Yaroslav Ognev. Who are they, the “Young Guards”? A terrible story that should not be forgotten

Much has been written and filmed about the struggle and death of the Young Guard. Little is known about their killers, who were tried in four trials. About 70 people took part in the interrogations, torture and executions of the Young Guard: Germans from the field commandant’s office and Soviet traitors from the auxiliary police (their role in the atrocities was the main one). In hot pursuit, only three of those involved were caught.

Member of the “Young Guard” G. Pocheptsov was afraid of arrest and decided to write a denunciation - on the advice of his experienced stepfather V. Gromov (a secret German informant under the nickname “Vanyusha”). Their testimony was accepted by senior police investigator M. Kuleshov, who also participated in the interrogation of the Young Guards through torture (as Voroshilovgradskaya Pravda wrote: “With the hatred of the Soviet regime and our people inherent in a seasoned enemy, Kuleshov was especially furious while conducting an investigation into the case.” Young Guard." On his instructions, "impressive" interrogations of the Young Guard were carried out." In an effort to whitewash themselves, the traitors blamed the Young Guard commissar V. Tretyakovich, allegedly he could not stand the torture (gouging out eyes, etc.) and told everything.

The investigation into the case of the traitors lasted five months - confrontations, testimony of witnesses. The Krasnodon trial itself lasted three days, August 15-18, but not all sessions were open. Residents of Krasnodon came as spectators and acted as witnesses, appealed, appealed to the court with a request to impose a harsh sentence. The military tribunal of the NKVD troops of the Voroshilovgrad region tried without a defense, the materials of the trial were not published, local newspapers wrote about it only after the fact and in general terms. Kuleshov, Pocheptsov and Gromov were shot in public; about 5,000 residents of Krasnodon were present.

Unfortunately, the commission of the Komsomol Central Committee believed the slander of traitors and the name of the innocent V. Tretyakevich (whose eyes were even gouged out during torture) was crossed out from award sheets and newspapers, this suspicion was reinforced by A. Fadeev in the novel “The Young Guard”, portraying him as a traitor Stakhovich. The hero was rehabilitated only in 1959.

After the war, 13 executioners were found, including the initiator of the execution, gendarmerie captain E. Renatus. Minister of State Security V. Abakumov planned to hold an open trial against them in Krasnodon from December 1 to 10, 1947, in the wake of other trials. To do this, on November 18, 1947, he sent memo No. 3428/A to I. Stalin, V. Molotov and Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A. Kuznetsov. Their reaction is unknown, but the process took place in a closed manner. The sentence for the murderers turned out to be lighter than for the traitors: from 15 to 25 years in the camps (after Stalin’s death, German war criminals were sent home). All materials were secret, even for the relatives of the dead Young Guards.

Other executioners skillfully disguised themselves. Policeman V. Podtynny fled from Krasnodon with the Wehrmacht, corrected his passport data, ended up in the Red Army, had a combat wound and awards. After the war, he returned to Donbass, started a family, became chairman of the village council and a member of the CPSU. In 1959, a fellow countryman recognized Podtynny - he was arrested. A year later, he was openly tried in Lugansk and sentenced to death.

Policeman I. Melnikov personally gouged out the eyes of the Young Guard. He also forged documents, fought in the Red Army, and received the medal “For Courage.” Then he hid on a collective farm in the Odessa region. Found, convicted at an open trial in Krasnodon on December 14-16, 1965, shot in 1966.

Some executioners were never found. For example, police chief V. Solikovsky hid in Austria and Germany, lived in New York until 1967, then moved to the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, where he died in the 1970s.

Only a small part of the court materials from 1943-1965. was published. Perhaps this is why the story of the Young Guard is still controversial. In Ukraine, things have reached the incredible - since the 1990s, there has been a version that the “Young Guard” was a “national communist” cell of the OUN that hated Hitler and Stalin! OUN member E. Stakhiv called himself in interviews and books the same Stakhovich from A. Fadeev’s “Young Guard”. All this directly contradicts the facts.

Testimony about torture

Source: Glazunov G. It was in Krasnodon / Inevitable retribution. M.: Voenizdat, 1979 .

<…>Alexandra Vasilievna Tyulenina told in court how the police mocked her:

“Two days after my arrest, on Zakharov’s orders, the police undressed me and laid me face down on the floor. They began to beat me with whips. They beat me for a long time. At this time someone said: “Bring him here, now he will tell everything.” My son Sergei was brought into the room. His face was bruised. I was asked about partisans and weapons. I replied that I knew nothing about the partisans, and there were no weapons in our house and there were never any. After such an answer, they began to torture their son. One of the gendarmes put Sergei’s fingers in the door frame and began to close it. A hot rod was threaded through the gunshot wound on the son's arm. Needles were driven under the nails. Then they hung him on ropes. They beat me again, after which they poured water on me... I repeatedly lost consciousness.

According to Maria Andreevna Borts, on January 1, 1943, gendarmes raided their apartment, and policeman Zakharov demanded that Maria Andreevna tell where her daughter Valya was hiding and with whom she left. Having received a negative answer, he turned white with anger. His small, quickly moving eyes were bloodshot. Zakharov pulled out a revolver, brought it closer to the woman’s face and, pushing her with his foot, shouted: “I’ll shoot you, you bastard!” After a search of the apartment, Maria Andreevna was taken to the police as a hostage, searched, and filled out a form. Then they took him to Solikovsky for interrogation. On the table in front of him lay a set of whips: thick, thin, wide, with lead tips. Vanya Zemnukhov, mutilated beyond recognition, stood by the sofa, with inflamed red eyes and bruises on his face. His clothes were covered in blood. There were red pools of blood on the floor next to him. Solikovsky, a tall man with a strong build, sluggishly rose from the table. A black hat is pulled down over his forehead. The voice is authoritative and loud. He asked: “Where is my daughter?” Bortz replied that she knew nothing. Then he shouted: “And you also don’t know anything about grenades and mail?” - and began to hit her in the face with terrible force. Davidenko, who was standing right there, jumped up to Maria Andreevna and also began beating her. Barely able to stand, she was thrown into a cell located opposite Solikovsky’s office. With bated breath, she listened to the screams and moans coming from the office, the terrible swearing and the clanging of iron. Policemen were running along the corridor. They dragged one victim after another for interrogation. This continued until the morning.

—Which of the Young Guards were you in the cell with? - the presiding officer asked Maria Andreevna.

She replied that she was with Lyuba Shevtsova, Ulyana Gromova, Shura Bondareva, Tonya Ivanikhina (Lilia Ivanikhina’s sister), Nina Minaeva, Klavdiya Kovaleva and Tosya Mashchenko. The girls were repeatedly tortured by the police; they were brought out of interrogations half-dead. They suffered not only physical suffering. Ulyana Gromova said that it was easier to endure physical pain than the humiliation to which the executioners subjected her. The girls were stripped naked and mocked. Solikovsky’s wife was sometimes here, who usually sat on the sofa and burst into laughter.

Letter from parents of Young Guard members to the military tribunal

Source: Journal “Socialist Legality”, No. 3, 1959, P. 60. Cited. by: Young Guard. Documents, memories / comp. V.N. Borovikova, I.I. Grigorenko, V.I. Potapov. Donetsk: Publishing House "Donbass", 1969.

August 1943.

COMRADES JUDGES OF THE MILITARY TRIBUNAL!

You are now examining, during a judicial investigation, the facts of crimes committed by a group of traitors to our Motherland.

We, the parents of our children who died at the hands of the fascist executioners and their accomplices, who are currently sitting in the dock, cannot listen without shuddering when these fascist scoundrels tell you how they, with the cold-blooded hand of brutal executioners, killed our children who gave their lives for our Motherland, for liberation from the fascist hordes. These fascist mercenaries did not escape the hands of Soviet justice.

We, the parents of our dead children, add our voice of revenge to the damned executioners and ask the tribunal to pass a severe sentence on these scoundrels and carry out the death penalty in the square so that all the people of Krasnodon can see that these scoundrels got what they deserved.

And let those fascist henchmen who are hiding somewhere, see what kind of retribution awaits those who betray our Soviet Motherland and its people.

Source: Koshevaya E. The Tale of a Son. M, 1947.

Article in a regional newspaper about the trial

Source: Newspaper “Voroshilovgradskaya Pravda”, No. 136 (8275), August 29, 1943. Quoted. by: Young Guard. Documents, memories / comp. V.N. Borovikova, I.I. Grigorenko, V.I. Potapov. Donetsk: Publishing House "Donbass", 1969.

COURT OF THE PEOPLE

Krasnodon. The other day, the trial of traitors to the Motherland, vile Judases who betrayed many members of the underground Komsomol youth organization “Young Guard”, ended here. Members of the Young Guard organization, whose work was repeatedly written about by Voroshilovgradskaya Pravda, waged a tireless struggle against the Nazi invaders and their accomplices during the occupation of the region. Young patriots wrote and distributed leaflets that exposed false fascist propaganda, accepted messages from the Soviet Information Bureau about military operations on the fronts of the Patriotic War, and brought the Bolshevik truth to the people who temporarily fell under the yoke of Hitler’s thugs. Detachments of the “Young Guard” physically destroyed soldiers and officers of the German army and their accomplices - traitors to the Motherland.

Temporary Komsomol card issued to a member of the underground organization “Young Guard”

“Young Guard” is a Komsomol underground organization with a short but heroic and tragic history. It intertwined feat and betrayal, reality and fiction, truth and lies. It was formed during the Great Patriotic War.

Creation of the "Young Guard"

In July 1942, Krasnodon was occupied by the Nazis. Despite this, leaflets appear in the city, and a bathhouse, which was prepared as a German barracks, catches fire. One person could do all this. Sergei Tyulenin is a 17-year-old boy. In addition, he gathers young guys to fight enemies. The founding date of the underground organization was September 30, 1942, the day the headquarters and action plan of the underground were created.

Composition of the underground organization

Initially, the core of the organization consisted of Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergei Tyulenin, Vasily Levashov, Georgy Arutyunyants, Viktor Tretyakevich, who was elected commissioner. A little later, Ivan Turkenich, Oleg Koshevoy, Lyubov Shevtsova, and Ulyana Gromova joined the headquarters. This was an international, multi-age organization (from 14 to 29 years old), united by one goal - to cleanse their hometown of fascist evil spirits. It consisted of about 110 people.

Confrontation with the “brown plague”

The guys printed leaflets, collected weapons and medicine, and destroyed enemy vehicles. They account for dozens of released prisoners of war. Thanks to them, thousands of people managed to escape hard labor. The Young Guards burned down the labor exchange, where all the named lists of people who were to go to work in Germany were burned. Their most famous act was the appearance of red flags hanging on the streets of the city by November 7th.

Split

In December 1942, disagreements arose within the team. Koshevoy insisted on singling out 15-20 people from the organization for active armed struggle. Under the command of Turkenich, a small partisan detachment called “Hammer” was created. Oleg Koshevoy was appointed commissar of this detachment. This led to the fact that later Oleg Koshevoy began to be considered the main person of the Young Guard.

Tragedy of Krasnodon

At the beginning of 1943, the fascists struck at the very heart of the organization, arresting Tretyakevich, Moshkov, and Zemnukhov. One of the Young Guards, Pocheptsov, having learned about the fate of the leaders, became frightened and reported his comrades to the police. All the arrested boys endured terrible torture, bullying, and beatings. The punishers learned from Pocheptsov that Viktor Tretyakevich is one of the leaders of the organization. By spreading a rumor in the city that he was the traitor, the enemy hoped to “loose” the tongues of the members of the Young Guard.

As long as the memory is alive, the person is alive

71 Krasnodon residents were shot by punitive forces, their bodies were thrown into the pit of the abandoned mine No. 5. The rest of those arrested were executed in the Thundering Forest. Members of the headquarters were posthumously awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union. The name of Viktor Tretyakevich was consigned to oblivion due to slander, and only in 1960 was he rehabilitated. However, he was not restored to the rank of commissar and for many people remained a private of the Young Guard. Krasnodon residents became a symbol of courage, fearlessness and fortitude during the war.

During the Great Patriotic War, many underground organizations operated in the Soviet territories occupied by Germany and fought the Nazis. One of these organizations worked in Krasnodon. It consisted not of experienced military personnel, but of boys and girls who were barely 18 years old. The youngest member of the Young Guard at that time was only 14.

What did the Young Guard do?

Sergei Tyulenin started it all. After the city was occupied by German troops in July 1942, he single-handedly began collecting weapons for fighters, posting anti-fascist leaflets, helping the Red Army resist the enemy. A little later, he assembled a whole detachment, and already on September 30, 1942, the organization consisted of more than 50 people, led by the chief of staff, Ivan Zemnukhov.

Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Ivan Turkenich and others also became members of the Komsomol group.

Young Guards carried out sabotage in the electromechanical workshops of the city. On the night of November 7, 1942, on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, Young Guards hoisted eight red flags on the tallest buildings in the city of Krasnodon and its surrounding villages.

On the night of December 5-6, 1942, on the Constitution Day of the USSR, Young Guards set fire to the building of the German labor exchange (people dubbed it the “black exchange”), where lists of people (with addresses and completed work cards) intended to be stolen for forced labor were kept. work to Nazi Germany, thereby about two thousand boys and girls from the Krasnodon region were saved from forced deportation.

The Young Guards were also preparing to stage an armed uprising in Krasnodon in order to defeat the German garrison and join the advancing units of the Red Army. However, shortly before the planned uprising, the organization was discovered.

On January 1, 1943, three Young Guard members were arrested: Evgeny Moshkov, Viktor Tretyakevich and Ivan Zemnukhov - the fascists found themselves in the very heart of the organization.

On the same day, the remaining members of the headquarters urgently gathered and made a decision: all Young Guards should immediately leave the city, and the leaders should not spend the night at home that night. All underground workers were notified of the headquarters’ decision through liaison officers. One of them, who was a member of the group in the village of Pervomaika, Gennady Pocheptsov, upon learning about the arrests, chickened out and wrote a statement to the police about the existence of an underground organization.

Massacre

One of the jailers, the defector Lukyanov, who was later convicted, said: “There was a continuous groan in the police, as during the entire interrogation the arrested people were beaten. They lost consciousness, but they were brought to their senses and beaten again. At times it was terrible for me to watch this torment.”
They were shot in January 1943. 57 Young Guards. The Germans never obtained any “sincere confessions” from Krasnodon schoolchildren. This was perhaps the most powerful moment, for the sake of which the entire novel was written.

Viktor Tretyakevich - “the first traitor”

The Young Guards were arrested and sent to prison, where they were subjected to severe torture. Viktor Tretyakevich, the organization's commissioner, was treated with particular cruelty. His body was mutilated beyond recognition. Hence the rumors that it was Tretyakevich, unable to withstand the torture, who betrayed the rest of the guys. Trying to establish the identity of the traitor, the investigative authorities accepted this version. And only a few years later, on the basis of declassified documents, the traitor was identified; it turned out to be not Tretyakevich at all. However, at that time the charge against him was not dropped. This will happen only 16 years later, when the authorities arrest Vasily Podtynny, who participated in torture. During interrogation, he admitted that Tretyakevich had indeed been slandered. Despite the most severe torture, Tretyakevich stood firm and did not betray anyone. He was rehabilitated only in 1960, awarded a posthumous order.

However, at the same time, the Komsomol Central Committee adopted a very strange closed resolution: “There is no point in stirring up the history of the Young Guard, redoing it in accordance with some facts that have become known recently. We believe that it is inappropriate to revise the history of the Young Guard when appearing in the press, lectures, or reports. Fadeev’s novel was published in our country in 22 languages ​​and in 16 languages ​​of foreign countries... Millions of young men and women are and will be educated on the history of the Young Guard. Based on this, we believe that new facts that contradict the novel “The Young Guard” should not be made public.

Who is the traitor?

At the beginning of the 2000s, the Security Service of Ukraine for the Lugansk region declassified some materials on the Young Guard case. As it turned out, back in 1943, a certain Mikhail Kuleshov was detained by the army counterintelligence SMERSH. When the city was occupied by the Nazis, he offered them his cooperation and soon took up the position of field police investigator. It was Kuleshov who led the investigation into the Young Guard case. Judging by his testimony, the real reason for the failure of the underground was the betrayal of the Young Guard Georgy Pocheptsov. When the news arrived that three Young Guards had been arrested, Pocheptsov confessed everything to his stepfather, who worked closely with the German administration. He convinced him to confess to the police. During the first interrogations, he confirmed the authorship of the applicant and his affiliation with the underground Komsomol organization operating in Krasnodon, named the goals and objectives of the underground activities, and indicated the location of storage of weapons and ammunition hidden in the Gundorov mine N18.

As Kuleshov testified during an interrogation by SMERSH on March 15, 1943: “Pocheptsov said that he was indeed a member of an underground Komsomol organization existing in Krasnodon and its environs. He named the leaders of this organization, or rather, the city headquarters, namely: Tretyakevich, Lukashov, Zemnukhov, Safonov, Koshevoy. Pocheptsov named Tretyakevich as the head of the citywide organization. He himself was a member of the Pervomaisk organization, the leader of which was Anatoly Popov, and before that Glavan.” The next day, Pocheptsov was again taken to the police and interrogated. On the same day, he was confronted with Moshkov and Popov, whose interrogations were accompanied by brutal beatings and cruel torture. Pocheptsov confirmed his previous testimony and named all members of the organization known to him.

From January 5 to January 11, 1943, based on the denunciation and testimony of Pocheptsov, most of the Young Guards were arrested. This was shown by the former deputy chief of the Krasnodon police, V. Podtyny, who was arrested in 1959. The traitor himself was released and was not arrested until the liberation of Krasnodon by Soviet troops. Thus, the information of a secret nature that Pocheptsov had and which became known to the police turned out to be enough to eliminate the Komsomol-youth underground. This is how the organization was discovered, having existed for less than six months.

After the liberation of Krasnodon by the Red Army, Pocheptsov, Gromov (Pocheptsov’s stepfather) and Kuleshov were recognized as traitors to the Motherland and, according to the verdict of the USSR military tribunal, were shot on September 19, 1943. However, the public learned about the real traitors for an unknown reason many years later.

Was there no betrayal?

At the end of the 1990s, one of the surviving Young Guard members, Vasily Levashov, in an interview with one of the well-known newspapers, said that the Germans got on the trail of the Young Guard by accident - due to poor conspiracy. There was supposedly no betrayal. At the end of December 1942, Young Guards robbed a truck loaded with Christmas gifts for the Germans. This was witnessed by a 12-year-old boy who received a pack of cigarettes from members of the organization for his silence. With these cigarettes, the boy fell into the hands of the police and told about the robbery of the car.

On January 1, 1943, three Young Guards who participated in the theft of Christmas gifts were arrested: Evgeny Moshkov, Viktor Tretyakevich and Ivan Zemnukhov. Without knowing it, the fascists found themselves in the very heart of the organization. During interrogations, the guys were silent, but during a search in Moshkov’s house, the Germans accidentally discovered a list of 70 members of the Young Guard. This list became the reason for mass arrests and torture.

It must be admitted that Levashov’s “revelations” have not yet been confirmed.

TODAY IN THE ISSUE: From the Soviet Information Bureau. - Operational summary for September 12 and 13 (1 page). Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1-2 pages). Captain A. Alexandrov. - In the Nizhyn direction (2 pages). Major P. Olender. - In the Priluki direction (2 pages). Captain F. Kostikov. - Battles west of Stalino (2 pages). IMMORTAL FEAT OF YOUNG PATRIOTS. - A. Erivansky. - Brave underground fighters. - Semyon Kirsanov. - Glory to the sons of the Komsomol! (3 pages). Major P. Troyanovsky. - On the right bank of the Desna (3 pages). Ilya Erenburg. - Victorious retreat (4 pages). K. Hoffman. - After the capitulation of Italy (4 pages). Terms of the armistice with Italy (4 pages).

Today, the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and awarding orders to members of the Komsomol organization “Young Guard”, which operated during the German occupation in the Voroshilovgrad region, are being published. The miners' children - members of the underground organization "Young Guard" - showed themselves to be selfless patriots of the fatherland, forever inscribing their names in the history of the sacred struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi occupiers.

Neither cruel terror nor inhuman torture could stop young patriots in their desire to fight with all their might for the liberation of the Motherland from the yoke of hated foreigners. They decided to fully fulfill their duty to their homeland. In the name of fulfilling their duty, most of them died the death of heroes.

In the dark autumn nights of 1942, the underground Komsomol organization “Young Guard” was created. It was headed by a 16-year-old boy Oleg Koshevoy. His immediate assistants in organizing the underground struggle against the Germans were 17-year-old Sergei Tyulenin, 19-year-old Ivan Zemnukhov, 18-year-old Ulyana Gromova and 18-year-old Lyubov Shevtsova. They united around themselves the best representatives of the miners' youth. Acting boldly, courageously, and cunningly, members of the Young Guard soon became a threat to the Germans. Leaflets and slogans appeared at the doors of the German commandant's office. On the anniversary of the October Revolution in the city of Krasnodon, on the building of the Voroshilov school, on the highest tree in the park, on the hospital building, red flags were raised, made from a fascist banner stolen from a German club. Several dozen German soldiers and officers were killed by members of an underground organization led by Oleg Koshev. Through their efforts, the escape of Soviet prisoners of war was organized. When the Germans tried send the city's youth to forced labor in Germany, Oleg Koshevoy and his comrades set fire to the labor exchange building and thereby disrupted the German event. Each of these feats required enormous courage, perseverance, endurance, composure. However, the glorious representatives of the Soviet youth found enough strength in themselves to do so in order to skillfully and prudently resist the enemy and inflict cruel, devastating blows on him.

When the Germans managed to uncover the underground organization and arrest its participants, Oleg Koshevoy and his comrades endured inhuman torture, but did not give up, did not lose heart, and with the great fearlessness of true patriots accepted martyrdom. They fought and struggled like heroes, and went to their graves as heroes!

Before joining the underground organization “Young Guard,” each of the young people took a sacred oath: “I swear to take merciless revenge for the burned and devastated cities and villages, for the blood of our people, for the martyrdom of 30 miners. And if this revenge requires my life, I will give it without a moment’s hesitation. If I break this sacred oath under torture or because of cowardice, then may my name and my family be cursed forever, and may I myself be punished by the harsh hand of my comrades. Blood for blood, death for death!

Oleg Koshevoy and his friends fulfilled their oath to the end. They died, but their names will shine in eternal glory. The youth of our country will learn from them the great and noble art of fighting for the holy ideals of freedom, for the happiness of the fatherland. The youth of all countries enslaved by the German occupiers will learn about their immortal feat, and this will give them new strength to accomplish feats in the name of liberation from oppression.

The people that give birth to such sons and daughters as Oleg Koshevoy, Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergei Tyulenin, Lyubov Shevtsova and Ulyana Gromova are invincible. All the strength of our people was reflected in these young people, who absorbed the heroic traditions of their Motherland and did not disgrace their native land in times of difficult trials. Glory to them!

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, Elena Nikolaevna Koshevaya, the mother of Oleg Koshevoy, was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree. She raised a hero, she blessed him to accomplish high and noble deeds - glory to her!

The Germans came to our land as uninvited guests, but here they encountered a great people, filled with unshakable courage and readiness to defend their fatherland with boundless fury and anger. Young Oleg Koshevoy is a vivid symbol of the patriotism of our people.

The blood of heroes was not shed in vain. They contributed their share to the common great cause of defeating the Nazi occupiers. The Red Army is driving the Germans to the west, liberating Ukraine from them.

Sleep well, Oleg Koshevoy! We will bring the victory that you and your comrades fought for to the end. We will mark the road to our victory with enemy corpses. We will avenge your martyrdom to the full extent of our wrath. And the sun will forever shine over our Motherland and our people will live in glory and greatness, being an example of courage, courage, valor and devotion to duty for all humanity!
________________________________________ _
("Pravda", USSR)**
("Pravda", USSR) **

THIS IS HOW HEROES DIE

The “Young Guard” was preparing to realize its cherished dream of a decisive armed attack on the Krasnodon garrison of the Germans.

The vile betrayal interrupted the combat activities of the youth.

As soon as the arrests of the Young Guard began, the headquarters gave the order to all members of the Young Guard to leave and make their way to the Red Army units. But, unfortunately, it was already too late. Only 7 people managed to escape and stay alive - Ivan Turkenich, Georgy Arutyunyants, Valeria Borts, Radiy Yurkin, Olya Ivantsova, Nina Ivantsova and Mikhail Shishchenko. The remaining members of the Young Guard were captured by the Nazis and imprisoned.

Young underground fighters were subjected to terrible torture, but none of them backed down from their oath. The German executioners went crazy, beating and torturing the Young Guards for 3 or 4 hours straight. But the executioners could not break the spirit and iron will of the young patriots.

The Gestapo beat Sergei Tyulenin several times a day with whips made of electrical wires, broke his fingers, and drove a hot ramrod into the wound. When this did not help, the executioners brought the mother, a 58-year-old woman. In front of Sergei, they stripped her and began to torture her.

The executioners demanded that he tell about his connections in Kamensk and Izvarino. Sergei was silent. Then the Gestapo in the presence of the mother.

The Young Guards knew that the time for execution was coming. In their last hour they were just as strong in spirit. A member of the Young Guard headquarters, Ulyana Gromova, transmitted in Morse code to all cells:

The last order from headquarters... The last order... we will be taken to execution. We will be led through the city streets. We will sing Ilyich's favorite song...

Exhausted and mutilated, young heroes left prison on their final journey. Ulyana Gromova walked with a star carved on her back, Shura Bondareva - with her breasts cut off. Volodya Osmukhin's right hand was cut off.

The Young Guards walked on their last journey with their heads held high. Their song sang solemnly and sadly:

“Tortured by heavy bondage,
You died a glorious death,
In the fight for the workers' cause
You put your head down honestly..."

The executioners threw them alive into a fifty-meter pit in the mine.

In February 1943, our troops entered Krasnodon. A red flag hoisted over the city. And watching him rinse in the wind, the residents again remembered the Young Guards. Hundreds of people headed to the prison building. They saw bloody clothes in the cells, traces of unheard-of torture. The walls were covered with inscriptions. Above one of the walls is a heart pierced by an arrow. There are four surnames in the heart: “Shura Bondareva, Nina Minaeva, Ulya Gromova, Angela Samoshina.” And above all the inscriptions across the entire width of the bloody wall there is a signature: “Death to the German occupiers!”

This is how the glorious students of the Komsomol, young heroes whose feat will survive centuries, lived, fought and died for their fatherland.

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Brave underground fighters

In the city of Krasnodon, Voroshilovgrad region, the Germans felt like they were on a volcano. Everything was seething around. Soviet leaflets appeared on the walls of houses every now and then, and red flags fluttered on the roofs. Loaded vehicles disappeared, as if grain warehouses were catching fire like gunpowder. Soldiers and officers lost machine guns, revolvers, and cartridges.

Someone acted very boldly, smartly and deftly. The cleverly placed German traps remained empty. There was no end to the German fury. They scoured alleys, houses, and attics in vain. And the grain warehouses caught fire again. The police found the proclamations in their own pockets. Then the police themselves were found hanged in abandoned mine adits.

On the night of December 5-6, the labor exchange building caught fire. The lists of people to be sent to Germany were lost in the fire. Thousands of residents, who were awaiting with horror the black day when they would be taken into captivity, took heart. The fire infuriated the occupiers. Special agents were called from Voroshilovgrad. But the traces were mysteriously lost in the crooked streets of the mining town. In which house do those who set fire to the labor exchange live? Under every roof. The special agents spent a lot of effort, but they left with nothing.

The underground Komsomol organization acted more widely and boldly. Insolence has become a habit. The experience of conspiracy accumulated, combat skills became a profession.

Quite a bit of time has passed since that memorable September day when the first organizational meeting took place at number 6 on Sadovaya Street in the apartment of Oleg Koshevoy. There were thirty young people here who knew each other from their school years, from working together in the Komsomol, and from fighting the Germans. They decided to call the organization “Young Guard”. The headquarters included: Oleg Koshevoy, Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergei Tyulenin, Lyubov Shevtsova, Ulyana Gromova and others. Oleg was appointed commissar and elected secretary of the Komsomol organization.

There was no experience of underground work, there was no knowledge, there was only an ineradicable, burning hatred of the occupiers and a passionate love for the Motherland. Despite the danger that threatened the Komsomol members, the organization grew quickly. More than a hundred people joined the Young Guard. Each took an oath of allegiance to the common cause, the text of which was written by Vanya Zemnukhov and Oleg Koshevoy.

We started with leaflets. At this time, the Germans began recruiting those who wanted to go to Germany. Leaflets appeared on telegraph poles and fences, exposing the horrors of fascist hard labor. The recruitment failed. Only three people agreed to go to Germany.

They installed a primitive radio at Oleg’s house and listened to the “latest news.” A short record of the latest news was distributed in the form of leaflets.

With the expansion of the underground organization, its “five”, created for conspiracy, appeared in nearby villages. They published their own leaflets there. Now the underground fighters had four radios.

Komsomol members also created their own primitive printing house. They collected letters from the fire of the district newspaper building. We made the frame for selecting the font ourselves. The printing house printed not only leaflets. Temporary Komsomol tickets were also issued there, on which it was written: “Valid for the duration of the Patriotic War.” Komsomol tickets were issued to newly admitted members of the organization.

The Komsomol organization disrupted literally all the activities of the occupation authorities. The Germans failed neither the first, so-called “voluntary” recruitment, nor the second, when they wanted to forcibly take all the residents of Krasnodon they selected to Germany.

As soon as the Germans began to prepare to export grain to Germany, the underground, on instructions from the headquarters, set fire to grain stacks and warehouses, and infected some of the grain with mites.

The Germans requisitioned livestock from the surrounding population and drove it in a large herd of 500 heads to their rear. Komsomol members attacked the guards, killed them, and drove the cattle into the steppe.

So every initiative of the Germans was thwarted by someone’s invisible, powerful hand.

The most senior among the staff members was Ivan Zemnukhov. He was nineteen years old. The youngest was the commissar. Oleg Koshevoy was born in 1926. But both of them acted like mature, experienced people, seasoned in secret work.

Oleg Koshevoy was the brains of the entire organization. He acted wisely and slowly. True, sometimes youthful enthusiasm took over, and then he participated, despite the prohibition of the headquarters, in the most risky and daring operations. Either with a box of matches in his pocket, he sets huge stacks on fire under the very noses of the police, then, wearing a policeman’s bandage or taking advantage of the darkness of the night, he pastes leaflets on gendarmerie and police buildings.

But these enterprises are not reckless. Having put on a policeman's bandage and going out at night, Oleg knew the password. In the villages and villages of the region, Oleg planted his agents, who carried out only his personal instructions. He received regular information about everything that was happening in the area. Moreover, Oleg also had his own people in the police. Two members of the organization worked there as police officers.

In this way, the plans and intentions of the police authorities became known to the headquarters in advance, and the underground could quickly take their countermeasures.

Oleg also created the organization’s monetary fund. It was made up of monthly 15-ruble membership fees. In addition, in case of need, members of the organization paid one-time contributions. This money was used to provide assistance to the needy families of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. These funds were used to purchase food to send parcels to Soviet people languishing in a German prison. Products were also given to prisoners of war who were in the concentration camp.

Each operation, be it an attack on a passenger car, when the Young Guards exterminated three German officers, or the escape of twenty prisoners of war from the Pervomaisk hospital, was developed by the headquarters under the leadership of Oleg Koshevoy in every detail and detail.

Sergei Tyulenin conducted all dangerous combat operations. He carried out the most risky missions and was known as a fearless fighter. He personally killed ten fascists. It was he who set fire to the labor exchange building, hung red flags, and led a group of guys who attacked the guards of the herd that the Germans were driving away to Germany. The Young Guard was preparing for an open armed offensive, and Sergei Tyulenin led the group to collect weapons and ammunition. Over the course of three months, they collected and stole 15 machine guns, 80 rifles, 300 grenades, more than 15 thousand cartridges, pistols, and explosives from the Germans and Romanians on the former battlefields.

On instructions from the headquarters, Lyuba Shevtsova traveled to Voroshilovgrad to establish contact with the underground. She's been there several times. At the same time, she showed exceptional resourcefulness and courage. She told German officers that she was the daughter of a major industrialist. Lyuba stole important documents and obtained secret information.

One night, on instructions from headquarters, Lyuba snuck into the post office building, destroyed all the letters from German soldiers and officers, and stole several letters from former residents of Krasnodon who were at work in Germany. These letters, not yet censored, were distributed throughout the city like leaflets on the second day.

In the hands of Ivan Zemnukhov, appearances, passwords, and direct communication with agents were concentrated. Thanks to the skilful methods of conspiracy of the Komsomol members, the Germans were unable to pick up the trail of the organization for more than five months.

Ulyana Gromova participated in the development of all operations. She got her girls jobs in various German institutions. Through them she carried out numerous acts of sabotage.

She also organized assistance to the families of Red Army soldiers and tortured miners, the transfer of parcels to prison, and the escape of Soviet prisoners of war. The Young Guards were liberated from a concentration camp.

The Nazis managed to get on the trail of the organization. In the dungeons of the Gestapo, young men and women were tortured in the most brutal ways. The executioners repeatedly threw a noose around Lyuba Shevtsova’s neck and hung her from the ceiling. She was beaten until she lost consciousness. But the brutal torture of the executioners did not break the will of the young patriot. Having achieved nothing, the city police sent her to the district gendarmerie department. There Lyuba was tortured using godly sophisticated methods: .

The Germans subjected other young patriots to the same terrible torture and inhuman torment. But they did not extract a single word of recognition from the lips of the Komsomol members. The Germans threw the tortured, bloodied, half-dead Komsomol members into the shaft of an old mine.

Immortal is the feat of the Young Guards! Their fearless and irreconcilable struggle against the German occupiers, their legendary courage will shine for centuries as a symbol of love for their motherland! // A. Erivansky.

**************************************** **************************************** **************************************** **************************
“Long live our liberator, the Red Army!”
One of the Young Guard leaflets

« Read it and pass it on to your friend.
Comrades Krasnodon residents!

The long-awaited hour of our liberation from the yoke of Hitler's bandits is approaching. The troops of the Southwestern Front have broken through the defense line. Our units November 25, .

The movement of our troops to the west continues rapidly. The Germans are running in panic, throwing down their weapons! The enemy, retreating, robs the population, taking food and clothing.

Comrades! Hide everything you can so that Hitler’s robbers don’t get it. Sabotage the orders of the German command, do not succumb to false German propaganda.

Death to the German occupiers!

Long live our liberator - the Red Army!

Long live the free Soviet homeland!

"Young guard".

Over the course of 6 months, the Young Guard issued more than 30 leaflets in Krasnodon alone, with a circulation of over 5,000 copies.

**************************************** **************************************** **************************************** **************************
GLORY TO THE SONS OF THE Komsomol!

You see,
comrade, -
affairs of Krasnodon residents
a little light
are illuminated
glory rays.

In the deep darkness
soviet sun
for their young ones
stood
shoulders.

For the happiness of Donbass
they carried out
and hunger and torture,
and cold and torment,
and the verdict on the Germans
they carried out
and lowered
a harsh hand.

Not the rattle of torture,
no cunning detective
break the Komsomol members
enemies
failed!
Arose in the darkness
immortal spark,
and explosions
again
thundered across Donbass.

And with life
fearlessly
they parted
they were dying** (“Red Star”, USSR)
** ("Red Star", USSR)

Museum and surroundings

In front of the Young Guard Museum we came across the house of Oleg Koshevoy

Memorial plaque


Busts of the Young Guards


We walked along the alley with monuments to them and Fadeev, who wrote the novel


And we went to the museum itself


There I photographed an exhibition of children's drawings for May 9th

Here is a whole allegory of the history of the Second World War being reshaped in a living way.

And here the child drew more from the stories of his brother or father than from his grandfather or great-grandfather. What can you do, they also had to fight, defending their native land

The inscription is in Ukrainian, as the children of the Russian Krasnodon were taught in schools in Ukraine, and this did not stop the local authorities from sending the drawing to the exhibition

The museum itself, despite the war, is open. Although the collections were packed in case of need to evacuate.
Parents of Young Guards

I was especially interested in the portrait of the Knight of St. George - the father of Ulyana Gromova

Prehistory. The lands of the modern LPR are the Cossack region, the territory of the Don Army

The first mines in Krasnodon, their life and the revolution of 1917

Life in a mining town in the 30s. Stakhanov movement

Childhood

Komsomol tickets?

School years of the future Young Guard

School essay

War

Especially for tarkhil photographed medical instruments

Field radio

Workers of Krasnodon who tried to sabotage work for Germany, and were brutally executed for this by punitive forces (they were buried alive in the ground), which some future Young Guards witnessed

Camps and work in Germany, where residents of Krasnodon were taken

Life during the occupation

Young guard

Oath. According to the guide, the Krasnodon militia slightly altered the text to suit modern realities, and pronounced it as an oath.

Arson by the Young Guard of the Labor Exchange building, which saved many people from being deported to Germany

Banners raised in Krasnodon on the anniversary of the Great October Revolution

An amateur club where the Young Guards held their meetings

Preserved surroundings and costumes

Dress by Lyubov Shevtsova

Suicide letters

Arrest

On the left is a photograph of a prison (or rather, not even an adequate prison, but a bathhouse adapted for it, not really heated, and in January, when the Young Guards were arrested, extremely uncomfortable)

Camera

Interrogation room, or rather torture room


The noose is presented because one of the tortures was to simulate hanging. A man was hanged, he began to choke, he was taken down, brought to his senses, asked to confess, and the procedure was repeated as a result of his refusal.

Lyuba Shevtsova, one of the last Young Guards was shot. They wanted to execute her with a bullet in the back of the head, but she didn’t want to kneel, so they shot her in the face

Mine No. 5 is the place of execution of the main group. Personal items by which relatives identified the dead children