Vanya Fedorov turned out to be one of those same hares who were regularly caught by military units moving in trains to the front during the Great Patriotic War. Some young men of pioneer and Komsomol age left their homes and relatives, firmly believing that the Red Army could not cope with the enemy without their participation. Other pre-conscripts were afraid that the war would end before they were entitled to receive a military uniform.
14-year-old Ivan from near Smolensk, apparently, was one of those who wanted to take revenge on the enemy for the death of his father, Fyodor Gerasimovich. He was also sure that his mother and three sisters died in his burnt hut.
Fedorov was discovered by Lieutenant Alexey Ochkin, one of the artillery commanders, in the carriages at the Povadino station, through which the artillery of the 112th Infantry Division was advancing towards Stalingrad. A young man in a large overcoat and boots was hiding under a tarpaulin. Fedorov was fed porridge and managed to get him to talk. He talked about how he no longer had a dad and that he was ready to go to the front. When Captain Bogdanovich learned that there was a boy among the soldiers, Ochkin was ordered to drop off the “free rider” at the next station and hand him over to the commandant.
The restless Fedorov escaped from there and walked along the roofs of the carriages to the tender, where coal reserves were stored, and buried himself in this coal. He was found and taken to the staff car to Commissar Filimonov. Ultimately, the intractable young man was assigned to the kitchen, where he began to help the cook and was put on boiler allowance. To the question “what is your name,” he answered in the old village manner: “I am Ivan, Ivan Fedorov.” Soon the soldiers, through their own efforts, collected Vanya’s uniform, cut his hair and began to proudly call him “fighter”.
In the field kitchens in Stalingrad it was almost as dangerous as on the front line. The Nazis did not skimp on bombs, mines and bullets. On August 8, 1942, in front of Vanya’s eyes, the division commander, Colonel Sologub, was mortally wounded. The boy began to handle the anti-tank gun “forty-five” well, and on September 23 he proved himself in a difficult battle, when Ochkin and his artillery fell into a ring of enemy tanks and infantry near the village of Vishnevaya Balka.
On October 13, 1942, Fedorov appeared before the Komsomol meeting, preparing to join the Communist Youth League. The candidate received instructions from his seniors, and then the division chief assistant for Komsomol work signed the documents and handed the treasured little book in a gray cover to the new Komsomol member. According to Stalin's order, Vanya, like many other teenagers, was to study at a vocational or Suvorov school. He had to be evacuated to the east.
However, at half past five in the morning on October 14, 1942, the enemy began artillery preparation. By eight in the morning the tanks moved in - dozens of tanks against the three "forty-five" and nine anti-tank rifles remaining with Ochkin. After the first successfully repulsed attack, an air raid followed. The enemy advanced. The Soviet guns were cut off from one another. Ivan was a carrier at one of the guns when his crew was completely out of action.
The young hero independently managed to fire the last two shells, after which he picked up the machine gun and opened fire from the ditch. Ovechkin and Filimonov saw how Fedorova’s left elbow was crushed. Then a fragment from another shell deprived Ivan of his right hand. When the tanks took a detour along the factory wall, the seriously wounded Fedorov found the strength to stand up, get out of the ditch and press the anti-tank mine with his stump. He accomplished a feat at the cost of his life: he got close to the lead tank, pulled out the pin with his teeth and lay down under the caterpillar.
Subsequently, Alexey Ochkin wrote the book “Ivan – I, Fedorov – We”. It turned out that Ivan’s mother and sisters did not burn in the house, having managed to get out of the fire. One of his sisters became a Hero of Socialist Labor. A street was named in honor of Vanya Fedorov, and a memorial plaque was installed near the place of his death. However, for a number of reasons, Fedorov did not receive posthumous awards from the government.
Vanya Fedorov
| Milkmaid mother. Father is a blacksmith. Mother is far away. Father killed. And their son is Ivan Fedorov At the age of fifteen he already fought. Now on the Don, now - now - On the Volga he fights with the enemy For my native Smolensk region With his soldier's fate. To the tractor factory in the morning He doesn't climb too impudently. From the Junkers - darkness to the floor of the sky, And houses collapse in fire. Yes, furiously - once again - The clang of a tank shook the ruins, Like blood through a dirty gray bandage The dawn seeps through the smoke. One attack after another It rolls in like a surf. But, like roots, deep into the earth Ochkin's soldiers have grown. And against all hell | They hit the tanks almost point blank. Fourteen of them have already That line is burning. But the gun crew is melting, Only Fedorov fires. Suddenly he was wounded in the left elbow And, barely holding back a groan, Sends peace to the fascists Right hand grenades. And a new explosion cuts her off, And the tank rushes towards the guys’ flank. And Vanya gets up wounded, Comes with a grenade at full height Towards tank armor, Like on dug-up virgin soil, And, falling shoulder forward He tears the pin with his teeth. And the steel tank could not pass, Where he grew up on his way Smolensk fire guy In the battle for our Soviet land. |
This poem is dedicated to our fellow countryman Vanya Fedorov, who died on October 14, 1942 at the height of the battles for Stalingrad. The poem was written by the Smolensk poet R. Velikovsky.
Vanya was born in the village of Burtsevo, Novoduginsky district in 1927. His father, Fedor Gerasimovich Gerasimov, is a peasant. In 1930 he joined the collective farm. For several years, Vanya’s father worked as chairman of the collective farm named after. Lenin. In 1938 He was recruited to go to Leningrad, where he worked at a military plant until 1941. Fyodor Gerasimovich was called to the front, where he died in 1942. Vanya’s mother, Natalya Nikitichna, gave birth to six children. Sons - Ivan, Dmitry, Nikolai - died at the front. Vanya studied at Burtsevskaya elementary school from 1935 to 1939. His first teacher was Makari Grigorievich Belousov, who had a great influence on the boy. He taught Vanya to respect work, to love the Smolensk region, his father’s land. According to the stories of his fellow villagers, Vanya was an average student at school and was not particularly persevering, but he loved work and respected his family and fellow villagers. Before the war, my father left for Leningrad and entered the Kirov plant. He took Vanya with him to enroll in a vocational school. Vanya began to study to become a turner. Fyodor Gerasimovich planned to transfer the entire family to Leningrad, but this plan was not destined to come true: war broke out. When fascist bombers attacked the village of Burtsevo and almost burned it to the ground, Natalya Nikitichna managed to get Vanya’s three younger sisters out of the hot hut: Zina, Lida, Masha, but all the documents were burned. There are no official documents left about Van. Now they are collecting bit by bit the memories of Van. The father and his two eldest sons, Nikolai and Dmitry, went to the front. Vanya and the school went for evacuation, but he escaped from the train. And in July 1942, Vanya Gerasimov was discovered in a military train near the Povorino station, not far from the Don bend. In front of Lieutenant Ochkin was a boy in a long overcoat and large soldier's boots.
Well, get out of here, boy! - commanded the lieutenant, who himself was only a couple of years older than this echelon “hare”.
You're a boy yourself! – the guy snapped.
This is how two fellow countrymen from Smolensk, Alexey Ochkin and Ivan Gerasimov, met for the first time. And when the commander of the anti-tank division, Captain Bogdanovich, asked his name, Vanya replied:
I am Ivan, we are Fedorov.
He answered according to village habit, calling his father’s name. And he entered the history of the Battle of Stalingrad under the name of Fedorov. The day before the battle where he died, Vanya wrote a statement asking to be accepted into the Komsomol “I ask you to accept me into the Lenin Komsomol. While I’m alive, I won’t let the fascist bastards drink from the Volga. I swear to fight until my last breath." He kept his oath. He only had the chance to be in the Komsomol for one day, but this day was equal to his whole life. An eyewitness to Vanina’s death, Alexey Yakovlevich Ochkin, talks about that day as follows: “It happened on October 14, 1942 in Stalingrad. Hundreds of fascist planes bombed the tractor factory, where soldiers of the 37th Guards and 112th Siberian divisions stood to their deaths. After the bombing, an endless artillery shelling began: shells and mines dug up and tormented every piece of land. Iron melted and burned. As soon as the guns fell silent, the fascist tanks rushed ahead, followed by the infantry. Among the defenders of the tractor was a fifteen-year-old boy, Vanya Fedorov. When the gunner and gun commander were wounded, he continued to fire at enemy tanks until the shells ran out. And then Vanya hit the enemy infantry point-blank with a machine gun. Wounded in the elbow, he remained in service. Alexey Ochkin wrote the book “Severe People” and in it described Vanya’s feat this way: “A shell exploded, the young fighter’s right hand was torn off... He lay motionless, then moved, tore his head off the ground. Several tanks, bypassing the square on the left, rushed along a narrow passage along the ruins of the factory wall. How to stop?! With a groan, he pressed his crushed hands to his chest. And there was despair... Anti-tank grenades lay in front of him, but how could he throw them if he had no hands? And such anger overwhelmed him... “As long as I live, I will fight!” Vanya clenched the handle of an anti-tank grenade with his teeth. He squeezed it so hard that his teeth crunched. But he can’t lift it. The grenade is heavy, it hurts your mouth. Overcoming the hellish pain, he helped hold it with the stumps of his hands, got out of the trench... And the lieutenant, and the commissar, and all the soldiers who still survived saw how a boy without arms rose above the burning, distorted earth, with a grenade in his teeth and, leaning forward with a sharp shoulder, he walked towards the roaring tanks... He pulled the pin with his teeth and fell under the roaring tracks. There was an explosion! The fascist tank froze, and behind it in a narrow passage was the entire armored column.” This is how the boy stepped into immortality. His name is now carved on a red marble banner in the Hall of Military Glory of the monument-ensemble to the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan. He was only in the Komsomol for a day. And at that time he was less than 15 years old.
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On February 3, 1973, in Moscow, a memorable meeting took place between the mother of our countryman hero and his sisters with Vanya’s fellow soldiers, the heroic defenders of Stalingrad. In a large, colorfully decorated hall, young soldiers of the Moscow garrison, boys and girls of the city of Moscow gathered. Prominent military leaders, heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad, Vanya’s mother and sisters took pride of place in the ceremonial presidium. Schoolchildren and soldiers from Volgograd, who came to the meeting in Moscow, presented Vanya’s mother, Natalya Nikitichna, with fresh flowers and a box with soil from Mamayev Kurgan in memory of the heroic defenders of Stalingrad. The young soldiers swore to the hero’s mother to selflessly serve the Motherland, protecting its peace, and sacredly honor the memory of Van Fedorov.
A museum was created at the Novoduginsk secondary school in 1973. Under the guidance of teacher Olga Petrovna Skvortsova, a variety of material was collected about the life and exploits of Vanya Fedorov. Now this material has been transferred to the regional museum of history and local lore. V.V. Dokuchaeva. In the museum of the village of Novodugino there is a copy of the appeal of the party, Komsomol and pioneer organizations, teams of two schools: Novoduginsk secondary school in the Smolensk region and Kaliningrad secondary school No. 12 in the Moscow region to the City Committee of the CPSU and the city Council of People's Deputies of the Komsomol City Committee of the city of Volgograd dated January 4, 1978.
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Here is the text of the appeal: “On February 2, 1978, the Soviet people will solemnly celebrate the 35th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. On October 14, 1942, in the midst of the battles for Stalingrad, a young graduate of the 62nd Army under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, V.I. Chuikova, Vanya Fedorov, whose homeland is the village of Burtsevo, Novoduginsky district, Smolensk region. Having gathered in the homeland of Vanya Fedorov, we address you with a sincere, convincing request: to install a memorial plaque commemorating Vanya Fedorov’s military feat in Stalingrad on the building of secondary school No. 3 in the city of Volgograd for the 35th anniversary of the historical Battle of Stalingrad and to invite Vanya Fedorov’s relatives to this solemn act and representatives of the Novoduginsk secondary school in the Smolensk region and the Kaliningrad secondary school in the Moscow region. The appeal was adopted at a solemn joint meeting of school delegations.”
In June 1978, in Volgograd, on Dzerzhinsky Square, where Vanya Fedorov accomplished his immortal feat, a memorial plaque was installed at school No. 3 in memory of his feat, and in the school itself there is a desk with a memorial plaque - the most worthy students win the right to sit at this desk . Zinaida Fedorovna, Vanya’s sister, came to the opening of the memorial plaque in Volgograd. But Vanya’s mother was unable to come to Volgograd: she had become very old and was often sick. Natalya Nikitichna worked as a milkmaid all her life. Together with her fellow villagers, she saved a collective farm herd of cows of the famous Sychev breed from the fascist occupiers. The daughters, growing up, came to work for their mother on the farm. For their dedicated work, all three of Vanya Fedorov’s sisters were awarded high awards of the Motherland, and the youngest of them, Zinaida Fedorovna, became a Hero of Socialist Labor and was more than once elected to the supreme bodies of the republic, to the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. Natalya Nikitichna died in 1981. They say that the Fedorov dynasty originates from Vasilisa Kozhina, the same old woman partisan from Sychevka, who, back in the Patriotic War of 1812, armed men with pitchforks and axes and took Napoleon’s soldiers on the Old Smolensk Road.
In the Fedorov dynasty, like the sun in drops of dew, all of Russia is reflected. The Fedorovs absorbed all the most beautiful things from our people - the Russians.
Know, Soviet people, that you are descendants of fearless warriors!
Know, Soviet people, that the blood of great heroes flows in you,
Those who gave their lives for their homeland without thinking about the benefits!
Know and honor, Soviet people, the exploits of our grandfathers and fathers!
In almost every echelon of troops moving to the front, hares were regularly caught - pre-conscripts of pioneer and Komsomol age who were eager to go to war. Some sincerely believed that without him the Red Army would not be able to cope with the Nazis, some were no less sincerely afraid that they would not have time to grow up before being drafted to the front, and some, not childishly, wanted to personally avenge their fallen relatives and friends.
So at the Povadino station, in the carriages in which the artillery of the 112th Infantry Division was traveling to Stalingrad, 14-year-old Ivan Gerasimov from near Smolensk was discovered. His father Fyodor Gerasimovich died at the front, the house burned down, and he was sure that his mother and three sisters died in it.
One of the artillery commanders, Lieutenant Alexey Ochkin, recalled:
...looking at the neighboring platform, I was stunned by surprise: the tarpaulin moved, its edge bent back, and a trickle sprayed out from there. I lifted the tarpaulin and saw under it a boy of about thirteen in a long, torn overcoat and boots. At my command to “stand up,” he turned away. The hair on his head stood up like a hedgehog's. With great effort, I managed to pull him off the platform, but the train started moving, and we fell to the ground. The soldiers dragged the two of us into the carriage as it moved. They almost forcibly tried to feed the boy porridge. His eyes looked sharply.
“Your dad is probably strict?” - asked the oldest soldier. - “There was a dad, but he swam away! Take me to the front!
I explained that this could not be done, especially now: Stalingrad was in the thick of it. After the battery commander, Captain Bogdanovich, found out that there was a teenager among the soldiers, I was ordered to hand him over to the commandant at the next station.
I carried out the order. But the boy ran away from there and climbed onto the roof again, ran along the roofs of the entire train and climbed into the tender, buried himself in the coal. They again brought the boy into the staff car to Commissar Filimonov. The commissioner reported to the division commander, Colonel I.P. Sologub, and the latter reported to V.I. Chuikov - commander of the 62nd Army.
After several attempts to send the boy back, they decided to assign him to the kitchen. So Ivan was enrolled as an assistant cook and on a boiler allowance. Units were not yet included in the lists; uniforms and insignia were not provided. But they began to call him a fighter. They washed it with a whole platoon. They outfitted him piece by piece, gave him a haircut, and he started running from the kitchen to us.”
It was then that Vanya Gerasimov became Fedorov - sedately answering questions “what’s his name” according to the old village custom:
“Ivan I, Fedorov Ivan.”
The field kitchens in Stalingrad were little safer than the front lines. The Germans generously showered our positions with bombs, mines and bullets. On August 8, in front of Ivan’s eyes, divisional commander Colonel Sologub was mortally wounded. Ivan fully mastered the “forty-five” and proved himself to be a brave and determined fighter when, on September 23, Ochkin’s artillerymen at Vishnevaya Balka were surrounded by enemy tanks and infantry.
In October, an order came once again - in fulfillment of Stalin's order, all teenagers should be sent to the rear to be assigned to vocational and Suvorov schools. However, fighter Fedorov’s admission to the Komsomol was planned for October 13. They decided that he would go beyond the Volga later, as a Komsomol member.
There were no questions to the candidate at the Komsomol meeting, there were wishes: to study no worse than to fight. The division chief assistant for Komsomol work signed the gray book, handed it to the new Komsomol member and left for headquarters.
And at 5:30 am on October 14, the Germans began artillery bombardment, and the issue of evacuating Ivan to the east was postponed. At 8:00 the tanks arrived. Dozens of tanks for Ochkin’s three remaining “forty-fives” and nine anti-tank rifles.
The first attack was repulsed, then an air raid, then the Germans moved forward again. There were fewer and fewer defenders left. The guns were cut off from each other. The crew of the cannon, for which Ivan was the carrier, was completely out of order. Vanya single-handedly fired the last two shells at the tanks, picked up someone’s machine gun and opened fire on the advancing Germans from the ditch. In front of Ochkin and division commissar Filimonov, his left elbow was crushed. And then grenades flew towards the Germans.
A fragment of another shell tore off Ivan’s right hand. It seemed to the survivors that he had died. However, when German tanks bypassed the artillerymen’s position along a narrow passage along the factory wall, Ivan Gerasimov stood up and got out of the ditch, pressing an anti-tank grenade to his chest with the stump of his right hand, He pulled out the pin with his teeth and lay down under the track of the lead tank.
The German attack stopped. The defense of Stalingrad continued.
And the lieutenant Alexey Yakovlevich Ochkin(1922 - 2003) survived and reached Victory (by the way, he will definitely become the hero of one of the following notes). And he wrote a book about his fighting younger brother “Ivan - me, Fedorovs - we”, the first edition of which was published in 1973.
After the publications, it turned out that Ivan’s mother and sisters survived, having managed to get out of the burning hut, but they knew nothing about the fate of their son and brother, considering him missing. Ivan’s two older brothers, by the way, also died at the front. But one of the sisters - Zinaida Fedorovna - became a famous milkmaid throughout the Soviet Union, a Hero of Socialist Labor, and was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.
The name of Ivan Fedorov is engraved on the 22nd banner in the Hall of Military Glory of the memorial on Mamayev Kurgan. In the hero’s homeland, in the regional center of Novodugino, Smolensk region, there is a street named after him. A memorial plaque was installed at school No. 3 in Volgograd, located very close to the place where the hero died.
But government awards are a feat Ivan Fedorovich Gerasimov-Fedorov was not marked, as it happened for various reasons.
But the main award, which no one can take away from him - no one except us, living citizens of our country - memory. About him and about all those who went to Victory. source to
The first book printer in Rus' bore the surname Moskovitin. But to his descendants he became known as Ivan Fedorov. The biography of this wonderful person is rich in events and travels, from which it is important to highlight the most significant details. These brief theses of the life of a great man became the basis for the creation of books on the topic “Ivan Fedorov, biography for children.” The biography of this man will be of interest to everyone who is interested in the development of Russian literature, primarily for young readers. The biography of Ivan Fedorov for children should indicate the main points of his activities as an associate and pioneer of printers. After all, the development of the Russian language cannot be imagined without printed publications. And the name of the founder of the Russian book is Ivan Fedorov.
short biography
The years of life of the first printer are 1510-1583. The exact date of birth of Ivan Moskovitin is unknown. His surname most likely did not come from his family name, but from his place of birth. In those days, Rus was the name given to a small principality, territorially assigned to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The vast northern territories of modern times were known to foreigners as Muscovy.
It is known that at a young age Ivan traveled a lot and studied at European universities. The literacy of Europeans amazed Ivan Moskvitin - after all, by that time the printed book had been known in Europe for more than a century. The level of education was many times different from what Ivan Fedorov saw in his homeland. The biography would be incomplete without stories about the impression Europe made on him.
First printing house
An interesting biography of Ivan Fedorov for children must necessarily indicate the place of the first printing house, which was located on the territory of our country. The first book printing workshop was opened in Moscow.
Its activities are firmly connected with the name of its owner, who called himself Ivan Fedorov. A brief biography of this man indicates that he did not start this good deed alone, but together with a printer and partner, whose name was Pyotr Timofeevich Mstislavtsev. According to the decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, books of religious content were to be published in the printing house. Ivan Fedorov was appointed responsible for the sovereign's printing house. A short biography for children may indicate that the pioneer printer was a jack of all trades - he carved complex engravings himself, using pear wood boards for this, he himself came up with a collection of fonts, he decorated his own
"Apostle"
The first book they published was called “The Apostle.” A biography of Ivan Fedorov for children cannot ignore this colorful book. Amazing vignettes, crisp typography, and stunning illustrations made this book a true work of art.
Many of the issues of the Apostle contain comments from the printer. In them, the commentator shows himself to be a widely educated person, fluent in the literary norms of the Russian language of that time. Most of the comments were simply signed: “Ivan Fedorov.” A brief biography of this man must necessarily indicate that he published his books not only at the behest of the sovereign. The author's main task was to publish the book “for the enjoyment of the Russian people.” The first "Apostle" earned the full approval of the church and was published in a circulation of 2000 copies. No more than 60 rarities have survived to this day.
"The Hourman"
The second book published in the Moscow printing workshop was “The Book of Hours.” Its authors were still Ivan Fedorov. The biography of the Russian book printer stops little at his second book. It is known that it was also a religious publication, and was allowed to be published with the full approval of the Orthodox Church.
Moving
A biography of Ivan Fedorov for children should not be based on sad episodes of his life. For a number of reasons beyond his control, the printing business in Moscow had to be curtailed. Perhaps the reason for their departure was the immediate danger posed by the new soldiers of Ivan the Terrible - the guardsmen. The pioneer printers left the boundaries of the Moscow principality and settled in the city of Zabludow, which is currently located in Poland. The fame of pioneer printers also reached these remote places - Fedorov and Mstislavets were warmly welcomed in the courtyard of Hetman Grigory Aleksandrovich Khotkevich. A great zealot of Orthodoxy and a supporter of the independence of the Principality of Lithuania, he offered his patronage to the pioneer printers. Soon, under his patronage, a small printing workshop was founded, in which the publication of books in the Church Slavonic language was prepared.
"Teaching Gospel"
Zabludov's first publication was the Teaching Gospel, published in 1569. After its release, the paths of the pioneer printers diverged - Mstislavets went to the city of Vilna, and Ivan Fedorov took upon himself all concerns about the fate of the printing house. The biography of that period of life shows that the matter was put on a solid basis, and new books found their readers. It is important to know that in those days books were not only a source of knowledge, but also a means of investing capital. Printed materials were very expensive, and enterprising rich people preferred to invest in books, not caring about what exactly was written in them. Be that as it may, the Teaching Gospel showed the success of this endeavor, and Ivan Fedorov began to think about publishing a new book.
"Psalter"
The year 1570 was the best of the entire period of life in Zdolbunov. This year, the famous “Psalter” was published in large quantities, decorated with a frontispiece engraving depicting the Israeli king David. This is one of Fedorov’s most luxurious publications, which he dedicated to his patron - one of the pages depicts the Khotkevich coat of arms. Unfortunately, only four copies of this book have survived to this day - two of them are in Western Europe, one in Russia, and one in Ukraine.
The Union of Lublin put Hetman Khotkevich in a difficult position. He could no longer support the life of the printing business, and was forced to refuse Fedorov support and patronage. The printer left the hospitable Zabludów and moved to Lviv. Thus began the Lvov period of his work.
In 1574, the first book printing workshop on the territory of Ukraine was founded in Lviv.
And again, Ivan Fedorov becomes the only author, proofreader and editor. A biography for children would certainly indicate the return of the book printer to his first creation - in Lvov, his first book was again “The Apostle”. In Lvov, Fedorov did not owe anyone either money or position, so the Lvov “Apostle” is the first of Fedorov’s books to have his own publishing mark. The first grammar textbook in Russian, called “Azbuka,” was published here.
Work with Konstantin Ostrogsky
Over time, the pioneer printer’s luck ran out, and financial failures began to haunt him in Lvov. He was forced to curtail his activities and accept the invitation of a rich and influential magnate - Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky. The prince welcomed educated people and valued their company, so a union of learned people led by Gerasim Smotritsky formed in his circle. The Ostroh Academy functioned here, which really needed its own “drakarnya” - that’s what a book printing workshop was called in those days. Here Ivan Fedorov began preparing the publication of a unique Bible, which was supposed to eclipse all printed editions of God’s word available at that time.
In 1580, the Ostrog printing house published the New Testament with the Psalter. This is how the “Book-Collection of Unnecessary Things” appeared, the authors of which were Timofey Mikhailovich and Ivan Fedorov. Biography for children should indicate the content of this publication. The “Book...” contained a short list of some phrases from the New Testament, indicating their location on the pages of the Gospels. The design of the “Book” is interesting - the title page of the publication was decorated with a huge gate, inviting the reader to discover the world of the book.
Ostrog Bible
Of course, the most famous publication of Ivan Fedorov during this period was the Ostrog Bible. This wonderful work is the cultural heritage of all Slavic peoples, and an example of printing art. If it were necessary to publish the book “Ivan Fedorov. A short biography for children” - a photo of the Ostroh Bible would rightfully adorn its frontispiece.
A total of five editions of this magnificent book were published. Ivan Fedorov improved his financial affairs and returned to Lviv at the height of glory. Here he tried to re-open a printing workshop, but died without seeing the results of his endeavor. The children of the pioneer printer and his students had the opportunity to open the Lviv printing house. Fedorov was buried at the Onufrievsky cemetery not far from the temple. The son and students of the pioneer printer worthily continued the work of Ivan Fedorov, but did not achieve the fame of their teacher.
“I still can’t get it out of my head what I saw. It was scary,” Alexander Pavlovich Dubinsky wrote in a letter a year ago. He writes what he saw as a child during the Battle of Stalingrad: “So, somewhere in the middle of October, the day was warm, sunny. We went to the factory, took newspapers and pots of water, but there was a strong battle going on at the factory. We were chased away everywhere, but we went to the factory management building and from the second floor window, which overlooked Dzerzhinsky Square, we saw how tanks and German soldiers were moving towards the square from the Gorny and Verkhny villages, and from the entrance they were hit by guns, so small, rubber run. The battle was terrible, there was noise all around, but our childish curiosity overcame our fear. And then a soldier rose from the trench, he was covered in blood, and we saw how he threw himself under the tank. An explosion - and bloody people flew in all directions... the body, or rather, pieces of a soldier.
... I went to this place for a long time and kept thinking: “Why is there no monument and who is he?”
In a year, as a search engine, I can answer Alexander Pavlovich’s questions asked in his letter. The first war winter. In a small town in the Novosibirsk region, the 156th separate fighter-anti-tank division was formed in the division of Colonel Ivan Petrovich Sologub. Young political instructor Filimonov arrives. The book of memoirs of Boris Vasilyevich Filimonov and a number of other books helped me in my search. Young people born in 1921–1922 were called up. We are accustomed to the fact that the word fighter is a pilot’s concept. But no. There is also a very difficult military profession - a tank destroyer. In mid-April 1942, the 156th Infantry Division in full force, together with the 112th Separate Rifle Division, loaded into trains and left for the west. On the night of April 30, we arrived at our destination. Sultry summer of '42. The Siberians began their combat journey along the front roads of the great Battle of Stalingrad. On the way, a boy, or rather a boy, came to the train - curly haired, freckled, snub-nosed, but very persistent and stubborn. No matter how much Lieutenant Alexey Yakovlevich Ochkin chased him away, the boy did not disappear. In a long, frayed overcoat, hiding on the tender of a locomotive, the stubborn man rode with them to the front. In the first days of the war, my father died and his home was bombed. He wanted to take revenge on the enemy, and he was left in the unit. Vanya was assigned to the kitchen as a cook, but the role of a cook did not suit him. Unit student Vanya Fedorov wanted to learn how to destroy the hated enemy tanks. Lieutenant Alexey Ochkin became his teacher, friend, and in fact his elder brother. He was only three years older than 15-year-old Vanya, but he was a very demanding, competent, disciplined, courageous and brave commander. Vanya had no concessions from the lieutenant. They dug in on the northwestern outskirts of the village of Verkhne-Chirskaya. First fight. There was a moment when the Nazis launched a psychic attack in a huge gray mass. Ours fought back with rifle butts, but the fighters felt that they could beat a strong enemy. There were battles, we lost comrades, we learned to beat the enemy. When dark gray enemy spider-tanks crawled into the trenches, it was necessary to show both skill and courage. Vanya went through a cruel school of courage just like adults. Heavy fighting in August 1942. A very difficult sight - the burning steppe. The enemy is approaching under a smoke screen. Duel to the death on the right bank of the Don on August 7. “Shells! Give me the shells!” - shouted Ochkin. Vanyusha suddenly appeared and wanted to help so sincerely that Alexey could not drive the boy away. “Bring the shells!” - and Vanyushka instantly handed over an armor-piercing one. So Vanya received a baptism of fire. He was able to add to his personal account four destroyed enemy tanks together with Lieutenant Ochkin and Sergeant Kukhta. Stocky and strong for his age, Vanya coped well with the duties of a shell carrier, but he dreamed of becoming a gunner and studied hard. On August 9, 1942, while crossing the Don, the division commander, Colonel Sologub, was mortally wounded, but the 112th Division remained forever Sologub. The brutal decisive battle near Gumrak. They dug round wells that an enemy tank could not iron with caterpillar tracks. But in such a well you sit alone, and an armored monster, armed with a cannon and machine guns, is coming at you, only you. You only have a bottle in your hands. You must, gritting your teeth, pass this steel colossus over your head and throw a bottle of flammable mixture at it. It happened that we repelled eight enemy attacks a day. Fights for Mamayev Kurgan, for the village of Red October. On September 27, they were again thrown in the direction of the main attack. The Nazis stormed the Upper village of Barrikad and the Vishnevaya gully day and night. In the heat of battle, they forgot about Vanyushka, and while he was delivering shells, he found himself cut off by fascist machine gunners. The boy was not at a loss. He climbed into a broken factory chimney and began to fight back with bricks. Lieutenant Ochkin barely managed to save his little brother. October 1942. Fights for the tractor plant. Dzerzhinsky Square. On it, by order of the commander of the 62nd Army, Chuikov, an anti-tank defense area was created under the command of Lieutenant Ochkin. It included three “magpies”, nine PTR rifles and ten fighters-“tank hunters”, armed with “KS” bottles and grenades. Everything was prepared to meet the enemy. The night before we were able to gather for a Komsomol meeting. There is only one question: admission to the Komsomol. Vanya was admitted first. He wrote a statement during the battles near Gumrak, but... there were still battles, then battles at the “Barricades”, when Vanya was wounded. I have been treated for two weeks in a medical battalion beyond the Volga on the left bank. Today has been quiet. Vanya wrote in a statement simply: “If necessary, I will give my life, but I won’t let them, the bastards, drink from the Volga!” Everyone knew how this boy fought for three months, how quickly he mastered it and became an artilleryman at the age of 15, everyone also saw and knew how he achieved his dream and learned to beat the enemy competently, courageously and on a par with adult soldiers. He was a boy in age, but in strength of spirit, ardent, filial love for the Motherland, in a sense of responsibility for the fate of his people and the Fatherland, in burning hatred for the enslaving enemy, Vanya Fedorov was a real defender of the Fatherland, only a young one. He was accepted into the ranks of the Komsomol unanimously. “Well, you stayed for a while and are going to get treatment beyond the Volga. I’ve stayed for a while and that’s enough!” - they told him. “Comrade Commissioner! Allow Komsomol member Fedorov to remain in service!” - Vanya asked. “October 14 came - a day of unprecedented cruelty during the entire period of the battles for Stalingrad... We counted about 3,000 aircraft sorties in one day! At 11:30 a.m., up to 180 tanks broke through the battle formations of Zholudev’s division. They crushed the left flank of Sologub’s division and reached the STZ stadium,” writes Chuikov. The enemy once again wanted to capture Stalingrad. The smoke after the bombing had barely cleared when dozens of tanks rushed into the square from three sides. There is a crater on Dzerzhinsky Square itself, on a crater. The most brutal battle, a terrible battle, a battle for life and death. The right-flank cannon failed after a direct hit from a bomb. A group of machine gunners broke through to the left flank gun. Three survivors fight off with grenades. The central firing position was surrounded by enemies. Crawl forward tanks. Filimonov writes how he himself saw that Vanya, covered in blood, threw several grenades from a ditch near the cannon and, without a break, emptied the entire machine gun at the Nazis. Two tanks went to Vanya Fedorov’s gun. The gun was broken, the enemy saw it too. The Nazis attacked from all sides. Everyone performed their task in battle, and it was impossible to help Vanya. Suddenly a shell exploded near him. For some time Vanya was motionless, and then the boy stood up. Helping himself with the bloody stump of his hand, he crawled towards the tank with a clutched anti-tank grenade. The fascist was sure that the fighter was killed and the gun was unusable, and did not turn aside. Vanya crawled to the roaring hulk and lay down under the tracks... Immediately there was an explosion. Vanya Fedorov carried a membership card of the Lenin Youth Union near his warm heart for one day, but remained forever a hero - a Komsomol member. Ivan Fedorovich Fedorov was born on August 28, 1927 in the village of Burtsevo, Novoduginsky district, Smolensk region. After finishing four classes, I went to the city of Leningrad, where I began to study at a college. During the evacuation, he fled to the front and became a student of the 112th Infantry Division. Square named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky is the place of the heroic deed of Komsomol member Vanya Fedorov. Peaceful hero city Volgograd. The surrounding buildings and school No. 3 have been restored to their pre-war appearance. Next to the school, at the exit of Opolchenskaya Street to Dzerzhinsky Square, there is the place of death of the young warrior Vanya Fedorov. On June 1, 1978, a granite memorial plaque was unveiled on the school building: “October 10, 1942 on the square named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky, while repelling the tank attacks of the fascist invaders, a Komsomol member, a graduate of the 112th Infantry Division, Vanya Fedorov, died.” A young patriot fought as part of the crew of one of the guns. In the midst of a battle, guns hit enemy tanks. In the battle area, 8 enemy tanks destroyed by the division were burning, one of which was knocked out by a young artilleryman. Dear Alexander Pavlovich – author of the letter! There is no monument to the young hero in our city, and his feat, most likely, is not rewarded. But on the Mamayev Kurgan in the Pantheon of Glory, on banner 22, column 2, line 28, the name of the young defender of Stalingrad Vanya Fedorov is indicated. I would be very glad if this were not so. This is what I can answer to your letter. Thanks Yu.M. Beledin, who introduced me to your letter.
With respect and wishes of health and peace. "Granny Search Engine"
CHILDREN ABOUT CHILDREN
Here is part of Anastasia Romanova’s competition work...
... Now I want to tell you in more detail how, as a child, I began to feel the “pain of war.” Once I was visiting my grandmother, I asked her: “Are there any children in our Kirov region who lived in other areas of the city of Stalingrad during the war?” Grandma draws me a map of the city. Our Kirovsky district has more than 30,000 people. Barricades, Krasnooktyabrsky, Traktorozavodsky - 764 people. Grandmother reads an excerpt from the book “Volgograd. Four centuries of history" (p. 268): "The City Council of Workers' Deputies conducted a population census. On February 2, 1943, Stalingrad had 32,181 inhabitants, of which more than 30 thousand were in the Kirov region. In six districts, in which about 450 thousand people lived, only 1,515 residents remained: in the Ermanovsky (now Central) district - 33 people (20 adults and 13 children); in the central part - 751 people; in Traktorozavodsky, Barrikadny, Krasnooktyabrsky districts - 764 residents.” Before the war, Stalingrad had 450,000 inhabitants. Together we count how many people died. Then we look at the numbers, we both take a long time to comprehend them (especially me) and almost roar. Lord, how scary it is, even in thought, but what really happened at that time? There, at war." What I sometimes write after conversations with my grandmother, she calls “thoughts” and sometimes she also writes her “thoughts” about the war... These are my “thoughts” about those death numbers...
... war is SCARY, there is probably nothing more terrible. We all understand this, and the veterans remember this pain forever. What pain people had when they heard the word “war” on the radio! Everyone tried to cheer themselves up. How much strength it takes to forget that they could die at any moment. It's hard to live when you know this. It’s interesting and scary to know... With what heart the soldiers went into battle, with what pain in their eyes they killed! They wanted to win, but some fascists were literally forced to kill, torture, and cause harm under torture of death. "What to do? How to continue to live? - thought every person during the war. How many soldiers and civilians died on the battlefields and from bombs flying from the sky at them. And what is all this about? Because of Hitler's desire to rule the whole world, to become a superman. Who will respect you when you kill for fame and power? Another evening, my grandmother and I were talking about very serious things. I told her: “I don’t like Germans.” Grandma asks: “Why?” And we talked for a long time and seriously about the Germans and Russians, about fascism. I am beginning to understand that fascism is not a nation. But I feel that the German in the war was also a person and... The soldiers and the entire German people themselves were probably glad that the war was over, because they also had a soul, a heart and children whom they loved. They are not insensitive people, although in many eyes and souls of now veterans the fascists remained insensitive, bloodthirsty animals...
We should kiss their hands
Children about "children"
The children of Stalingrad are now grandparents. Why does it say on their IDs that they are children? After all, they are far from children...
Loktionova Vika.
There is no city of Stalingrad on the geographical map, but there is Volgograd. Many heroic deeds took place on our land. There are many monuments in the city dedicated to fallen soldiers, including Mamayev Kurgan, where many veterans gather on Victory Day. We will always remember this.
Roitman Julia.
The war on the Volga was not the same as in Chechnya, but even worse. Many soldiers and civilians died. A lot of blood was shed. People swore an oath that they would defend Russian land.
Karasev Dima.
In those days it was very difficult for the children, they were hungry and cold, but deep down they believed in Victory. During the war, children from a young age helped adults and soldiers. At work, together with everyone else, they did hard work day and night.
Kostina Anastasia.
The children of Stalingrad were very weak: one day they ate only matchboxes of bread. Children of Stalingrad are our pride!
Novikov Andrey.
Many years have passed since there was silence after the war. What words can convey the state of children whose father or mother, grandmother or sister was killed before their eyes? Imagine: bombs, shells, and mines are exploding all around. The eerie howl of a diving plane. You just want to press yourself into the ground, into the wall, so as not to hear death flying at you. And then mom suddenly gasps and falls dead. What to do? Who to call for help? Scream, don’t scream, in this hell no one will hear you, no one will come, no one will save you. But the children were saved. They were found in basements, trenches, and burning houses. Orphaned children were taken to orphanages. At that time, about 40 orphanages were opened in our region.
Zherdyaeva Inna.
Mothers would give anything to keep their children from dying. Here's the bombing. A wounded soldier is lying, covered in blood, with children around him. The soldier says: “I’ll get better, just eat.” The kids look at the soldier with eyes full of tears and begin to eat.
Ovsyannikova Tanya.
Tasty days during the war are like rummaging through a trash can right now. The children found potato peelings and herring heads and were happy about it. It wasn't any easier for the cooks. The cook brought food to the soldiers to feed them, but they were all killed. Then he gave food to children and adults. Seriously speaking, we should kiss the hands of war veterans. They did not spare their lives for us. War is a very difficult thing.
Romanova Nastya.
My grandmother is a child of wartime Stalingrad. A lot of people died in the city, it was turned into ruins. Now our city is beautiful and flourishing. And all this thanks to the courage and heroism of our grandparents.
Istomin Kirill.
War is scary because it is evil and merciless. It destroys homes, schools, kills and maims people. She brings only tears, grief and fear to everyone. I live in a hero city that experienced all the horrors of war and became the winner. I want Volgograd to always be peaceful, sunny and happy.
Yasinovskaya Yana.
From the book “We Come from War.”
Children of wartime Stalingrad remember...
Volgograd, 2004. P. 25.
Living Relic
In recent years, while working on my memories, I was completely saturated with salt and pain, sincere, piercing, and often very heavy. This salt-pain began to leave me. Sorry, I'm a man, and a woman at that. Sometimes I just cry and write, sometimes I drop everything, cry, and take medicine. I rest and then work again. Sometimes my empathy, these inner tears of my soul, pour out as “thoughts.” These are not poems, this is the pain of my heart about that terrible, terrible childhood.
... a ten-year-old girl, she expressed to me the idea of value, a “historical relic,” and together we came to the conclusion that the participants of the Great Patriotic War who now live next to us, home front workers, children of wartime Stalingrad, and simply the older generation are “a living historical relic of the first half of the last century.” They require a respectful, kind, attentive attitude. They lived a difficult but honorable life.