Fedor Dobronravov.

Vladimir Chistyakov

Fedor Dobronravov

Eighteen-year-old Fedor was drafted into the army in 1979, he ended up in the 104th Guards Artillery Regiment of the Airborne Division and served in it until 1981. Part of Dobronravov was located in Azerbaijan, not far from the Iranian border. Like everyone else, the future actor wrote an application to get to Afghanistan, but he was not accepted. Nevertheless, the artist remembers his service with gratitude. He claims that over time, all the bad things were forgotten, but the romance remained.

Jan Tsapnik

After school, which Tsapnik graduated from in Chelyabinsk, the young man went to Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) to enter the theater. A professional athlete (Jan was engaged in handball) was treated condescendingly, and the young man entered the first time.

Gennady Avramenko

However, two years later, in 1987, he was drafted into the army. Parents wanted the future actor to take advantage of his position and go either to the cavalry regiment, or to the song and dance ensemble. But Tsapnik wanted to serve in Afghanistan, about which he immediately wrote a statement. But he was sent first to Poland, and then to Germany. As a result, the future actor ended up in an airborne reconnaissance company, in a special intelligence platoon. Jan recalls that the service was not easy, but he returned home with the rank of senior sergeant.

Jan Tsapnik in the film "Bitter!".

Gennady Avramenko

Maxim Drozd

While still at school, Maxim began boxing, and by the end of it he became a master of sports. It is not surprising that at the recruiting office a fit and physically strong guy was determined to serve in. After the army, Drozd fulfilled his dream and entered the theater, but the army experience was useful to the actor more than once in his profession.

Maxim Drozd. A frame from the film "The Village".

Vladimir Tishko

Every year on August 2, the showman celebrates Airborne Forces Day and claims that he has gained tremendous experience, which has helped him so far. At the age of 18, Volodya was drafted into the army. And he ended up in the 83rd Airborne Assault Brigade, which was located in the Polish city of Bialogard. Demobilized in 1990, he joined the theater.

Vladimir Chistyakov

By the way…

Mikhail Volontir is called the "Chief Ensign of the Airborne Forces." It is noteworthy that the Moldovan actor did not serve in the army, but for his film work he received the respect of the professional military community. Thanks to the films in "Zone of Special Attention" (1977) and "Return Move" (1981), in which Mikhail Ermolaevich played the ensign guard, the audience believed that the artist was a real paratrooper.

James Dugan ("Scotty" in Star Trek) Landed in Normandy as part of the Canadian Forces, was wounded - hit by machine gun fire and lost a finger. He also served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an artillery spotter pilot.

Sir Donald Pleasence (The Great Escape) Was actually an RAF pilot who was shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans.

David Niven is a Sandhurst graduate. With the rank of lieutenant colonel, he participated in the landing of British commandos in Normandy (and also managed to act in films during the war years) !!!

James Stewart Joined the army as a private and rose to the rank of colonel. During the Second World War, he served in the bomber aviation and participated in 20 combat missions over Germany. He was awarded the Air Force Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Military Cross and seven battle stars. After the war, he was in the Air Force reserve and, until his retirement in the late 50s, rose to the rank of brigadier general.

Clark Gable was a seperate star and over draft age. Nevertheless, on August 12, 1942, he signed up as a private in the Army Air Forces. He was sent to the officer candidate school, from which he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant. He then graduated from air gunners school and was assigned to the 351st bomber group. Until the fall of 1943, Gable flew on combat missions in the B-17, then returned to the United States. In June 1944, he was discharged from service with the rank of major, because his age did not allow him to participate in battles. The bomber that Gable flew, Delta Rebel No.II, died with the entire crew after Gable returned to the United States.

Charlton Heston Was a sergeant in the Army Air Forces.

Ernest Borgnine was in the calculation of a naval gun from 1935-1945.

Charles Durning Was a ranger in Normandy, received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

Charles Bronson was the tail gunner on the B-29.

George S. Scott. He served in the USMC from 1945 to 1949, in the unit that guarded the Arlington National Cemetery. He claimed that it was there that he began to drink too much.

Eddie Albert. Awarded the Bronze Star for bravery during the Battle of Tarawa (Navy Officer)

Lee Marvin USMC Served in the Corps for 5 years, wounded on Saipan..

John Russell: Joined the USMC in 1942, was wounded and decorated for the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Robert Ryan. He was a Marine, but served with the OSS in Yugoslavia.

Tyrone Power Was an established movie star by the time the war began, joined the USMC, became a transport pilot.

Audie Murphy. Due to short stature, he was not accepted into the USMC. Due to its low weight, it was not accepted into parachute units. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. He ended the war as the second most awarded US soldier (after Colonel Matt Urban). List of awards: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

- Red Buttons -- USMC

Ronald Reagan From 1935 reserve officer. He served in the Air Force, at a training film studio - he was released from military service for health reasons (poor vision).

Leslie Howard. Veteran of the First World War, was wounded. He died on June 1, 1943, returning from Lisbon after a secret meeting with Winston Churchill - the BOAC plane in which he was flying was shot down by a German fighter ..

Frank Sutton took part in 14 landings including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan and Corregidor. Ironically, the actor, whose most famous role is gunnery sergeant in the television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., was not a Marine and served in the Army.

Richard Burton was an RAF cadet

Jeffrey Hunter (Star Trek) Served in the Navy but retired for health reasons before being sent to the Pacific.

Rod Steiger - Navy, Pacific.

Kirk Douglas. In 1941 he joined the Navy, served on anti-submarine ships. In 1944 he was demobilized with the rank of lieutenant after being wounded.

- Jimi Hendrix. In 1961, in order not to sit down for theft, he joined the army. He got into the 101st airborne division, served for a year and broke his leg during the 26th parachute jump. Was expelled from the army. However, he would still have been kicked out for being a jerk and having a homosexual relationship with another soldier.

Chris Christofferson. He joined the army in 1960 and served in Germany. Helicopter pilot, graduated from ranger school. Captain.

Artists are considered to be pampered white-handed people, unable to hold something heavier than a microphone in their hands. However, even among the stars spoiled by the attention of the audience, you can find real defenders of the Fatherland, ready to defend the homeland in word and deed. The paparazzi studied the biographies of famous actors, singers and athletes and found out that among them there are many holders of honorary military ranks.

Oleg Gazmanov

Oleg Mikhailovich does not like it too much when he is called a "jingo-patriotic singer", although his repertoire really has a lot of songs of a similar theme. It is not in vain that the public accepts Gazmanov's military-patriotic hits so well. He is a hereditary officer, and from his lips the song "Lord Officers" sounds more than sincere and weighty.

Even before becoming a professional artist, Oleg Mikhailovich served in the Baltic Fleet, but he was awarded the officer's rank much later, for his special contribution to art.

“My father was an officer,” the singer said in an interview. “He fought, he reached Berlin. Mom is a doctor, she went to the front as a nurse, after the Victory she continued to save the wounded in the war with the Japanese, in the Far East. I am proud that and I myself am an officer. I was awarded another military rank: captain of the 3rd rank, although in reserve. And the fact that this was announced from the stage of the Kremlin Palace at a concert dedicated to the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland is not only a tribute to my work. "in ranks. Although the most important thing in my life is music and poetry, and the main activity is a composer and singer, but I know that in the army environment they don’t consider me a stranger. I always invite the military to my concerts for free, I constantly perform in garrisons, on ships , at outposts, in hospitals".

Alexander Rosenbaum

The famous singer devoted a lot of his songs to the war in Afghanistan, the Great Patriotic War, and maritime topics. And, although in his youth he did not get into the army due to astigmatism and myopia, Rosenbaum managed to repay his debt to his homeland with interest. Even during his studies at the medical institute, he participated in construction teams, underwent an internship on ships of the Pacific Fleet, and after graduation, Alexander Yakovlevich served for a year on warships of the Baltic Fleet. Rosenbaum devoted the next five years of his life to working in an ambulance, and then he finally decided to become an artist, but his songs always clearly showed a military theme.

Alexander Rosenbaum is an honorary member of the Russian Naval Officers' Assembly and the Submarine Club, and in 2000, by order of the Minister of Defense, he was awarded another military rank - Colonel of the Medical Service of the Naval Forces of the Reserve.

Alexander Yakovlevich puts on his military uniform only on holidays: on Victory Day, Defender of the Fatherland Day, Navy Day and February 15, the day the Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan, because the singer once visited this "hot spot" three times , supporting the morale of the soldiers with their songs.

Vladimir Zeldin

Actor Vladimir Zeldin has repeatedly said that only the acting profession saved him from certain death in the Great Patriotic War.

"From day to day I was waiting to be sent to the front, but an order was issued by the Minister of Cinematography to continue filming the film" Pig and Shepherd. . Zeldin still had to serve his homeland, but already as an actor, because after the war he was drafted into the Central Theater of the Red Army and played a huge number of military men.

"I played Field Marshal Kutuzov in the play" A long time ago ". And for Admiral Sinyavin he received his first, State, prize - in the then Stalinist - along with other creators of the play" Admiral's Flag ". I don’t even remember all the privates and officers played by me ", - shared Zeldin, to whom Marshal Zhukov himself once presented a double-barreled shotgun with a dedicatory inscription.

But the 97-year-old actor received an officer rank for his work quite recently. “I nevertheless became a reserve officer and received the medal “For officer valor” of the 3rd degree, marking 70 years of my service to the theater,” Zeldin said. “It’s a pity, if we were once certified even as privates, then we would receive discounts in military sanatoriums.”

Vladimir Etush

Vladimir Etush is not only a brilliant actor, during the Great Patriotic War he showed himself to be a valiant warrior and returned from the front with the rank of lieutenant.

“Although I had a reservation, I went to the front voluntarily. It was October 1941. I returned from the front in 1944, and indeed the city became different. Destroyed houses. Terrible poverty. And this went on for more than one year,” Vladimir recalled Etush in an interview. The actor had to fight the enemy in the Caucasus mountains, he participated in the liberation of Ukraine and southern Russia from the Nazi invaders, was seriously wounded in battle. For the courage and courage shown on the battlefield, Etush was awarded many medals and the Order of the Red Star.

"In the battles for the socialist Motherland against the German occupiers, he showed himself to be a brave and decisive commander," the accompanying documents say. Comrade Etush fearlessly, not sparing his life, inspiring the soldiers, boldly led the company against the enemy and skillfully drove the enemy out of the GORODOK area. The enemy lost up to 30 soldiers and officers and 1 light machine gun. , advancing on the regional center KUIBYSHEVO, personally with a group of fighters, he was the first to break into the village and destroyed 8 enemy soldiers and officers in street battles.For courage and courage in battles, he is worthy of a government award - the Order of the "RED STAR".

Alexander Tyutin

It is not for nothing that the actor is so good at the role of the military, because before starting his acting career, he graduated from the Moscow Energy Institute and served as an officer in Georgia for two years, was an engineer of radio-electronic systems of a military transport squadron. In the cinema, Tyutin almost immediately plunged into the military theme: one of his first works was the role of a German soldier in the film "It was the fourth year of the war ...", and then the roles of people in uniform fell on the artist like from a cornucopia.

“After graduating from the energy school, I ended up in the army, but as an officer,” the actor himself said. “And for two years I rattled in Georgia, in aviation. Therefore, after service, on weekends, I regularly visited theaters. Well, after demobilization, I entered the Shchukin school. I really play a lot of different military men, not only Russian, but also foreign ones. Our FSB generally recognized me as one of their own: they gave me a watch with a thank-you inscription from the director himself. But I do not exploit one role, I play other roles, especially lately " .

Sergei Glushko

Despite the very frivolous profession of a stripper, the husband of Natasha Koroleva, who became famous in Moscow under the pseudonym Tarzan, at one time was an exemplary defender of the Fatherland with an officer rank.

"A career military man with the rank of senior lieutenant of the military space troops," the artist proudly says about himself, who has devoted more than one year to serving the Motherland. True, now Sergey does not really like to remember this period of his life.

“Everything is very sad. I joined the army at the insistence of my father, also an officer. But, to tell you honestly, my profession did not give me any satisfaction, much less money,” Glushko admitted frankly. “We, the military, were paid pennies, yes and they always detained me. Imagine, I even worked as a barker in a fashionable private store. I was tired of a hopeless life that promised me nothing but hard drinking. " As a result, Sergei decided to finally leave the service and left to conquer the capital, which he has never regretted.

Yuri Shevchuk

The rock musician has many military awards for trips to "hot spots", concerts for soldiers and patriotic songs. At the same time, Shevchuk practically did not serve in the army and gained all his experience in this area already as a well-known artist.

“I was drafted near Yakutsk. I served for two months,” said Yuri Shevchuk in an interview. “I was seriously injured and was commissioned. My favorite saying is this: I don’t serve in the army, but I serve in the army. ", we go to the troops. You need to play, sing not only where it is easy and good, but also where it is difficult for people to live. Here, gentlemen, the artists could perform more often. And we try, set an example."

The list of various awards of Yuri Shevchuk is really impressive: the medal of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia "Participant in emergency humanitarian operations", the insignia of the Ministry of Internal Affairs "Silver Cross" (twice), the Alexander Cross "For service in the Caucasus" (twice), the award badge "Participant in combat operations in Chechnya" , medal "For military valor".

Alexander Marshal

A singer with such a military pseudonym, of course, has many military songs in his repertoire. And even though Marshal never received the officer rank, he still pays his debt to his homeland in his own way. Alexander was born into a military family and after school he entered the Stavropol Higher Military School of the Air Defense Forces to master the specialty of a combat command and control navigator. It was there that the future artist was jokingly nicknamed "Marshal", although his military career ended after only two years of study. Almost falling short of the rank of lieutenant, Alexander decided to quit the ranks of the Soviet army and seriously took up music. Having become a popular artist, Marshal not only sings about the military, he actively takes part in their lives.

“I am a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, I often visit units, on ships,” the singer says. “The situation in which the army found itself in the early 1990s and now are different things. Everything is gradually getting better, going uphill "Our army and our navy are acquiring the status they have lost." By the way, Alexander has been broadcasting “Listen, Soldier” on Radio Russia for several years now, and he also has two FSB awards to his credit.

Nikolai Rastorguev

The soloist of the group "Lube" appeared in this material as an exception. After all, despite the brutal image and the image of a brave "battalion commander", he never really served in the army. However, his merits in the military sphere are valued at the highest level, not to mention thousands of soldiers, to whom the songs performed by Rastorguev invariably raise their morale. So, five years ago, on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day, Rastorguev was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, in 2006 he received the FSB award for a cycle of military-patriotic songs, the artist also has commemorative diplomas and heraldic symbols of the Russian army, which are awarded artists for fruitful work with the army audience.

The singer accepts all awards from the military with gratitude, but always says directly that he did not have a chance to pay his debt to his homeland in the ranks of the armed forces. “I did not serve in the army: there was a military department in our educational institution. And the attitude towards the army was respectful. to get into adult troops such as the Airborne Forces," Nikolai said in an interview. "I am a purely peaceful person, but I can say that, of course, you need to serve. In a country like Russia, the army must be strong, capable and victorious." On his military ID, he says "private, fit for non-combatant in wartime."

By the way, Alla Pugacheva "forced" Nikolai to try on the legendary tunic. The image turned out to be so successful that the soloist of "Lube" performed in military uniform for many more years.

"I first put it on the shooting of Alla Pugacheva's Christmas Meetings. Alla Borisovna advised me to put on a military uniform during the performance of the song" Atas ". The arguments were as follows: since Zheglov and Sharapov are mentioned in the song, then you should look in the spirit of that time - the singer shared. - At first they thought that this was a one-time case, but the tunic, according to others, suited me, and I was simply persuaded to assign this image to the group. "

Not everyone thinks about it, but the largest percentage of star defenders of the Fatherland with officer ranks are athletes.

"Military ranks are another incentive, including a tool of financial incentives. Moreover, if earlier the rank of major was the sporting peak, now it is lieutenant colonel. That is, a gifted person can safely train, having a reliable rear provided by the army - an apartment, salary, social guarantees ", - explained the sports official to the chairman Alexei Miroshnichenko. - This is very important in such a competitive and nerve-consuming activity as sports, where victories coexist with defeats, and no one is immune from the game of chance."

Evgeni Plushenko

The Olympic champion does not advertise this fact, but in 2006, after winning in Turin, he received not only a gold medal and a three-room apartment in St. Petersburg, but the athlete was also awarded an extraordinary military rank.

"Senior lieutenant. In the reserve. I left because I am a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg," Evgeny himself once commented. By the way, once, because of the military rank, the skater had a strong quarrel with Viktor Baturin, the ex-husband of his wife Yana Rudkovskaya.

“They say he’s a guard officer, and I’m a clown who didn’t even serve in the Armed Forces. So, I don’t know what kind of guard officer Baturin he is, and by the way, I’m a senior lieutenant,” Plushenko worried. “And I got it title from Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov.

Alexey Nemov

The famous gymnast, speaking for the Armed Forces sports society, rose to the high rank of lieutenant colonel. Alexei began, of course, with more modest titles. So, after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the athlete became the captain, and then even the nickname “Captain Nemo” stuck to him. Since 2000, Nemov should have been called "Major Nemo", and now "Lieutenant Colonel Nemo".

According to Nemov, he serves as an instructor in the active army of the CSK VVS. “I sometimes come. Because it’s still my native club,” says Alexei. “I once played for it. Therefore, I come, I show something, we communicate. In principle, it’s not so hard. some kind of status. We defended "in tights and overlays", as they say, on the platform. But so - the flag was raised, and there was that feeling of patriotism, which, God forbid, our youth will experience. Now there is a very good trend in this direction, but then, I think that somehow we have more of this in our souls.

Of course, Plushenko and Nemov are far from the only holders of officer ranks in the sports environment. So, the Olympic champion in fetovaniya Pavel Kolobkov has the rank of colonel, in addition to Alexei Nemov, the Olympic champion in diving Dmitry Sautin, the Olympic champions in bullet shooting Mikhail Nestruev and Sergey Aliferenko, as well as the Olympic champion in fencing Stanislav Pozdnyakov are among the lieutenant colonels.

There are already more majors among athletes: champions of the Olympic Games in biathlon Svetlana Ishmuratova, Albina Akhatova, Olga Zaitseva, Pavel Rostovtsev, athlete Tatyana Lebedeva, boxer Alexander Lebzyak have titles.

The Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Svetlana Khorkina has the title of captain, the same title belongs to the champion in trampoline Alexander Moskalenko.

The rank of senior lieutenant, in addition to Evgeni Plushenko, is held by track and field athlete Yelena Isinbayeva and Olympic medalist in luge Albert Demchenko. Among the lieutenants are track and field athlete Elena Slesarenko, speed skater Dmitry Dorofeev and bobsledder Alexander Zubkov.

The eyes of a person, if you look closely, you can see the whole soul in them, joy or pain, fear or courage. It is very difficult to play the role of a Soviet soldier, and if the body, facial expressions can still somehow get used to the role, but the eyes are that pain that is barely perceptible, the horror that a real Soviet soldier went through - it is almost impossible to play the truth of the war in the eyes .

Today I want to dedicate an article to Soviet actors - front-line soldiers, whom we loved so much in the cinema, whose faces are so loved and familiar. Just think, but these are the faces of real heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

1 Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin

Member of the Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars. Patriarch of Soviet humor and drama.

In 1925 (Yuri was then 4 years old) the family moved to Moscow. Here Nikulin entered high school, and after graduating from it in 1939, he immediately went to the front: there was a Soviet-Finnish war. Nikulin was sent to serve in an anti-aircraft battery that guarded the approaches to Leningrad. The Great Patriotic War also found Yuri Nikulin there: he fought near Leningrad until 1943, was wounded, hospitalized, suffered a concussion, but returned to the front in the anti-aircraft division, in which he served until the end of the war. Nikulin was awarded three medals "For Courage", "For the Defense of Leningrad" and "For the Victory over Germany".

After the war, Yuri Nikulin came to Moscow to enter VGIK, but the commission rejected the clumsy guy because of his appearance: they considered that Nikulin, tall and thin, was not handsome enough. A fiasco awaited him in other theatrical institutions. As the artist himself recalled, he began to try to enter all theater schools and universities in a row, but everywhere he was refused, claiming that they did not see his acting talent.

2 Vladimir Pavlovich Basov

In the summer of 1941, Basov came to VGIK to find out the rules for admission to this educational institution. He was explained what documents are required for this, what exams he has to overcome. Basov left confident that he would definitely do it. But the war interfered with his plans.

Vladimir Basov went to the front in July 1941. At first, lieutenant of the quartermaster service Basov served as the head of the club of the 4th separate rifle brigade, for the excellent organization of amateur art in combat conditions he was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". And then his military fate takes a sharp turn and Vladimir Basov becomes a mortar man. The mortar battery of senior lieutenant Basov accomplished many feats, he himself was wounded on February 23, 1945, returned to duty after being wounded. He ended the war with the rank of captain and deputy chief of the operations department of the 28th Separate Artillery Division of the breakthrough reserve of the High Command. He had every chance to remain in military service and make a brilliant career, but he preferred to retire as a civilian.

In 1947 he entered the directing department (workshop of S.I. Yutkevich and M.I. Romm). Since 1952 - director of the film studio "Mosfilm". One of the best directorial works of Vladimir Basov was the film "Shield and Sword" (1968).

Vladimir Pavlovich Basov's "non-standard appearance" did not prevent him from becoming the favorite of millions. Colossal charisma allowed him to play the wolf in the fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood without any costume or makeup. And in total in the filmography of the actor there are more than 80 roles.

3 Zinovy ​​Efimovich Gerdt

He volunteered for the front. The senior lieutenant of the sapper company Gerdt did not remember that he was an artist, and did not even participate in amateur performances.

In February 1943, near Belgorod, he was seriously wounded in the leg. A nurse carried him from the battlefield, and he spent more than a year in the hospital. He underwent ten unsuccessful operations, and the doctors of the Botkin hospital, which was a hospital during the war, decided to amputate his leg, but the leading surgeon and wife of the designer Sergei Korolev, Ksenia Vincentini, taking Zinovy ​​to the operating room, whispered: “I’ll try along” - and during The operation attempted to save her leg again. This eleventh operation was successful, and the bones began to grow together. As a result, after treatment, one of Zinovy's legs became 8 centimeters shorter than the other. Zinovy ​​Efimovich limped all his life, and later Valentin Gaft dedicated an epigram to him:

Oh, extraordinary Gerdt,
He kept from the time of the war
One of the best features
His knee is unbending.

In the cinema, Gerdt acted mainly as a comedic, sharp-witted actor. In his filmography, there are about 80 film roles. People's Artist of the USSR Zinovy ​​Gerdt died on November 18, 1996 in Moscow. A monument to Panikovsky was erected in Kyiv, in which the features of the legendary artist are easily guessed.

4 Alexey Makarovich Smirnov

Everyone knows this actor! And who knows this war hero? Here are his well-deserved awards: the Order of Glory 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree, the Order of the Red Star, the Medal "For Courage", the Medal "For Military Merit".

One of the most popular comedians of the Soviet Union, who played mostly negative comic characters, had a rich heroic front-line biography, which he did not like to remember at all: “Well, he served, well, there are some awards - after all, everyone excelled during the war. I didn't do anything special."

On April 9, 1944, in the area of ​​​​the village of Pilyava, after powerful artillery attacks, two enemy battalions, supported by 13 tanks, went on the attack. Tov. Smirnov with a platoon opened a powerful mortar fire on the German infantry. In this battle, platoon fire destroyed: 4 heavy and 2 light machine guns, 110 fascist soldiers and officers. The German counterattack was repulsed.

On July 20, 1944, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bheight 283.0, the enemy, with a force of up to 40 Nazis, attacked the battery. Smirnov, inspiring the fighters, rushed into battle with a personal weapon. The battery repelled the German attack with rifle and machine gun fire. 17 Nazis remained on the battlefield, Smirnov personally captured 7 Nazis.

On January 22, 1945, despite intense enemy fire, he ferried a mortar to the left bank of the Oder River with his crew. From where, with mortar fire, he destroyed 2 machine-gun points in the village of Eichenried and up to 20 Nazis. The 36th Artillery Regiment captured the village and the bridgehead on the left bank of the Oder River.

5 Innokenty Mikhailovich Smoktunovsky

Entered the military school. And for the fact that during training time he collected the potatoes remaining in the field, he was torn off his cadet shoulder straps and sent to the front - into hell, to the Kursk Bulge (1943).

“I have never been hurt. Honestly, it’s strange to myself - two years of a real terrible front-line life: I stood under the muzzles of German machine guns, fought surrounded, escaped from captivity ... But he was not wounded. True, during the bombing, I was somehow covered with earth - so much so that only boots with windings stuck out of the peat. I was lucky to escape when we were driven to the camp. I, an eighteen-year-old, exhausted boy, was driven by the instinct of self-preservation.

I found out from the peasants where there were more forests and swamps, where there were fewer highways, and I went there. The Nazis had nothing to do there, unlike the partisans. So I made my way to the village of Dmitrovka ... I knocked on the nearest door, and they opened it for me. I took a step, tried to say something and fell into a half-consciousness. I was lifted up, carried to the bed, fed, washed in the bath. I was washed by several girls - and how they laughed! And I am a living skeleton, with a belly dried up to the spine, protruding ribs. He lived in this village for about a month, then the case helped him get to the partisans, fought in a detachment, ended the war southwest of Berlin.

"I'm a happy person! Well, who else had a chance to play such roles as me - Prince Myshkin, Hamlet, Ivanov, Tchaikovsky ... Yes, the same Detochkin! Fate kept me, probably so that I could play all this. I. Smoktunovsky.

6 Mikhail Ivanovich Pugovkin

From the age of 16, Mikhail Pugovkin worked as an artist at the Sretenka Theater. The young man was invited to play the role in the film "The Artamonov Case", the shooting of the episode with the participation of Pugovkin took place on June 21, 1941. And already on the 24th, the artist volunteered for the military registration and enlistment office, although he was not yet 18.

At the front he got into reconnaissance, in heavy battles near Smolensk he remained safe and sound. Front-line luck turned away from the scout after a little over a year - in August 1942, near Lugansk, Pugovkin was seriously wounded in the leg, gangrene began. The hospital was already preparing for amputation, but Mikhail managed to persuade the surgeons to save the limb: “I’m an artist, how will I work!”

After the operation, Pugovkin was discharged, and he returned to Moscow theatrical life - he managed to play a front-line soldier even before the Victory, in the legendary romantic comedy of 1944 "At 6 pm after the war."

7 Anatoly Dmitrievich Papanov

Anatoly Papanov was drafted into the army in 1940 - before that he worked at a factory in Moscow, and was also fond of amateur performances, attended a theater studio. In June 41, his regiment was transferred from Orenburg to the Kharkov direction.

“By the look of those who had already fought, it was clear that it was hot here. Almost our entire division was killed, six or eight of our platoon remained alive. I remember my first battle, in which 14 of us, 42 people, survived. I clearly see how my friend Alik Rafaevich fell, killed on the spot. He studied at VGIK, wanted to become a cameraman, but did not ... I saw people returning from battle completely unrecognizable. I saw how they sat down in one night. I used to think that this was just a literary device, it turned out - no. This is the method of war…”

Before one of the attacks, Anatoly and his comrades went into the dugout to warm themselves - there were severe frosts. We didn’t have time to settle down, there was an explosion - a direct hit. Everyone was covered with earth, only Papanov was dug up alive, who was sent to the hospital with three wounds and a shell shock. After several operations, they were given disability, they were discharged from the army.

An attempt to enter the theater institute was a hopeless, desperate step - who will take a disabled person as an artist? But misfortune helped: they took it only because there were not enough guys among the applicants, everyone was at the front: “After being wounded, I could not return to the front. I was commissioned cleanly, none of my requests and protests helped - the commission recognized me as unfit for military service. And I decided to enter the theater institute. This was a kind of challenge to the enemy: an invalid, suitable only for the work of a janitor (I really visited such a job), will be an artist. And here the war again terribly reminded of itself - guys were needed, but they weren’t there ... So those tears in the film “Belarusian Station”, in the apartment of a former nurse, are not cinematic at all.

8 Georgy Alexandrovich Yumatov

While still a teenager, the future star of Soviet cinema was carried away by the dream of the sea and decided to enter the nautical school at all costs. However, in order for this dream to come true, Yumatov had to make every effort. He seriously took up his studies, became an excellent student. He became interested in sports: boxing, athletics, even horseback riding.

In 1941, Georgy Yumatov's dream finally came true - he ended up in a naval school. And soon the war began, which confused all the plans of our hero - he began to rush to the front. A year later he succeeded, and he ended up as a cabin boy in the torpedo fleet. He was a helmsman-signalman on the armored boats of the Azov, and then the Danube flotillas. He took part in the Malozemelsky, Evpatoria landings, in the assault on Izmail, in the capture of Bucharest, Budapest, and Vienna.

During the assault on the latter, Georgy Alexandrovich participated in hand-to-hand combat for the famous Vienna Bridge. About two thousand of our paratroopers died in that battle, but fate kept Yumatov (for this assault he was awarded the unique Ushakov sailor medal on chains). It was after that terrible battle that our hero got really drunk for the first time.

It is worth noting that during the years of the war, George could have been killed at least a hundred times, but each time Providence averted trouble from him. For example, in one of the battles, a ship mongrel, warmed by Yumatov, frightened by shelling, jumped overboard. Sailor Yumatov rushed after her. And at that moment, an enemy shell hit the torpedo boat with direct fire. Almost the entire team died, but our hero (together with the mongrel) remained alive.

In total, during the three years of the war, George was wounded several times, shell-shocked, drowned twice, and had frostbite on his hands.

The military merits of Georgy Aleksandrovich were awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, medals "For the Capture of Vienna", "For the Capture of Budapest", ZPNG, and other medals.

9 Vladimir Abramovich Etush

Vladimir Etush sometimes said that he was the first Muscovite to witness the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, although he did not immediately understand this. On the night of June 21-22, he was walking from a protracted party. It was about 5 o'clock in the morning, the streets were deserted, there were almost no cars. And then a car of the German embassy flew past him at great speed. Later, he read somewhere that it was the car of the German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Count von Schulenburg, who, an hour after the start of the invasion, handed Molotov a memorandum declaring war. Then Etush, although he paid attention to this car, did not have any bad premonition. He came home, went to bed, and at 12 o'clock his mother woke him up and said that the war had begun.

As a student at a theater school, Volodya Etush had a reservation. But during the play "Field Marshal Kutuzov", he saw that only 13 people were sitting in the hall, and realized that the country was not up to the theater. In the morning he went and asked to volunteer for the front.

Vladimir Etush was sent to the courses of military translators in Stavropol. But at the front, he ended up in a rifle regiment. Etush fought in the mountains of Kabarda and Ossetia, took part in the liberation of Rostov-on-Don, Ukraine. He fought heroically, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and medals. Then he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. In 1944, Etush was seriously wounded and after the hospital, having received a second disability group, he was demobilized.

P.S. : It would be unfair not to mention other great actors and directors who defended their native land from fascism: Nikolai Konstantinovich Prokopovich, Pyotr Efimovich Todorovsky, Pavel Borisovich Vinnik, Adolf Alekseevich Ilyin, Viktor Aleksandrovich Kurochkin, Vladislav Ignatievich Strzhelchik, Stanislav Iosifovich Rostotsky, Yuri Vasilyevich Katin -Yartsev, Vladimir Petrovich Zamansky, Vladimir Leonidovich Gulyaev, Nikolai Grigorievich Grinko, Leonid Iovich Gaidai, Evgeny Yakovlevich Vesnik ...

Some of them dreamed of becoming an actor since childhood, but the war forced them to postpone these plans. Someone went to college immediately after the victory. Someone else before the war was famous. Most of them have already left, but they all remained in films, in their roles, in people's memory ...

Yury Nikulin

On November 18, 1939, in accordance with the Decree on universal military duty, Yu. Nikulin was drafted into the army. Nikulin served in the anti-aircraft artillery near Leningrad. Already from the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Nikulin's battery opened fire on fascist aircraft, which broke through to Leningrad, threw deep mines into the Gulf of Finland. As part of an anti-aircraft battery, Nikulin fought until the spring of 1943, rising to the rank of senior sergeant. Then, with wounds, he visited the hospital twice. After recovery, he was sent from the hospital to the 72nd separate anti-aircraft division near the city of Kolpino. Yuri Nikulin met the victory in the Baltics. He was awarded the medals "For Courage", "For the Defense of Leningrad" and "For the Victory over Germany".

Alexey Smirnov

The whole country knew and loved him, but even many of his friends did not know that he fought almost the entire war as a simple soldier. That he is a full cavalier of the Order of Glory, a cavalier of the Order of the Red Star. Simply, Alexei did not like to share his memories of the war with anyone. Award sheet to the order for the third artillery division of September 15, 1944 to the Order of Glory 3rd degree: “On June 20, 1944, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bheight 283, the enemy, with a force of up to 40 Nazis, attacked the battery. Comrade Smirnov, inspiring the fighters, rushed into battle, repelled the attack of the Nazis. 17 killed Germans remained on the battlefield, he personally captured 7 Nazis ... ". An entry in the award list for the Order of Glory, 2nd degree: “Comrade Smirnov, with three fighters, rushed at the Germans and personally killed three Nazis from a machine gun and captured two. On January 22, 1945, despite the intense rifle-machine-gun and artillery-mortar shelling, he transported a mortar on himself to the left bank of the Oder River. In this battle, two machine-gun points and twenty Nazis were destroyed. However, Alexei Smirnov did not succeed in ending the war in Berlin. In 1945, during one of the battles, he was severely shell-shocked by a shell explosion. And after treatment in the hospital - commissioned ...
Alexei Smirnov, after the war, starred in many films. And any of his role in the film, even a small one, was pronounced and noticeable. The last film in which he starred was the film of his friend Leonid Bykov "Only Old Men Go to Battle".
Hero of the Great Patriotic War, one of the best Soviet actors of the post-war generation, is buried in the Southern Cemetery of the City of St. Petersburg, 3rd rowan area, 21 row, 9 grave.

Anatoly Papanov

On the very first day of the war, June 22, 1941, he went to the front. He rose to the rank of senior sergeant. In 1942 he was sent to the Southwestern Front. A large offensive of the Soviet troops was being prepared there. Near Kharkov, several Soviet divisions were pulled together, which fell into the "cauldron". The Germans launched a counteroffensive, and the Soviet troops were forced to retreat all the way to Stalingrad. Twenty-year-old Anatoly Papanov then commanded an anti-aircraft battery. In these battles, he played the role of a soldier who has nowhere to retreat - he lived in full. Near Kharkov, Papanov learned what it means to serve in a battalion that asks for and does not receive fire. There he was seriously wounded in the leg, ended up in the hospital and, at the age of 21, left it as an invalid. “How can you forget how, after two and a half hours of fighting, out of forty-two people, thirteen remained?” Papanov recalled. About this time - one of the most striking and significant roles of the actor - the role of General Serpilin in the film adaptation of Simonov's novel "The Living and the Dead". Perhaps, if Serpilin had not been in Papanov's creative biography, there would not have been another military role - the former paratrooper radio operator, accountant Dubinsky, in the film "Belorussky Station".

Nikolay Trofimov

During the Great Patriotic War he served in the ranks of the Navy. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, the Order of the Red Star, the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", "For the Victory over Germany".

Elina Bystritskaya

During the war, she worked in a front-line mobile evacuation hospital as a nurse. She was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, the medal "For the Victory over Germany".

Innokenty Smoktunovsky

Member of the Battle of Kursk, forcing the Dnieper, the liberation of Kyiv.
Came to Berlin. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, two medals "For Courage", a medal "For the Victory over Germany".

Zinovy ​​Gerdt

Senior lieutenant of the sapper company. He went to the front as a volunteer. In February 1943, near Belgorod, he was seriously wounded in the leg, underwent 11 operations, as a result of which the leg became shorter by 8 centimeters, the lameness remained for life. Awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Vladimir Etush

Volunteer. He graduated from the school of military translators in Stavropol. (By the way, if you need simultaneous translation, this is not a problem today). Fought in the mountains of Kabarda and Ossetia, liberated Rostov-on-Don, Ukraine. Senior lieutenant, assistant chief of staff of the regiment. In 1943 he was seriously wounded and retired. After the hospital received the 2nd group of disability.
He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star, medals "For the Defense of the Caucasus", "For the Defense of Moscow", "For the Victory over Germany".

Mikhail Pugovkin

He went to the front as a volunteer. Scout, served in the 1147th Infantry Regiment.
He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree and the medal "For the Victory over Germany".

Vladimir Basov

Captain, battery commander of the 424th motorized rifle regiment of the 14th Riga anti-aircraft artillery division of the Reserve of the SVGK Main Command, deputy head of the operational department of the 28th separate artillery division of the breakthrough of the reserve of the High Command.
He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star and the medal "For Military Merit".

Evgeniy Vesnik

Fought for three years. He was awarded two medals "For Courage", the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, the Order of the Red Star, the medal "For the Capture of Koenigsberg", two medals "For Courage", the medal "For the Victory over Germany".

Sergey Bondarchuk

Member of the Great Patriotic War. Awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree.

Georgy Yumatov

Since 1942 - a cabin boy on the torpedo boat "Courageous", a year later - a helmsman. Liberated Budapest, Bucharest, Vienna. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree, Ushakov's sailor medal, medals "For the Capture of Budapest", "For the Capture of Vienna", "For the Victory over Germany".

Leonid Gaidai

In 1942, Leonid Gaidai was drafted into the army. Initially, his service took place in Mongolia, where he rode horses destined for the front. Tall and thin, Gaidai looked comical on squat Mongolian horses, but he successfully coped with his cowboy work. He, like his other peers, rushed to the front. They considered it shameful to be in peaceful Mongolia. In addition, recruits often forgot to feed and they were terribly hungry.

When the military commissar arrived to select replenishment in the army, Gaidai answered "I" to every question of the officer. "Who's in the artillery?" "I", "To the cavalry?" "I", "To the fleet?" "I", "In intelligence?" "I" - what caused dissatisfaction with the boss. "Yes, you wait, Gaidai," said the military commissar, "Let me announce the entire list." From this incident, many years later, an episode of the film "Operation Y" was born.
Gaidai was sent to the Kalinin Front.

Gaidai served in a foot reconnaissance platoon, repeatedly went to the enemy rear to take language, was awarded several medals.
In 1943, returning from a mission, Leonid Gaidai was blown up by an anti-personnel mine, having received a severe wound in his leg. He spent about a year in hospitals, underwent 5 operations. He was threatened with amputation, but he categorically refused it. "There are no one-legged actors," he said. The consequences of this injury haunted him all his life. From time to time, the wound opened, splinters came out, the bone became inflamed, and these torments lasted for years. He was disabled, although he never told anyone about it. Outsiders not only did not know about this, but did not even guess, because Leonid Iovich could not bear to show his illnesses or ailments. He had a real masculine character..

Yuri Katin-Yartseva

The Great Patriotic War is a huge and important stage in the biography of Yuri Katin-Yartsev. He served in the railway troops, built bridges in the Far East, then ended up in the army on the Voronezh front. He was a participant in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, was on the 1st Ukrainian Front and the 4th Ukrainian. At the end of the war, Katin-Yartsev became a holder of the Order of the Red Star.

Vladimir Gulyaev

On April 20, 1942, he was enrolled as a cadet in the Molotov (Perm) military aviation pilot school. He became the pilot of the Il-2 attack aircraft.
... The youngest cadet of the Molotov school of attack pilots, Volodya Gulyaev, graduated with honors and, having received the rank of junior lieutenant, arrived with a new batch of replenishment in the 639th regiment, which was then based near the city of Velizh.
In November 1943, the formation of the 335th assault air division began, which included the Gulyaev regiment and the neighboring 826th from their 211th division. In winter, the pilots of the newly minted division rarely flew, mainly for reconnaissance. Gulyaev managed to make only one sortie.

In the spring of 1944, Gulyaev's division received an order to transfer the 639th regiment to the 2nd Ukrainian Front. This event should have pleased Volodya, because his father fought as the head of agitation and propaganda of the 53rd Army on the 2nd Ukrainian. But he acted like Gulyaevsky: he begged the division commander not to send him to Ukraine and transfer him to the neighboring, 826th, assault regiment of the 335th division. In the 1st squadron of this regiment, Vladimir Gulyaev will go through all his front-line universities until the very victorious day - May 9, 1945.

In May 1944, the 335th assault division, consisting of the 826th and 683rd assault aviation regiments, secretly relocated to the airfield near Gorodok in the Vitebsk region. Gulyaev's first flights were to attack the Lovsha, Obol, Goryany railway stations on the Vitebsk-Polotsk road. Especially got the Fritz from the blows of Vladimir in Obol. He flew to this station on May 20, June 6, 13 and 23. The regimental documents for June 13 say: "Flying to attack the Obol railway station in a group of six Il-2s, making 3 passes, despite strong enemy anti-aircraft fire, Comrade Gulyaev dropped bombs into the echelon, 3 explosions were observed with black with smoke, cannon and machine gun fire, he shot at the enemy’s manpower. The task was performed perfectly. The result of the attack is confirmed by a photograph and the testimony of cover fighters. " To this it should be added that the station itself was covered by four anti-aircraft batteries and two more on the way to it. This is a whole sea of ​​anti-aircraft fire! Gulyaev, neglecting mortal danger, dived into this sea three times. And not only survived, but also damaged the German train. The army newspaper "Soviet Sokol" even wrote about this sniper attack of his. For a long time, Gulyaev proudly carried the clipping with the article in his flight tablet.

During Operation Bagration, the 826th Assault Regiment delivered strikes against enemy manpower and equipment moving along the Dobrino-Verbali-Shumilino-Beshenkovichi, Lovsha-Bogushevskoye-Senno and Lovsha-Klimovo roads. As part of the six attack aircraft, junior lieutenant Gulyaev and his air gunner, sergeant Vasily Vinichenko, took to the air as a follower of the commander of the 1st squadron, captain Popov. Their goal was a German column on the Lovsha-Polotsk road. But from the air, they suddenly saw that at the Obol station, as many as 5 echelons of the enemy were standing under steam! Only Popov and Gulyaev broke through the dense palisade of anti-aircraft fire. But Popov was still shot down, shot down over the station itself. Together with him, his shooter, foreman Bezzhivotny, also died. Only Gulyaev managed to drop bombs on the echelons and return to his airfield safe and sound. At the Obol station, a fire raged for two more days and ammunition exploded. True, the sniper strike of Vladimir Gulyaev did not receive a worthy assessment from the authorities. They simply didn't believe it. There were no living witnesses, and for Gulyaev it was only the eighth sortie. Of course, the fact that the division on this day for the first time suffered such heavy losses also affected: 7 aircraft and 4 crew. There was no time for victorious reports to the higher command.

Having flown to the Beshenkovichi airfield, the 826th regiment, after the destruction of the enemy in the Lepel-Chashniki region, took part in the Polotsk offensive operation. Vladimir Gulyaev and his comrades storm German columns and positions in the area of ​​Glubokoye, Dunilovichi, Borovukha, Disna, Bigosovo. On July 3, he crushes the enemy on the northwestern outskirts of Polotsk, and on July 4, on the day of the liberation of the city, he takes part in the defeat of the German column on the Drissa (Verhnedvinsk) - Druya ​​road. As a result of this crushing blow, the Germans lost 535 (!) Motor vehicles and a river barge. Despite the fact that the enemy suffered such monstrous losses and retreated, flights for our attack aircraft were by no means a hunting trip. The sky was literally torn to shreds by German anti-aircraft guns, and Fokkers and Messers were constantly scouring the clouds. And every time, one of the pilots of the division was not destined to return to their native airfield. The crews of Akimov - Kurkulev, Fedorov - Tsukanov, Osipov - Kananadze, Kuroyedov - Kudryavtsev, Mavrin - Vdovchenko, Matrosov - Katkov, Shkarpetov - Korgin were shot down ... The crew of Gulyaev - Vinichenko, thank God, was lucky.

But in the Rezekne region, luck turned away from Gulyaev. During the attack of artillery positions, his plane was seriously damaged, and the "Ilyukha" had to be landed with the engine stopped right on the forest. An old IL-2 with metal wings took a terrible blow against the trees on itself, softened it as best it could and, dying, nevertheless saved the crew from certain death. Vladimir Gulyaev, in an unconscious state, was urgently taken on a passing Li-2 to the Central Aviation Hospital in Moscow. He returned to his regiment only three and a half months later. The scars on the bridge of the nose and chin and the disappointing conclusion of the doctors, which made it possible to hope for flights only in light aircraft, reminded of a serious wound. And this, alas, is the Po-2 wooden and linen "maize". Such were in the 335th division only at the headquarters level of command. Here, reluctantly as a Po-2 pilot, he continued his service. So he would fly on this "sewing machine" until the very victory, but less than a month later, his assault soul longed for the Ilyukha's cockpit, which had become his own. He began to write report after report, and in the end he achieved a second medical examination, and in March 1945 he again raised his beloved Il-2 into the air. And in one of the first sorties he almost died. The archival document tells about this succinctly and dryly: "On 26.03.1945, he flew to attack enemy vehicles in the Balga area. Having made three approaches to the target, he destroyed three vehicles and created one fire. From a direct hit by an anti-aircraft shell, his aircraft was damaged, but thanks to excellent piloting technique, he brought the plane to his airfield and landed safely. Death, scorching him with its terrible hot breath, swept right beside him. But even after that, Gulyaev irresistibly rushes into battle, making 2-3 sorties a day.

On April 6, the goal of Gulyaev and his comrades was the fortress city of Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad). It was the pilots of their division who were entrusted with the high honor of dropping an ultimatum from the plane to the commandant of Koenigsberg, General Otto Lyash. Unable to withstand the might of the attacks of the attackers, the citadel of Prussian militarism fell just three days later - on April 9th. It was on this day that for courage, courage and 20 successful sorties in the sky of East Prussia, Vladimir Gulyaev was presented to the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.