How Matvey Kuzmin repeated Susanin’s feat during the Great Patriotic War. Ivan Susanin of the Great Patriotic War: Better late than never

Tikhon Baran: For my mother, for my sisters, for my native village...

Tikhon was an ordinary boy, of which there were many in the villages - he studied, played with the children, helped his mother take care of his younger sisters, was modest and serious, like his father. Tikhon tried to be like him in everything.

There was silence in the class, Tikhon answered at the blackboard. Teacher Ivan Petrovich asked him more and more questions about his favorite hero Alexander Nevsky. Tikhon could talk about him as much as he wanted, and when he answered the last question, Ivan Petrovich said:

Well done. I give you an "excellent" rating. Tell me Tikhon, what character trait of Alexander Nevsky is closest to you?

Never give up, go to the end and love your Motherland! - the boy answered......

Only a few months passed and our Motherland was attacked by the Nazi invaders, and the Great Patriotic War began. When the Nazis captured the village of Bayki in Belarus, Tikhon’s entire family - 6 children and parents - joined the partisans. Tikhon, his mother and two sisters became messengers, they came to the village and received information from the partisan assistants about the movement of the fascists, about the number of soldiers, about equipment, and passed this information on to the partisan detachment. The whole village helped the partisans as best they could, because everyone in the partisan detachment had relatives. They were given food and sometimes weapons.

One day Tikhon with his sisters and mother came to his native village to take clothes and replenish food supplies. But in the village there lived a traitor who told the fascists that Tikhon’s mother knew where to look for the partisan detachment. They were kept in prison for more than a month, interrogated, tortured, but nothing was achieved. Tikhon’s mother was sent to a concentration camp in Germany, and he and his sisters were released. The exhausted children returned to their native village, where neighbors sheltered them. After some time, Tikhon again joined the partisan detachment.

The partisans constantly attacked the Nazis. Here and there houses with Germans were burning, weapons depots were blown up. The Nazis suffered heavy losses, but could not do anything about it. They knew that the whole village was helping the partisans and decided to carry out reprisals against its inhabitants...

On January 21, 1944, carrying out a command assignment, Tikhon again made his way to his native village, which at dawn was surrounded by the Nazis and decided to wipe it off the face of the earth along with its inhabitants as a partisan base. All the residents were driven outside the village in the bitter cold and forced to dig a huge hole. The village was set on fire, and the inhabitants began to be shot. Tikhon calmed and hugged his sisters. The Gestapo man who commanded the execution noticed the boy while still in prison and guessed that he was a partisan liaison. He was tied up, an hour later all nine hundred and fifty-seven village residents and little sisters were shot, and the Gestapo man ordered Tikhon, numb with horror, who was being held by two hefty soldiers:

You will lead us to the partisans! Do you know where they are? - the German turned to the boy.

“I’ve never been there and I don’t know the way,” the boy tried to refuse.

But the fascist shouted menacingly:

Then we'll shoot you too! We know that your father and brothers are partisans,” and he, without aiming, fired once, twice.

Tikhon turned white and staggered. Hot air hit his face.

“I was joking,” the officer laughed. “But if you don’t lead us to the partisans, I’ll shoot you.”

Tikhon was silent.

“There, in the forest, along with hundreds of other partisans are his father and brothers. Is it possible to betray them, betray them to the Nazis? No! This will never happen! I’ll do it differently...” thought the boy

Are you afraid that the partisans will take revenge on you? Don't be afraid. We will send you to Germany, make you a real person,” and he handed Tikhon a bar of chocolate.

Tikhon barely restrained himself from throwing it in the fascist’s face. However, he thanked him and said briefly:

Fine. I'll take you to the partisans.

The trees make a harsh noise, the bushes mercilessly hit their faces with their branches, the bushes tear their clothes, the snow covers their tracks. All the way, Tikhon’s eyes filled with tears: he remembered what happened today in the village. But he confidently led the fascists along a path familiar only to him, to a place where there was no way out, to a place where he would take revenge on the fascists for the death of his loved ones. Tikhon clenched his fists and walked faster. The forest became thicker and scarier. The Germans were alarmed.

How far is it from the partisans? - the officer asked menacingly, looking intently into his face.

“It’s already close,” the boy answered as calmly as possible and walked on.

It's starting to get dark. Trees blocked the path like a black wall.

Tikhon led German soldiers into impassable swamps that did not freeze even in winter. Soon, when the soldiers, one after another, began to fall chest-deep into the quagmire, the officer suspected something was wrong.

Where are your partisans?! - the fascist shouted furiously, grabbing his pistol. - Take us back! This is some kind of swamp. Where have you brought us?!

“Where you won’t come from,” Tikhon answered proudly. - This is for everything, you bastards: for your mother, for your sisters, for your native village!

Then he looked at the chocolate bar he was holding in his hand and threw it at the fascist’s face.

A shot rang out. Tikhon fell into the snow, clutching a bush. Gathering his last strength, he raised his head and quietly whispered:

Dad... mommy!.. Don't be offended by me: I didn't betray!.. They won't leave here... No...

Tikhon died, and the Nazis rushed in panic through the swamp, which sucked them deeper and deeper. More than two hundred fascists died.

They learned about the feat of 12-year-old pioneer Tikhon Baran by chance when they found the diary of a surviving German soldier. Shocked by the boy’s feat, he wrote: “We will never defeat the Russians, because their children fight like heroes.”

Misha Kuprin

The young hero Misha Kuprin is remembered with love by all residents of the Bryansk region. How did the pioneer from the village of Zvanki, Bryansk region, deserve such respect?

Entire families of Kosilovites joined partisan detachments. Such was the Kuprin family, who lived in the small village of Zvanka, one and a half kilometers from Kosilov. Grigory Ivanovich was the first to join the partisans, followed by his grandson Mikhail, but his grandfather asked him to wait, since the detachment needed the keen eyes of a scout in the village. Misha agreed.

Together with his comrades Vasily Kolmykov and Sasha Nikishin, he began to help the partisans of the Slava detachment. In the fields where the fighting took place, weapons and ammunition were collected and transported to the detachment, and the movements of the Germans were reported. With such a task, a boy of about 14 years old walked towards Kosilov with a basket in his hands. And suddenly a call: “Halt!” There is an enemy soldier in front of him. The boy didn't flinch. To the question: “Where are the partisans?” - He answered confidently: “I was picking berries.” The fascists went wild, hit me on the head, twisted my arms, and then dragged me to their headquarters in Batskino. They threw me into the basement for the night. And in the morning again: “Will you lead me to the partisans?” The answer is confident: “Let’s go. I’ll lead!”

Misha led the Germans in the opposite direction, where the Vetma flows. Familiar native forest! This is where he and his grandfather caught a squirrel, this is where he picked mushrooms. And here is the Gryazka swamp. Viburnum grew here and it was very muddy. The Germans circled for a long time in Misha’s footsteps, and then, realizing everything, they went wild. Two women hid in the bushes and were accidental witnesses to this brutal massacre. They heard how, dying, Misha shouted: “Beat, you vipers, but I will not betray my Motherland!” - these were the last words of the 14-year-old hero. The executioners abandoned the tortured Misha in the forest. A few days later, his body was found by partisans.

Misha Kuprin was buried at the Kosilovskoye cemetery, with full military honors.

Extracurricular event “They repeated the feat of Ivan Susanin” 6th grade Prepared by: teacher of history and social studies of MBU Lyceum No. 57 Sidneva E.N. Goal: To develop the personality of schoolchildren capable of determining value priorities based on understanding the history of their country through the exploits of its best representatives.   Let's first answer the question, what is “Patriotism”? Love for the Motherland, or patriotism, does not at all require praising everything that is yours just because it is native. A true patriot tends to see not only advantages, but also disadvantages around him. But a true patriot will not grumble and complain. He will try to make life in his homeland better, more worthy. IVAN SUSANIN - PATRIOT OF THE RUSSIAN LAND When dying, a hero will not die...Courage will remain for centuries. (Mussa Jalil) At the beginning of March 1613, the peasant of the village of Domnino, Ivan Osipovich Susanin, accomplished his immortal feat. According to legend, in the late winter of 1613, Tsar Mikhail Romanov, already named by the Zemsky Sobor, and his mother, nun Martha, lived in their Kostroma estate, in the village of Domnino. Knowing this, the Polish-Lithuanian detachment tried to find the road to the village in order to capture young Romanov. Not far from Domnin they met the patrimonial elder Ivan Susanin and ordered him to show the way. Susanin agreed, but led them in the opposite direction, to the village of Isupov, and sent his son-in-law Bogdan Sabinin to Domnino with news of the impending danger. For refusing to show the right path, Susanin was hacked to death by the Poles. RELIABILITY OF THE FEAT The authenticity of the feat is the royal charter given to Susanin's son-in-law - Bogdan Sabinin. It says that the message is that the Susanin family is freed from all duties. MONUMENTS TO SUSANIN DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR All our people rose up to defend the Motherland. Hatred of the enemy, the desire to defend their freedom and independence of the first socialist state raised the Soviet people to a holy war against the fascist invaders. Millions of people all over the world have asked and are asking: how could the Soviet people not only resist the most powerful military machine of imperialism, German fascism, but also defeat it, what are the sources of the power of the Soviet state, the sources of the mass heroism shown by the Soviet people? They were driven to these exploits by selfless devotion to the Communist Party, ardent love for the socialist Fatherland and confidence in the invincibility of the Soviet Army. In the days of difficult trials, the peoples of Russia stood up to defend their native land. GUERILLA RELATIONSHIP It was November 1941. On a dark night, in the thick darkness of the Prishnya tract, a machine gun burst was heard, ending the life of the Soviet patriot Sergei Pavlovich Pokinboroda... Sergei Pavlovich actively helped the partisans. Sometimes they hid with him. But one day, following a denunciation from a traitor, he was captured and ordered to be taken to the partisans. At first the partisan did not want to say anything, but then he decided to destroy his enemies and agreed. The Nazis had been marching for a long time, but the partisan base was not visible. For the umpteenth time, the commander and Gestapo officer asked the conductor whether there would be a partisan base soon. - You won't see any partisans. Soon you yourself will die! - they heard in response. Having learned that the guide had deceived them and there was no further way, the Nazis began to brutally beat the old man, tying him with belts to an oak tree. - Did you think, fascist bastard, that a Bolshevik is sold for money, for land?! This is our land, and you won’t see it! I may die, but you won’t be able to escape from here either! – the partisan exclaimed and spat in the Gestapo man’s face. The Nazis shot the brave guide. But the next day the partisans. Having learned that Sergei Pavlovich led a detachment of punitive forces towards the Orishnya tract, they followed their trail and destroyed the Nazis in short battles. ONE OF ORLOVSKY’S TREASURE Petrushko, who previously lived in Western Belarus. This peasant was nicknamed “a yardstick with a hat” for his short stature and unprepossessing appearance. One day the partisans were watching the road from the edge of the forest. At about 9 am, Pasha, sitting on a tree, saw a column of German infantry. The Nazis moved in formation, heading towards the forest. “Petrushko, you need to run to the clearing,” Mikhas said quietly. Petrushko crawled through the spruce forest, then through the bushes. He sat down, catching his breath. At the same moment the command sounded - “Halt”! The punishers rushed into the bushes and dragged Petrushko to the officer. - Partisan? – the officer asked. “Yes,” came the answer. “Lead into the detachment, your life will be saved,” said the Nazi. - Yes. – Petrushko answered again. In fact, he decided to destroy the enemy at the cost of his life. The only way to save his comrades is to go into a minefield. Petrushko boldly went to his death, because at the cost of his life he would save his comrades. He turned around for the last time and looked in the direction where the partisans were and mentally said “Farewell.” Fighting on Belarusian soil, this outwardly inconspicuous man showed great fortitude and unshakable courage. At a critical moment, he, without hesitation, sacrificed himself and saved his comrades from death. NASTENKA One day when her family was having dinner, a peasant ran into their house and said that the Nazis had come to the neighboring village and were demanding a guide who could lead them to the partisans. Nastya’s father ordered her and the neighbor’s boy Vanya to run to the partisans and warn them. But at the edge of the forest their paths diverged. Suddenly a squad of punitive forces attacked the girl and ordered her to take them to the partisans, but the brave partisan said: “Did you think, damned fascist, that I would really show you the way to the partisans?” They will find you themselves! Here's my last word for you! And the partisan spat in the face of a Nazi officer; Nastya’s father was shot at the edge of the forest, not far from the village. This is how the young Komsomol partisan Nastya Drozdova passed into immortality. She gave her life to save her comrades in the fight against fascism. MARINA GLYBINA This modest girl fell wounded into the hands of enemies. Under threat of death, the Nazis demanded that she show them the way to the partisan camp. Maria led the enemies, but not to the camp, but in the opposite direction. She died a martyr’s death, but saved the partisan detachment.”  CONCLUSION The feat of Ivan Susanin became the impetus for the development of patriotism, the manifestation of which we observe at different times, in different eras. All these feats were accomplished by ordinary people, men and women and children. That even in children, at their early age, great love for their people is already manifested. All of them are a colorful example of the fact that a person is devoted to his homeland, without hesitation for a moment. Regardless of whether he will survive or not, he, first of all, thinks about his homeland, about his country and about the people who live in this very country.

Even modern schoolchildren who are not burdened with knowledge know this. But not even all military historians know that this feat was repeated during the Great Patriotic War. Meanwhile, just such a feat took place in February 1942.
Since 1858, in the village of Kurakino, now located in the southeast of the Velikoluksky district of the Pskov region, there lived an individual peasant, Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin. He received the surname given to him after his father’s name only at the age of 74, during general passporting. In the village his name was simply Kuzmich. Matvey Kuzmich married twice: his first wife, a farm laborer from the village of Eremeevo Natalya, died in early youth. The second wife, Efrosinya Ivanovna, nee Shabanova, came from the village of Troshchenka.
Kuzmich had eight children - two from his first marriage and six from his second. Many in his family were long-livers, and his eldest daughter Ekaterina lived 111 years and died the year before last. The youngest daughter, Lydia, born in 1918, is still alive.
When the invaders came to the village of Kurakino, Matvey Kuzmich was already 83 years old. The commandant of the volost settled in Kuzmich’s house and drove the peasant’s family into the barn. In February 1942, our troops waged a winter offensive. After the completion of the Toropets-Kholm operation, units of the Soviet 3rd Shock Army under Lieutenant General Purkaev, having advanced 250 kilometers during the offensive, by February 6 took up defensive positions 6 km east of the village of Kurakino. The Bavarian mountain rangers, specially transferred to Velikiye Luki from Army Group South, were supposed to knock them out of these positions.
The Germans intended to cut off the rear communications of our troops in order to disrupt their supply, force them to abandon their positions and unblock the Velikiye Luki-Rzhev railway, which we had cut shortly before, in the section from Staraya Toropa to the Western Dvina.
On the night of February 14, the commander of the German battalion, Major Holtz, appeared in Kuzmich’s barn and demanded that he secretly bring the battalion to Soviet positions. promising money, flour, kerosene, as well as a Sauer “Three Rings” hunting rifle for this. Kuzmin gave his consent for the sake of appearance, and he himself sent his 11-year-old grandson Vasily to ours so that he would warn the Soviet troops and assign them a place for an ambush near the village of Malkino.



The soldiers of the 31st separate cadet rifle brigade not only did not send the boy to a known address, but took him to the brigade commander himself, Colonel Gorbunov.
The colonel listened carefully to the boy and ordered him to do exactly as his grandfather intended. Kuzmich himself led the Germans along a roundabout road for a long time and finally, at dawn, led them to the village of Malkino, where the 2nd battalion of the brigade had already taken up a position. The German battalion, having been ambushed, retreated in disarray, losing fifty killed and 20 prisoners. The total losses of the battalion amounted to 256 people. Some of them are lost and frozen on the way back. Matvey Kuzmin himself was shot by Major Holtz before the bullet of our cadet sniper overtook him.
The German idea completely failed. They never found any weak spots in our defenses, and the railroad remained cut.

Obelisk at the grave of Matvey Kuzmin

The writer Boris Polevoy spoke about Kuzmin’s feat in Pravda; on February 24, 1942, the Soviet Information Bureau reported about this feat. Special leaflets were issued for the front, and essays and stories about Kuzmin were published in newspapers and magazines. On May 9, 1965, on the day of the 20th anniversary of the victory, Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Thus, he became the oldest person to be awarded this title. In the city of Velikiye Luki, a school and a street are named after Hero of the Soviet Union Matvey Kuzmin. And already in post-Soviet times, the son of Major Holtz came from Munich to that same grandson Vasily, who was interested in his father’s military exploits. The German was driven out of the yard with a nasty broom.

The feat of Matvey Kuzmin was not the only one of its kind. So, back in November 1941, the partisan liaison Pokinborod, captured on the denunciation of a traitor, led the Nazi detachment into the forest swamps of the Oreshnya tract and was shot. On December 5, 1941, a resident of the village of Mukharevo, Pskov region, Mikhail Semyonov, accomplished the same feat. Forester Savely Ugolnikov led the Germans into a minefield, under partisan fire. And in the village next to Kurakino, on the same days, Nikita Aleksandrovich Aleksandrov led the same German detachment far into the forest. The Germans got lost and froze. Out of 300 people, only nine Krauts came out to their own.

Former commissar of the 31st cadet brigade Yakov Makarovich Vershuta, an eyewitness to Matvey Kuzmin’s feat, says:
“On February 14, 1942, at dawn, the son of collective farmer Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin arrived at the military outpost of the 2nd battalion, which occupied the defense of Makoedovo, Pershino, Batalikha, from the village of Kurakino, located in the neutral zone, and reported that he had been sent by his father to warn: in the village of Kurakino A detachment of Germans has arrived and they are going to attack.
Vasily Kuzmin was taken to headquarters, and after checking, measures were taken to meet the enemy. At 7 o'clock in the morning a detachment of Germans appeared, and the old man himself walked ahead of them. He led the Germans so that they were in full view of us..."
The blizzard wind had calmed down by this time. Dawn was breaking. It was quiet, and you could clearly hear the snow settling under the sleds of the machine gunners, still tangled in the alder bushes. The remaining fascists, exhausted by the difficult march, followed the guide and officers into a chain. The place was open. The outlying huts of Malkino were visible ahead.
Kuzmin walked leisurely. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. His short fur coat was open. Matvey Kuzmich felt: his hour of death was close, very close. And as always at such a moment, a lot flashed through my thoughts. As if answering them, the old man suddenly said loudly:
- Matvey Kuzmin knows his business!
- What is this? What did you say? - the fascist shuddered. But he no longer heard the conductor’s answer. The silence was suddenly torn apart by the dry crackle of a machine gun fire. And immediately the second machine gun began firing vigorously. The cadets attacked the Nazis from the flanks, hitting them point-blank. Several Nazis, without even having time to grab their weapons, collapsed dead in the snow. Our fighters tried to save the life of Matvey Kuzmin. Noticing this, the old man shouted loudly:
- Sons! Don’t feel sorry for Matvey, flog them more severely, so that not a single viper crawls away! Matvey...
Without finishing, he staggered to the side, where among the attacking cadets he saw Vasily’s son, and began to slowly settle into a snowdrift. The commander of the Nazi detachment, looking at everything that was happening with some mystical horror, came to his senses and shot Kuzmin in the back of the head.
The machine guns and machine guns of the cadets began to rattle even more furiously. Bullets now overtook the Nazis everywhere. None of the enemy squad escaped.
Later, the Nazis opened heavy artillery fire on Makoedovo, and their main forces went on the offensive. The heroic cadets did not flinch. They repelled the attacks. Few fascists managed to return back.
...more than 200 fascists were left lying in the swamp in front of the Malkinskaya Heights.

Place of death.

Monument to Matvey Kuzmin at the Partizanskaya station of the Moscow metro.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 8, 1965, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people over Nazi Germany, for the courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In Moscow, at the Partizanskaya metro station, there is a monument - an elderly bearded man in a fur coat and felt boots peers into the distance. Muscovites and guests of the capital running past rarely bother to read the inscription on the pedestal. And having read it, they are unlikely to understand anything - well, a hero, a partisan. But they could have chosen someone more effective for the monument.

But the person to whom the monument was erected did not like the effects. He spoke little at all, preferring action to words.

On July 21, 1858, in the village of Kurakino, Pskov province, a boy was born into the family of a serf peasant, who was named Matvey. Unlike many generations of his ancestors, the boy remained a serf for less than three years - in February 1861, Emperor Alexander II abolished serfdom. But in the life of the peasants of the Pskov province, little has changed - personal freedom did not eliminate the need to work hard day after day, year after year.

Growing up, Matvey lived the same way as his grandfather and father - when the time came, he got married and had children. His first wife, Natalya, died young, and the peasant brought a new mistress, Euphrosyne, into the house. In total, Matvey had eight children - two from his first marriage and six from his second.

Tsars changed, revolutionary passions thundered, and Matvey’s life flowed as usual. He was strong and healthy - his youngest daughter Lydia was born in 1918, when her father turned 60 years old.

The established Soviet government began to gather peasants into collective farms, but Matvey refused, remaining an individual peasant. Even when everyone who lived nearby joined the collective farm, Matvey did not want to change, remaining the last individual owner in the entire region. He was 74 years old when the authorities issued him the first official documents in his life, which read “Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin.” Until then, everyone called him simply Kuzmich, and when his age exceeded his seventh decade, he was called grandfather Kuzmich.

Grandfather Kuzmich was an unsociable and unfriendly person, for which reason they called him “the Biryuk” and “counterpart.” For his stubborn reluctance to go to the collective farm in the 30s, Kuzmich could have suffered, but the trouble passed by. Apparently, the stern comrades from the NKVD decided that making an “enemy of the people” out of an 80-year-old peasant was too much. In addition, grandfather Kuzmich preferred fishing and hunting to cultivating the land, in which he was a great master.

When the Great Patriotic War began, Matvey Kuzmin was almost 83 years old. When the enemy began to rapidly approach the village where he lived, many neighbors hurried to evacuate. The peasant and his family chose to stay. Already in August 1941, the village where grandfather Kuzmich lived was occupied by the Nazis. The new authorities, having learned about the miraculously preserved individual peasant, called him and offered him to become the village headman.

Matvey Kuzmin thanked the Germans for their trust, but refused - it was a serious matter, and he had become both deaf and blind. The Nazis considered the old man’s speeches to be quite loyal and, as a sign of special trust, they left him his main working tool - a hunting rifle.

At the beginning of 1942, after the end of the Toropetsko-Kholm operation, units of the Soviet 3rd Shock Army took up defensive positions near the native village of Kuzmina. In February, a battalion of the German 1st Mountain Rifle Division arrived in the village of Kurakino. Mountain rangers from Bavaria were transferred to the area to take part in a planned counterattack to push back the Soviet forces.

The detachment, based in Kurakino, was tasked with secretly going to the rear of the Soviet troops located in the village of Pershino and defeating them with a surprise attack. To carry out this operation, a local guide was needed, and the Germans again remembered Matvey Kuzmin.

On February 13, 1942, the commander of the German battalion called him, declaring that the old man should lead the Nazi detachment to Pershino. For this work, Kuzmich was promised money, flour, kerosene, as well as a luxurious German hunting rifle. The old hunter examined the gun, appreciating the “fee,” and replied that he agreed to become a guide. He asked to show the place where exactly the Germans needed to be taken out on the map. When the battalion commander showed him the desired area, Kuzmich noted that there would be no difficulties, since he had hunted in these places many times.

The rumor that Matvey Kuzmin would lead the Nazis to the Soviet rear instantly spread around the village. While he was walking home, his fellow villagers looked at his back with hatred. Someone even risked shouting something after him, but as soon as the grandfather turned around, the daredevil retreated - contacting Kuzmich had been costly before, and now, when he was in favor with the Nazis, even more so.

On the night of February 14, a German detachment led by Matvey Kuzmin left the village of Kurakino. They walked all night along paths known only to the old hunter. Finally, at dawn, Kuzmich led the Germans to the village. But before they had time to catch their breath and turn into battle formations, heavy fire was suddenly opened on them from all sides... Neither the Germans nor the residents of Kurakino noticed that immediately after Kuzmich’s grandfather’s conversation with the German commander, one of his sons, Vasily, slipped out of the village towards the forest...

Vasily went to the location of the 31st separate cadet rifle brigade, reporting that he had urgent and important information for the commander. He was taken to the commander of the brigade, Colonel Gorbunov, to whom he told what his father had ordered him to convey: the Germans want to go to the rear of our troops near the village of Pershino, but he will lead them to the village of Malkino, where an ambush should await.

To gain time to prepare it, Matvey Kuzmin led the Germans along roundabout roads all night, bringing them out under the fire of Soviet soldiers at dawn. The commander of the mountain rangers realized that the old man had outwitted him, and in a rage he fired several bullets at his grandfather. The old hunter sank onto the snow, stained with his blood... The German detachment was completely defeated, the Nazi operation was disrupted, several dozen huntsmen were destroyed, and some were taken prisoner. Among the dead was the detachment commander, who shot the conductor who repeated the feat of Ivan Susanin.

The country learned about the feat of the 83-year-old peasant almost immediately. The first to talk about it was war correspondent and writer Boris Polevoy, who later immortalized the feat of pilot Alexei Maresyev.

Initially, the hero was buried in his native village of Kurakino, but in 1954 it was decided to rebury the remains in the brotherly cemetery of the city of Velikiye Luki. Another surprising fact: the feat of Matvey Kuzmin was officially recognized almost immediately, essays, stories and poems were written about him, but for more The feat was not recognized with state awards for more than twenty years.

Perhaps it played a role that grandfather Kuzmich was actually nobody - not a soldier, not a partisan, but simply an unsociable old hunter who showed great fortitude and clarity of mind. But justice triumphed. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8, 1965, for the courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, Kuzmin Matvey Kuzmich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin.

83-year-old Matvey Kuzmin became the oldest holder of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during its entire existence.

If you are at the Partizanskaya station, stop at the monument with the inscription “Hero of the Soviet Union Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin” and bow to him. After all, without people like him, our Motherland would not exist today.