggle of the Estonians against the Teutonic Knights, but also the historical roots of the friendship between the Estonian and Russian peoples.

The commander of the tank battalion, Major Svintsov, the commander of the assault company, Captain Kotlya, the driver-mechanic, Sergeant Rukavitsin, and other soldiers, who spoke at the rally, asked the command to convey gratitude to the Estonian workers and assure them that the people's money would not be wasted, that the name "Lembitu" inscribed on the armor of entrusted them cars, our tankers will carry through all the enemy ramparts and barriers to the center of the East Prussian capital. And they kept their promise.

"Leningrader". Communication in Pravda on February 4, 1943. The working people of Leningrad contributed 74,500 thousand rubles for the construction of the Leningradets tank column, the Leningrad air force and artillery.

"Leningrad collective farmer". In the autumn of 1942, residents of the Pestovsky district of the Novgorod region raised funds for the construction of the Leningrad Kolkhoznik tank column. 2.537.460 rubles were collected. money and 725.5 thousand rubles. government bonds. At the same time, they turned to the Central Committee of the party with a request to name one of the tanks after their countryman, Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitich Boytsov. The Central Committee of the Party granted the request of the Pestovites.

"Leningrad Osoaviakhimovets". Members of osoaviakhim contributed 13 million rubles. for the construction of a tank column.

"Leningrad partisan". Report in Pravda dated February 9, 1943. Partisans and collective farmers of the temporarily occupied regions of the Leningrad Region contributed 800 thousand rubles. for building tanks.

"Ludinovsky worker". In 1944, 789 thousand rubles were collected in the Lyudinovsky district for a tank column.

"Manshuk Mametova". A column of 26 tanks arrived at the 53rd Guards. tbr. Named after the first Kazakh woman - Hero of the Soviet Union.
The clerk of the headquarters of the 100th Kazakh separate rifle brigade, she graduated from the courses of machine gunners and was appointed the first number of the machine gun crew. On October 15, 1943, in heavy battles for the liberation of the city of Nevel during the defense of a dominant height, left alone, seriously wounded by a shrapnel in the head, she destroyed 70 enemy soldiers and died a heroic death. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Senior Sergeant Mametova Manshuk Zhiengalievna was awarded posthumously by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 1, 1944.
In the main ridge of the Malo-Almatinsky spur, Manshuk Peak (4144 m) is named after her. In Alma-Ata, one of the central streets was named after Manshuk Mametova, and in the Central Square of the city a twin bronze monument was erected to Kazakh women - war heroines - Manshuk Mametova and Aliya Moldagulova.

"Metallurg-Kuibyshevets". The team of the plant named after V. V. Kuibyshev collected and contributed to the State Bank 1.920 thousand rubles.

"Moscow". The column was handed over in January 1943 to the 31st tank brigade of V. F. Orlov.

"Young guard". Voroshilovograd region during the second half of February - the first half of April collected 21 million rubles.

"Mosalsky Komsomolets". In the middle of 1942, the boys and girls of the Mosalsk region donated over 114.9 thousand rubles for the construction of a tank column. money and about 247.5 thousand rubles. government bonds.

"Moscow Collective Farmer". Messages in Pravda dated December 11 and 21, 1942 Collective farmers of the Moscow region collected 75 million rubles for the construction of a tank column. The initiator is the collective farm "The Way to Socialism" (Zyablikovo, Leninsky District). For 4 days, the district gave 4.1 million rubles. Transfer of KB-1C tanks to the 59th division. TP took place on December 10, 1942. The regiment was sent to Stalingrad. In the autumn of 1943 he took part in the battles for Kyiv.

On December 21, 1942, the tanks of the second tank column "Moscow Collective Farmer" were handed over, built with funds raised by the Kolomensky, Kuntsevsky, Kashirsky districts. The last to be transferred was a tank with the inscription “Gift of the Red Army from the collective farmer Stepan Alishkin” (contributed 125 thousand rubles). The crew of each tank was taken under the patronage of a separate collective farm.

"Moscow Osoaviakhim". The first report in the newspaper "Moscow Bolshevik" dated December 30, 1941. The transfer of the column is dated April 28, 1942 to one of the parts of the Western Front.

"Moscow Pioneer". In 1942, the pioneers of Moscow handed over to the representatives of the Red Army the tank column "Moscow Pioneer" (18 tanks), built with the money earned by the pioneers of Moscow (5 million rubles). She took part in the battles near Rzhev, Orel, Sevsk.

"Moscow tractor driver". On February 25, 1942, the Moscow Bolshevik newspaper published a message stating that tractor drivers, workers and employees of the Lenin MTS of the Leninsky district deducted their two-day earnings to the fund for the construction of the Moscow Tractor Driver tank column and urged all workers of machine and tractor stations to follow their example Moscow region. On March 21, 1942, a message was published stating that the collectives of the Kurovskaya, Leninskaya and Kolomenskaya MTS turned to all agricultural workers in the region with a proposal to build a tank column "Moscow Tractor Driver". Supporting this proposal, the workers of the Mozhaisk MTS decided to deduct two days' wages for the construction of the column.

"People's teacher". In 1942, in response to the All-Union Call for Teachers from the Kuibyshev Region, teachers from Kaluga and the liberated regions took an active part in raising funds for a tank column. In March 1942, the teachers of the Buzuluk schools decided to deduct one day's monthly salary for the construction of the "People's Teacher" tank column.

"People's Teacher of Georgia". Teachers of the Ochamchira district of the Abkhaz ASSR contributed 64,639 rubles in cash for the construction of tanks and handed over 455 thousand rubles. government bonds.

"Novotalilsky metallurgist". Novotagilsky plant collected 1.290 thousand rubles.

"Omsk Kolkhoznik". A report in Pravda dated January 9, 1943. The collective farmers of the Omsk region contributed 53 million rubles. for the construction of the tank column "Omsk Collective Farmer". In addition, they transferred 232,478 poods of grain to the Red Army Fund.

"Orlovsky collective farmer". In March 1944, the collective farmers of the Orlovsky district collected 1,030 thousand rubles from their personal savings. for the construction of a tank column.

"Orlovsky partisan". Transfer of 28 million rubles. dated February 1943.

"The Liberator of Proskurov". The tank column, built at the expense of the workers of the Kamenetz-Podolsk region and the city of Proskurov, was handed over to the tankers of the 9th MK (69th, 70th, 71st MBR) of the 3rd Guards. TA in October 1944

"Freed Eagle". In March 1944, the inhabitants of the city of Orel handed over 1,510 thousand rubles to the Defense Fund, directing them to the construction of a tank column.

"From Velikolutsky collective farmers"

"From the workers of the city of Sovetskaya Gavan". A self-propelled gun column was handed over to self-propelled gunners of the 1419th SAP, 3rd Guards. TA in October 1944

"From the workers of Moldova". Entered the 1st Guards Tank Army.

"Answer of the Ilyichevtsev". Tank column from Zhdanov.

"Stalingrad's answer". On July 12, 1943, an echelon of tanks "Answer of Stalingrad", repaired at the STZ, was sent to the front.

"Perm osoaviakhimovets". The Perm regional organization of Osoaviakhim contributed 2.5 million rubles.

"Pioneer"(tank platoon). Initiative of the 102nd school in Gorky. November 1942

"Pioneer of Bashkiria". Bashkir pioneers collected about 1 million rubles.

"Primorsky Komsomolets". 20 T-34 tanks with crews from the Far East. A plate with the name of the column was attached to the front of the car. Transferred to the 56th Guards. tbr.

"Production cooperation of the RSFSR". A report in Pravda dated December 13, 1942. Workers of the RSFSR industrial cooperation collected 24 million rubles for the construction of a tank column.

"Print Worker". Initiative of Moscow journalists. On May 6, 1942, in the Hall of Columns, a meeting of press workers, together with the party activists of Moscow, was held, dedicated to the Day of the Bolshevik Press and the 30th anniversary of the Pravda newspaper. It was decided to build a tank column "Print Worker" and to raise funds for this purpose. Employees of newspapers from republican to political departments and employees of publishing houses participated in the gathering.

"Sovkhoz Worker". A report in Pravda dated February 7, 1943. Employees of the People's Commissariat of Grain and Livestock State Farms of the USSR contributed 43,895 thousand rubles from their personal savings. for the construction of a tank column and an air squadron "State Farm Worker".

"Revolutionary Mongolia". Funds from the Mongolian People's Republic arrived at Vneshtorgbank on February 10, 1942: 2.5 million tugriks; 100 thousand US dollars; 300 kg of gold. Total in Soviet equivalent - 3.815.725 rubles. On January 12, 1943, the column (32 T-34s, 21 T-70s) was received by the 112th Red Banner brigade (later the 44th Guards brigade).
The delegation of the MPR was headed by Marshal H. Choibalsan. One tank was presented from him personally.

In addition to tanks, the Mongols brought 237 wagons with clothes and food: 1,000 tons of meat, 90 tons of butter, 80 tons of sausage, 150 tons of confectionery, 30,000 sheepskin coats, 30,000 pairs of boots, 30,000 fur padded jackets. On the tank towers, in addition to the name of the column, there were inscriptions from which aimag this vehicle was granted. Subsequently, with the name "Revolutionary Mongolia", more advanced types of T-34 tanks entered the brigade. The tanks were named:
"Big Khural"
"Small Khural"
"Marshal Choibalsan"
"Mongolian arat"
"Mongolian Chekist"
"Central Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party"
"Sukhe Bator"
"From the intelligentsia of the MPR"
"From Soviet citizens to the Mongolian People's Republic"
"From the Council of Ministers of the MPR"
"Khatan-Bator Maksarzhab"

"Fisherman of the Volga-Caspian". The initiator is the fishing collective farm "New Way" of the Volodarsky district of the Astrakhan district. The appeal was published on December 16, 1942. The first contribution of fishermen is 20% of the overplanned catch.

"Sverdlovsk Komsomolets". First. The idea came from Komsomol members, but was supported by the participation of the entire Sverdlovsk region. Within a few months of 1941 and the beginning of 1942, 16.5 million rubles were collected. Two factories were engaged in the execution of the order at once, and the factory Komsomol members expressed a desire to carry out all work outside working hours. Then they were supported by volunteers from the communists and non-party people. The last vehicle of the column was assembled at the end of April 1942. The transfer of army tanks took place in May.
Second. The initiative of the regional committee of the Komsomol. It was announced on December 1, 1942. By the end of 1942, the youth of the region had collected 10.1 million rubles. Actually, the Sverdlovsk youth raised money for 27 tanks, the Tagil youth for 14, from Kamyshlov and Rezh they handed over for 6 cars. By February 23, 1943, the total amount was 23.4 million rubles, which was enough to build 132 tanks.
Third. In 1943, the third tank column "Sverdlovsky Komsomolets" went to the front, 22 million rubles were collected for the construction of the second.
In total, during the war years, Komsomol members and youth of the Sverdlovsk region collected 54.9 million rubles for the Red Army.

"Sverdlovsk musician". The Sverdlovsk and Kyiv (located in Sverdlovsk) conservatories donated 24,756 rubles. on the tank column "Sverdlovsk musician".

"Severomorets". A message in Pravda dated January 30, 1943. The soldiers of the Northern Fleet contributed 22,283 thousand rubles. for the construction of aircraft, the Severomorets tank column and combat boats.

"Siberian". Residents of the Irkutsk region collected 19.773 thousand rubles. Combat vehicles were handed over to the 2nd Guards. TC Colonel A. S. Burdeyny.

"Death to the German Invaders". In the days of preparation for the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky operation, tanks built at the personal expense of the workers of the Kabardian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic entered the formations of the 2nd Tank Army.

"Smolensk Partisan". Report in Pravda on December 29, 1942. The workers of the areas of the Smolensk region liberated from the fascist invaders contributed 14,952,980 rubles. for the construction of a tank column.
In November 1942, the collective farmers of the Imeni Ilyich agricultural artel of the Laptevsky village council of the Meshchovsky district proposed to begin the construction of the Smolensky Partisan tank column, for which in February 1943 the inhabitants of the district transferred 1,143,538 rubles. Message in Pravda dated December 29, 1942: 15 million rubles were contributed. money and about 100 tons of bread. As of the end of January 1943, 22.239 thousand rubles were received from the liberated regions of the Smolensk region.

"Smolensk Komsomolets". Supporting the initiative of the Meshchovites, the workers of Baryatinsky, Dzerzhinsky, Iznoskovsky, Kirovsky, Kozelsky, Medynsky, Mosalsky, Sukhinichsky and Yukhnovsky districts, who transferred over 30 million rubles

The defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad meant the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. However, by this time the enemy still had a powerful military potential. His defeat required more effort. For decisive military operations, the Red Army did not have enough armored vehicles. Workers of tank factories worked tirelessly. All over the country there were fundraising for the construction of tanks. By December 1942 alone, about 150 tank columns were built at the expense of the workers.

The nationwide concern for the needs of the Red Army did not bypass the Church, which sought to make a feasible contribution to resolving the problem that had arisen.

On December 30, 1942, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, appealed to the archpastors, pastors and parish communities to raise funds for the construction of a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy. This call was accepted by the whole Church.

On January 5, 1943, an exchange of telegrams took place between Metropolitan Sergius and I. Stalin, who conveyed gratitude to the Russian clergy and believers for caring for the armored forces of the Red Army, after which an instruction was given to open a special account in the State Bank of the USSR, which was the first approval of the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church during the years of Soviet power.

Over 8 million rubles, a large amount of gold and silver items were collected for the construction of 40 tanks. About 2 million rubles were donated by believers in Moscow and the Moscow region. 1 million rubles were received from believers in Leningrad. The receipt of funds from believers in other cities are given in the table.

CitiesCash Contribution

Moscow2 million rubles

Leningrad

1 million rubles

Kuibyshev650 thousand rubles

Astrakhan501.5 thousand rubles

Penza500 thousand rubles

Vologda400 thousand rubles

Kazan400 thousand rubles

Saratov400 thousand rubles

Perm305 thousand rubles

Ufa230 thousand rubles

The clergy and believers of rural churches also contributed large sums. For example, more than 146 thousand rubles were collected from the Ivanovo region. There was not a single parish that would not have made its feasible contribution to raising funds for the construction of the column. There was not even a single rural parish on land free from fascist invaders that did not make its feasible contribution to the cause of the whole people.

Evidence of deep patriotism is filled with the memoirs of the archpriest of the church of the village of Trinity, Dnepropetrovsk region, I.V. Let their names be known to people: Kovrigina Maria Maksimovna and Gorbenko Matrena Maksimovna. And they went, they went after all the people had already made their contribution through the village council. Two Maksimovnas went to ask in the name of Christ to protect their dear Motherland from rapists. They went around the entire parish - villages, farms and towns, located 5-20 kilometers from the village, and as a result - 10 thousand rubles, a significant amount in our places devastated by German monsters. That's how those millions were going.

The baton from the believers was taken over by the workers of the tank factory in Chelyabinsk. In a short time, 40 T-34 tanks were built. They made up a column with inscriptions on the towers of military vehicles "Dimitri Donskoy". Its transfer to units of the Red Army took place near the village of Gorelki, which is 5 km northwest of Tula, at the location of the components of the military camps. Formidable equipment was received by the 38th and 516th divisions. etc. By that time, both had gone through difficult combat paths. The first participated in the battles on the Demyansk bridgehead, near Vyazma and Rzhev, liberated the cities of Nevel and Velikiye Luki, beat the enemy near Leningrad and Novgorod. The second, which is especially noteworthy, before receiving the “thirty-fours” from the Russian Orthodox Church, honorably justified the trust of the Far Eastern youth, passing the roads of war on the tanks of the Khabarovsk Komsomolets column.

There, near Tula, the combat paths of the regiments would part. The 38th will go to the southwestern regions of Ukraine, the 516th to Belarus. The military fate of the combat vehicles "Dimitri Donskoy" will develop differently. It will be short and bright for the 38th regiment, long and secretive for the 516th. But on March 8, 1944, on the day of the delivery of the general church column, they stood on the same snowy field. Each, according to the state, was supposed to have 21 tanks. Only the 516th regiment received such a number, the 38th received 19. Considering the high significance of the patriotic act of believers, on the day of the transfer of the column, a solemn rally took place, at which Metropolitan Nikolai of Krutitsky spoke to the tankmen on behalf of the Patriarch of All Russia.

This was the first official meeting of a representative of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church with soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. The second at a higher level took place on March 30, 1944 in Moscow. No, not on the initiative and without the support of Stalin. It was organized by the chairman of the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR G. G. Karpov, who at that time was in charge of relations between the government and the Patriarch. The reception was attended by: from the military council of the armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army - Lieutenant General N. I. Biryukov, from the Russian Orthodox Church - Patriarch Sergius of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod and Metropolitan Nikolai Krutitsy. For many years, due to the existing domestic policy of the state, this fact was hidden under the heading "secret". Today you can see a short transcript of the speeches at the reception. They do not contain secrets, but only express the unity of feelings and aspirations of people of polar worldviews, but held together by devotion to the Motherland in its difficult hour.

Lieutenant General of the tank troops N. I. Biryukov: “Let me, Ivan Nikolaevich (Ivan Nikolaevich Stragorodsky - the name of Patriarch Sergius before being tonsured a monk), first of all, thank you on behalf of the military council of the armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army, as the organizer of a large noble and patriotic cause aimed at helping the Red Army in defeating the enemies of humanity - fascism. Let me also, at the same time, assure you that the tanks that we built at the expense of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church and all believers were handed over to worthy people who will not hesitate to give their lives for the liberation of our Motherland from enemies, from German fascists.

I must also say that one of the regiments armed with your tanks ... is already participating in the battles at the front and, I would say, is participating with great success. As a tanker, it is doubly pleasant for me, perhaps, to realize that we have received solid assistance from you ... And I declare here again that the contributions made by the believers and the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, they will be honorably used by our officers and fighters of those units in which your tanks are located ... Let me thank you again, Ivan Nikolaevich, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for your noble, patriotic cause.

Sergius - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia: “I am very glad that a small beginning has been made. We do not doubt for a moment and did not doubt that all ordinary people who love our Motherland, of course, will not hesitate to give their lives in order to fulfill their military duty. We have no doubts and can only rejoice that we here, although insignificant, have added a drop of our participation to this common feat, common labor, that we also participate in this work.

I wish you, as a representative of the tank troops, including our column, that the glory of Dimitry Donskoy rest on today's representatives of "Dimitry Donskoy" and that not only you and your comrades-in-arms inherit this glory, but (I'll put it simply) that you return safe back from this fiery furnace, into which you have to go and where you have to act, so that you return home healthy and unharmed and rejoice with us, with everyone, and with your loved ones. May God grant you that your words come true and that the glory of Dimitry Donskoy touches you and all representatives of the tank troops.

The 38th Division was the first to receive a baptism of fire. TP in the Uman-Botoshansk operation, participating in the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in the liberation of the southwestern regions of Ukraine and part of Bessarabia. Having made a twelve-day combined march in the region of Uman, the regiment took the battle on the night of March 23-24, 1944. Acting in conjunction with the infantry assault rifle units of the 94th Guards. rifle division of the 53rd Army, the tankers met stubborn enemy resistance on the outskirts of the settlements of Korytnoye, Kazatskoye and the city of Balta.

A fierce confrontation unfolded with the German "Tigers" and "Ferdinands". The personnel of the 38th regiment responded to a flurry of fire and repeated massive air raids (up to 15 - 25 aircraft at the same time) with stamina and determination. By March 25, together with rifle units, he liberated the settlements of Kazatskoye, Korytnoye and Bendzari.

The most fierce battles broke out for the city of Balta. For two sleepless days, tankers repelled enemy counterattacks. Having exhausted him, on March 27 at 19 o'clock the tanks of Dmitry Donskoy's column with troops on armor broke into the city. For almost two more days, bloody battles continued on its streets. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of the Germans, the tankers literally liberated the city house by house. By the end of March 29, the enemy was completely driven out of Balta.

Developing a rapid offensive, the combat vehicles outflanked the city of Kotovsk, creating a threat of encirclement of large German forces in it. The enemy faltered and hurriedly left Kotovsk. However, skillfully applying the tank maneuver, the regiment's personnel completely destroyed the enemy grouping. According to the report of the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel I. A. Gorlach, in these battles the following distinguished themselves with special resourcefulness and fearlessness: the chief of staff of the regiment, Major M. F. Alenkin, senior technician-lieutenant V. I. Kravtsov, lieutenant V. P. Afanasyev, senior sergeants V V. Galkin, A.F. Kuznetsov, I.Kh. Another Morozov, Alexey Alexandrovich, a native of the village. Ivanteevka, Leningrad Region, a gunner-radio operator of a tank died a heroic death in the battles near Kotovsk. His posthumous award was the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class.

The first battles brought the first losses of combat vehicles. At the beginning of April 1944, only 9 tanks remained in the regiment. But the will to win and the desire of the soldiers to honorably carry the name of Dmitry Donskoy on the armor did not weaken.

The subsequent fighting was no less intense. Within a month, changing the direction of attacks, the regiment fought more than 60 km. Boldly and decisively, the tankers suppressed the nodes of resistance and firing points of the Germans, ensuring the advance of the rifle units. During this time, four enemy counterattacks were successfully repelled with a force of up to an infantry regiment with the support of tanks. Ten more were added to the liberated 37 settlements.

The personnel of the 38th Regiment distinguished themselves with an unstoppable offensive impulse during the crossing of the Dniester River with subsequent access to the state border of the USSR. For the successful performance of combat missions, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on April 8, 1944, the regiment was given the honorary name "Dnestrovsky".

In an effort to prevent the bold and decisive actions of the tankers, the enemy brought down on them all the firepower. Even anti-aircraft guns were used. Taking on the blows of the enemy, the combat crews fought steadfastly, but their numbers decreased. By April 25, only four tanks remained in the regiment.

On that day, at a height of 111.1 in the area of ​​​​the Moldavian village of Ustya, the remaining combat vehicles with the troops of the 25th and 89th Guards Rifle Divisions broke into the German combat positions, destroying the enemy force with fire and caterpillars. However, in the subsequent rapid attack of tankers and infantry was halted by fierce resistance from the enemy. From a direct hit, one of the combat vehicles, enveloped in smoke, froze. The paratroopers dug in. The fortifications of height 111.1 seemed impregnable. The infantry units could resume the offensive only after the breakthrough of the tankers and under the cover of their fire. The first to attack was the crew under the command of junior lieutenant Rumyantsev.

A flurry of fire met the car, but maneuvering it managed to cross two lanes of trenches before the gas tanks flared up. It was impossible to continue moving further, but the tankers understood the true cost of their every shot. The crew did not leave the flaming combat vehicle, sending shell after shell to the target until the last breath. Posthumously, the heroes were awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st class. Among the brave inseparable compatriots-Leningraders: junior lieutenant Rumyantsev Nikolai Mikhailovich, who lived before the war on Sedova Street, 20, and his friend foreman Morozov Konstantin Fedorovich from Pargolovo. There are no graves on earth, and until now the feat of the heroes was unknown to Leningraders.

Meanwhile, two tanks of the regiment continued to carry out their combat mission. We took the height. Developing the offensive, tankers with landing forces liberated the village of Zherven and crossed the Reut River. By 21 o'clock on April 24, 1944, the 38th division. the Dniester tank regiment completed its last battle. However, even after it, the remaining two combat vehicles in the rifle units smashed the enemy until May 5, 1944.

In less than two months, the regiment fought more than 130 kilometers, and managed to overcome more than 500 kilometers by marching off-road in its tanks. During this period, tankers destroyed about 1,420 Nazis, 40 various guns, 108 machine guns, knocked out and captured 38 tanks, 17 armored personnel carriers, 101 transport vehicles, captured 3 fuel depots and captured 84 German soldiers and officers.

21 soldiers and 10 officers of the regiment died a heroic death on the battlefields. For many of them, the words of Patriarch Sergius, who compared the battlefield with a fiery furnace, turned out to be prophetic. For their courage, valor and heroism, 49 tankers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR. But we note that only for the awarding of orders, the command of the regiment presented 82 people. Unfortunately, the fate of 33 performances remains unknown to date.

Subsequently, being in the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander, the 38th regiment was renamed the 74th division. ttp, and then reorganized into the 364th tsap. At the same time, taking into account the high military merits of the personnel during the Uman-Botoshansky operation, he was awarded the title of "Guards" and retained the honorary name "Dnestrovsky".

Another regiment that received combat vehicles from the column named after Dmitry Donskoy is the 516th division. flamethrower tank, began hostilities on July 16, 1944, together with the 2nd assault engineer-sapper brigade (later Red Banner, Order of Suvorov II class) of the 1st Belorussian Front. In view of the flamethrower weapons installed on the tanks (which were secret at that time), the units of this regiment were involved in the performance of special combat missions and in particularly difficult sectors of the front in cooperation with assault battalions.

In a letter of thanks from the command, party and Komsomol organizations of the regiment addressed to Metropolitan Nikolai, it was said: “Handing us the Dimitry Donskoy tank column on behalf of the clergy and believers of the Orthodox Russian Church ... You said: “Drive the hated enemy out of our Great Russia. May the glorious name of Dmitry Donskoy lead us to the battle for the sacred Russian land. Forward to victory, warrior brothers!” Fulfilling this order, the privates, sergeants and officers of our unit, on the tanks handed over by you, full of love for their Motherland, for their people, successfully smash the sworn enemy, driving him out of our land.

On these formidable combat vehicles, the tankers broke through the heavily fortified long-term defense of the Germans and continue to pursue the enemy, freeing their native land from fascist evil spirits. Destroying the enemy, the personnel of our military unit showed true heroism and selflessness, ignorance of fear in battle, valor and courage. All combat crews were awarded high government awards for courage and skillful execution of the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

On behalf of the personnel, we thank you for the formidable military equipment handed over to us and declare that it is in faithful and reliable hands. In liberating our sacred Motherland, we will smash and pursue the German invaders as long as our eyes see, as long as our heart beats in our chest, knowing no mercy for the worst enemies of mankind. The name of the great Russian commander Dmitry Donskoy, like the unfading glory of weapons, we will carry on the armor of our tanks forward to the West, to complete and final victory. Tankers kept their word. In January 1945, they bravely stormed the strong fortifications of Poznan, and in the spring they fought on the Seelow Heights. Tanks "Dmitry Donskoy" reached Berlin.

The military affairs of the soldiers of the 38th division. tank regiment of the Dniester reflect their high state awards. Among them are holders of the following orders: the Red Banner of War - the commander of a tank company, Senior Lieutenant M. I. Kislyakov; World War I degree - tank commanders junior lieutenants P. V. Mishanin and I. P. Yatmanov, driver-mechanics senior sergeants A. I. Emelyanov, A. M. Danilov and p. G. Charkin; Red Star - tank commander Lieutenant I. M. Mosin, gun commanders Sergeant G. I. Basov, senior sergeants M. M. Vinogradov, P. P. Baranov and I. I. Akimov, gunners-radio operators Sergeants A. Ya. Lenidchev , M. V. Markov, senior sergeant V. B. Sergeev and many others.

Among the fallen were posthumously awarded Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st class: commander of a tank company, senior lieutenant A. A. Baukov, commander of a tank platoon, lieutenant A. N. Shumakov, tank commanders junior lieutenants V. T. Kuzmin, T. N. Shakulo and lieutenant I. N. Ivanchenko, driver-mechanics senior sergeant I. F. Tyshko and tank radio operator senior sergeant A. A. Morozov.

The boundless courage and heroism of the tankers is evidenced by the fact that 19 people, fighting to the last breath, were burned alive in combat vehicles. Among them were posthumously awarded Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st class. tank platoon commander Lieutenant A. K. Gogin and driver A. A. Solomko.

Thus, in the struggle for common ideals during the Great Patriotic War, the patriotic aspirations of Russian believers and the clergy merged with the heroism and valor of the soldiers of the Red Army. How many years ago the banners of Dmitry Donskoy blew over them, personifying victory over a strong enemy.

Annotation. The report discusses the organization of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church to collect donations among Orthodox believers and clergy for the creation of the column. The technical characteristics of the tank modifications included in the column, the places of their production, the combat path of the column tanks in 1944 are given. Keywords: tank column "Dimitri Donskoy", Russian Orthodox Church, Tula tank camp, OT-34 tanks, Krasnoe Sormovo plant.

One of the most interesting topics in history is the history of the tank column. Being created with funds raised by Orthodox believers of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the column was one of 150 tank columns formed during the war years at the expense of the country's population. The tanks of the column and their crews actively participated in the combat operations of the Soviet Army in 1944 and contributed to our common victory over the enemy. The column has become one of the symbols of our victory. The historiography on this topic cannot be called extensive. The column is devoted to a number of short articles published in print and on electronic resources. Information about it is presented in reports of tank columns and reference publications1, as well as in works on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church1. Despite the attention of church historians to the tank column, there are still some gaps regarding various aspects of its creation (organization of fundraising, places of production of tanks, their combat path, etc.).

Involvement in the study of the history of the column of new factual data from the studies of historians of tank troops, documents on the combat path of military units 2 in which the tanks of the column operated, make it possible to highlight new aspects of its history. In general, the history of the column appears before us as one of the episodes of the war. Of course, the same episodes in the history of the war are the stories of all other tank columns and air squadrons created during the war years at the expense of the country's population.

In this regard, it seems important in scientific terms to develop approaches to the study of similar episodes in the history of the Great Patriotic War using the example of this tank column. First of all, it should be noted that the history of the Dimitry Donskoy tank column is the first experience of cooperation between the Soviet state and the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The sphere of this cooperation was their joint activity in organizing the defense of the country, concerning its liturgical, propaganda and practical activities, contributing to the defeat of the enemy. The church organized a collection of donations among believers for the National Defense Fund. By October 1944, these donations totaled 150 million rubles. In total, during the war years, 300 million rubles were transferred. 3 . These fees joined the general movement of the working people of the USSR to raise funds for the Red Army Defense Fund for the construction of tanks, aircraft, warships.

From a spiritual point of view, this movement became an expression of the enduring patriotism of the country's population during the war years. The principled position of the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate, expressed by its hierarchs already in the first days of the war, contributed to the development of the church's activities. The personal qualities of the hierarchs of the church, who were patriots of their Motherland, sincerely wished for victory over fascism and contributed to it with their activities, played their role. At the same time, the Soviet state, faced with the need to rally the entire population of the country and mobilize it to achieve victory over the enemy, began to abandon frontal militant atheism, anti-religious propaganda and repressive policies against the church and believers.

It met the aspirations and requests of the hierarchs of the church and the faithful. The historical meeting of Metropolitan Sergius with I. V. Stalin on September 4, 1943 was of great importance for the development of the church’s activities. In January 1943, the Moscow Patriarchate received his permission to open a bank account, which turned it into a legal entity and enabled it to carry out its collections donations legally. A special place in the collection of funds for the Defense Fund of the Moscow Patriarchate is occupied by the tank column "Dimitri Donskoy". Starting the collection of funds for tanks, the hierarchs of the church never hid their desire to be with the people in the difficult period of the country's existence and to help defeat the enemy. In his appeal to the flock with an appeal to raise funds for the construction of a tank column named after Dmitry Donskoy (December 30, 1942), Metropolitan Sergius wrote: “Let our church column bear the blessing of our Orthodox Church and its unceasing prayer for the success of Russian weapons. But it will give us all a comforting realization that we will not stand aside, that we, according to our strength and ability, are participating in the holy work of saving the motherland. The ideological and substantive basis for cooperation between the church and the Soviet state in the course of creating a tank column was the history of Russia, expressed in the image of its historical personality - the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. The very act of transferring the tanks of the column to military units carried a great patriotic charge.

All the tanks created at the expense of believers and clergymen were brought together and solemnly handed over to the active army. For the first time in Soviet practice, hierarchs were given the opportunity not only to personally hand over tanks to military units, but also to admonish soldiers before being sent to the front. On March 7, 1944, during the transfer of tanks, Metropolitan Nikolai personally presented the tank commanders with passports (forms) of tanks and gifts from the patriarchate, received their reports, and delivered a pep talk at a rally dedicated to the transfer of tanks. This was the first official meeting of a representative of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church with soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. For the leadership of the country, this solemn transfer of the column was an action that significantly increased the morale of Soviet soldiers. It is important to note that the efforts of the church resonated with the Soviet soldiers. The tankers of the 516th Separate Tank Regiment, who received these tanks, in their letter of thanks thanked Metropolitan Nikolai for the military equipment and expressed their readiness to fight on it1. In form, this letter could be called a typical document of the era, in which the soldiers are thankful for the support and help of home front workers. But in terms of its addressee, it is unique for Soviet reality. The command of the unit, its party and Komsomol organizations thanked the church hierarch! In the process of creating the column, the ideological and historical basis of cooperation was further developed - the history of the country and the state, its historical figures - in particular, the great Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy.

In their patriotic messages of the first months of the war, in search of historical examples of the struggle of the leaders of the Russian state, church hierarchs turn to historical figures in Russian history. In the “Message to the Shepherds and Flocks of the Orthodox Church of Christ,” Metropolitan Sergius, Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, said: “Let us remember the holy leaders of the Russian people, Alexander Nevsky and Dimitry Donskoy, who sacrificed their souls for the people and the Motherland ... this is not the first time the Russian people have to endure such trials. With God's help, this time too, he will scatter the fascist reptile into dust." Metropolitan Sergius also refers to the images of Dmitry Donskoy and Sergius of Radonezh as examples of Russia's struggle for independence in his Message to the pastors and flock on October 14, 1941 2 . By the first half of 1942, in the sermons and addresses of church hierarchs, Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy were most often mentioned. The name Alexander Nevsky in April - November 1942 was used for Aircraft Squadron 3. Now it's the turn for the name of Dmitry Donskoy.

Starting from the XV century. was revered in the Russian Orthodox Church as a locally venerated saint (his all-Russian canonization took place at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988). In his veneration, the merit of the Grand Duke was often emphasized not only as a conductor of faith, but also as a defender of the Fatherland 1 . Turning to the image of Dmitry Donskoy, church hierarchies constantly emphasized the continuity of his exploits and the exploits of the soldiers of the Red Army. In an appeal to start raising funds for a tank column, Locum Tenens Sergius wrote: “Let us repeat, on behalf of our entire Orthodox Church, the example of St. Sergius of Radonezh and send our army, along with our prayers and blessings, material evidence of our participation in the common feat: we will build a column of tanks with our donations named after Dmitry Donskoy. The same idea was emphasized by Sergius in his speech at the reception on the occasion of the transfer of the column on March 30, 19442.

Thus, this appeal became an expression of the unwavering commitment of the Russian Church to its historical traditions. Historical continuity sounded in the very name of the column. It was precisely the church version of the spelling of the name of the great Moscow prince, Dimitry Donskoy, that was chosen. The Church has always glorified him by the name given to him in baptism. This edition of his name was recorded in literary works, icons, prayers of the church and was used in all liturgical practice of the church. It is characteristic that in 1988 he was canonized precisely as "Holy and Righteous Prince Dimitry Donskoy"3. The appeal to outstanding Russian historical figures also lay in line with changes in the official Soviet state. Already from the beginning of the 1930s, as the external threat to the USSR increased, there was an increase in national-patriotic tendencies and the appeal to the image of Alexander Nevsky as a successful example of the struggle of the Russian state with external enemies. The peak of Dmitry Donskoy's ideological popularity also took place during the war years.

By the autumn of 1941, a circle of historical figures was identified who should be used in official propaganda. Stalin’s speech at the parade on Red Square on November 7 said: “Let the courageous image of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov inspire you in this war”1. The images proposed by the Moscow Patriarchate corresponded to this official list of historical figures. Among other tank columns, single tanks, aircraft, created during the war years, the tank column "Dimitri Donskoy", due to the historical and patriotic content of its name, took a special place. Among the purely Soviet, class names, there were very few names that reflected the state, its outstanding personalities (Dimitri Donskoy, Suvorov, Kutuzov).

Our column was the first experience of using the country's historical past to develop patriotism in the Soviet troops. In total, over 8 million rubles were collected for the column. In the total amount of funds contributed to the Defense Fund during the war years and used to create military equipment for the front (5,873,000 rubles), the amount seems to be very modest (about 0.4) 2 . But the patriotic and psychological significance of the tank column was that for the first time the Orthodox believers of the USSR had the opportunity to make their contribution to the victory, to feel not like outcasts condemned by the atheistic majority, but equal citizens of the country who sincerely worked for victory. The tank column became the first symbol of spiritual reconciliation and unity of the country's population. The gatherings were held in an organized manner, and their order was outlined in the Appeal of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens on December 30, 1942 3 . They were carried out by church clergy and parishes. Church mugs were established in churches. Collections could be carried out by special collectors who went from house to house. The collected funds were deposited in local branches of the State Bank and then transferred to the main office of the State Bank, to a special fund for the construction of the column. Individuals, parishioners, clergy, persons who wished to remain anonymous could transfer funds directly at the branch of the State Bank.

The leaders of the dioceses and through them the Locum Tenens himself were informed about donations, who transferred the collected funds to the disposal of the Chairman of the Defense Council I.V. Stalin, along with reports on donors and their donations. Metropolitan Nicholas was quite sincere when he wrote: “The collection of these donations ... proceeded with great enthusiasm. It was a demonstration of the high patriotic sentiments of the Russian Church, the complete unity of the Church with all the people in a common impulse to defend the Motherland from the vile enemy. There are many testimonies of such sincerity of the donations of believers. The historian M. Spirin, referring to the story of his grandfather, wrote that Nikiforov, a toolmaker, who had already given all his savings to the defense fund, having learned about the fees for the column, “signed off” to “Dimitri Donskoy” his entire salary for six months in advance”2. Gatherings were held in the territories recently liberated from the enemy. Archpriest of the church Troitsky of the Dnepropetrovsk region recalled: “There was no money in the church cash desk, but they had to be obtained ... I blessed two 75-year-old old women for this great deed. Let their names be known to people: Kovrigina Maria Maksimovna and Gorbenko Matrena Maksimovna. And they went, they went after all the people had already made their contribution through the village council. Two Maksimovnas went to ask in the name of Christ to protect their dear Motherland from rapists. They walked around the entire parish - villages, farms and towns, located 5-20 kilometers from the village, and as a result - 10 thousand rubles, a significant amount in our places devastated by German monsters.

By March 1944, 1,814,455 rubles had been collected in the Saratov and Stalingrad diocese. In December 1943, Archpriest G. Pakhanov, temporarily acting as dean, called on his flock in the Donbass to participate in the creation of the column. In besieged Leningrad, 1 million rubles were collected. Gatherings were held even on the territory occupied by the Nazi troops. Having no money, the inhabitants of these places brought their wedding rings, watches, icons salaries. Priest Fyodor Puzanov from the village of Brodovichi Zapolye in the occupied Pskov region managed to collect a whole sack of gold coins, silver, church utensils and money among the faithful. These donations totaling about 500 thousand rubles. were transferred through the partisans to the mainland5. Among the most active fundraising regions were Kuibyshev, Astrakhan, Penza, Vologda, Kazan, Saratov, Perm, Ufa. 2 million rubles was collected in Moscow, of which only in the Moscow Epiphany Cathedral - more than 400 thousand rubles. There were also more modest donations.

The parishioners of the Vvedenskaya Church of the Kirovsky District of Kursk collected 10,000 rubles. The money was transferred by the clergy themselves. In January 1943, 100 thousand rubles were transferred. Moscow Patriarchy, 300 thousand rubles. Elohovsky Cathedral in Moscow and 100 thousand rubles. personally by the priest of the cathedral N. F. Kolchitsky1. The next aspect of the history of the war, with which the history of the Dimitry Donskoy tank column is closely connected, is the military aspect, which includes the organization of military units that received the tanks of the column, their combat operations, the military technical characteristics of these tanks and places of their production. The solemn transfer of the tanks of the column to the tank units of the Soviet Army on March 7, 1944 took place near Tula near the village of Gorelki on the territory of the Tula tank camp (Tula training camp for tankers), where in 1944-1945. tank units and subunits were formed and were being reorganized. The Tula camp was created in 1943 on the basis of the camp transferred first to the Ryazan - Voronezh - Tula region, and then near Tula in the village. Tatishchevo, Saratov region. Here he lived until the end of the war.

The Tula camp was located north of Tula in the area of ​​the villages of Volot, Khomyakovo, Gorelka, and the Tesnitsky camps. Tank columns have never been either permanent military units or temporary tactical units. They were groups of tanks sent to be handed over to military units. Named tank columns were groups of combat vehicles created at the expense of individuals, various groups and strata of the population. Our tank column really existed as a whole only from the moment the tanks were created at the factory until they were handed over to military units. After the transfer, the tanks were divided among different tank regiments and never fought together. All of them were united only by the inscription “Dimitry Donskoy” painted on their dirty-white towers. And this inscription was of great psychological significance at the front. M. Kolomiets, I. Moshchansky write: “The slogans, drawings and inscriptions applied to the combat vehicle had not only identification, but also moral and psychological significance. A tank or armored car, which had a personal name, was likened to a living creature, fighting together with the crew against a common enemy. This kind of fetishism quite effectively strengthens the psyche of a warrior in especially difficult combat situations. The tanks of the column were transferred to separate 38th and 516th flamethrower tank regiments. These military units were not part of tank and mechanized brigades and corps. They were directly subordinate to the front commanders and were assigned to the combined arms armies and rifle and engineering units to perform specific combat missions. According to the state number 010/507 of March 4, 1944, a separate tank regiment had 21 tanks, distributed between two tank companies.

Flamethrower tank regiments began to form starting in 1944 on the basis of separate flamethrower tank battalions and had specific 500 numbers. According to the state number 010/463 (February 1944), 21 tanks were also provided for in such a regiment, of which 18 were flamethrower and 3 ordinary linear ones1. Both tank units already had experience in combat operations on the fronts of the war. Back in January - the first half of February 1944, they operated as part of the 2nd Baltic Front 2 , where, in heavy battles with the enemy, they completely lost their military equipment. On February 22, the 38th regiment arrived at the Tula tank camp (regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel I.F. Gorlach) 3 . Around the same time, the 516th regiment arrived here (regiment commander, Major N. I. Lobanov) 4 . The column transferred to the indicated regiments included 40 tanks. The 516th Separate Flamethrower Tank Regiment received 21 vehicles. These were special OT-34 flamethrower tanks, produced in the USSR since 1942 and discontinued shortly thereafter. While maintaining the main gun (76.2 mm), such a tank was also armed with an ATO-42 powder piston flamethrower (since the beginning of 1943) instead of a course machine gun Flamethrower, the rate of fire of which was 24-30 rounds per minute, throwing range 100 - 130 meters , fired a special viscous fire mixture ejected by compressed air. The crew of the tank included three people 5 .

Approaching enemy fortifications, flamethrower tanks literally poured fire on the enemy, destroyed and destroyed his fortifications, thereby facilitating the subsequent assault by the infantry, significantly reducing its losses6. Since the second half of 1943, during the unfolding Soviet offensive to destroy the strong fortifications of the enemy and suppress his firing points, the need for such tanks was great. 19 vehicles were transferred to the 38th separate tank regiment. These were the newest T-34-85 tanks, the serial production of which had just begun in December 1943 (they were adopted by the army on January 23, 1944. 1st Regiment received them one of the first. Being armed with a more powerful 85-mm gun D-5T ( created on the basis of an anti-aircraft gun) and having enhanced armor protection, the T-34-85 tank retained the maneuverability and mobility of the previous models of the T-34 tank and could also engage in duels with heavy and medium German tanks. The shell of its gun pierced the German armor with a direct hit " Panther "and" Tigers "thick up to 111 mm at a distance of 1 km and up to 138 mm from a distance of 500 meters.

A distinctive feature of this tank was also a commander's observation turret with a radio station on the turret wall, which provided the commander with observation of the battle scene and fire adjustment 2 . The crew of the tank was 5 people. By the middle of 1944, the T-34-85 tank became the main Soviet medium tank, produced in the USSR until 1950 and for quite a long time in some countries of Europe and Asia. D. Ustyantsev, S. Kolmakov write: “Unlike the “thirty-four” of the 1941 model, no one calls the T-34-85 tank a “wonder weapon” or a “super tank”. That's right - he had enough shortcomings, however, in terms of the totality of the main parameters: maneuver, fire, armor - the T-34-85 had no equal rivals. The T-3485 tank was not an ideal vehicle. It was simply the best medium tank of World War II. After receiving tanks, already by April 1, 1944, the 38th regiment was sent with new equipment to the 2nd Ukrainian Front, where it was subordinated to the command of the 53rd Army 4 . Even before May 1, 1944, the 516th regiment was in the Tula camp, then on June 1, 1944 it was in the reserve of the Supreme High Command, and by July 1, 1944 it was sent to the 1st Belorussian Front, where it was included in the 2 th Assault Engineer Brigade, operating jointly with the 28th Army 5 . This was one of the five flamethrower tank regiments included in the spring of 1944 in the assault engineer-engineer brigades, along with tank engineer regiments, to better ensure the assault on enemy fortifications. The formation of the 2nd brigade was completed by June 1944, which, apparently, was the reason for the delay in sending the regiment to front 1. Separate consideration requires the question of the place of production of the tanks of the column. In most articles on this topic, the place of their production is called the Chelyabinsk plant2. However, this enterprise mainly produced heavy KV tanks and only in July 1942 was connected to the production of T-34 tanks, among which there could be OT-34 flamethrower tanks.

In March 1944, by order of the State Defense Committee, the production of T-34 at the Chelyabinsk plant was stopped to increase the production of heavy IS-2 tanks, and by April of this year it was completely curtailed. Thus, T-34s were produced at the plant only in July 1942 - April 1944. T-34-85 tanks in Chelyabinsk began to be produced only in the first half of 1945 3 . Therefore, the production of column tanks at the Chelyabinsk plant can only be discussed in relation to the OT-34. The place of production of the T-34-85 tanks included in the column is also called the Nizhny Tagil Tank Plant (plant No. 183, named after the Comintern, Uralvagonzavod) 4 . But by a GKO decree in November 1943, the production of these tanks was initially entrusted only to plant No. 112 (Krasnoye Sormovo, Gorky). It was supposed to start here in December 1943, but it really began only in February 1944. And until March 15, when Uralvagonzavod began production of the T-35-85 (and actually in April), these tanks were produced only by plant No. 112 .

In June 1944, plant No. 174 in Omsk mastered these tanks, in the first half of 1945 they were produced in equal measure by three plants - Krasnoye Sormovo, Uralvagonzavod and plant No. 174 in Omsk. In total, up to April 1944, 255 such tanks were produced at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant 5 . The erroneous conclusion about Uralvagonzavod as a place for the production of columns tanks is due to the fact that all design and testing work on the new T-34-85 tank was carried out precisely at Uralvagonzavod, which had a powerful production base, a design bureau and personnel from such large plants as the Kharkov Tractor plant, Moscow machine-tool plant named after V.I. S. Ordzhonikidze, Orlovsky plant, Mariupol. The transfer of mass production to the Krasnoye Sormovo plant can be explained primarily by the desire to work out

the technology of serial production of a new model of tanks, first at one enterprise, and then quickly introduce the already proven technology at all other enterprises, as well as a special secrecy regime in wartime conditions, the desire not to concentrate all production and documentation on one enterprise in order to avoid information from entering the enemy and his possible sabotage. Thus, the place of production of T-34-85 tanks should be considered the Gorky Krasnoye Sormovo plant. This point of view is also shared by such authoritative researchers of the history of Soviet tanks as M. Spirin and I. Moshchansky1. As for the place of production of the most massive tanks of the OT-34 war period, they could be produced both at the Uralvagonzavod (where, by the way, they were also developed), and at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, as well as at the plant in Omsk (factory No. 79) and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. The tanks of the 38th regiment were the first of the tanks of the Dimitry Donskoy column to enter the battle. The regiment participated in the Uman-Botoshansk operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front (March 5 - April 17, 1944). On March 23-29, tankers, together with the 94th Guards Rifle Division of the 53rd Army in 1944, liberated a number of settlements in the area of ​​Uman and Balta (Odessa region), Kotovsk, crossed the river. Dniester.

In April 1944, the regiment fought on the territory of Moldova together with the 25th and 89th Guards Rifle Divisions. In less than two months, the regiment fought more than 130 kilometers 2 . In the battles of the regiment, many officers and soldiers of the regiment distinguished themselves. In total, 49 tankers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR in the regiment. For all the time of the fighting, 21 soldiers and 10 regiments died the death of the brave on the battlefields. In the battles near the city of Kotovsk, the gunner-radio operator A. A. Morozov died the death of a hero. On April 8, 1944, in a battle near the village of Ustya, the crew of junior lieutenant N. M. Rumyantsev 3 fought the enemy in a burning tank to the last. For the successful completion of combat missions in April 1944, the regiment was awarded the honorary title "Guards" and the name "Dniester". After these heavy battles, the regiment was withdrawn from hostilities and sent back for reorganization. In June 1944, the 516th regiment entered the battle in Belarus. In June - August 1944, the 516th regiment, as part of the 2nd assault engineer-sapper brigade, participated in the Bobruisk operation (June 24-29, 1944), and then surrounded by the enemy's Brest grouping (Lublin - Brest operation). July 18 - August 2, 1944 The 28th Army, in the offensive zone of which the brigade operated, together with the 65th Army repulsed the enemy's counterattack, went to the Western Bug and engulfed the enemy troops from the north and northwest. Together with the 70th Army, the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of the 61st Army, its troops occupied Brest and completed the defeat of the enemy in the forests west of the city. On August 2, the regiment entered the territory of Poland and then participated in the battles to break through the Outer Warsaw defensive bypass. The 2nd brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and for participation in the Lublin-Brest operation, the regiment's personnel were thanked by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief 1 . On June 19, 1944, the regiment, together with the engineering units, was attached to the 96th and 55th rifle divisions of the 3rd guards and 20 rifle corps, participated in very difficult battles for the settlements of Gorokhovishchi, Brody, Vyazhny, Dubrava, Springs, Korma. In these battles, the tankers of the regiment destroyed 68 guns and mortars, 83 machine guns and an anti-tank rifle of the enemy, a lot of manpower, 33 pillboxes were burned, 45 soldiers and the enemy were captured. In the battle for Gorokhovishchi, the tank commander, junior lieutenant S.I. Marchenko, jumping out of his tank after blowing it up on a mine, found a passage in the minefield and led the tanks to the enemy’s front line, and then he replaced the driver of another tank who was out of action.

In the battle for the village of Gleva, the driver-mechanic M. K. Dosov, having directed the tank at the enemy group, destroyed it with flamethrowing 2 . By 1945, the tactics of using flamethrower tanks as part of assault engineering brigades had developed. They were used along with backpack mortars to destroy tanks and other means of enemy defense, its fortifications and manpower. Entering the battle after the engineer tanks, which destroyed mines and made passages in the minefields of the enemy, the flamethrower tanks, moving in the general line of the attackers and supporting the infantry, literally poured fire on the enemy and his fortifications. If it was necessary to suppress the enemy's firing points, they moved forward, fired from flamethrowers, set fire to the infantry in the trenches and destroyed armored vehicles3. Of decisive importance in the battle was the successful interaction of tanks, infantry and sappers, which was achieved by training

Tanks with inscriptions "Dimitri Donskoy" were lost quickly enough. It is known that by the beginning of April 1944, only 9 vehicles remained in the 38th regiment, and by the end of April there were only two of them. April 24, 1944 tanks with the inscription "Dimitri Donskoy" took the last battle in the 38th Regiment 1. The regiment was withdrawn from the front. On reorganization in the Moscow Military District in July, he receives heavy tanks and a new number - the 74th Guards Separate Heavy Tank Regiment, and then is renamed the 364th Self-Propelled Tank Artillery Regiment and ends the war under this number and name 2.

It can be assumed that a certain part of the Dimitry Donskoy tanks, after the withdrawal of the 38th regiment, continued to participate in hostilities as part of rifle units. They could also be used as repair and recovery vehicles and tractors for the delivery of wrecked and damaged equipment and captured equipment to the places of its repair, disposal and storage 3 . In this capacity, these tanks could operate in 1945. Perhaps these were the tanks that were transferred to museums after the war and are now installed in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

By October 10, 1944, only two tanks with the inscription "Dimitri Donskoy" remained in the 516th regiment, which were soon sent for overhaul. By October of this year, the regiment was no longer mentioned as a separate combat unit, although the 2nd Assault Engineer Brigade continued to fight as part of the 70th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. The regiment reappeared as a separate unit in January 1945 and operated as part of the said brigade until the end of the war4. This can only be explained by the fact that by this time the remaining tanks of the regiment were directly subordinate to the brigade units or even to other units in general. At the beginning of 1945, the 516th regiment, already with new equipment, took part in the battles on the territory of Poland and the liberation of Lodz, Poznan, on the Seelow Heights5.

Large losses of flamethrower and engineering tanks were typical for all assault engineering brigades. Being in the most dangerous forward sectors of the battle, they were used for a relatively short time 1 . The flamethrower tankers themselves were in mortal danger, not being able to quickly leave the tanks burning and exploding from their own mixture. Many of them were often burned alive in their war machines. In the 516th Regiment alone, 19 tankers burned alive in combat vehicles, fighting to their last breath2.

There is no further information about the tanks of the 516th regiment sent for repair. Hypothetically, it can be assumed that after the repair they could return to service and continue to fight. As N. Nikiforov writes, the heavy losses of flamethrower tanks led to the fact that they began to be used as simple linear tanks3. The same fate could have awaited the named tanks. At present, not a single OT-34 tank from the Dimitry Donskoy column has survived. Only one surviving example of this tank is known in Russia, which sank while crossing in the Moscow region in 1943 and was found in 1999. It is currently installed as a monument at Uralvagonzavod 4 .

The real combat path of the tanks of the tank column "Dmitry Donskoy" ended in the fall of 1944. The combat path of the column was relatively short. But along with the real combat history of this equipment, there is a spiritual and ideological aspect of its history as one of the symbols of the inseparable connection between our distant heroic past and the events of the Great Patriotic War. And in this sense, the tanks of the Dimitry Donskoy tank column and their crews contributed to our victory. They are also the heroes of this war.

S. I. Demidov GUK TO “Association “Historical, Local Lore and Art Museum”

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Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (on the occasion of his 665th birthday)

Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey. Artist V. Vasnetsov.

Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy - Grand Duke of Moscow (since 1359), Vladimir (since 1362) and Novgorod (since 1386), an outstanding statesman, illustrious commander. The strengthening of the leading role of Moscow in the unification of Russian lands and their joint defense against foreign invaders is associated with his name, including the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380).

On October 12, 1350, in Moscow, a son was born in the family of the second son of Ivan Kalita, the appanage prince of Zvenigorod Ivan Ivanovich Krasny and his second wife, Princess Alexandra Ivanovna. At baptism, he was given the name Dmitry in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica.

Holy Blessed Great Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy. Artist V. Matorin.

Very little is known about the childhood of the future Grand Duke. The “Sermon on the Life of Grand Duke Dimitry Ioannovich” says: “He was brought up in piety and glory, with soulful instructions, and from infancy he loved God. He was still young for years, but he devoted himself to spiritual affairs, did not conduct idle conversations, did not like obscene words and avoided malicious people, but he always talked with the virtuous. The father spent all his free time next to his son and taught him.

After the death of the elder brother Simeon the Proud in 1353, Dmitry Ivanovich's father became the Grand Duke, after which in 1355 he made a trip to the Golden Horde, traditional for Russian princes, taking with him rich gifts to the Great Khan, his family and nobles. In Sarai, he received a label for a great reign and became the first senior ruler in Russia. So the fate of Prince Dmitry took a sharp turn: from the heir to a small inheritance of Zvenigorod, he became the heir to the Moscow grand duke's power.

Grand Duke Ivan Ivanovich Krasny, reigned for a short time. He died of the plague on November 13, 1359 at the age of 33. His eldest son, nine-year-old Dmitry, ascended the Moscow throne. At that time, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia Alexy became the mentor of the young prince and the ruler of the Moscow principality. He was a man of great intelligence, great tact, broad political outlook. He had support among the majority of Orthodox people who lived in the Moscow principality, which at that time was of decisive importance. Moreover, as the supreme head of the Russian Church, Alexy had very real power over all Russian princes without exception. He skillfully used his authority to put into practice the idea of ​​Moscow's dominance in North-Eastern Russia. Having matured, Dmitry consulted with him more than once, continuing the policy of his father and grandfather to collect Russian lands around Moscow.

In 1360, Metropolitan Alexy sent young Dmitry at the head of a Moscow delegation to Saray for a khan's label for a great reign. The trip was fraught with great danger, but it was also extremely important from a political point of view. The future Grand Duke learned the basics of diplomacy and the wisdom of a ruler from a young age. The trip turned out to be unsuccessful - the little prince Dmitry of Moscow lost the grand ducal throne of Vladimir, because. in the Horde there was no practice of issuing labels for the great reign of vassals-children, and the label went to the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality to Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich. Moscow lost its power over a large territory of grand-princely lands with a significant population. It seemed that the future did not promise especially bright hopes for the young prince Dmitry of Moscow, that the dream of Moscow's superiority in Russia was over ...

In the Golden Horde at that time there was a bloody khan civil strife, as a result of which several dozen khans were replaced in a few years. Russian chroniclers very accurately called what was happening "great zamyatney." Metropolitan Alexy took advantage of "more zamyatnye". Using the interest of the next Golden Horde Khan in Russian silver, in 1361 he sent the matured Dmitry on a trip to Saray. The gifts had their effect, and in 1362 Khan Murat gave the 12-year-old Moscow appanage prince the coveted label for a great reign.

Inspired by this success, the Moscow boyars, having put on horseback the juvenile heirs to the Moscow throne - Dmitry, his brother Ivan and cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky - "went to war" against Suzdal. After a long confrontation between the troops of the two principalities, Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal conceded, and Dmitry Ivanovich received the right to be considered the Grand Duke alone. In 1363, Dmitry "took his will" over Prince Konstantin of Rostov.

Subsequently, the military-political alliance of the two Dmitriev was sealed by the marriage of the Moscow prince Dmitry with the daughter of Dmitry Konstantinovich Evdokia. At the same time, Evdokia's father abandoned the label on Vladimir in favor of Moscow. Soon, the Nizhny Novgorod lands associated with Suzdal also went to Moscow. The wedding took place on January 18, 1366. They played it in Kolomna, because Moscow completely burned out from another fire. Even the oak Kremlin of Ivan Kalita could not resist, the walls of which were plastered with clay and whitewashed with lime.

Soon the Moscow army, led by Dmitry Ivanovich, marched to Nizhny Novgorod. The younger brother of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Boris decided to win back the rights to reign from his older brother Dmitry Konstantinovich, but the Moscow troops arrived in time in time, and everything ended in peace.

However, young Prince Dmitry Ivanovich was engaged not only in the wedding and the struggle for the rights of his father-in-law at that time. He started a grandiose construction in Moscow. “In the winter of 1367, the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich,” reports the Rogozhskaya Chronicle, “having told fortunes with his brother Volodimir Andreevich and with all the oldest boyars, he decided to build a stone city of Moscow. Whatever he intended, he did." Limestone stones for the construction of the Kremlin were transported on sleighs along the bed of the frozen Moscow River, and in the spring they were floated on rafts from the Myachkovsky quarries, which were located not far from Moscow. The gates of the new Kremlin were hospitably opened for the Khan's ambassadors (Dmitry preferred to buy them off with rich gifts), but for other neighbors and rival princes, the Kremlin became a powerful defensive fortress.

Moscow Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy. Artist A. Vasnetsov.

In addition to defensive measures (by building the Kremlin), Dmitry Ivanovich, together with the metropolitan, tried to crush the ruler of Tver. Alexy summoned Mikhail of Tver in 1368 to Moscow, ostensibly for an arbitration court with his cousin. Despite the guarantees of inviolability given by the Metropolitan and Grand Duke Dmitry, the Tver prince and his boyars were captured and taken to the boyar courts into captivity. Only the intervention of the Horde ambassadors, who were then in Moscow, restored Michael's freedom.

The embittered prince, returning to Tver, began to energetically prepare for war with Dmitry Ivanovich. Without waiting for Mikhail to gather strength, Dmitry of Moscow moved regiments against the enemy, and he fled to Lithuania, to Grand Duke Olgerd, who was married to his sister. Eighteen-year-old Dmitry did not yet have sufficient military experience and did not take the necessary measures on the western frontiers. Olgerd quickly got up on the campaign. They learned about the invasion of Lithuanian troops in Moscow too late. The hastily assembled Moscow guard regiment under the leadership of the governor Dmitry Minin and Akinf Shuba was completely destroyed by the superior forces of the Lithuanian cavalry on the Trosna River on November 21, 1368. Olgerd rushed straight to Moscow. Dmitry Ivanovich took refuge in his capital city and prepared for the siege. For 3 days, Olgerd's troops besieged a new stone fortress, but they could not take it. Having captured booty and prisoners, he went to Lithuania. For the first time in 40 years, the Moscow principality was devastated so that the Moscow chroniclers compared Olgerd's invasion with Batu's campaign. As a result of the “Lithuanian land”, Dmitry Ivanovich had to return the lands of the Klin Principality to Mikhail Tverskoy.

In the next few years, while the war between Moscow and Tver lasted (1368-1375), Olgerd tried to attack Moscow twice more, but each time his campaign ended in failure. In the struggle for seniority among the Russian princes, Dmitry won. The success of the young Moscow ruler was explained by the wise support of Metropolitan Alexy, who helped his pupil in the unification of the principalities and the annexation of Uglich, Galich, Beloozero, as well as the Kostroma, Dmitrovsky, Chukhloma, Starodubsky principalities to Moscow. In early December 1374, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich gathered Russian princes and boyars in Pereslavl-Zalessky, where they discussed ways to rid the country of Horde dependence. In 1375, Dmitry defeated the Lithuanian army of Olgerd near Lubutsk. Horde assistance to the Lithuanian prince did not arrive in time, and Mikhail of Tverskoy, “seeing his exhaustion, the whole Russian land rose up against him,” asked Dmitry for peace together with his son-in-law Olgerd. By the agreement of 1375 between Tver and Moscow, the prince of Tver is reduced to the position of the “younger brother” of the Grand Duke of Moscow and forever renounces claims to the great reign and agrees to an alliance with Dmitry against the Golden Horde. This is the first written indication in history of Moscow's intention to create a union of Russian principalities to protect against the Horde and Lithuanians.

The military alliance of the Russian princes was becoming a real force, and this was understood in Sarai. Horse detachments of the Golden Horde attacked the lands of the Nizhny Novgorod principality and plundered them. Then the Moscow regiments and the army of Nizhny Novgorod in 1377 undertook a retaliatory campaign against the Horde city of Bulgar. A battle took place, but it did not come to the storming of the city. Its inhabitants sent petitioners for the purpose of ransom. Russian troops with rich booty returned home. In addition, the Russians planted their tax collectors and a customs officer in Kazan to monitor the correctness of the trade exchange between local and foreign merchants with the Russian side.

The victorious campaign of Russian warriors against Bulgar caused quite understandable displeasure at the headquarters of the de facto ruler of the Horde Mamai. At that time, a certain prince Arapsha (Arab Shah) just ran across the Volga to a powerful temnik (“commander of a ten thousandth army”), and with a large cavalry army he moved to Nizhny Novgorod. The Moscow prince came to the aid of his father-in-law Dmitry Konstantinovich Nizhny Novgorod. However, there was no news of the enemy, and Dmitry returned to Moscow, leaving the troops in the care of the governor. But there were no patrols in the camp. The weapons were in the carts. On August 2, 1377, the Golden Horde, led along secret forest paths by order of the Mordovian princes, suddenly fell upon the Russian camp and defeated it. During the flight, many people drowned in the river or were captured. The Tatar cavalry pursued the fleeing troops and broke into Nizhny Novgorod three days later, devastated it and burned it. The Nizhny Novgorod prince was not in the city at that time - he was in Suzdal, and this saved him from death. Having devastated the surrounding volosts, the Golden Horde went to the steppes. Now the campaign of a large, united Horde army against Moscow Rus has become a reality. It was only a matter of time.

In February 1378, Metropolitan of All Russia Alexy died. Dmitry lived for twenty-eight years under his spiritual supervision, and he could not reproach his metropolitan for anything. Over the years, Dmitry Ivanovich turned into a talented politician and military leader, surrounded by experienced governors. Among the associates of the Grand Duke, Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy and Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky stood out for their military skills. Later, the Olgerdovichi brothers, Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, joined them. Moscow began to attract many brave and energetic people, including from other principalities, etc. The permanent composition of the Russian army increased - up to 20 thousand warriors, well-coordinated infantry regiments appeared, consisting of urban and rural militias. The organization of the army improved significantly: a single command was created, and a general assembly was held more often. In the years preceding the Battle of Kulikovo, the skill of Russian soldiers increased. The cavalry received sabers, which turned out to be very convenient in battles with the Horde cavalry.

In 1378, in the summer, Mamai sent a large army led by temnik Begich on a campaign against Russia. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich managed to organize a good reconnaissance of the enemy's intentions, and the Russians blocked the ford across the Oka tributary - the Vozha River. Here the Horde were going to cross. The Russians took up an advantageous position on a hill. The appearance of a large Russian army caught Begich by surprise, and he stood for several days on the banks of the river, not daring to cross it. However, on August 11, 1378, having crossed, Begich's cavalry attacked the center of the Russian army, but the Russian flanks began to squeeze it like pincers. A large regiment led by Dmitry Ivanovich attacked the Golden Horde in the forehead, and from the flanks the regiments of the right and left hands under the command of the governor Timofey Velyaminov and the Ryazan prince Danila Pronsky delivered blows. The Tatars ran. Many of them drowned while crossing the river. Begich and several other Murzas died.

The defeat and death of Begich on Vozha greatly undermined the authority of Mamai. Frightened by the strengthening of the Moscow ruler, Mamai decided to break the growing power of Russia, to increase its dependence on the Horde. He gathered an army, which, in addition to the Mongol-Tatars, also included detachments of Circassians, Ossetians, Armenians and some other peoples. The troops of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello Olgerdovich advanced to join with Mamai. A new battle with the Moscow army was scheduled for the end of the summer. Having received news of this, Dmitry announced the gathering of all regiments in Moscow and Kolomna on August 15, 1380. The specific princes brought their regiments to help him. For spiritual support, Dmitry Ivanovich went to the Trinity Monastery to St. Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the prince for the battle and predicted his victory. The blessed letter said: “Go, sir, go ahead. God and the Holy Trinity will help you!” The Russian Church, for the first time since the establishment of the dependence of the Russian lands on the Golden Horde khans, approved an open struggle against them.

St. Sergius of Radonezh blesses the holy noble prince Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo. Artist A. Kivshenko.

The battle plan was bold and well-calculated. Dmitry planned to defeat Mamai's army even before the Lithuanians joined him, and therefore advanced his regiments far to the south. The troops crossed the Don, thereby cutting off all their escape routes and ended up in an open field to fight the Horde.

The bloody battle on the Kulikovo field took place on September 8, 1380. The Russian regiments lined up in a row of five regiments. A guard regiment was placed in front, whose task was not to allow the Horde horse archers to fall asleep with a shower of arrows the main Russian forces. Then there was an advanced regiment, which was to take the first blow from Mamai's main forces. A large foot regiment lined up behind the advanced. On the flanks were regiments of the right and left hands. In case the enemy broke through the Russian system somewhere, a reserve detachment was left in the rear. A strong ambush regiment hid in the thick oak forest on the left wing. The ambush was commanded by Prince Vladimir Serpukhovskoy and governor Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky. This regiment was to enter the Kulikovo field at the most decisive moment. It is known that the Horde cavalry never found the Russian ambush regiment.

Before the battle, Dmitry Moskovsky traveled around all the regiments lined up on the field and turned to them with a traditional call to stand up for the Russian land. He perfectly understood that the enemy would first of all try to behead the Russian army, so he exchanged the headdress of the Moscow sovereign with the boyar Mikhail Brenk and, in simple military armor, stood in the front ranks of the advanced regiment. The battle began at about 12 noon with a duel between the Russian warrior-monk Alexander Peresvet and the Horde hero Chelubey. Two knights converged on spears, both died, but Peresvet, unlike Chelubey, remained in the saddle. The enemy took this as a bad omen for the outcome of the battle. After the duel of the bogatyrs, the Horde horsemen went on the attack. They crushed the Russian guard regiment, which was forced to retreat to the advanced regiment, but even that could not withstand the onslaught of the enemy. A large foot regiment entered the battle, and then the regiment of the left hand, which was soon broken through by the Horde. The enemy was stopped by the Russian reserve, which immediately joined the battle. The ambush regiment hit the rear and the flank of the Horde cavalry that had broken through to the Don. This blow allowed the Russian princes and governors to reorganize the regiments to continue the battle. Mamaev's army was utterly defeated and put to flight. The Russian cavalry pursued the enemy from the Kulikovo field to the tributary of the Don - the Beautiful Sword River. The chase continued until dark. The victory went to the Russians at a high price. The losses were enormous, among the dead were many Russian princes and boyars. Dmitry himself was hardly found after the battle - the prince lay unconscious among the dead and wounded.

The Lithuanian army, which took a wait-and-see position 40 km from the place of the battle, having learned its results, hastened to return to its possessions.

For the great victory, the people nicknamed Prince Dmitry Ivanovich - Donskoy, and his cousin Prince Vladimir Serpukhovsky - Brave. The victory over the army of Mamai was not just a military success, it became a harbinger of the future liberation of Russia from the Horde dependence. Returning to Moscow, the prince went to St. Sergius. Numerous memorial services were served in the monastery for the dead soldiers, a special day was established for their annual commemoration, called Demetrius Saturday.

In terms of its scale, the Battle of Kulikovo is one of the largest battles of the Middle Ages and occupies a prominent place in the history of military art. The strategy and tactics of Dmitry Donskoy were distinguished by their offensive nature, activity and purposefulness of actions. Deep, well-organized reconnaissance made it possible to make the right decisions and make an exemplary march to the Don. Dmitry Donskoy was able to correctly assess and use the conditions of the area. He took into account the tactics of the enemy, revealed his plan. Based on the conditions of the terrain and the tactics used by Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich rationally positioned the forces at his disposal, created a general and private reserve, and thought out the issues of interaction between the regiments. The tactics of the Russian army received further development. The outbreak of the battle by the guard regiment stunned the enemy, did not allow him to use his favorite tactics of exhausting. The presence of a reserve (ambush regiment) and its skillful use predetermined the outcome of the battle in favor of the Russians.

In accordance with the Federal Law of 1995 "On the days of military glory and memorable dates in Russia", the day of the victory of the Russian troops in the Battle of Kulikovo was declared the Day of Military Glory.

After the victory at the Kulikovo field, Moscow did not pay tribute to the conquerors until the new Horde Khan, Tokhtamysh, with the support of the Ryazan prince Oleg, who indicated detours to Moscow, took the city in 1382. Dmitry was informed of the advance of Tokhtamysh, but after the Battle of Kulikovo, Moscow was unable to send a large army. The whole city burned down, except for the stone Kremlin. Taking advantage of the weakening of Moscow, Prince Mikhail of Tver, "forgetting" the oath, went to the Horde for a label for a great reign. But Dmitry Donskoy was ahead of him with a "repentant embassy" to the Khan. In the Horde, he gave his eldest son Vasily as a hostage, vowing to pay tribute regularly. The label for a great reign remained with Moscow, after which Dmitry went to war against Ryazan and ruined it. In 1385, Dmitry Donskoy and Oleg Ryazansky made peace.

In the spring of 1389, he became seriously ill and, feeling his imminent death, made a will in which he indicated that he was transferring the great reign to his eldest son Vasily - without the sanction of the Golden Horde, already as "his fatherland." Dmitry Donskoy died on May 19, 1389, at the age of 39, of which 29 years ruled “in Moscow”. He was buried in Moscow in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.

The name of Dmitry Donskoy has become a symbol of Russian military glory and valor. The time of his reign is considered by many modern scholars to be a turning point in Russian history. Moscow established itself as the center of the Russian North-Eastern lands, the dependence of Russia on the Golden Horde after the Battle of Kulikovo began to steadily weaken.

The thirty-year reign of Dmitry Donskoy made a significant contribution to the development of the Russian army. Its division into shelves was approved. They were exhibited from the principalities and the largest cities, had their own banner and were headed by a prince or governor. In the second half of the 14th century, firearms appeared in Russia. In 1382, volleys of cannons installed by Dmitry Donskoy on the walls of the Moscow Kremlin ushered in a new era in the development of Russian military art.

Since the end of the 18th century, the name of the commander has traditionally been assigned to the ships of the Russian fleet. The last of them, an armored cruiser, died in the Tsushima naval battle in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. In the Navy of the Russian Federation, this tradition was renewed; since 2002, a heavy strategic nuclear submarine has been named after Dmitry Donskoy.

Monument to Dmitry Donskoy in the village of Monastyrshchino, Tula region. Sculptor O. Komov.

Dmitry Donskoy, as one of the beloved national heroes, has always been revered by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). During the Great Patriotic War, a tank column, created on the initiative of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1944 on the donations of believers and transferred to the Red Army, bore his name. In 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Dmitry Donskoy as a saint. In 2004, the Russian Orthodox Church established the Order of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy of three degrees. It is awarded to clergy, military leaders, veterans of the Great Patriotic War and other persons who have shown courage in defending the Fatherland, who have contributed to the development of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian army, and who provide spiritual and moral support to military personnel.

The memory of Dmitry Donskoy and the Battle of Kulikovo is immortalized in many literary works. The exploits of Russian soldiers at the end of the 14th-15th centuries were reflected in the surviving “The Tale of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, how they defeated the adversary of their Tsar Mamai” (“Zadonshchina”) and in “The Tale of Mamaev's massacre.

Monument to Dmitry Donskoy in Moscow. Sculptor V. Klykov.

The streets of many Russian cities bear the name of Dmitry Donskoy; in the south of Moscow, one of the boulevards is named after him. In 2013, a monument to Dmitry Donskoy by sculptor V.M. was unveiled in Moscow. Klykov. It is installed at the intersection of Nikolo-Yamskaya and Yauzskaya streets, in the place where in 1380 the Russian army gathered and went to battle with the Horde.

Julia Snegova,
researcher at the Research Institute
military history VAGSh RF Armed Forces

On June 22, 1941, the war began, which after a few days received the name "Patriotic". The war was real, big, not at all like that victorious toy from the popular pre-war film “If there is war tomorrow”. The German proletariat did not revolt as one man upon learning of the attack on the USSR, the German soldiers did not turn their bayonets against the Hitler clique, and the Red Army did not throw the enemy away from our borders in an instant with “little blood, a mighty blow”, as it should have been according to the schemes Comintern-Soviet propaganda. Everything happened as it should in real life.

However, this did not become clear in the rear soon, and propaganda, which immediately mobilized the image of the national hero and patriot Susanin for military needs, was still thinking in the same patterns. So, for example, the chairman of the Domninsky collective farm. The NKVD I. Pukhov wrote to the district newspaper (his letter was published in the issue of June 26): “In response to the brutal attack of the fascist jackals, the descendants of the national hero Ivan Susanin, the collective farmers of the agricultural artel named after the NKVD, the Susaninsky village council, are working with redoubled energy for fields. Following the example of the national hero Ivan Susanin, who gave his life for his homeland, we will give everything that is needed for the Red Army in order to ensure the fastest victory over the enemy. 1 But securing a quick victory was not so easy. The Germans inevitably moved deep into the USSR, the Red Army, suffering defeat, retreated, a more than real threat of military defeat and occupation loomed over the country. And under these conditions, something happened that was natural for any nation that was in mortal danger - an appeal to the heroic images of their ancestors, to the trampled national traditions of Russia. In the flames of war, the former idols - such as Voroshilov and Budyonny - finally faded into the background, giving way to images that seemed to have risen from the depths of Russian history - Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, Suvorov and Kutuzov. In this line of historical heroes of Russia, who helped their descendants to defend their homeland, there was also Ivan Susanin, whose heroic and tragic image from a purely bookish one became alive and close to modern generations at that cruel time. a Characteristic in this regard is the poem “Susanin”, written by S.N. Markov (Kostroma by origin) in 1941. The tragic feeling of the time of the first year of the war gives the images of Susanin and foreign enemies a striking modernity.

Splinters are cracking even beams,
A frozen birch knocks on the roof.
All night the crickets chime
And the logs burst from the frost.

And on the floor under a pile of sheepskins
Hangover hussars scream in their sleep -
And the Poles, and the tattered German,
And black mustachioed Magyars.

Farewell, huts, frozen meadows
And a dark pond in a silver frame...
How joyful it is to walk through the snow
Towards death, feat and glory.

Sparkling ice fringe.
Susanin looks with sad eyes
At noon, where Kostroma took refuge
Behind the ancient lingonberry forests.

And a faithful ally-blizzard
On the pines suddenly hit with a swing.
“Snowstorm, make a snow bed for me,
No wonder I put on a death shirt ... "

And for some reason the old man remembered
Your warm shelter ... “Defend, lord:
Yesterday I forgot a kochedyk on the bench
And a golden lime bast.

And kochedyk for mischievous ideas
The foolish guys will be dragged away.
He was lazy, a sinner, did not finish the bast shoes,
I didn’t knock together an oak tub ... ”

And the forest shuddered, and the snow lit up,
Distant ringing resounded gave,
And the age of old ended
A communion of blood and misty steel. 3

A lot was written about Susanin during the war, and of the two pre-war versions of his feat - with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and without him - at that time the "royal" version completely dominated. For a while, it was as if forgotten that Mikhail Fedorovich was the head of a “feudal-feudal dictatorship”, and the consideration that he was the Russian Tsar came to the fore. Here is just one example of how they wrote about Susanin during the war - the essay "Yaroslavl", placed in September 1942 in the newspaper of the People's Commissariat of Defense "Red Star". The essay, which tells about the participation of the Yaroslavl people in the defense of the Russian land, described in detail the feat of Susanin in his “royal” version and, in particular, said: “Ivan Susanin agreed to be a guide, and the gang set off. But there was no end to the forest, and the long winter night - dawn. For such a night, you can lead far into the forest ... He did - the son of the Russian people, Ivan Susanin. Around the dense wall stood shaggy from the snow, mighty Russian firs. From the starry frosty light, the snow turned blue. In front of Susanin stood a bunch of panting, exhausted, colorfully dressed fools who believed him that he would help, that he, the old man, would betray Russia ...

The calm courage, the courage of Susanin, was brought with them by the Yaroslavl people into the Patriotic war against fascism. 4

During the war years, a lot was written about people who, to one degree or another, repeated the feat of Susanin in the occupied territory. The most famous was the feat of the “Pskov Susanin” - M.K. Kuzmin, who led a detachment of Germans under the fire of our soldiers near Velikie Luki on February 14, 1942 (posthumously in 1965, M.K. Kuzmin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union). 5 In the spring of 1942, a story-essay by V.Ya. Shishkov “Soviet Susanin”, dedicated, in particular, to the feat of M.K. Kuzmin (in 1943, under the title “Susanins of the Soviet Land”, he was included in the book of stories by V.Ya. Shishkov). The beginning of this story-essay is characteristic: “The bright image of Ivan Susanin is dear to every Soviet person. The unforgettable image of an avenger for his people is still alive. Our Patriotic War of Liberation will give birth to many Soviet Susanins.” 6

In general, the image of Ivan Susanin in the war, perhaps more than ever, had a dual character. On the one hand, the old Russian peasant-hero could not but evoke in people a living "warmth of patriotism" - natural, normal patriotism, without which victory cannot be won. On the other hand, Susanin's official appearance at that time, more than ever, bore the stamp of official patriotism (although the use of Susanin's name by propaganda during the war years, of course, was incomparably more natural and politically pure - in contrast to the period of 1938-1939, when this name covered up the crimes of the Stalinist regime). Perhaps most clearly this duality manifested itself at the end of 1942, during the collection of funds for the construction of the Ivan Susanin tank column.

Tank column named after Ivan Susanin

November 7, 1942 - in the midst of the Battle of Stalingrad - Stalin made a presentation at the solemn meeting of the Moscow City Council, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution. A few days later, members of the Krasny Volunteer collective farm in the Izberdeevsky district of the Tambov region, “in response to the report” of the leader, came up with an initiative to raise funds for the construction of the Tambov Collective Farmer tank column. This initiative was, of course, organized "from above", but, as always, it was portrayed that it comes "from below" - from the broad collective farm masses. In fact, it was another military tax imposed on the collective farm peasantry. The example of the Tambovites, as Pravda wrote in those days, “inspired all the collective farmers of the Soviet country”, 7 and the collection of funds for the construction of new tank columns organized by the regional party committees unfolded everywhere. Following the Tambov Collective Farmer, initiatives were taken in a matter of days to build the Moscow Collective Farmer, the Ryazan Collective Farmer, the Ivanovo Collective Farmer, the Krasnoyarsk Collective Farmer, the Chelyabinsk Collective Farmer, etc., etc. Of course, the Yaroslavl region could not stand aside either, where in early December, members of the Voskhod collective farm of the Yaroslavl region, supporting the initiative of the Tambovites, took the initiative to raise funds for a tank column in their region. Initially, the column was supposed to be named according to the general template - "Yaroslavl collective farmer", b however, it was soon decided to give her a different name. In the second half of December, a group of collective farmers from the Susaninsky district addressed the Yaroslavl Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks with a letter - most likely in the regional committee itself and written - which said: “The great patriot of the Russian land, Ivan Susanin, gave his life for the Motherland. Following the patriotic initiative of the Tambov collective farmers, we, the collective farmers and collective farmers of the collective farms named after the NKVD, named after Stalin, named after Frunze, named after Molotov, “Red Banner”, named after Kalinin and others, of the Susaninsky district, in having collected 900 thousand for the construction of a tank column, we ask the regional committee of the CPSU (b) to give it the name of the national hero of our countryman Ivan Susanin. Let the tanks with the name of Ivan Susanin mercilessly smash the Nazi bandits. Let the name of Ivan Susanin call our dear red warriors forward to defeat the enemy.” 9

Simultaneously with this letter, two telegrams were published in the newspapers: one - by the 1st secretary of the regional party committee A.N. Larionov to Stalin, which read: “Moscow, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Comrade Stalin. The collective farmers and collective farmers of the Yaroslavl region, following the example of the Tambov collective farmers, within a few days have collected 70 million rubles for the construction of a tank column and are asking you, Comrade Stalin, to name the tank column of the Yaroslavl collective farmers the name of the Russian folk hero, Yaroslavl countryman, Ivan Susanin. Fundraising continues”; 10 and the second - the answer of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief: “Give to the collective farmers and collective farmers of the Yaroslavl region, who collected 70 million rubles for the construction of the Ivan Susanin tank column, my fraternal greetings and thanks to the Red Army. I. Stalin”. 11

Thus, the assignment of the Susanin tank column was authorized at the highest level. Of course, in connection with the Stalinist telegram, workers’ rallies were held throughout the region, and the regional committee and the regional executive committee issued a special appeal “To all collective farmers and collective farmers, to all working people of the Yaroslavl region,” which said: “Comrade collective farmers and collective farmers! In response to Comrade Stalin's telegram, we will intensify the collection of funds for the construction of a powerful tank column of Yaroslavl collective farmers named after Ivan Susanin. All collective farmers and collective farmers of our region should become active participants in raising funds for a tank column.” 12

In those December days, Susanin's name was constantly declined in the press and at rallies, and on December 25 - the day when the collection of funds for the column as a result of "wide explanatory work" was to be successfully completed, according to the decision of the bureau of the regional committee - in the regional newspaper "Northern Worker ” appeared a large article “Ivan Susanin”. After the story about Susanin's feat - of course, in his "royal" version, with information about Mikhail Romanov - there was a text: “330 years have passed since then. But the memory of the feat of Ivan Susanin did not fade. The light of this feat is now illuminating the paths of our soldiers defending their native country from the invasion of Nazi bandits. When the descendants of a national hero meet with the enemy in an unequal battle, they do not retreat. The immortal feat of Ivan Susanin inspires the soldiers of the Red Army to fight to the death against the fascist monsters, to fight for the freedom, honor and independence of their native country. The name Susanin has become a symbol of selfless service to the motherland.

To us, Yaroslavl residents, Susanin is especially close and dear - this is our fellow countryman. The birthplace of Ivan Susanin is the former Molvitinsky district. At the request of the workers, the district was named Susaninsky. G

Now, on the patriotic initiative of the Tambov collective farmers, the collective farmers of our region are contributing their labor savings to the construction of a tank column. At the request of the workers of the Susaninsky district, this column was named after the Yaroslavl peasant Ivan Susanin.” 13 After quoting lines from a popular pre-war song: “Thundering with fire, sparkling with the brilliance of steel, the cars will go on a furious campaign,” the author ended the article like this: “On their way they will shoot, crush, crush the manpower and equipment of the enemy. This will be a continuation of the legendary path of Ivan Susanin, the glorious path of victory.

The more tanks will go in the column named after the great patriot of the Russian land, the faster the native land will be cleared of fascist evil spirits. The blood of the ancestor calls the Yaroslavl collective farmers to increase their efforts in the fight against foreign invaders. 14

After raising funds for the construction of a tank column 15 In the same April 1943, the senior livestock specialist of the Karavaevo breeding farm located near Kostroma, S.I. Shteiman transferred to the defense fund the Stalin Prize he received in the amount of 1,000 thousand rubles, asking in a letter addressed to Stalin, published in all newspapers, to build an airplane with this money, naming it after the national hero Ivan Susanin. In a reply telegram, Stalin, betraying him his greetings and gratitude to the Red Army, said that his wish would be fulfilled. "> d and the highest - by Stalin himself - consecration of its name, Susanin's name finally became cult, sacred, sounded from the highest stands. For example, speaking at the end of January 1943 in Yaroslavl at a meeting of secretaries of the collective farm Komsomol organizations of the region, the 1st secretary of the Central Committee Komsomol N.A. Mikhailov, in particular, said: “You, comrades of Yaroslavl, can be legitimately proud of the immortal feat of your fellow countryman Ivan Susanin, you, comrades, can be proud that more than one representative of the Soviet youth from the environment of Yaroslavl was found in this great war youth, who turned out to be a worthy successor to Susanin. 18 But only 4 years have passed since the “rehabilitation” of Susanin! However, the steady rise in Susanin's status also had its real positive aspects. It was for this reason that at the final stage of the war, the Assumption Church in Domnino was revived.

Photo by G.P. Belyakova. 1953

The temple in Domnina is working again.

Revival of the Domnino temple

By the fall of 1943, the war was in full swing. Our troops fought to the west, in the rear, the notorious “collective farmers and collective farmers” – women, old men and teenagers – were toiling themselves at back-breaking work, propaganda still – among other names of our great ancestors – inclined the name of Susanin, and the Assumption Church in Domnino remained in its desecrated form, continuing to serve as a granary of the NKVD collective farm; the cemetery trampled down in the pre-war years near it was overgrown with grass. Believers went to pray - and there was something to pray about during the war! - to distant churches that miraculously survived the destruction of the 30s, in particular, to the Trinity Church in the village of Isupova. It seemed that it would always be so; and suddenly a real miracle happened - the temple was revived.

As you know, after a truly historic meeting of Stalin on September 4, 1943 with the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, there was a rather abrupt, but, in principle, logically following from all the practice of the war years, a turn in the policy of the state in relation to the church. The latter was allowed to re-elect a patriarch, allowed to have theological academies and seminaries, allowed to issue church publications, and - most importantly - as a result of this turn, a fairly large number of churches were revived. There were quite a few reasons for such a change in course, but one of the main ones was that Stalin, preparing for the Red Army to go beyond the state border of the USSR, urgently took measures to make his regime more respectable (at the same time, the Comintern was also dissolved). However, even without this reason, the church would still sooner or later receive the rights that were given to it in 1943. In the 1930s, having destroyed almost everything in it that seemed dangerous to his power, Stalin could, as it seemed to him - in accordance with long-standing Russian traditions - once again make the clergy a part of his state apparatus.

As a result of this liberalization, the fruits of which, for a number of reasons, were very, very modest in the Kostroma region, the revival of the old Domna church took place. Apparently, either at the end of 1943 or at the beginning of 1944, a nun of the Trinity Sumarokovsky Monastery who lived in Domnina e Ksenia (Gruzdeva), who was a member of the former church council, together with other believers, began to write to Moscow, asking the authorities to return the temple to the Domnins. In petitions, she pointed to the historical significance of the Assumption Church and its connection with the name of Susanin. And a miracle happened: the countrymen of the Russian folk hero were not refused - an order came from Moscow to transfer the temple to the religious community. Soon - according to the materials of the archive of the Kostroma diocese, this happened on August 15, 1944, on the Assumption of the Mother of God 19 - A priest was appointed in Domnino, Fr. Gennady Goritsky. Together with the parishioners, the 67-year-old priest, who took the place of the executed Father Konstantin Sokolsky, quickly managed to restore the temple, especially since the iconostasis in it suffered relatively little damage. Many saved icons from other closed temples of the district were demolished in the Assumption Church, and in the same 1944, after the consecration, it again began to operate.

So the shadow of Susanin helped the people of Domnino to revive their temple, for liberalization is liberalization, but if they weren’t countrymen of the highest recognized patriot of the Russian land, the temple in Domnino could still be in the abomination of desolation.

Then, in August 1944, another important event took place: by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Kostroma Region was separated from the Yaroslavl Region (and, in fact, restored). For Susanin, this fact had the significance that he was finally no longer called a Yaroslavl, and by the end of the war he again became what he had always been - a Kostroma peasant.