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Zaslonov Konstantin Sergeevich (December 25, 1909 (January 7, 1910) Ostashkov, Kalinin region - November 14, 1942, village of Kupovaya, Vitebsk region, Belarus) - Soviet partisan, hero of the Great Patriotic War. Commander of a partisan detachment and brigade, since October 1942 commander of all partisan forces in the Orsha zone.
Born into a working-class family. In 1930 he graduated from the Velikiy Luki Railway Vocational School. Since 1937, head of the locomotive depot at Roslavl station, and since 1939, head of the Orsha locomotive depot. At the beginning of the war, when German troops approached Orsha, he was evacuated to Moscow and worked at the depot named after. Ilyich.
Drunkards are the worst enemies of Soviet power.
Zaslonov Konstantin Sergeevich
In October 1941, at his own request, he was sent behind enemy lines as part of a group of railway workers. Partisan pseudonym - “Uncle Kostya”. He created an underground group, whose members used “coal mines” (mines disguised as coal) to blow up 93 German locomotives in three months.
Due to the threat of arrest in March 1942, Zaslonov and his group left Orsha and organized a partisan detachment that conducted a number of successful military raids in the Vitebsk-Orsha-Smolensk region, destroying a large number of enemy soldiers and equipment. On November 13, 1942, Konstantin Zaslonov died heroically in a battle with a punitive detachment near the village of Kupovaya, Sennensky district.
The Nazis managed to “figure out” when the partisan commanders and commissars would gather for a meeting in the village of Kupovat, Senensky district. Two battalions of selected troops were drawn to this place, which blocked the participants in the meeting led by Zaslonov. Early in the morning of November 14, after a hurricane of shelling, the Nazis launched an attack.
Despite the fact that there were only 75 Zaslonovites, and more than a thousand Nazis, it was repulsed, the battle lasted four hours. The partisans were running low on ammunition and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Zaslonov fought to the last bullet, like his comrades. When the Germans burst into the house where he was with his orderly, Konstantin Sergeevich was unconscious. But the orderly still had an anti-tank grenade, which he detonated as soon as the Nazis surrounded him. This is how the legendary hero died. A couple of months short of my 33rd birthday.
Today, the Orsha station depot bears the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Konstantin Zaslonov. By the way, the station administration is located on Konstantin Zaslonov Street.
He was awarded two Orders of Lenin and medals. Posthumously awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union” for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism shown (by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 7, 1943).
(1943), posthumously.
Biography
early yearsK. S. Zaslonov took the most active part in the agitation of the RNNA units. In particular, on August 10, as a result of negotiations, 5 RNNA garrisons from the villages of Novaya Zemlya, Gichi, Rudnya and Petriki simultaneously withdrew and went over to the side of the partisans. In total, 236 soldiers and officers from the RNNA and 78 police officers arrived in the partisan formation with weapons in their hands. They brought with them 5 mortars, 300 mines, 10 machine guns, machine guns, rifles and a large amount of ammunition. After the first successful operation to transfer units of the RNNA to the side of the partisans, K. S. Zaslonov received a special task to carry out especially active propaganda work in these units.
At the beginning of November 1942, partisan forces in the Orsha region received an order to urgently go beyond the front line to be included in the Red Army. Zaslonov ordered his people to move towards the front line, and he remained with his headquarters and several dozen partisans in the village of Kupovat, Aleksinichsky village council, Sennensky district, Vitebsk region, where the next large group of RNNA soldiers and officers was scheduled to cross at 6-7 am on November 14 . Zaslonov intended to catch up with the detachments moving towards the front line after these people joined him.
However, on the night of November 13-14, a German inspection arrived at the unit, which was preparing to go into the forest to join the partisans, with a surprise inspection. The instigators were shot, and the rest were urgently sent to Smolensk. Two RNNA battalions in Soviet military uniforms under German command were sent to the village of Kupovaya.
On the morning of November 14, when observers reported to Zaslonov that a large column of “populists” was moving along the road, he ordered not to shoot under any circumstances and to let everyone through. Since he was sure that these were his “defectors,” he did not even wake up the rest of the partisans who had returned from the mission. However, when the intelligence officer Ivan Kozlovsky, sent to the column, was killed at point-blank range by a German officer, it became clear that everything did not go as planned. In order not to let the enemy get behind the rest of the partisan detachments and prevent their destruction, Zaslonov decided to take the fight to the superior units of the RNNA and then retreat. During the battle, with the support of mortars and machine guns, two RNNA battalions captured the headquarters of the partisan detachment K. S. Zaslonov in the village of Kupovaya, in this battle the commander of the detachment K. S. Zaslonov, his adjutant Evgeniy Korzhen and many other partisans of the detachment were killed.
Since the German administration promised a large reward even for the dead Zaslonov, the local villagers hid his body. After the RNNA units left, the bodies of the dead partisans were buried. After the war, K. S. Zaslonov was reburied in Orsha.
Awards and titles
- Posthumously awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" for the exemplary performance of combat missions, command at the front, the fight against German invaders and the courage and heroism shown (by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 7, 1943).
- He was awarded two Orders of Lenin and medals.
Family
Two daughters, Irina and Muza.
Memory
The following are also named after K. S. Zaslonov:
The image of Konstantin Zaslonov in art
Write a review of the article "Zaslonov, Konstantin Sergeevich"
Notes
see also
Literature
- Leonty Rakovsky. Konstantin Zaslonov. Smolensk Smolensk book publishing house. 1953. 167 p.
- Application for admission to the party and letter from the commander of the Orsha partisan brigade K. S. Zaslonov. August 30 - no later than November 14, 1942 // Dead heroes speak: suicide letters of Soviet fighters against the Nazi invaders (1941-1945) / comp. V. A. Kondratyev, Z. N. Politov. - 6th ed., rev. and additional - M., Politizdat, 1979. - P. 128-131.
- Zaslonova I. A story about a father. - Minsk: Yunatstva, 1988. - 184 p. - ISBN 5-7880-0007-6
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Excerpt characterizing Zaslonov, Konstantin Sergeevich
Prince Andrei said that this requires a legal education, which he does not have.- Yes, no one has it, so what do you want? This is a circulus viciosus, [a vicious circle] from which one must escape through effort.
A week later, Prince Andrei was a member of the commission for drawing up military regulations, and, which he did not expect, the head of the department of the commission for drawing up carriages. At the request of Speransky, he took the first part of the civil code being compiled and, with the help of Code Napoleon and Justiniani, [the Code of Napoleon and Justinian,] worked on drawing up the section: Rights of Persons.
Two years ago, in 1808, having returned to St. Petersburg from his trip to the estates, Pierre unwittingly became the head of St. Petersburg Freemasonry. He set up dining rooms and funeral lodges, recruited new members, took care of the unification of various lodges and the acquisition of authentic acts. He gave his money for the construction of temples and replenished, as much as he could, alms collections, for which most members were stingy and careless. He almost alone, at his own expense, supported the home of the poor, established by the order in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, his life went on as before, with the same hobbies and debauchery. He loved to dine and drink well, and although he considered it immoral and degrading, he could not refrain from enjoying the bachelor societies in which he participated.
In the midst of his studies and hobbies, Pierre, however, after a year, began to feel how the soil of Freemasonry on which he stood was moving away from under his feet, the more firmly he tried to stand on it. At the same time, he felt that the deeper the soil on which he stood went under his feet, the more involuntarily he was connected with it. When he began Freemasonry, he experienced the feeling of a man trustingly placing his foot on the flat surface of a swamp. Putting his foot down, he fell through. In order to be completely sure of the solidity of the soil on which he stood, he planted his other foot and sank even further, got stuck and involuntarily walked knee-deep in the swamp.
Joseph Alekseevich was not in St. Petersburg. (He had recently withdrawn from the affairs of the St. Petersburg lodges and lived in Moscow without a break.) All the brothers, members of the lodges, were people familiar to Pierre in life, and it was difficult for him to see in them only brothers in masonry, and not Prince B., not Ivan Vasilyevich D., whom he knew in life for the most part as weak and insignificant people. From under the Masonic aprons and signs, he saw on them the uniforms and crosses that they sought in life. Often, while collecting alms and counting 20–30 rubles recorded for the parish, and mostly in debt from ten members, half of whom were as rich as he was, Pierre recalled the Masonic oath that each brother promises to give all his property for one's neighbor; and doubts arose in his soul, which he tried not to dwell on.
He divided all the brothers he knew into four categories. In the first category he ranked brothers who do not take an active part either in the affairs of lodges or in human affairs, but are occupied exclusively with the mysteries of the science of the order, occupied with questions about the triple name of God, or about the three principles of things, sulfur, mercury and salt, or about the meaning of square and all the figures of Solomon's temple. Pierre respected this category of Freemason brothers, to which mostly old brothers belonged, and Joseph Alekseevich himself, in Pierre's opinion, but did not share their interests. His heart was not in the mystical side of Freemasonry.
In the second category, Pierre included himself and his brothers like him, those who are searching, hesitating, who have not yet found a direct and understandable path in Freemasonry, but hoping to find it.
In the third category he included brothers (there were the largest number of them) who did not see anything in Freemasonry except the external form and ritual and valued the strict execution of this external form, without caring about its content and meaning. Such were Vilarsky and even the great master of the main lodge.
Finally, the fourth category also included a large number of brothers, especially those who had recently joined the brotherhood. These were people, according to Pierre’s observations, who did not believe in anything, did not want anything, and who entered Freemasonry only to get closer to young brothers, rich and strong in connections and nobility, of whom there were quite a lot in the lodge.
Pierre began to feel dissatisfied with his activities. Freemasonry, at least the Freemasonry that he knew here, sometimes seemed to him to be based on appearance alone. He did not even think of doubting Freemasonry itself, but he suspected that Russian Freemasonry had taken the wrong path and deviated from its source. And therefore, at the end of the year, Pierre went abroad to initiate himself into the highest secrets of the order.
In the summer of 1809, Pierre returned to St. Petersburg. From the correspondence of our Freemasons with those abroad, it was known that Bezukhy managed to gain the trust of many high-ranking officials abroad, penetrated many secrets, was elevated to the highest degree and was carrying with him a lot for the common good of the masonry business in Russia. The St. Petersburg Masons all came to him, fawning on him, and it seemed to everyone that he was hiding something and preparing something.
A solemn meeting of the 2nd degree lodge was scheduled, in which Pierre promised to convey what he had to convey to the St. Petersburg brothers from the highest leaders of the order. The meeting was full. After the usual rituals, Pierre stood up and began his speech.
“Dear brothers,” he began, blushing and stammering, and holding the written speech in his hand. - It is not enough to observe our sacraments in the silence of the lodge - we need to act... act. We are in a state of sleep, and we need to act. – Pierre took his notebook and began to read.
“To spread pure truth and bring about the triumph of virtue,” he read, we must cleanse people from prejudices, spread rules in accordance with the spirit of the times, take upon ourselves the education of youth, unite in unbreakable bonds with the smartest people, boldly and together prudently overcome superstition, unbelief and It is stupidity to form people loyal to us, bound together by a unity of purpose and having power and strength.
“To achieve this goal, one must give virtue an advantage over vice, one must try to ensure that an honest person receives an eternal reward for his virtues in this world. But in these great intentions there are many obstacles that hinder us - the current political institutions. What to do in this state of affairs? Should we favor revolutions, overthrow everything, drive out force by force?... No, we are very far from that. Any violent reform is reprehensible, because it will not correct the evil in the least as long as people remain as they are, and because wisdom has no need for violence.
“The entire plan of the order must be based on the formation of strong, virtuous people and bound by the unity of conviction, a conviction consisting in everywhere and with all their might to persecute vice and stupidity and to patronize talents and virtue: to extract worthy people from the dust, joining them to our brotherhood. Then only our order will have the power to insensitively tie the hands of the patrons of disorder and control them so that they do not notice it. In a word, it is necessary to establish a universal ruling form of government, which would extend over the whole world, without destroying civil bonds, and under which all other governments could continue in their usual order and do everything except that which interferes with the great goal of our order, then is the achievement of virtue's triumph over vice. Christianity itself presupposed this goal. It taught people to be wise and kind, and for their own benefit to follow the example and instructions of the best and wisest people.
“Then, when everything was immersed in darkness, preaching alone was, of course, enough: the news of the truth gave it special power, but now we need much stronger means. Now it is necessary for a person, controlled by his feelings, to find sensual delights in virtue. Passions cannot be eradicated; we must only try to direct them to a noble goal, and therefore it is necessary that everyone can satisfy their passions within the limits of virtue, and that our order provides the means for this.
“As soon as we have a certain number of worthy people in each state, each of them will again form two others, and they will all be closely united with each other - then everything will be possible for the order, which has already managed to secretly do a lot for the good of mankind.”
This speech made not only a strong impression, but also excitement in the box. The majority of the brothers, who saw in this speech the dangerous plans of Illuminism, accepted his speech with a coldness that surprised Pierre. The Grand Master began to object to Pierre. Pierre began to develop his thoughts with greater and greater fervor. There has not been such a stormy meeting for a long time. Parties formed: some accused Pierre, condemning him as an Illuminati; others supported him. Pierre was struck for the first time at this meeting by the infinite variety of human minds, which makes it so that no truth is presented in the same way to two people. Even those of the members who seemed to be on his side understood him in their own way, with restrictions, changes that he could not agree to, since Pierre’s main need was precisely to convey his thought to another exactly as he himself understood her.
At the end of the meeting, the great master, with hostility and irony, made a remark to Bezukhoy about his ardor and that it was not only the love of virtue, but also the passion for struggle that guided him in the dispute. Pierre did not answer him and briefly asked whether his proposal would be accepted. He was told that no, and Pierre, without waiting for the usual formalities, left the box and went home.
The melancholy that he was so afraid of came over Pierre again. For three days after delivering his speech in the box, he lay at home on the sofa, not receiving anyone and not going anywhere.
At this time, he received a letter from his wife, who begged him for a date, wrote about her sadness for him and about her desire to devote her whole life to him.
At the end of the letter, she informed him that one of these days she would come to St. Petersburg from abroad.
Following the letter, one of the Masonic brothers, less respected by him, burst into Pierre's solitude and, bringing the conversation to Pierre's marital relations, in the form of fraternal advice, expressed to him the idea that his severity towards his wife was unfair, and that Pierre was deviating from the first rules of a Freemason , not forgiving the repentant.
At the same time, his mother-in-law, the wife of Prince Vasily, sent for him, begging him to visit her for at least a few minutes to negotiate a very important matter. Pierre saw that there was a conspiracy against him, that they wanted to unite him with his wife, and this was not even unpleasant to him in the state in which he was. He didn’t care: Pierre didn’t consider anything in life to be a matter of great importance, and under the influence of the melancholy that now took possession of him, he did not value either his freedom or his persistence in punishing his wife.
“No one is right, no one is to blame, therefore she is not to blame,” he thought. - If Pierre did not immediately express consent to unite with his wife, it was only because in the state of melancholy in which he was, he was not able to do anything. If his wife had come to him, he would not have sent her away now. Compared to what occupied Pierre, wasn’t it all the same whether he lived or not lived with his wife?
Without answering anything to either his wife or his mother-in-law, Pierre got ready for the road late one evening and left for Moscow to see Joseph Alekseevich. This is what Pierre wrote in his diary.
“Moscow, November 17th.
I just arrived from my benefactor, and I hasten to write down everything that I experienced. Joseph Alekseevich lives poorly and has been suffering from a painful bladder disease for three years. No one ever heard a groan or a word of murmur from him. From morning until late at night, with the exception of the hours during which he eats the simplest food, he works on science. He received me graciously and seated me on the bed on which he was lying; I made him a sign of the knights of the East and Jerusalem, he answered me in the same way, and with a gentle smile asked me about what I had learned and acquired in the Prussian and Scottish lodges. I told him everything as best I could, conveying the reasons that I proposed in our St. Petersburg box and informed him about the bad reception given to me and about the break that had occurred between me and the brothers. Joseph Alekseevich, having paused and thought for a while, expressed his view of all this to me, which instantly illuminated for me everything that had happened and the entire future path ahead of me. He surprised me by asking if I remembered what the threefold purpose of the order was: 1) to preserve and learn the sacrament; 2) in purifying and correcting oneself in order to perceive it and 3) in correcting the human race through the desire for such purification. What is the most important and first goal of these three? Of course, your own correction and cleansing. This is the only goal we can always strive for, regardless of all circumstances. But at the same time, this goal requires the most work from us, and therefore, misled by pride, we, missing this goal, either take on the sacrament, which we are unworthy to receive due to our impurity, or we take on the correction of the human race, when we ourselves are an example of abomination and depravity. Illuminism is not a pure doctrine precisely because it is carried away by social activities and is filled with pride. On this basis, Joseph Alekseevich condemned my speech and all my activities. I agreed with him in the depths of my soul. On the occasion of our conversation about my family affairs, he told me: “The main duty of a true Mason, as I told you, is to improve himself.” But often we think that by removing all the difficulties of our life from ourselves, we will more quickly achieve this goal; on the contrary, my lord, he told me, only in the midst of secular unrest can we achieve three main goals: 1) self-knowledge, for a person can know himself only through comparison, 2) improvement, which is achieved only through struggle, and 3) to achieve the main virtue - love of death. Only the vicissitudes of life can show us its futility and can contribute to our innate love of death or rebirth to a new life. These words are all the more remarkable because Joseph Alekseevich, despite his severe physical suffering, is never burdened by life, but loves death, for which he, despite all the purity and height of his inner man, does not yet feel sufficiently prepared. Then the benefactor explained to me the full meaning of the great square of the universe and pointed out that the triple and seventh numbers are the basis of everything. He advised me not to distance myself from communication with the St. Petersburg brothers and, occupying only 2nd degree positions in the lodge, try, distracting the brothers from the hobbies of pride, to turn them to the true path of self-knowledge and improvement. In addition, for himself, he personally advised me, first of all, to take care of myself, and for this purpose he gave me a notebook, the same one in which I write and will henceforth write down all my actions.”
Zaslonov Konstantin Sergeevich
7. 1. 1910 - 14. 11. 1942
Zaslonov Konstantin Sergeevich (partisan pseudonym "Uncle Kostya") - one of the outstanding active participants and leaders of the partisan movement in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War; commander of a partisan detachment and brigade, commander of all partisan forces in the Orsha zone.
Born on January 7, 1910 (December 25, 1909, old style) in the city of Ostashkov, Tver Region, in a working-class family. His father Sergei Gavrilovich is a peasant from the village of Bondari, Bolyzdensky volost, Nevelsky district, Vitebsk province, his mother Anna Petrovna is a native of the village of Khotoshino, Ostashkovsky district, Tver province (now Kalinin region). At the age of 15, Sergei Zaslonov began his independent life. His first job was serving with the merchant Shevelev. He started working as a courier for his conscientious attitude to work, was noticed by the owners, and went to work for the merchant Zvik. In 1907, he hired him to work in his tea shop in the city of Ostashkov. A.P. Larikova, a young widow with two young sons, worked here as a hired cook and dishwasher. There Sergei Gavrilovich met her and got married.
WITH eat Ya Zaslonov (Kostya in the center)
The large family did not know prosperity. In an attempt to find a better life, the Zaslonovs moved to St. Petersburg. But soon the First World War began, and my father was drafted into the army. The family was left without a breadwinner. My mother had to get a job at the St. Petersburg rubber factory "Triangle", but due to difficult working conditions she fell ill with tuberculosis and was fired. In 1916, Anna Petrovna was forced to go with her children to her husband’s parents in the village of Ratkovo, Pskov province. She felt uncomfortable with her father-in-law Gavrila Ivanovich, who lived in the same house with two married sons. They did not like the arrival of such a large replenishment, least of all their wives. However, there was nowhere to go with four children. The older children helped with the housework, and six-year-old Kostya was assigned to graze his and neighbors' cattle.
After the Great October Socialist Revolution, Sergei Gavrilovich came here, having been seriously wounded at the front. Anna Petrovna sewed, knitted, mowed, stung, and Sergei Gavrilovich worked a lot both at home and in the field.
From 1918 to 1922, Kostya Zaslonov studied at the Porechensk primary school of the first stage. The first teacher was Anna Vasilievna Razderova.
Razderova Anna Vasilievna - Kostya Zaslonov’s first teacher
Anna Vasilievna later recalled that Kostya stood out among all the children for his extraordinary abilities and perseverance. Kostya was a regular participant in performances and concerts that were organized and held at school and in the people's house. Kostya performed his acting roles very talentedly. Since the first grade, his performance as Ant in Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant” delighted the audience. It was not easy to work and study at the same time. Sister Tatyana later recalled: “... Kostya was one of the older children, he had to work on an equal basis with adults. Sometimes they would wake him up to thresh before dawn, he would work for three or four hours, and so, without enough sleep and having worked hard, he would go to school.” Despite the fact that Kostya never made it to school until the end of the school year, as he went to graze cattle, he always moved to the next grade, and at the same time with good academic performance. He was especially good at arithmetic.
Brother Nikolai recalls his years of study: “We studied at the Porechenskaya elementary school, there were two rooms in it: one large, one small. The first grade was taught in the small room, and the second, third and fourth grade were taught in the large room. One teacher, Razderova, taught us Anna Vasilievna, she was strict and very sincere, loved children. We studied by the light of kerosene lamps, we brought our own kerosene one by one, it was very difficult with paper and textbooks, the teacher herself provided ink (diluted the chemical pencil). The school was one and a half from our village kilometers. Kostya loved to draw and loved amateur activities."
Nikolai Sergeevich Zaslonov (left) - brother of K.S. Zaslonov (1985)
War veteran, great citizen A.A. Kulakovsky, recalls: “I met Zaslonov while studying in Porechye. He was the eldest among us, and at the age of 14 he was independent. I remember once we were building a sports ground, the initiator of which was Zaslonov. After all, Porechye at that time was the center of all village youth. Using improvised means, we built a horizontal bar, a ladder for competitions, swings and other equipment... And on Saturdays and Sundays we competed, tested our strength and endurance. One day, a large house was brought to Porechye from the Urus village council ", we began to build a club out of it. Konstantin Zaslonov also took part in the construction. When the club was built, Kostya became the manager, now the evenings were organized and interesting, music was played in the club."
From 1922 to 1924, Zaslonov studied the craft of a shoemaker, and in his heart lived the dream of continuing his studies at a second-level school. A 14-year-old boy sets off on foot to the town of Nevel, which is located 30 kilometers from the village of Ratkovo. The father objected, repeating that “he learned the craft of shoemaking, but there is no need to study further.” And so in 1924 Kostya entered the Nevelsk second-level school. He continued to study and work with the shoemaker Fuchs. It was hard. He earned his living after classes, not disdaining any work. He sawed, chopped firewood for the townspeople, and harvested crops.
School No. 1 of the city of Nevel, where K. Zaslonov studied.
Here, in 1925, Konstantin became a Komsomol member. This was the greatest joy for the young man. His life at this time acquires an extraordinary intensity: he speaks to young people, participates in propaganda trips to villages, designs a school wall newspaper, draws propaganda posters, reads poetry, and is an excellent student.
Admission of Konstantin Zaslonov to the Komsomol.
The school Komsomol organization sent Konstantin, as an excellent student, to the Velikiy Luki Vocational School of Railway Transport. In 1927, she began studying in the city of Velikiye Luki. The relationship with my father has completely deteriorated. Konstantin experienced severe material need. In his 1936 autobiography, he wrote this: “My father... believed that since I didn’t physically work, I should eat less. They only brought bread in pound-sized loaves and potatoes from home, I lived from hand to mouth... It was especially bad in the spring, when there was thaw and high water. Due to the lack of food supplies, I had to be literally half-starved for weeks...".
In Velikiye Luki, a new stage in Zaslonov’s life began, connected with the railway. The young man enthusiastically studies and becomes involved in his chosen profession. She enthusiastically studies her core disciplines: the design and repair of steam locomotives, the rules of their technical operation. Loved drawing. Still actively involved in community work. He draws a lot, reads, participates in a drama club, plays the balalaika in a backgammon orchestra, attends photo and radio classes, where they made simple tube and detector radios. During his studies, he was very interested in literature, especially youth literature, and at one time was the chairman of a literary circle. His favorite books were those that told about people of high duty: “What to do?” N. G. Chernyshevsky, “The Gadfly” by E. L. Voynich, “How the Steel Was Tempered” by N. Ostrovsky. At dance evenings, to which outsiders came only by invitation, Kostya played in the string orchestra. Kostya played chess well and, as one of the best shooters in the group, took part in shooting competitions. Their best friend was Nikolai Ushakov, with whom they had been friends since Porechye.
During the radio class. K. Zaslonov and V. Sledzevsky.
Konstantin was expelled from the ranks of the Komsomol. The reason for the exclusion was that at the Velikiy Luki Vocational Technical School Zaslonov applied to receive a special ration as a low-income student, but the commission considered that his father was quite a wealthy person, not taking into account the poor relationship between father and son. The second circumstance was that by 1929, Zaslonov’s father had become a wealthy owner, and when collectivization began, he refused to join the collective farm. After some time, a fire broke out and a denunciation was written against Sergei Gavrilovich, accusing him of setting fire to his own property. Despite the fact that he was already living in Petrozavodsk by that time, in 1932 he was convicted and exiled to Khibinogorsk (now Kirovsk).
Vocational school building. Nowadays the railway technical school (Velikie Luki)
After graduating from vocational school, K. Zaslonov was sent to the locomotive depot of the Vitebsk station. There was a shortage of railway transport in the country, and a mechanic who had just started work proposed to restore the locomotives that had been standing in locomotive graveyards for years. Young people took up repairs. They worked during non-working hours, turning and smelting many parts themselves. Soon the first steam locomotive, revived by the hands of enthusiasts, set off on its voyage.
Certificate of completion of a vocational school for railways.
K.S. Zaslonov - second from left in the bottom row
Three months later I passed the exams for the highest level. In 1931, he passed the driver's exam and was allowed to drive. In the 1930s, railway transport was in need of trained, highly qualified personnel. Zaslonov decided to continue his studies and in 1932 applied to the institute. But there was no need to study: due to a shortage of teachers, the evening faculty stopped working.
In 1933, he married Raisa Sapunova, the daughter of a widow from whom Zaslonov rented an apartment in Vitebsk. Being the foreman of the locomotive depot, he was very strict towards his subordinates and those around him, demanding from them the same thing that he did himself - he devoted himself completely to his work. Standards officer of the technical department K.V. Usenko recalled: “…. Zaslonov combined his exactingness with sensitivity to people. There was a case when, in order to support the family of a large railway worker, he gave away half of his rations received for six months in advance.”
In 1933, Zaslonov was sent to the Vyazemskaya station of the Ussuri Railway as a depot foreman. Over the course of a year of work, I discovered good knowledge and a high level of commitment to the job. Taking this into account, in 1935 he was appointed assistant to the head of the locomotive depot in Novosibirsk. K.S. Zaslonov managed to unite a team of thousands and skillfully organize its activities, thanks to which the results of the work improved dramatically.
A.K. Andreev recalls: “I first met Konstantin Zaslonov in 1938 at the Roslavl depot, where I arrived to repair my steam locomotive IS 20-226. It was a beautiful, powerful and fast car, a new product for the Roslavl depot. Zaslonov was keenly interested in the technical characteristics of the locomotive, in such subtleties that I immediately understood: he loves the business, his soul is rooting for it.
Then I heard the older workers calling the boss Zaslonich, Uncle Kostya. It felt like he was respected greatly.
The second time I met with Zaslonov was when he was appointed head of our Orsha depot, the largest railway junction in Belarus. He greeted me like an old friend, and I was glad: he remembered. A year later, Konstantin Sergeevich and I, along with other railway workers, received the “3rd Labor Valor” medal in the Kremlin from the hands of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin.
“This is a big advance for you and me, brother Andreev,” he said when we left the Kremlin. “You know how we have to work now...” He was then in the prime of his strength and energy, full of creative ideas and plans.”
K.S. Zaslonov with his wife R.A. Zaslonova.
On October 6, 1933, a daughter, Muse, was born into the family. Due to hunger, his wife’s health began to deteriorate sharply, and Konstantin sent her and her daughter to Vitebsk. But it was impossible to leave on his own, so as not to “disgrace the honor of a Komsomol volunteer.” According to the daughter’s recollections, upon arriving in Vitebsk, the wife sent back a postcard, as if Zaslonov was urgently summoned to study at the Leningrad Institute of Road Transport Engineers, and he was released to “study.” In 1936 he returned to Vitebsk again.
Work at the Vitebsk depot station.
The professional and organizational skills, hard work and conscientiousness of the young specialist did not go unnoticed. In 1937, the People's Commissariat of Railways appointed him head of the depot of the Roslavl station in the Smolensk region, and in 1939 - head of the depot of the Orsha station, the largest railway junction in Belarus. In a short time, K.S. Zaslonov established repairs of steam locomotives of all series here. The Orsha depot became the best on the Western Railway, and its chief was awarded the medal “For Labor Distinction.”
V. A. Garnyk, who was then the head of the Western Railway, recalled Zaslonov: “All of his production activities, starting from a mechanic, a driver, a locomotive foreman, the chief engineer of the Roslavl depot and, finally, the head of the Orsha locomotive depot, are connected with the work of the team of the Western railway. Locomotive workers... remember Konstantin Sergeevich as an energetic commander full of creative initiative... He was always looking for something new in the organization of production and, without retreating from any difficulties, he knew how to carry out the measures he planned. K.S. Zaslonov never confined himself to the interests of his depot; he was worried about the work of the entire railway. Demanding of himself and of his subordinates, not tolerating failure to follow orders and at the same time very attentive to the everyday needs of the team he led - this is how his fellow workers remember him in those peaceful days of labor.”
Zaslonov K.S. with friends while working at the Vitebsk depot.
(Zaslonov K.S. - on the right, Nepryakha V.A. - in the center, Pastyrev D.P. - on the left)
The description of the secretary of the city party committee G.D. has been preserved. Reznikova: “I saw a man who devoted himself entirely to his work, he lived by his work, and it’s hard to say that he didn’t know something about the scale of his duties, on the contrary, he could replace any driver, fireman, he was a mechanic, turner and did not disdain any work. He did not imitate the workers, he was not rude, but he knew how to demand, and his knowledge of the matter raised his authority. He did not fawn on his superiors, he behaved simply, and at the same time was polite.” The central printed organ of railway workers, the newspaper "Gudok", in the article "Working day of the depot manager" set Zaslonov as an example to all transport managers. This is how the commander of the 1st brigade, Ivanov, describes Zaslonov: “As a boss, Konstantin Sergeevich was strict and polite, and as a comrade, he was sociable and playful. But in work and life, these traits have always been felt together and inseparably. Simplicity and modesty always adorn an intelligent person.” Zaslonov treated everyone with equal respect, showing it both to his superiors and to ordinary workers. The cleaning lady at the traction service office, Beletskaya, spoke of Konstantin Sergeevich this way: “... even with me, the watchwoman, to whom you shouldn’t even pay attention, she will always say hello and ask something.” In the literature, there are often memoirs of railway workers, those who once worked with Zaslonov, which well characterize Zaslonov as a person. One day, the young driver F. Antonov neglected to ensure the cleanliness of his diesel locomotive, and Zaslonov noticed this. He did not approach Antonov himself, but approached the driver’s girlfriend and told him what a sloppy gentleman she had. The trick, as Ivanov testifies, was successful.
In 1939, the second daughter, Irina, was born. The peaceful life of Konstantin Zaslonov was ending.
Already in the first months of the Great Patriotic War, in the territory occupied by the Nazis, the Soviet people rose up to fight the invaders. To lead this struggle, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement was created at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the republican and regional headquarters of the partisan movement subordinate to it. Starting from June 25, 1941, the section of the Orsha-Minsk railway and the Orsha railway junction were subjected to daily German air raids. In such conditions, which required real courage, a hasty evacuation took place. Workers, engineers and employees of the Orsha locomotive depot, working 60-80 hours without a shift, tried with all their might to speed up the progress of the trains. In the shortest possible time, the depot equipment was loaded onto platforms, mothballed and sent to the Soviet rear. K. S. Zaslonov left Orsha with the last team.
On the evening of July 12, the last passenger train stood at the central station. It was driven by Zaslonov himself along with the driver Grishchenkov. Along the way, the railway workers blew up everything that could be blown up: bridges, stations, sections of the road. However, the oppression of the Germans intensified, especially in the area where trains went from Orsha station. Zaslonov chose the Smolensk direction, it was the most difficult. Zaslonov brought the trains to Yartsevo station. They stayed there until mid-July, until the front stabilized and bombings became less frequent.
On July 13, 1941, the invaders entered Orsha. The enemy did not get a single locomotive or a single machine. Almost all depot workers were evacuated.
From the Yartsevo station, K.S. Zaslonov was sent to Moscow and was sent to the Ilyich depot. Without a doubt, his experience and knowledge would be useful here, too, but being in the rear at a threatening hour for the Motherland, K. S. Zaslonov believed that he could bring the greatest benefit by operating in enemy-occupied territory. After consulting with the residents of Orsha, he sent a letter to the People’s Commissariat of Railways: “Our country is on fire. Life demands that every citizen in whom the heart of a patriot beats, who breathes and wants to breathe the healthy Soviet air, would defend our Motherland...”
Ilyich depot in Moscow
Pass to the Ilyich depot.
Konstantin Sergeevich asks permission to organize a partisan detachment for sabotage on railways behind enemy lines. Permission has been received and the squad has been formed.
Resolution on the creation of a sabotage detachment.
After short-term training, 30 volunteer railway workers, led by Zaslonov, arrived in Vyazma. Here the detachment was replenished with specialists in carrying out sabotage, and it, already numbering 41 people, was transferred in vehicles to the front line, which ran along the Mezha River (Kalinin region). Armament - 2 Degtyarev light machine guns, 2 PPSh machine guns, 10 rifles. Members of the headquarters were also issued TT pistols.
The route of movement of the Zaslonov partisan detachment.
At the beginning of September, 30 volunteer locomotive workers, led by Zaslonov, arrived from Moscow to Vyazma. Here a partisan detachment was formed. Zaslonov was appointed commander, F.N. was appointed commissioner. Yakushev. After short-term training and armament, our detachment of 40 people was transferred from Vyazma by car to the front line, which ran along the Mezha River in the Kalinin Region. We arrived in the village of Zakeevo, where the Cossack garrison of Dovator’s division was located. Together with the Cossacks, reconnaissance of the territory was carried out. A route was planned: they were supposed to move through forests in a southwestern direction towards Orsha. At dawn on October 1, 1941, the detachment crossed the front line and moved along the intended route. Few made it: some of the partisans died in skirmishes with the Nazis, some - frostbitten and sick - were sent back to the Soviet rear. A handful remained: Konstantin Zaslonov, Anatoly Andreev, Andrey Barkovsky, Dmitry Latko, Sergey Chebrikov, Petr Shurmin, Ekaterina and Fedor Yakushev. In one of the battles, when the group was ambushed, they lost two more - A. Barkovsky and D. Latko. Six reached the village of Zapolye, located 20 kilometers from Orsha. They decided to make their way to Orsha in twos. Konstantin Zaslonov went with Sergei Chebrikov.
On November 14, 1941, the group arrived in the occupied city. Destroyed houses, gallows, children's faces behind barbed wire - this is how Orsha is captured in wartime photographs placed on stands. This is how K.S. saw her. Zaslonov.
A week after arriving in Orsha, K.S. Zaslonov got a job at the depot as the head of Russian locomotive crews. I established contact with one of the leaders of the party underground in the city and region, Leon Nikiforovich Ankinovich. Taking advantage of the right granted to him by the Germans to select personnel, he recruited people whom he knew well, whose readiness to fight the enemy, whose stamina he did not doubt, and created several groups of them to carry out sabotage on the railway. The stand contains photographs of underground fighters who acted on Orsha railway junction, diagram of the underground organization, photographs of P. Shurmin’s house, where coal mines were made, and places where weapons and explosives were stored.
Coal mine Thorn (asterisk)
K. S. Zaslonov lived with the master S. I. Senkovsky. There was another guest in the house, a German officer. Visits by drivers to the head of Russian locomotive crews were natural and did not arouse suspicion, and the fact that these meetings took place close to the Germans served as a good disguise.
Konstantin Zaslonov. Production of coal mines. (artist: V. Khrustalev)
The underground organization acted boldly and courageously. Patriots harmed the enemy in every possible way: they made coal mines and threw them into fuel depots, into locomotive tenders, poured sand into axle boxes, froze locomotive and water pumps, plugged oil pipelines, broke or threw away scarce parts, and disrupted the repair of locomotives. In January and February, the underground carried out a number of major operations. As a result of one of them, the water supply to the railway junction was disabled for several months. Peter Shurmin carried out the sabotage - his candidacy for this turned out to be the most suitable, since before the war he worked as the head of the water supply unit.
It became more and more obvious to the Nazis that various accidents, breakdowns, fires, and explosions did not occur by chance, that a well-coordinated organization operated on the railway. Naturally, the chief of Russian locomotive crews came under suspicion. Konstantin Zaslonov was arrested and tortured. But, showing exceptional courage and resourcefulness, he managed to convince the fascist investigator who interrogated him of his non-involvement in sabotage. Forced to release the Russian (forced also because there were not enough qualified specialists at the railway junction), the Nazis established strict supervision over him.
It was dangerous to stay in Orsha. On February 25, 1942, Konstantin Sergeevich went into the forest to a pre-prepared base to raise people in the partisan struggle against the invaders. A few hours earlier, his closest aides also left the city. Before leaving, he made changes to the organization of underground sabotage groups, gave them tasks, scheduled appearances, and established a communication procedure.
As can be seen from K. S. Zaslonov’s report to the Vitebsk underground regional party committee, during 3 months of its activity at the Orsha railway junction, 6 train crashes were organized, more than 200 steam locomotives, many wagons with military equipment and fuel tanks were disabled. As a result of sabotage, traffic on the Orsha - Minsk, Orsha - Vitebsk, Orsha - Smolensk, and Orsha - Lepel sections was constantly disrupted. The underground killed thousands of Nazis.
On instructions from the Vitebsk underground regional party committee, K. S. Zaslonov, in early March 1942, organized a partisan detachment (the “Uncle Kostya” detachment) in the village of Logi, Orsha region, initially numbering 35 people. On March 10, the partisans successfully carried out the first military operation to defeat the fascist garrison in the village of Mezhevo. Small partisan groups began to join the detachment. Only in March - April the groups of P. P. Limaev, D. E. Kosachev, P. N. Smirnov, L. I. Selitsky joined it. L. N. Ankinovich, organizer and leader of the Orsha communist underground, secretary of the Orsha underground district committee of the CP(b)B, commissar of the partisan detachment named after. K. E. Voroshilov 1st Partisan Brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova, L. I. Selitsky, commissar of the brigade K. S. Zaslonova (from July 15, 1942), commander of the 1st Partisan Brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova (since November 1942), secretary of the Orsha underground district committee of the Communist Party (b)B, V. P. Komlev, commander of the partisan detachment No. 1 of the K. S. Zaslonov brigade, commander of the 2nd partisan brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova (since September 1943), K. P. Maksimenko, commissioner of the Belarusian headquarters of the partisan movement, member of the underground Orsha RK CP(b)B, deputy commander of the 1st Partisan Brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova for intelligence, A. E. Andreev, commissar of the partisan detachment K. S. Zaslonova, B. K. Ivanov, commissar of the 1st Partisan Brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova (from June 1943), commander of this brigade (from April 1944), 3. G. Dmitrieva, radio operator-cipher operator of the 1st Partisan Brigade named after. K. S. Zaslonova.
During leisure hours.
The detachment was also constantly replenished from the population of the city and surrounding areas. Komsomol groups operating in Orsha and the village of Osintorf provided him with significant assistance in the delivery of weapons and ammunition.
The partisan detachment of “Uncle Kostya” became an increasingly formidable force. In April, Zaslonovites carried out a military raid from the forests of the Bogushevsky district to the Lepel and Begoml forests. Along the way, they defeated several volost councils and police garrisons, and on the Orsha-Khlyustino stretch they derailed the enemy train. 250 fascists died, a lot of military equipment was destroyed, and traffic in the area was interrupted for 27 hours.
At the end of April, Zaslonov gathered the communists and proposed carrying out several military operations, thus celebrating the May 1st holiday. He attached the greatest importance to the destruction of the garrison of the Burbin station, where the fascist warehouses were located. After this operation, K.S. Zaslonov radioed the Vitebsk underground regional party committee: “...8 grain warehouses were burned at the Burbin station, up to 2000 tons of bread (grain) were destroyed. The specified reserves of bread from May 4 to May 10, 1942 were to be exported to Germany, for which 500 trucks were concentrated at the Tolochin station...”
There was no break in the fight. From letters and memos, and the commander's diary entries, one can trace the chronicle of the detachment's military operations. Trains were derailed, police stations were liquidated, enemy garrisons and township governments were destroyed, weapons were seized from warehouses, hundreds of fascists and their hangers-on were destroyed. Here is the combat account of the Zaslonovites by July 1942: 113 steam locomotives, 60 cars, 15 motorcycles were disabled, 30 volost councils and several garrisons were destroyed, about 1,800 fascists were destroyed. By this time the detachment numbered 300 partisans. At the direction of the Vitebsk underground regional party committee, a partisan brigade was created on the basis of five detachments, which included and was the core of the “Uncle Kostya” detachment. Its commander was K.S. Zaslonov, and its commissioner was L.I. Selitsky. Speaking at a rally dedicated to the birth of the new formation, Zaslonov called on the partisans to “... hold high the honor of the brigade, fearlessly entering into battle with the fascists in order to justify the trust of the people.”
Konstantin Zaslonov gives the order. (artist V. Khrustalev).
On this day - July 15, 1942 - the first baptism of fire took place. To defeat the partisans, the occupiers equipped a punitive expedition of two thousand. At a joint meeting of the command of the two brigades - K.S. Zaslonov and V.U. Boyko - it was decided to defeat the punitive forces with joint forces.
Storming the main partisan positions, the Nazis launched an attack several times, and all of them were repulsed. The fight lasted for six hours. It ended with the victory of the partisans and the flight of the enemy. More than 300 Nazis were killed in this battle.
The brigade’s successes raised morale and instilled faith in the partisans among the population. Entire families began to go into the forests. The brigade grew quickly - by the end of July 1942 there were more than 700 partisans. And her blows against the enemy became more and more noticeable. “...I ask for more, as much tol and subversive material as possible,” wrote K. S. Zaslonov in one of the combat reports to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, dated October 7, 1942.
In October 1942, K.S. Zaslonov was appointed commander of all partisan forces in the Orsha zone.
People act. Today the Ryasnyanskaya volupra was destroyed. I am sending you some of the captured documents, perhaps you can use them..."
Zaslonov's brigade was stationed in a triangle between the Orsha - Vitebsk, Orsha - Smolensk, Vitebsk - Smolensk railways, which were of great strategic importance for the enemy. The main efforts of the partisans were aimed at disabling these important communications.
Painting by K.S. Zaslonov and his partisan brigade. Artist E.A. Zaitsev.
One of the most striking episodes of the brigade’s activities was the battle in the village of Gorbovo, in the Liozny district. The invaders placed a large garrison here. Fascist warriors robbed, robbed, and terrorized the population. The Zaslonovites decided to destroy the enemy unit.
The task was difficult. The approaches to the village, open on all sides, were clearly visible and under fire. The Nazis equipped pillboxes in places convenient for combat, and installed machine guns in the attics of tall buildings.
In preparation for the operation, the partisans scouted out the location of enemy firing points and, when on the morning of August 13 Zaslonov led them into battle, they silenced the fascist fire weapons with well-aimed machine-gun bursts and threw grenades at the pillboxes. The Zaslonovites did not enter - they quickly rushed into the village, knocked out the Nazis who had settled in the houses and at the creamery, and in the middle of the day, seizing trophies, they left Gorbovo.
The successes of the forest fighters alarmed the invaders. They were forced to withdraw large forces of punitive forces armed with tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and armored trains from the front and send them to fight the partisans. The Zaslonovites had to fight many days of heavy fighting on the border of the Vitebsk and Smolensk regions (the Dryagolevsky forests area). The picture of the battle appears in the lines of the commander’s combat report dated August 25, 1942:
“...The period of fighting was accompanied by mining of the exits from the village. Sheki, Petriki, Novaya Zemlya, as a result of which about two companies of the Nazis died only on mined roads and fields. The combined attack was especially severe in the evening of August 21-22. 4 companies of drunken Nazis launched a frontal attack, and a group of 30 machine gunners came from the rear. The people did not flinch: they not only repelled the attacks, but completely destroyed the Fritz. In battle, the detachment commander, junior lieutenant Komlev, the detachment commissar, senior lieutenant Sarnychev and their detachment, behaved very well, especially the detachment commander Amelchenko, commissar Alai and their detachment, detachment commander Lazorsky, commissar Chebrikov and their detachment... We are waiting for your help with anti-tank weapons and machine guns for saboteurs and ambushers.”
In August 1942, K. S. Zaslonov submitted an application to the party organization of the brigade with a request to accept him into the ranks of the CPSU (b). The communists unanimously voted for their brigade commander.
Application by K.S. Zaslonov for admission to the party.
For courage, bravery and skillful leadership of the partisan struggle, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 5, 1942, K. S. Zaslonov was awarded the Order of Lenin.
At the beginning of November 1942, Zaslonov’s brigade was stationed in the Aleksinich forests of the Sennen region. Its headquarters with a small detachment were located in Kupovati. It was planned to create a winter partisan camp near this village surrounded by a large forest.
The location of the Zaslonovites became known to the enemy. A punitive expedition was immediately dispatched. By the end of November 13, 1942, large forces of the Nazis entered the villages of Kuzmino, Serkuti and Utrilovo, located a few kilometers from Kupovati, and the next day at 11 o’clock in the afternoon they launched an attack. That's how it was.
The enemy was many times superior to the partisans in numbers and weapons. Heavy fire, attacks followed one after another for 4 hours. The forest fighters held out. In the front row - with a Mauser in his hands and a machine gun on his chest - is Zaslonov. At the same time, he controlled the battle - he led it skillfully and calmly. And yet - the forces are too unequal! - the Nazis burst into the village. The battle became more and more fierce. At about 5 p.m., when the sun went down behind the forest, during another attack by the Nazis, K. S. Zaslonov was mortally wounded. A few minutes later his heart stopped. In this battle, adjutant Yevgeny Korzhen and many other partisans of the detachment died.
Since the German administration promised a large reward even for the dead Zaslonov, the local villagers hid his body. After the RNNA units left, the bodies of the dead partisans were buried. After the war, K. S. Zaslonov was reburied in Orsha at the railway station.
The courageous partisan commander died a heroic death in a battle with punitive forces on November 14, 1942, near the village of Kupovat, Orsha district, Vitebsk region of Belarus.
Village of Kupova.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 7, 1943, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism shown, Konstantin Sergeevich Zaslonov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Decree on awarding K.S. Zaslonov the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Konstantin Sergeevich was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin and a medal.
After the death of K. S. Zaslonov, L. I. Selitsky was appointed brigade commander, and B. K. Ivanov was appointed commissar.
At the direction of the Belarusian headquarters of the partisan movement and the Vitebsk underground regional party committee, on September 23, 1943, 6 detachments were separated from the brigade. This is how the 2nd Partisan Brigade named after K.S. Zaslonov was formed. V.P. Komlev was appointed its commander, V.E. Belyaev was appointed commissar. The Zaslonovites continued to fight.
Brigade named after K.S. Zaslonov.
On June 8, 1944, the Central Committee of the CP(b)B pointed out to partisan formations, underground regional committees and district party committees of the need to disorganize the enemy’s rear and communications. Following this instruction, the partisans from June 20 to June 23, 1944 (the second date - the beginning of the Belarusian operation) paralyzed the enemy’s movement on the railways that led to the most important sections of the front. On the night of June 20 alone, they blew up more than 40 thousand rails. Thanks to the “rail war,” the enemy was unable to fully use railway transport to transport reserve units to battle sites, as well as to evacuate their rear areas.
The Zaslonovites made a significant contribution to this operation. During that period, they fought major battles with punitive forces, thereby ensuring the success of other brigades.
As a result of 122 battles (that’s how many K. S. Zaslonov’s brigade fought from July 15, 1942 to June 27, 1944), the fascists suffered the following damage: 7,873 enemy soldiers and officers were killed, 2,139 Nazis were captured, 12,230 rails were blown up, lowered slope of 218 military trains, 104 steam locomotives, 1191 wagons with enemy personnel and equipment were destroyed, 40 bridges, 596 vehicles and armored vehicles were blown up, 24 ammunition depots were destroyed, 16 industrial enterprises were destroyed, 4 railway stations, an airplane was shot down, 33 tanks were disabled .
A monument to the Hero was erected in Orsha, named after K.S. Zaslonov named the locomotive depot, ships of the Ministries of River and Marine Fleet, streets of the cities of Vitebsk, Orsha, Gomel, Grodno, Kiev, Minsk, Khabarovsk, Ufa and many others. The image of the Hero is captured in the feature film "Konstantin Zaslonov" and the play of the same name by A. Movzon.
The head of the Orsha depot, engineer Konstantin Sergeevich Zaslonov, gained legendary fame among the railway partisans.When our troops were withdrawing, Zaslonov turned to the People's Commissar of Railways L.M. Kaganovich for permission to organize a partisan detachment from the steam locomotives of the Orsha junction. He knew them all well, and he himself enjoyed great respect from them. The group of “people's avengers” created by Zaslonov of 30 railway workers subsequently turned into a partisan brigade that instilled fear and terror in the German invaders. In three months, the partisans derailed several dozen trains with German soldiers and military equipment, disabled 118 locomotives, and destroyed hundreds of carriages and vehicles.
Portrait of K. S. Zaslonov
The ingenuity of Zaslonov himself and his comrades is amazing.
The Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War has now opened a special hall dedicated to the memory of Zaslonov.
The hall displays the original “four-legged” units, invented by the Zaslonovites to fight enemy vehicles and cavalry; the famous Zaslonov mines, embedded in coal, which, falling into tenders, and from there into locomotive fireboxes, blew up locomotives; diaries reflecting the combat activities of Belarusian partisans, and other exhibits.
The diary of Zaslonov himself is of great interest for characterizing the partisan movement among railway workers.
The diary covers the period from May 17 to November 7, 1942.
In March 1942, Zaslonov's partisan detachments began to operate in the forests of the Vitebsk region. This is what the diary mainly talks about.
Zaslonov attached great importance to the formation of detachments, their management, communications, and interaction. An excellent organizer, he perfectly understood the importance of partisan reconnaissance in the deep rear, saturated with regular units of the enemy army.
The diary contains brief excerpts from the order entitled “Development of reconnaissance campaigns.”
Appointing senior lieutenant comrade as chief of reconnaissance of the brigade. Gromov, Zaslonov defines the scope of his activities as follows: the most important thing is the organization of brigade intelligence reconnaissance, keeping track of all contacts, organizing marching reconnaissance, developing marching routes. The intelligence chief is asked to organize around himself a good group of brave intelligence officers, intelligent, strong-willed and heroic people, initiative and active comrades who are capable of reflecting the true picture and situation of the reconnaissance points.
Zaslonov constantly monitored the activities of his intelligence officers. He directed their work, taught them and set specific combat tasks for them.
From the recording of the reconnaissance results obtained by Zaslonov, one can see how important the information obtained by the scouts turned out to be.
“Intensified movement of troops through Orsha to Mogilev and Vitebsk. Comrade D. personally observed on June 3 and 4 the movement by rail from Minsk through Orsha to Vitebsk and Smolensk, the movement of transport with chemical agents and a degasser with separate cars. There were no signs on the trains indicating OB. I found out personally and additionally learned from the train coupler Nikolai Sepchilo, who was shot on June 15 for communicating with me.”
Having received accurate, verified data, Zaslonov often radioed to Moscow, to the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement. One of his radiograms reports, for example: “Heavy train traffic on the Orsha-Smolensk railway. Security on this road has been strengthened. The surroundings of Orsha are fortified and settled by Germans. There are a lot of horsemen in Mezheve and Zabolotye, about 3,000. Along the Orsha-Mogilev highway, villages are evicted and settled by Germans. I'll pass on the details. Zaslonov."
This laconic, but accurate and verified information provided an invaluable service to the Soviet command!
The commander of the partisan brigade, Konstantin Zaslonov, educated and taught intelligence officers using specific examples. Together with them he went on important missions. Sitting in ambush for hours, the experienced reconnaissance organizer taught his combat assistants the art of observing and recognizing the enemy’s tricks.
Properly organized reconnaissance reported to its commander about every step of the enemy, about the deployment of troops, about the advancement of echelons, about the mood of the residents of surrounding villages and stations. Based on intelligence data, Zaslonov found the people the brigade needed and negotiated with them through intelligence officers. He fought to unite small partisan groups that spontaneously arose in the Vitebsk forests into a single organization.
Zaslonov was demanding of himself and those around him. Forming and strengthening the brigade, he insistently demanded that the commanders “not bring just anyone into the detachment,” that they be demanding of themselves and their subordinates, educate people, and instill discipline. “If someone called himself a partisan, then his soul should not walk wide open.” Zaslonov demands a stop to shooting anywhere. Save ammunition and take care of weapons - this is the law for his brigade.
Even before the war, Zaslonov wrote in his autobiography that he wanted “to be a Bolshevik in the full sense of the word, to be honest, sensitive, attentive and class-vigilant.”
Konstantin Sergeevich was accepted as a candidate member of the CPSU (b) on October 25, 1941 at a party meeting of the Kaganovich detachment in the Smolensk forests, but his party affiliation was not formalized. Zaslonov remained a non-party Bolshevik, but as a commander he taught his subordinates what the party and the Komsomol had taught him for many years.
Comrade Stalin demanded that the partisans create conditions unbearable for the Germans in the temporarily occupied territory, such that the ground would burn under the enemy’s feet. In the spirit of these requirements, Zaslonov trained the personnel of groups and detachments. On the pages of the diary there are numerous entries about glorious military deeds.
“On June 4, at 2:30 a.m., on the Staiki - Bogushevskaya section, a major crash occurred of a military train with vehicles and guns carrying servants. The locomotive derailed and was severely damaged. Two carriages fell downhill, 9 carriages were broken. The movement has been interrupted."
“One after another, Zaslonov lists the stages where trains were derailed. The diary does not represent a complete record of all military operations of the Zaslonovites on railway communications. And yet, only according to the records available in it, in six months 80 train crashes were prepared that disrupted enemy transportation.
Zaslonov was not only a military leader for his partisans. He paid a lot of attention to the life of the partisans. The local population, who hated the invaders and sincerely sympathized with the partisans, provided the brigade with enormous material support, delivering bread, meat, butter, and clothing to the detachments. But as the size of the brigade increased, this was no longer enough. Food had to be taken from the enemy. When this was done, Zaslonov distributed the food captured by the partisans from the Germans to the peasants.
The brigade commander closely followed the events on the fronts of the Patriotic War. In small, neat handwriting, Zaslonov wrote down the main data from the Sovinformburo reports and the orders of Comrade Stalin, received through the partisan radio station. These reports were transmitted to all detachments and retold to the local Soviet population.
The diary ends a week before Zaslonov’s heroic death. On November 14, 1942, he fell in battle near the village of Kupovat, Sennensky district, Vitebsk region.
In the station park of the Orsha station there now stands a small hill surrounded by a metal grill. This is the grave of the legendary partisan commander Konstantin Sergeevich Zaslonov.
A red cloth with mourning crepe frames the pointed lattice. The railway workers of the junction, collective farmers of the surrounding villages, passengers passing through the station go to the grave to bow to the ashes of the hero who gave the most precious thing - his life - to the great cause of victory.
“Our country is on fire. Life requires that every citizen in whom the heart of a patriot beats... stands in defense of our Motherland...”
K. Zaslonov
January 7 marks the birthday of the legendary Belarusian partisan, hero of the USSR Konstantin Zaslonov.
Konstantin Sergeevich was born in 1910 in the city of Ostashko, Tver region. The Zaslonov family was not rich, so little Kostya had to work a lot from a young age: the boy helped his mother around the house, and when he got older, he got a job as a shepherd.
In 1919, Konstantin went to school. Study took over all his thoughts. Later, Zaslonov’s teachers recalled that even in the elementary grades he was distinguished by extraordinary hard work, diligence, attentiveness and outstanding abilities.
After school, Konstantin Sergeevich, as an excellent student, was sent to a vocational school for railway transport. There he proved himself to be a diligent student, so after graduation he was assigned to the Far East. Soon Konstantin Sergeevich became one of the leaders of the Novosibirsk locomotive depot.
Despite success in work, living in the Far East was difficult. Konstantin Zaslonov sent his wife and daughter to Vitebsk, and after some time he moved to Belarus himself. The choice of this particular place of residence was not accidental: Konstantin Sergeevich’s father was from the Vitebsk region.
In Belarus, Konstantin Zaslonov got a job at the Orsha railway station. This is where the Great Patriotic War found him. Orsha was then a major railway center, so one of the most important issues that fell on the shoulders of Konstantin Sergeevich was the evacuation of depot equipment.
After evacuating the equipment in Moscow, Konstantin Zaslonov decided to return to Belarus to the occupied territories, where he began partisan warfare.
The first partisan detachment was formed in September 1941. Later, underground groups appeared that set themselves one goal: to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy, to paralyze the work of the Orsha railway junction. Members of Zaslonov's detachments made mines, organized train crashes, and destroyed locomotives and carriages.
In the summer of 1942, a partisan brigade was created on the basis of Zaslonov’s partisan detachment, which continued the fight against the enemy. Since 1942, Zaslonov commanded not only his partisan brigade, but also all partisan forces in the Orsha zone.
The partisans continued to attack the fascist garrisons and convoys. The occupation forces placed a huge reward on Zaslonov's head - 50 thousand marks, an iron cross and an estate in Germany.
The life of the legendary commander was interrupted in a battle near the village of Kupava in the Vitebsk region.
For courage and heroism, Konstantin Sergeevich Zaslonov was posthumously awarded the star of the Hero of the USSR.
Today, a museum and a school in Orsha, a children's railway in Minsk, and streets in many cities of Belarus bear the name of the partisan.
In Orsha there is a museum telling about the life of the Hero of the USSR, who derailed the largest number of people in enemy echelons.
