"Young Guard" - who are they? Commissioner of the Young Guard. The true story of Oleg Koshevoy

September 13, 1943 the honorary title of Heroes Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to the young defenders of the Motherland, members of the underground organization "Young guard", which launched its activities in the German-occupied city of Krasnodon. Later, after the War, streets, organizations, ships will be named after them, many books will be written about them, films will be made.

They were not even 20 years old, the youngest of them - Oleg Koshevoy - was only 16, when they began their struggle with the German conquerors hometown. In the fall of 1942, the children of the miners united in the Komsomol underground organization, which they called the Young Guard.

Oleg Koshevoy's poem written during the occupation can be called his personal manifesto:

It's hard for me!.. Wherever you look
Everywhere I see Hitler's rubbish,
Everywhere a hateful form before me,
Esses badge with a dead head.

I decided that it was impossible to live like this!
Look at the pain and suffer yourself.
We must hurry before it's too late
Destroy behind enemy lines.

I made up my mind and I will do it!
I will give my whole life for my Motherland,
For our people, for our dear
Beautiful Soviet country.

Heroes of the Young Guard

Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Council are published today 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 on the territory of the Voroshilovgrad region. The children of miners - 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 invaders.
Neither cruel terror nor inhuman torture could stop the young patriots in their striving to fight with all their might for the liberation of the Motherland from the yoke of hated foreigners. They decided to fulfill their duty to the fatherland to the end. 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 direct 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, cunningly, the members of the Young Guard soon became a thunderstorm for 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, red flags made from the Nazi banner stolen from the German club were raised on the Voroshilov school building, on the highest tree in the park, on the hospital building. Several dozen German soldiers and officers were killed by members of an underground organization led by Oleg Koshev. Their efforts organized the escape of Soviet prisoners of war. When the Germans tried to send the youth of the city to forced labor in Germany, Oleg Koshevoy and his comrades set fire to the building of the labor exchange and thus disrupted the Germans' event. Each of these feats required great courage, steadfastness, endurance, composure. However, the glorious representatives of the Soviet youth found enough strength in themselves to skillfully and prudently resist the enemy and inflict cruel, crushing blows on him.
When the Germans succeeded in uncovering the underground organization and arresting its members, Oleg Koshevoy and his comrades endured inhuman tortures, but did not give up, did not give up, and with the great fearlessness of true patriots were martyred. They fought and fought like heroes, and heroes went down to the grave!
Before joining the underground organization “Young Guard”, each of the young people took a sacred oath: “I swear to mercilessly avenge 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, my family be forever damned, and I myself will 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 invaders will learn about their immortal feat, and this will give them new strength to accomplish feats in the name of liberation from oppression.
The nation that gives birth to such sons and daughters as Oleg Koshevoy, Ivan Zemnukhov, Sergei Tyulenin, Lyubov Shevtsova and Ulyana Gromova is invincible. All the strength of our people was reflected in these young people, who absorbed the heroic traditions of their homeland and did not disgrace their native land in a time of difficult trials. Glory to them!
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, she was awarded the Order Patriotic War 2nd degree Elena Nikolaevna Koshevoy - mother of Oleg Koshevoy. She raised the 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 the fatherland with boundless fury and anger. Young Oleg Koshevoy is a vivid symbol of the patriotism of our people.
The blood of heroes has not been shed for nothing. 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! The cause of victory, for which you and your comrades fought, we will bring to the end. With enemy corpses we will mark the road of our victory. We will avenge your martyrdom to the full extent of our anger. And the sun will shine forever 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 mankind!

During the six months that the organization existed, young men and women managed to do a lot in the fight against the Nazis. Komsomol members on their own were able to assemble a primitive printing house, where not only leaflets and small posters were printed, but also temporary Komsomol tickets.

The occupiers felt themselves in the occupied city like on a powder keg. Soviet leaflets appeared again and again on the walls of houses and at the doors of the German commandant's office.

The children received information for leaflets by listening to Oleg Koshevoy's tube radio at home, which, due to the lack of electricity, was connected to a special device. The latest news was briefly recorded, and then leaflets were compiled, which weekly informed the population about events at the front, in the Soviet rear and in the world, and reports from the Soviet Information Bureau. Even rumors were used to spread information.

Other sources were also used as leaflets. So one night Lyuba Shevtsova made her way into the post office and, destroying the letters of German soldiers and officers, stole several letters from former residents of Krasnodon who were in Germany. The letters, still uncensored, were distributed around the city as leaflets describing the horrors of German hard labor. As a result, the recruitment of those wishing to go to Germany, carried out by the Nazi authorities, was thwarted.

Before the organization of the printing house, leaflets were written by hand and distributed by all members of the youth underground. The city was conditionally divided into sections, which were assigned to specific members of the organization. According to an unspoken rule, leaflets were placed in places where as many people as possible would read them: a bazaar, a water supply system, a hand mill. The guys usually went to paste up in twos - a guy and a girl, so as not to arouse suspicion. Sometimes they gathered in groups and, pretending to have fun, scattered leaflets. And Oleg Koshevoy, having tied a white armband (a distinctive sign of the policemen) on his sleeve, scattered leaflets in the park at night.

Also, thanks to the underground workers, loaded cars disappeared in the city every now and then, German soldiers lost machine guns, pistols and cartridges.

The Young Guards did not forget about the arrested communists either. With the money of the financial fund, formed from Komsomol membership fees, products were purchased and secretly transported to the Gestapo dungeons.

The Young Guards freed more than 90 of our fighters and commanders from the concentration camp and organized the escape of twenty prisoners of war from the Pervomaiskaya hospital. Also, about 2,000 people were rescued after Komsomol members set fire to the building of the labor exchange, where lists of citizens intended to be sent to Germany were stored.

Along with subversive activities, Komsomol members were also preparing for the celebration of the next anniversary of the October Revolution: red flags were sewn from red-dyed white pillowcases, red scarves, and even from the German banner. On the night of November 7, when it blew strong wind and it was raining, forcing the police patrols to hide, the Young Guards were able to attach the flags with ropes to the pipes on all the buildings quite freely. Lyuba Shevtsova and Tosya Mashchenko attached a pole to the ceiling on the building of the regional consumer union, dismantling the tiles, and Georgy Shcherbakov and Alexander Shishchenko were able to hang flags on the hospital and on the highest tree in the park.

The German traps, cunningly placed with the aim of capturing the underground, remained empty. Cops found proclamations in their own pockets. Then the police themselves were found hanged in abandoned mine adits.

The organization was preparing for a decisive armed attack.

Despite the intelligence network organized by the Young Guard, the Germans still managed to uncover the underground. The arrests began. Only a few managed to get to the units of the Red Army. The rest of the occupation authorities were imprisoned. Inhuman torture had to be experienced by the Young Guard in last days life. Those of them who did not die after the torture were thrown alive by the Germans into the pit of an abandoned mine.

Arrested after the liberation of Donbass, the investigator of the district police M.E. Kuleshov, who led the case of the Young Guard, told during interrogations that during torture, the eyes of the arrested Young Guards were gouged out, their breasts and genitals were cut out, they were beaten half to death with whips.

Brave Undergrounders

In the city of Krasnodon, Voroshilovgrad region, the Germans felt like they were on a volcano. Everything around was seething. Soviet leaflets appeared on the walls of houses every now and then, red flags flew up on the roofs. Loaded motor vehicles disappeared, like gunpowder warehouses of grain caught fire. Soldiers and officers lost machine guns, revolvers, cartridges.
Someone acted very boldly, cleverly and deftly. Cunningly placed German traps remained empty. The fury of the Germans knew no end. They searched in vain through the lanes, houses, attics. And warehouses with grain caught fire again. The police found the proclamations in their own pockets. Then the policemen themselves were found hanged in abandoned mine adits.
On the night of December 5-6, the building of the labor exchange broke out. Lists of persons to be sent to Germany perished in the fire. Thousands of residents, who were waiting with horror for a rainy day when they were taken into captivity, perked up. The fire infuriated the invaders. Special agents were called from Voroshilovgrad. But the traces were mysteriously lost in the winding streets of the mining town. In what house do those who set fire to the labor exchange live? Hatred lived under every roof. Special agents put in a lot of effort, but they left with nothing.
The underground Komsomol organization acted more and more 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 was held in Oleg Koshevoy's apartment at No. 6 on Sadovaya Street. There were thirty young people here, who had known each other from their school years, joint work in the Komsomol, to fight the Germans. They decided to name 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 indestructible, burning hatred for the invaders and a passionate love for the Motherland. Despite the danger that threatened the Komsomol members, the organization grew rapidly. More than a hundred people joined the Young Guard. Everyone took an oath of allegiance to the common cause, the text of which was written by Vanya Zemnukhov and Oleg Koshevoy.
We started with flyers. The Germans began at this time to recruit those wishing to go to Germany. Leaflets appeared on telegraph poles and fences exposing the horrors of fascist hard labor. The recruitment broke. Only three people agreed to go to Germany.
A primitive radio was installed at Oleg's house and listened to the "breaking news". A short record of the latest news was reproduced in the form of leaflets.
With the expansion of the underground organization, its “five”, created for conspiracy, appeared in nearby villages. They published their leaflets. Now the underground workers had four radios.
Komsomol members also created their own primitive printing house. Letters they collected on the conflagration of the building of the regional newspaper. The frame for choosing the font was made by 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 frustrated literally all the activities of the occupation authorities. Neither the first, so-called "voluntary" recruitment, nor the second one, when they wanted to forcibly take away to Germany all the inhabitants of Krasnodon selected by them, failed the Germans.
As soon as the Germans began to prepare for the export of grain to Germany, the underground, on the instructions of the headquarters, organized the burning of bread stacks, warehouses, and infected some of the grain with a tick.
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 undertaking of the Germans was thwarted by someone's invisible, domineering hand.
Ivan Zemnukhov was the eldest among the staff members. He was nineteen years old. The youngest was the commissioner. Oleg Koshevoy was born in 1926. But both of them acted like mature, highly experienced people, hardened in secret work.
Oleg Koshevoy was the brain of the whole organization. He acted wisely and slowly. True, sometimes youthful enthusiasm prevailed, 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 fire to huge stacks under the very noses of the policemen, then, wearing a policeman's armband or taking advantage of the darkness of the night, sticks leaflets on the buildings of the gendarmerie and police.
But these enterprises are not reckless. Putting on a police bandage and going out at night, Oleg knew the password. In the farms and settlements of the region, Oleg planted his agents. Which carried out only his personal instructions. He received regular information about everything that was happening in the area. Moreover, Oleg had his own people in the police. Two members of the organization worked there as police officers.
Thus, 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 financial fund of the organization. It was compiled on monthly 15-ruble membership dues. In addition, in case of need, members of the organization paid one-time contributions. With this money, assistance was provided to needy families of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. These funds were used to purchase food for the delivery of parcels to Soviet people languishing in a German prison. Products were also handed over to prisoners of war who were in a concentration camp.
Each operation, whether it was an attack on a passenger car, when the Young Guard exterminated three German officers, or the escape of twenty prisoners of war from the May Day hospital, was developed by the headquarters under the leadership of Oleg Koshevoy in every detail and detail.
Sergei Tyulenin spent all the dangerous combat operations. He performed the most risky tasks and was known as a fearless militant. He personally destroyed ten fascists. It was he who set fire to the building of the labor exchange, hung out red flags, led a group of guys who attacked the guards of the herd, which the Germans drove to Germany. The "Young Guard" was preparing for an open armed offensive, and Sergei Tyulenin led a group to collect weapons and ammunition. For three months, they collected and stole from the Germans and Romanians 15 machine guns, 80 rifles, 300 grenades, more than 15 thousand cartridges, pistols, explosives on the former battlefields.
On the instructions of the headquarters, Lyuba Shevtsova went to Voroshilovgrad to establish contact with the underground. She has been there several times. At the same time, she showed exceptional resourcefulness and courage. She told the German officers that she was the daughter of a major industrialist. Lyuba stole important documents, obtained secret information.
One night, on the instructions of the headquarters, Lyuba snuck into the post office, destroyed all the letters of German soldiers and officers, and stole several letters from former residents of Krasnodon who were at work in Germany. These letters, which had not yet been censored, were distributed throughout the city like leaflets on the second day.
In the hands of Ivan Zemnukhov were concentrated appearances, passwords, direct contact with agents. Thanks to the skillful methods of conspiracy of the Komsomol members, the Germans could not attack the trail of the organization for more than five months.
Ulyana Gromova participated in the development of all operations. She arranged for her girls to work in all kinds of German institutions. Through them, she carried out numerous 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 released more than 90 of our fighters and commanders from the 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 put a noose around Lyuba Shevtsova's neck and hung her from the ceiling. She was beaten until she lost consciousness. But the cruel 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 with more sophisticated methods: needles were driven under her nails, a star was cut out on her back, burned with a red-hot iron.
The Germans also subjected other young patriots to the same terrible tortures, inhuman torments. But they did not extract a single word of recognition from the lips of the Komsomol members. Tortured, bloody, half-dead Komsomol members, the Germans threw them into the shaft of an old mine.
Immortal is the feat of the Young Guard! Their fearless and uncompromising struggle against the German occupiers, their legendary courage will shine through the ages as a symbol of love for the Motherland!
A. Erivansky

Glory to the sons of the Komsomol!

You see, comrade, the affairs of Krasnodon
a little light is illuminated by rays of glory.
In deep darkness the Soviet sun
behind their young stood shoulders.
For the happiness of Donbass they endured
and hunger, and torture, and cold, and flour,
and they pronounced a sentence on the Germans
and lowered a stern hand.
Neither the gnash of torture, nor the cunning of the detective
Enemies failed to break the Komsomol!
In the darkness, an immortal spark arose,
and explosions again thundered across the Donbass.
And fearlessly they parted with life,
they died with in simple words,
deep underground they remained
captive city masters.
No one saw their fire and lodging for the night
in the gloomy darkness of the German rear,
but the feat of Ulyana, the heroism of Oleg
Motherland saw and illuminated.
You see, comrade, the affairs of Krasnodontsy,
they will never be forgotten by us,
immortal glory, like the eternal sun,
rises, shining, over their names.
Semyon Kirsanov

This is how heroes die

The "Young Guard" was preparing to fulfill its cherished dream - a decisive armed attack on the Krasnodon garrison by the Germans.
Vile betrayal interrupted the combat activities of the youth.
As soon as the arrests of the Young Guards began, the headquarters gave the order - all members of the "Young Guard" to leave and make their way to the units of the Red Army. But, unfortunately, it was already too late. Only 7 people managed to escape and stay alive - Ivan Turkevich, 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 workers were subjected to terrible torture, but none of them backed down from their oath. The German executioners went berserk, for 3, 3 hours in a row they beat and tortured the Young Guards. But the executioners could not break the spirit and iron will of the young patriots.
Sergei Tyulenin was beaten by the Gestapo several times a day with whips made of electrical wires, broke fingers, drove a red-hot ramrod into the wound. When this did not help, the executioners brought their mother, a 58-year-old old woman. In front of Sergei, she was undressed and tortured.
The executioners demanded that he tell about his connections in Kamensk and Izvarino. Sergei was silent. Then the Gestapo, in the presence of his mother, hung Sergei in a noose from the ceiling three times, and then gouged out his eye with a red-hot needle.
The Young Guards knew that the time of execution was coming. In their last hour they were also strong in spirit. Ulyana Gromova, a member of the headquarters of the Young Guard, transmitted in Morse code to all cells:
- The last order of the headquarters ... The last order ... they will lead us to execution. We will be led through the streets of the city. We will sing Ilyich's favorite song ...
Exhausted, mutilated, young heroes left prison on their last journey. Ulyana Gromova walked with a star carved on her back. Shura Bondareva - with cut off breasts. Volodya Osmukhin had his right hand cut off.
The Young Guards went on their last journey with their heads held high. Solemnly and sadly rushed their song:
"Tortured by heavy bondage,
You died a glorious death
In the fight for a job
You honestly folded your head ... "
The executioners threw them alive into the fifty-meter shaft of the mine.
In February 1943, our troops entered Krasnodon. A red flag hoisted over the city. And looking at how it rinses in the wind, the inhabitants again remembered the Young Guard. Hundreds of people went 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, a heart pierced by an arrow is carved. In the heart are four surnames: "Shura Bondareva, Nina Minaeva, Ulya Gromova, Angela Samoshina." And above all the inscriptions in the entire width of the bloodied wall is the inscription: "Death to the German occupiers!"
This is how the glorious pupils of the Komsomol lived, fought and died for their fatherland, young heroes whose feat will survive the centuries.

"Long live our liberator - the Red Army!"

One of the leaflets of the "Young Guard"
“Read it and pass it on to a friend.
Comrades Krasnodontsy!
The long-awaited hour of our liberation from the yoke of the Nazi bandits is approaching. The troops of the Southwestern Front have broken through the defense line. On November 25, our units, having taken the capital Morozovskaya, advanced 45 kilometers.
The movement of our troops to the west continues rapidly. The Germans are fleeing in panic, dropping their weapons! The enemy, retreating, plunders the population, taking away food and clothing.
Comrades! Hide everything you can so that the Nazi robbers do not get it. Sabotage the orders of the German command, do not succumb to false German agitation.
Death to the German invaders!
Long live our liberator - the Red Army!
Long live the free Soviet homeland!
"Young guard".

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

After the liberation, the inhabitants of the city preserved the memory of the brave young men and women who fought against the German regime, and the domestic press made their feat known to all Soviet citizens. Sergei Tyulenin, Oleg Koshevoy, Ivan Zemnukhov, Lyubov Shevtsova, Ulyana Gromova became symbols of youth patriotism.

Komsomol members of Krasnodon

Not! Our youth cannot be killed
And don't kneel!
She lives and will live
Just like the great Lenin taught.

For honor, for truth, for the people,
Who is the most honest in the world,
She will go to the scaffold
Any torture will proudly meet.

And even death won't win
Her daring of the living, -
Shine brightly over the world
Star of Oleg Koshevoy.

And be pure beauty
To call for a feat from the best of the best
For the cause of the Motherland, the saint.
For what Stalin teaches us.

Not! Torture won't make us shudder!
Immortal scarlet banners
Where is the youth
Like the Komsomol members of Krasnodon!

During the Great Patriotic War, many underground organizations operated in the Soviet territories occupied by Germany, which fought against the Nazis. One of these organizations worked in Krasnodon. It consisted not of experienced military men, but of young men and women 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?

Sergey Tyulenin laid the foundation for everything. After the city was occupied by German troops in July 1942, he single-handedly began to collect weapons for the soldiers, put up anti-fascist leaflets, helping the Red Army to counteract the enemy. A little later, he assembled a whole detachment, and already on September 30, 1942, the organization numbered more than 50 people, headed by the chief of staff, Ivan Zemnukhov.

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

The Young Guard 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, the Young Guards hoisted eight red flags on the tallest buildings in the city of Krasnodon and the surrounding villages.

On the night of December 5-6, 1942, on the Day of the Constitution of the USSR, the Young Guard set fire to the building of the German labor exchange (the people dubbed it the "black exchange"), where lists of people (with addresses and filled out work cards) were stored, destined for hijacking for compulsory work in Nazi Germany, thereby about two thousand boys and girls from the Krasnodon region were saved from forcible export.

The Young Guards were also preparing to organize 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 uncovered.

On January 1, 1943, three young guards were arrested: Yevgeny Moshkov, Viktor Tretyakevich and Ivan Zemnukhov - the Nazis fell into the very heart of the organization.

On the same day, the remaining members of the headquarters urgently gathered and decided: all the Young Guards should immediately leave the city, and the leaders should not spend the night at home that night. All underground workers were informed about the decision of the headquarters through messengers. One of them, who was in the group of the village of Pervomaika, Gennady Pocheptsov, having learned about the arrests, got cold feet and wrote a statement to the police about the existence of an underground organization.

massacre

One of the jailers, later convicted defector Lukyanov, said: “There was a continuous groan in the police, because during the entire interrogation the arrested were beaten. They lost consciousness, but they were brought to their senses and beaten again. I myself was sometimes terrified to look at these torments.
They were shot in January 1943. 57 young guards. The Germans did not achieve any "frank confessions" from the Krasnodon schoolchildren. This, perhaps, was the most powerful moment for which the whole novel was written.

Viktor Tretyakevich - "the first traitor"

The Young Guards were arrested and sent to prison, where they were severely tortured. Viktor Tretyakevich, the organization's commissar, was treated with particular cruelty. His body was mutilated beyond recognition. Hence the rumors that it was Tretyakevich, unable to withstand the torture, betrayed the rest of the guys. Still trying to establish the identity of the traitor, the investigating authorities accepted this version. And only a few years later, on the basis of declassified documents, the traitor was established, it turned out to be not Tretyakevich at all. However, the charges were not dropped from him at the time. This will happen only 16 years later, when the authorities arrest Vasily Podtynny, who participated in the torture. During interrogation, he confessed that Tretyakevich had indeed been slandered. Despite the most severe torture, Tretyakevich held firm and did not betray anyone. He was rehabilitated only in 1960, posthumously awarded the Order.

However, at the same time, the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League 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 for recent times. We believe that it is inappropriate to revise the history of the "Young Guard" when appearing in the press, lectures, reports. Fadeev's novel was published in our country in 22 languages ​​and in 16 languages foreign countries... On the history of the Young Guards, millions of young men and women are brought up and will be brought up. 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 in the Lugansk region declassified some materials in the case of the Young Guard. As it turned out, back in 1943, a certain Mikhail Kuleshov was detained by the SMERSH army counterintelligence. When the Nazis occupied the city, he offered them his cooperation and soon took 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 came that three Young Guardsmen had been arrested, Pocheptsov confessed everything to his stepfather, who worked closely with the German administration. He convinced him to turn himself in 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, indicated the place where weapons and ammunition were stored, hidden in Gundor mine No. 18.

As Kuleshov testified during the SMERSH interrogation on March 15, 1943: “Pocheptsov said that he really is a member of the underground Komsomol organization that exists in Krasnodon and its environs. He named the leaders of this organization, or rather, the city headquarters, namely: Tretyakevich, Lukashov, Zemnukhov, Safonov, Koshevoy. Pocheptsov called Tretyakevich the head of the citywide organization. He himself was a member of the May Day organization, headed by 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, according to the denunciation and testimony of Pocheptsov, most of the Young Guards were arrested. The traitor himself was released and was not arrested until the liberation of Krasnodon by the Soviet troops. Thus, the secret information that Pocheptsov had and which became known to the police turned out to be enough to liquidate the Komsomol youth underground. This is how the organization was revealed, 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, on 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 any betrayal?

In the late 1990s, one of the surviving members of the Young Guard, 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 chance - due to poor conspiracy. Allegedly, there was no betrayal. At the end of December 1942, the Young Guards robbed a truck 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 were arrested, participating in the theft of Christmas gifts: Yevgeny Moshkov, Viktor Tretyakevich and Ivan Zemnukhov. Without knowing it, the Nazis got into 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.

One of the mythologized pages of the history of the USSR, which, unfortunately, is perceived by many now, but which has always been true. In mid-February 1943, after the liberation of Donetsk Krasnodon by Soviet troops, several dozen corpses of teenagers tortured by the Nazis, who during the occupation period were in the underground organization "Young Guard" were removed from the pit of mine N5 located near the city ...
At an abandoned mine, most members of the underground Komsomol organization Young Guard, which fought against the Nazis in the small Ukrainian town of Krasnodon, died in 1942. It turned out to be the first underground youth organization about which it was possible to collect quite detailed information. The Young Guards were then called heroes (they were heroes), who gave their lives for their homeland. Just over twenty years ago, everyone knew about the Young Guard.
The novel of the same name by Alexander Fadeev was studied in schools; at the screening of Sergei Gerasimov's film, people could not hold back their tears; motor ships, streets, hundreds of educational institutions and pioneer detachments were named after the Young Guards. What were they like, these young men and women who called themselves Young Guardsmen?
The Krasnodon Komsomol youth underground included seventy-one people: forty-seven boys and twenty-four girls. The youngest was fourteen, and fifty-five of them never turned nineteen. The most ordinary, no different from the same boys and girls of our country, the guys were friends and quarreled, studied and fell in love, ran to dances and chased pigeons. They were in school circles, sports sections, played the strings musical instruments, wrote poetry, many drew well.
They studied in different ways - someone was an excellent student, and someone with difficulty overcame the granite of science. There were also a lot of tomboys. Dreamed of a future adult life. They wanted to become pilots, engineers, lawyers, someone was going to enter the theater school, and someone - to the pedagogical institute.

The “Young Guard” was as multinational as the population of these southern regions of the USSR. Russians, Ukrainians (there were Cossacks among them), Armenians, Belarusians, Jews, Azerbaijanis and Moldavians, ready to help each other at any moment, fought against the Nazis.
The Germans occupied Krasnodon on July 20, 1942. And almost immediately the first leaflets appeared in the city, new bath, already ready for the German barracks. It was Seryozhka Tyulenin who began to act. One.
On August 12, 1942, he turned seventeen. Sergey wrote leaflets on pieces of old newspapers, and the policemen often found them in their pockets. He began to collect weapons, not even doubting that they would definitely come in handy. And he was the first to attract a group of guys ready to fight. It initially consisted of eight people. However, by the first days of September, several groups were already operating in Krasnodon, not connected with one another - in total there were 25 people in them.
September 30 was the birthday of the underground Komsomol organization "Young Guard": then a plan was adopted to create a detachment, plans were made specific actions underground work, a headquarters was created. It included Ivan Zemnukhov - chief of staff, Vasily Levashov - commander of the central group, Georgy Arutyunyants and Sergey Tyulenin - members of the headquarters.
Viktor Tretyakevich was elected commissar. The guys unanimously supported Tyulenin's proposal to name the detachment "Young Guard". And in early October, all the scattered underground groups were united into one organization. Later, Uliana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Oleg Koshevoy and Ivan Turkenich joined the headquarters.
Now you can often hear that the Young Guards did nothing special. Well, they put up leaflets, collected weapons, burned and contaminated the grain intended for the invaders. Well, they hung out several flags on the day of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution, burned the Labor Exchange, saved several dozen prisoners of war. Other underground organizations have existed longer and done more!

And do these unfortunate critics understand that everything, literally everything, these boys and girls committed on the verge of life and death. Is it easy to walk down the street when warnings are posted on almost every house and fence that if you don’t hand over your weapon, you will be shot. And at the bottom of the bag, under the potatoes, there are two grenades, and you need to independent view walk past several dozen policemen, and everyone can stop ... By the beginning of December, the Young Guards already had 15 machine guns, 80 rifles, 300 grenades, about 15 thousand rounds of ammunition, 10 pistols, 65 kilograms of explosives and several hundred meters of Fickford cord.
Isn't it scary to sneak past the German patrol at night, knowing that for appearing on the street after six in the evening there is a threat of execution? But most of the work was done at night. At night, they burned the German Labor Exchange - and two and a half thousand Krasnodon residents were delivered from German hard labor. On the night of November 7, the Young Guards hung out red flags - and the next morning, when they saw them, people experienced great joy: “We are remembered, we are not forgotten by ours!” At night, prisoners of war were released, telephone wires were cut, German vehicles were attacked, a herd of cattle of 500 heads was recaptured from the Nazis and dispersed to the nearest farms and settlements.
Even leaflets were pasted mostly at night, although it happened that they had to do it during the day. At first, leaflets were written by hand, then they began to be printed in the same organized printing house. In total, the Young Guards issued about 30 separate leaflets with a total circulation of almost five thousand copies - from which Krasnodon residents learned the latest reports from the Sovinformburo.

In December, the first disagreements appeared at the headquarters, which later became the basis of the legend that still lives on and according to which Oleg Koshevoy is considered the commissar of the Young Guard.
What happened? Koshevoy began to insist that a detachment of 15-20 people be singled out from all the underground workers, capable of operating separately from the main detachment. It was in him that Koshevoy was supposed to become a commissar. The guys did not support this proposal. Nevertheless, Oleg after next appointment took temporary Komsomol tickets from Vanya Zemnukhov, but did not give them, as always, to Viktor Tretyakevich, but gave them to the newly accepted ones himself, signing: “Commissar partisan detachment"Hammer" Kashuk.
On January 1, 1943, three young guards were arrested: Yevgeny Moshkov, Viktor Tretyakevich and Ivan Zemnukhov - the Nazis fell into the very heart of the organization. On the same day, the remaining members of the headquarters urgently gathered and decided: all the Young Guards should immediately leave the city, and the leaders should not spend the night at home that night. All underground workers were informed about the decision of the headquarters through messengers. One of them, who was in the group of the village of Pervomaika, Gennady Pocheptsov, having learned about the arrests, got cold feet and wrote a statement to the police about the existence of an underground organization.

The entire punitive apparatus was set in motion. Mass arrests began. But why didn't the majority of the Young Guards follow the order of the headquarters? After all, this first disobedience, and hence the violation of the oath, cost almost all of them their lives! Probably due to the lack of life experience.
At first, the guys did not realize that a catastrophe had happened and their leading trio could no longer get out of prison. Many could not decide for themselves: whether to leave the city, whether to help the arrested, or voluntarily share their fate. They did not understand that the headquarters had already considered all the options and took the only correct one into action. But most of them didn't do it. Almost everyone was afraid for their parents.
Only twelve young guards managed to escape in those days. But later, two of them - Sergei Tyulenin and Oleg Koshevoy - were nevertheless arrested. Four cells of the city police were packed to capacity. All the guys were terribly tortured. The office of the chief of police, Solikovsky, looked more like a slaughterhouse - it was so spattered with blood. In order not to hear the screams of the tortured in the yard, the monsters started the gramophone and turned it on at full volume.
Underground workers were hung by the neck to window frame, imitating execution by hanging, and by the legs, to the ceiling hook. And they beat, beat, beat - with sticks and wire whips with nuts on the end. The girls were hung by braids, and the hair could not stand it, it broke off. The Young Guards were crushed by the door with fingers, shoe needles were driven under the nails, they were put on a hot stove, stars were cut out on the chest and back. Their bones were broken, their eyes were gouged out and burnt out, their arms and legs were cut off…

The executioners, having learned from Pocheptsov that Tretyakevich was one of the leaders of the Young Guard, decided at all costs to force him to speak, believing that then it would be easier to cope with the rest. He was tortured with extreme cruelty, he was mutilated beyond recognition. But Victor remained silent. Then a rumor was spread among the arrested and in the city: Tretyakevich had betrayed everyone. But Victor's comrades did not believe it.
On a cold winter night on January 15, 1943, the first group of Young Guardsmen, including Tretyakevich, was taken to the ruined mine for execution. When they were put on the edge of the pit, Victor grabbed the deputy chief of police by the neck and tried to drag him along with him to a depth of 50 meters. The frightened executioner turned pale with fear and almost did not resist, and only the gendarme arrived in time, hitting Tretyakevich on the head with a pistol, saved the policeman from death.
On January 16, the second group of underground workers was shot, on the 31st - the third. One of this group managed to escape from the place of execution. It was Anatoly Kovalev, who later went missing.
Four remained in prison. They were taken to the city of Rovenki in the Krasnodon region and shot on February 9 along with Oleg Koshev, who was there.

Entered Krasnodon on February 14 Soviet troops. February 17 became a day of mourning, full of weeping and lamentations. From a deep, dark pit, the bodies of tortured young men and women were taken out with a bucket. It was difficult to recognize them; some of the children were identified by their parents only by their clothes.
A wooden obelisk was placed on the mass grave with the names of the dead and with the words:
And drops of your hot blood,
Like sparks flare up in the darkness of life
And many brave hearts will be lit!
The name of Viktor Tretyakevich was not on the obelisk! And his mother, Anna Iosifovna, never took off her black dress again and tried to go to the grave later so as not to meet anyone there. She, of course, did not believe in her son's betrayal, just as most of her fellow countrymen did not, but the conclusions of the commission of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League under the leadership of Toritsin and the subsequently remarkable novel by Fadeev, which was published in artistic terms, had an impact on the minds and hearts of millions of people. One can only regret that Fadeev's novel The Young Guard did not turn out to be equally remarkable in respecting historical truth.
The investigating authorities also accepted the version of Tretyakevich's betrayal, and even when the true traitor Pocheptsov, who was subsequently arrested, confessed to everything, the charge was not removed from Viktor. And since, according to party leaders, a traitor cannot be a commissar, Oleg Koshevoy was elevated to this rank, whose signature was on the December Komsomol tickets - “Commissar of the Molot partisan detachment Kashuk.”
After 16 years, one of the most ferocious executioners who tortured the Young Guards, Vasily Podtynny, was arrested. During the investigation, he stated: Tretyakevich was slandered, but he, despite severe torture and beatings, did not betray anyone.
So almost 17 years later, the truth triumphed. By decree of December 13, 1960, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR rehabilitated Viktor Tretyakevich and awarded him the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree (posthumously). His name began to be included in all official documents, along with the names of other heroes of the Young Guard.

Anna Iosifovna, Victor's mother, who never took off her mourning black clothes, stood in front of the presidium of the solemn meeting in Voroshilovgrad when she was presented with her son's posthumous award.
The crowded hall, standing up, applauded her, but it seemed that what was happening no longer pleased her. Maybe because her mother always knew that her son was an honest man... Anna Iosifovna turned to her friend who rewarded her with only one request: not to show the film "Young Guard" in the city these days.
So, the stigma of a traitor was removed from Viktor Tretyakevich, but he was never restored to the rank of commissar and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which was awarded to the rest of the dead members of the Young Guard headquarters, was not awarded.
Finishing this short story about the heroic and tragic days of the Krasnodon people, I would like to say that the heroism and tragedy of the Young Guard are probably still far from being revealed. But this is our history, and we have no right to forget it.

Crimea, Feodosia, August 1940. Happy young girls. The most beautiful, with dark braids - Anya Sopova.
January 31, 1943 after cruel torture Anya was thrown into the pit of mine No. 5. She was buried in the mass grave of heroes in the central square of the city of Krasnodon.
... now "Young Guard" is on television. I remember how we loved this picture as a child! They dreamed of being like the brave Krasnodontsy... vowed to avenge their deaths. What can I say, the tragic and beautiful story of the Young Guards shocked the whole world at that time, and not just the immature children's minds.
The film became the leader of the box office in 1948, and the leading actors, unknown students of VGIK, immediately received the title of Laureates of the Stalin Prize - an exceptional case. "Woke up famous" - it's about them.
Ivanov, Mordyukova, Makarova, Gurzo, Shagalova - letters from all over the world came to them in bags.
Gerasimov, of course, took pity on the audience. Fadeev - readers.
What really happened that winter in Krasnodon, neither paper nor film could convey.

Uliana Gromova, 19 years old
".... carved on the back five pointed star, the right arm is broken, the ribs are broken" (KGB Archive under the Council of Ministers of the USSR).

Lida Androsova, 18 years old
"... extracted without an eye, an ear, a hand, with a rope around the neck, which strongly cut into the body. Baked blood is visible on the neck" (Museum "Young Guard", f. 1, d. 16).

Anya Sopova, 18 years old
"They beat her, hung her by her scythes ... They lifted Anya from the pit with one scythe - the other broke off."

Shura Bondareva, 20 years old
"... extracted without a head and right breast, the whole body is beaten, bruised, has a black color."

Lyuba Shevtsova, 18 years old (in the photo, first from the left in the second row)

Lyuba Shevtsova, 18 years old
On February 9, 1943, after a month of torture, she was shot in the Thundering Forest near the city, along with Oleg Koshev, S. Ostapenko, D. Ogurtsov and V. Subbotin.

Angelina Samoshina, 18 years old.
"Traces of torture were found on Angelina's body: her arms were twisted, her ears were cut off, a star was carved on her cheek" (RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 53. D. 331)

Shura Dubrovina, 23 years old
“Two images stand before my eyes: the cheerful young Komsomol member Shura Dubrovina and the mutilated body raised from the mine. I saw her corpse only with the lower jaw. Her girlfriend, Maya Peglivanova, lay in a coffin without eyes, without lips, with twisted arms ... "

Maya Peglivanova, 17 years old
"Maya's corpse is disfigured: her breasts are cut off, her legs are broken. All outer clothing has been removed." (RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 53. D. 331) In the coffin she lay without lips, with twisted arms.

Tonya Ivanikhina, 19 years old
"... extracted without eyes, the head is tied with a scarf and wire, the breasts are cut out."

Serezha Tyulenin, 17 years old
"On January 27, 1943, Sergei was arrested. Soon his father and mother were taken away, all his belongings were confiscated. In the police, Sergei was severely tortured in the presence of his mother, they confronted Viktor Lukyancheiko, a member of the Young Guard, but they did not recognize each other.
On January 31, Sergei was tortured in last time, and then he, half-dead, together with other comrades, was taken to the pit of mine No. 5 ... "

The funeral of Sergei Tyulenin

Nina Minaeva, 18 years old
"... My sister was recognized by the woolen gaiters - the only clothes that remained on her. Nina's hands were broken, one eye was knocked out, there were shapeless wounds on her chest, her whole body was in black stripes ..."

Tosya Eliseenko, 22 years old
"The corpse of Tosi was disfigured, torturing her, they put her on a red-hot stove."

Victor Tretyakevich, 18 years old
"... Among the latter, Viktor Tretyakevich was raised. His father, Iosif Kuzmich, in a thin patched coat, stood every day, clutching a pole, did not take his eyes off the pit. And when they recognized his son, - without a face, with a black with a blue back, with shattered arms, - he, as if knocked down, fell to the ground. No traces of bullets were found on Victor's body - which means they threw him alive ... "

Oleg Koshevoy, 16 years old
When arrests began in January 1943, he made an attempt to cross the front line. However, he is forced to return to the city. Near the railway station Kortushino was captured by the Nazis and sent first to the police, and then to the district office of the Gestapo in Rovenka. After terrible torture, together with L.G. Shevtsova, S.M. Ostapenko, D.U. Ogurtsov and V.F. Subbotin, on February 9, 1943, he was shot in the Thundering Forest near the city.

Boris Glavan, 22 years old
"From the pit was extracted associated with Yevgeny Shepelev barbed wire face to face, hands cut off. The face is disfigured, the stomach is ripped open.

Evgeny Shepelev, 19 years old
"...Eugene's hands were cut off, his stomach was pulled out, his head was smashed...." (RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 53. D. 331)

Volodya Zhdanov, 17 years old
"Extracted with a lacerated wound in the left temporal region, the fingers are broken and twisted, there are bruises under the nails, two strips three centimeters wide, twenty-five centimeters long are cut on the back, the eyes are gouged out and the ears are cut off" (Museum "Young Guard", f. 1, d .36)

Klava Kovaleva, 17 years old
"... removed swollen, cut off the right breast, the soles of the feet were burned, cut off left hand, the head is tied with a handkerchief, traces of beatings are visible on the body. It was found ten meters from the trunk, between the trolleys, it was probably thrown alive" (Museum "Young Guard", f. 1, d. 10)

Evgeny Moshkov, 22 years old (pictured left)
"... Communist Young Guard Yevgeny Moshkov, having chosen a good moment during interrogation, hit the policeman. Then the fascist beasts hung Moshkov by his legs and held him in that position until blood gushed from his nose and throat. They removed him and again they began to interrogate. But Moshkov only spat in the face of the executioner. The enraged investigator, who tortured Moshkov, hit him with a bang. Exhausted by torture, the communist hero fell, hitting the back of his head on the door frame and died. "

Volodya Osmukhin, 18 years old
“When I saw Vovochka, disfigured, almost completely without a head, without his left arm to the elbow, I thought I would go crazy. I didn’t believe that it was him. He was in one sock, and the other leg was completely bare. warm. Outerwear no. They took the animals hungry.
Head is broken. The back of the head fell out completely, only the face remained, on which only Volodya's teeth remained. Everything else is ruined. The lips are distorted, the nose is almost completely absent. My grandmother and I washed Vovochka, dressed her, decorated her with flowers. A wreath was nailed to the coffin. Let the road rest in peace."

Ulyana Gromova's parents

Uli's last letter

The funeral of the young guards, 1943

In 1993, a press conference was held in Lugansk by a special commission to study the history of the Young Guard. As Izvestiya wrote then (05/12/1993), after two years of work, the commission gave its assessment of the versions that had excited the public for almost half a century. The conclusions of the researchers were reduced to several fundamental points.
In July-August 1942, after the capture of the Luhansk region by the Nazis, many underground youth groups spontaneously arose in the mining Krasnodon and the surrounding villages. They, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, were called "Star", "Sickle", "Hammer", etc. However, there is no need to talk about any party leadership. In October 1942, Viktor Tretyakevich united them into the Young Guard.
It was he, and not Oleg Koshevoy, who, according to the findings of the commission, became the commissioner of the underground organization. There were almost twice as many members of the "Young Guard" as later recognized by the competent authorities. The guys fought in a partisan way, risky, carrying big losses, and this, as was noted at the press conference, ultimately led to the failure of the organization.
“…. Blessed memory to these girls and boys… who were infinitely stronger… all of us, millions, combined.…”

Starichenkova Elizaveta, Arushanyan Ruzanna, 9th grade students

The presentation is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the creation of the underground organization "Young Guard" in the city of Krasnodon. It tells about the activities of the Young Guard during the Great Patriotic War, about the heroes of Krasnodon, about how we now keep the memory of them...

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Dedicated to the heroes of Krasnodon... Completed by: Starichenkova E., Arushanyan R., students of the 9th grade of school 594, St. Petersburg

Let you die ... But in the song of the brave and strong in spirit you will always be a living example, a proud call to freedom, to light! To the madness of the brave we sing a song!

"Young Guard" - an underground anti-fascist Komsomol organization that operated during the Great Patriotic War, mainly in the city of Krasnodon, Luhansk (Voroshilovgrad) region (Ukrainian SSR). It consisted of about 110 participants. Many of them have just graduated from high school. The youngest was 14 years old. Members of the organization are called Young Guards.

Underground youth groups arose in Krasnodon immediately after its occupation by German troops. At the end of September 1942, underground youth groups merged into the "Young Guard", the name was proposed by Sergei Tyulenin. Ivan Turkenich became the organization's commander.

"... I swear to avenge mercilessly the devastated cities and villages, the blood of our people. If this revenge requires my life, I will give it without a moment's hesitation." Oath of the Young Guard

Activities of the Young Guard The Young Guard published and distributed more than 5,000 anti-fascist leaflets. Members of the organization destroyed enemy vehicles with soldiers, ammunition and fuel.

They set fire to the building of the labor exchange, where lists of people intended for export to Germany were stored, thereby about 2,000 people were saved from deportation to Germany. They were preparing to stage an armed uprising in Krasnodon in order to defeat the German garrison and join the advancing units of the Soviet army.

Disclosure of the "Young Guard" The search for partisans intensified after the Young Guards made a daring raid on German vehicles with New Year's gifts, which the underground wanted to use for their needs. G. Pocheptsov, who was a member of the "Young Guard" and his stepfather V. Gromov reported on the Komsomol members and communists known to them, while G. Pocheptsov reported the names of the members of the "Young Guard" known to him. On January 5, 1943, the police began mass arrests, which continued until January 11.

The fate of the Young Guards In the fascist dungeons, the Young Guards courageously and steadfastly withstood the most severe tortures. On January 15, 16 and 31, 1943, the Nazis, partly alive, partly shot, threw 71 people. into the pit of mine No. 5, 53 m deep.

E.N. Koshevaya with the survivors of the Young Guard - Nina Ivantsova, Anatoly Lopukhov, Georgy Arutyunyants. 1947

Shot from the film "Young Guard" Director Sergei Gerasimov

Young Guards All were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st degree. They were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union posthumously.

Ivan Turkenich (1920-1944) In May-July 1942 he was at the front. Having been captured in one of the battles on the Don, he escaped, returned to Krasnodon and became the commander of the Young Guard. On August 13, 1944, during the battles for the Polish town of Glogow, Captain Ivan Turkenich was mortally wounded and died a day later. Buried in Polish city Rzeszow at the cemetery of Soviet soldiers.

Ivan Zemnukhov (1923-1943) An important role belongs to him in the creation of an underground printing house. In December 1942, he became the administrator of the amateur art circle named after. A. Gorky. This club essentially became the headquarters of the Young Guard. On the night of January 15-16, 1943, after terrible torture, together with his comrades, he was thrown alive into the pit of mine No. 5. He was buried in a mass grave in the city of Krasnodon.

Oleg Koshevoy (1926-1943) In 1940, Oleg began to study at the Gorky school, where he met the future Young Guards and became one of them. Koshevoi tried to cross the front line, but was captured at the Kartushino station - during a routine search at the checkpoint, he was found to have a pistol, clean forms of an underground member and a Komsomol card sewn into his clothes, which he refused to leave, contrary to the requirements of conspiracy. After being tortured, he was shot on February 9, 1943.

Ulyana Gromova (1924-1943) Gromova was elected a member of the headquarters of the underground Komsomol organization. She took part in the preparation of military operations, distributed leaflets, collected. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution, together with Anatoly Popov, Ulyana hung a red flag on a mine chimney. In January 1943, she was arrested by the Gestapo. She had a five-pointed star carved into her back, and her right arm was broken.

Lyubov Shevtsova (1924-1943) In February 1942 she joined the Komsomol. In the summer of 1942 she graduated from the intelligence school of the State Security Department, was left to work in the occupied Voroshilovgrad. By virtue of different reasons was left without leadership and independently contacted the Krasnodon underground. As a result of betrayal, she was arrested by the Krasnodon police on January 8, 1943, and after severe torture on February 9, she was shot in the Thundering Forest on the outskirts of the city of Rovenka.

Sergey Tyulenin (1925-1943) Successfully carried out the combat missions of the headquarters of the organization: he participated in the distribution of leaflets, the collection of weapons, ammunition, explosives. On the night of December 6, 1942, he participated in the arson of the labor exchange. On January 27, 1943, Sergei Tyulenin was arrested by the occupying authorities and, after severe torture, on January 31 he was shot and thrown into the pit of mine No. 5.

Eternal memory to the Young Guard… How terrible it is to die at 16, How you want to live like hell. Do not shed tears, but smile, Fall in love and raise children. But the sun is going down. Do not meet them already dawn. The guys went to immortality, In the prime of their youth...

The feat of the heroes of the "Young Guard" is captured in the novel of the same name by A.A. Fadeev. "This heroic theme captured me. I wrote with tremendous pressure and enthusiasm. I write about everything as it really was." - A.A. Fadeev. Eternal memory to the Young Guards ...

The hero's mother Elena Koshevaya tells about the life of Oleg Koshevoy, his selfless struggle in her book. The book is imbued with unspent maternal love and affection. Eternal memory to the young guards ...

Museum in Krasnodon dedicated to the heroes of the Young Guard. The largest repository of documents on the activities of the organization. A fragment of the exposition of the Museum Eternal Memory to the Young Guard…

Monuments to Oleg Koshevoy and Lyuba Shevtsova in the city of Kharkov. Eternal memory to the young guards ...

Monument "Oath" in Krasnodon Monument to Ulyana Gromova in Tolyatti Eternal memory to the Young Guard…

Eternal memory to the Young Guards... In 1956, a monument was erected in Yekateringofsky Park in Leningrad to the members of the underground organization "Young Guard", who died in 1943. The monument is the author's repetition of the monument erected in Krasnodon. Since then, the two cities have been linked by the memory of the feat of the Young Guard.