Pioneer heroes

Lenya Golikov

When his native village was captured by the Germans, he went to partisan detachment. He went on reconnaissance missions, brought important information to the detachment, and more than once entered into unequal battles with the enemy. In total, he destroyed: 78 Germans, 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, 2 food and fodder warehouses and 10 vehicles with ammunition. Lenya accompanied a convoy of food (250 carts) to besieged Leningrad. Lenya died in an unequal battle on January 24, 1943 in the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov region.

history of the siege of Leningrad defensive

Monument to Lena Golikov in Veliky Novgorod

Utah Bondarovskaya

Yuta Bondarovskaya, born in the Pskov region, lived in Leningrad. Studied at high school No. 415 in Peterhof. The Great Patriotic War found Leningrad pioneer Yuta Bondarovskaya in a village near Pskov. The Nazis occupied the village, and Utah began to help the partisans. Since the fall of 1941, she was a liaison officer in the 6th Leningrad Partisan Brigade, then a scout. Dressed as a beggar boy, she collected information from the villages: where the fascist headquarters was located, how it was guarded, how many machine guns there were. When the detachment received a message that the blockade of Leningrad had been broken, Utah was the most happy. Yuta Bondarovskaya died in one of the battles in February 1944 on the territory of Estonia, on the Roostov farm.

In memory of the young heroine, a memorial plaque was installed at the New Peterhof station on the street. Yuta Bondarovskaya, 2 - “The street is named after Yuta Bondarovskaya (1929-1944), a pioneer partisan who died in battle with the fascist invaders.”

The story of the heroic pioneer Yuta Bondarovskaya, unfortunately, is not very widely known. And in this material you will find a fact that is not in Internet sources, but speaks of the extraordinary ingenuity and courage of this Leningrad girl. However - in order.

The Great Patriotic War found Utah in a village near Pskov, where she was staying with her aunt, her mother’s sister. It so happened that my mother was not given a vacation, the girl went alone, and with great pleasure - after all, this was the first independent trip in her life! If Yuta had known, leaving her home, that she would never return here... Would she have left? I think so, but for a different reason. Every action, every step of her front-line path speaks about this.
The girl firmly decided to help our soldiers. Of course, they didn’t take me to the front. She found a partisan detachment and became a liaison. School teacher Pavel Ivanovich helped her with this. In fact, the girl came to him more than to her aunt that summer. Pavel Ivanovich knew how to rally children around him, studying with them even during the holidays. And now, having learned about Yuta’s ardent desire to take revenge on his enemies, he helped find the detachment. The smart, sensible girl turned out to be a reliable assistant. But I didn’t have to stay connected for long.

One day, while carrying out a mission, a pioneer girl met a scout from the detachment in the village. And right at the moment of this meeting, the girls were detained by the Nazis. Yuta managed to escape, but Masha (this name is inaccurate) was detained; explosives were found in her basket. In the morning they shot me. Yuta understood that now she would be captured too. And together with the teacher she joined the detachment and also became a scout.

Yuta had an excellent memory; she literally remembered everything she saw at a glance. This ability greatly helped the girl become a good scout. Although it would be more correct to say - a scout, because Yuta dressed up as a boy. It was easier to pretend to be a shepherd this way—more understandable to the fascists.

During these difficult months, the incident that I mentioned in the first lines occurred. Yuta went on a mission, “armed” with a knapsack and a stick, on which she leaned, diligently limping - cripples aroused less suspicion among the Nazis.

In one of the villages, a patrol stopped the girl, but immediately released her without finding anything. Having gained courage, Yuta began to ask them for something to eat. One fascist took out bread wrapped in paper. He unfolded it - and the girl glared, not at the treat, but at this very paper. Leaflet in Russian! Yuta knew very well what kind of leaflets were being posted in the nearest villages - after all, they were printed in their detachment. But this one was different. Of course, the girl could not read the lines without arousing suspicion. Maybe this is an old leaflet, printed a long time ago and far away? What if there is another squad nearby that you can connect with? In a word, it was necessary to get this dirty, crumpled piece of paper and bring it to the detachment, or at least remember what was written there.

The girl understood that the Nazis would rather give up the bread than the leaflet. Give another seed of the fight against the invaders into the hands of a Russian girl? And she was stalling for time.

Come on! - she dragged on.

The Germans didn’t serve it just like that. The one who held the bread in his hand raised it above his head and showed that he should jump for the treat. He took the leaflet in his other hand. And Utah jumped.

The fascists were amused. They ordered the “boy” to sing. Then shout “Heil Hitler!” Then dance a dance. Don't forget, they saw a lame man in front of them! Utah did everything. And during the dance she even jumped up to the fascist who was holding the bread, grabbed his hand and kissed him. At that time, her gaze fell on the leaflet... The girl saw everything she wanted: the leaflet was from a nearby village and fresh. So, there really is a detachment nearby!
The Nazis gave her bread and released her, very pleased. They decided that this Russian boy was humiliated for the treat. And “he” endured all this for the sake of our Victory approaching.

Yuta didn’t eat the bread, she put it in her knapsack. At that moment, he had no value to her, although the pioneer, of course, was hungry and tired. That day the girl did a great job and brought valuable information. Indeed, the two detachments soon united.

... Our troops broke the ring around Leningrad. Happy Utah could now return home to his mother. But she did not return, but joined the 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade - contrary to the order of the detachment commander. “As long as there is at least one fascist walking on our land, I won’t leave, that’s all!” - said the pioneer.

The path for this brigade was difficult. Particularly difficult is the winter crossing of Lake Peipsi. But the girl never complained about anything. She spent the night in the snow, endured cold and hunger (the detachment lost most of its supplies).

February 28 - the last day of winter 1944, some of the partisans remained on the shore of the lake, and some went to the village for food. Utah was with them. They stopped in a hut on the edge of the village - presumably there were no Germans here. We stayed overnight. And everything would have been fine, but a traitor was found in the village - he left unnoticed and brought the Nazis. The partisans accepted the battle and won it. And Utah accepted - she had her own weapon, she also fought. But she died in that battle... She was buried eighteen kilometers from Lake Peipsi.

Sofia Milyutinskaya

This 16-year-old girl didn't live to see the day Great Victory 435 days.
She was born on January 6, 1928 in the village of Zalozy, Pskov region. Before the war, she was an ordinary girl. Yuta Bondarovskaya studied and helped her elders. Before the war, she lived in Leningrad and studied at Peterhof School No. 415.
The war found Yuta in a village near Pskov, where she went on vacation to her mother’s cousin. Here the girl saw the enemy.

“But summer didn’t happen this year. It didn’t happen suddenly. On a clear June night.

The war obscured the sun from people with the black crosses of airplanes.

The war smoked the sky with dirty smoke from fires. Yuta saw at night how it was burning and exploding in the direction where Leningrad was, where her mother remained...
I saw refugees walking and walking through their village. Hunchbacked from bundles of belongings. I saw how men silently went to war. I heard women crying as they saw off their husbands, fathers, and sons to war.
And her heart sank with grief and hatred."

Utah had a hard time being cut off from Leningrad. When she heard the news that her hometown surrounded by the Germans, she immediately wanted to act: Utah so dreamed of liberating Leningrad and seeing her mother.
“...I’ll run into the forest to the partisans. ...I’ll find them myself. I’ll take them now and run away. At night it’s even better, the Germans have been asleep for a long time, and no one will see. I’ll blow up the German trains. One by one. One by one. None of the fascists will approach Leningrad. And then I’ll go on reconnaissance, make my way to Leningrad and save my mother...” Yuta ended up in the partisan detachment. When the partisans decided to send her home, she sharply opposed, and... they left her.

"...A boy in a torn hat, barefoot, with a beggar's bag over his shoulder, wandered through the village. From house to house.
The boy lingered near the German headquarters. He approached every German and begged for bread for a long time. The Germans brushed him off like an annoying fly."
Disguised as a beggar boy, Utah helped the partisans: she collected information about the location of the enemy around the area. She was repeatedly threatened with death. One of her partisan friends, Masha, was exposed by the Germans. The "beggar" girls found explosives in the basket. Masha was shot.
After the liberation of the Leningrad region from fascist invaders Utah remained in the partisan detachment. Just then, the 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade was formed to fight the enemy on Estonian territory.
The brigade began its journey from Gdov. From there we went to the village of Kamenny Belt, located on the shores of Lake Peipsi. To get to the Estonian forests, you had to cross the lake. The brigade fought across the front line. In these heavy battles, they lost their supply train and horses... A detachment of three hundred people with the wounded on stretchers moved on foot in knee-deep snow. They walked hungry on the ice of the lake day and night. Utah endured this transition steadfastly.
No one ever heard her complain. On the contrary, when the detachment reached the opposite shore of the lake, Yuta was the first to volunteer to go on reconnaissance, to find out if there was a village nearby. She was released. Soon Utah returned. She, it turns out, stumbled upon a farm. The scout found out that there were no Nazis nearby. And the partisans did not eat anything for seven days. I had to go to the farm. It was February 28, 1944. The partisans settled in huts to rest. There was deep silence. And suddenly - shots and shouts: “Fascists!” Grabbing their machine guns on the move, the partisans rushed towards the enemy. Utah was with them. But when the partisans, having killed almost all the Nazis and won the battle, retreated to the forest, Utah was no longer among them. She was found later. Yuta Bondarovskaya, the little heroine of the great war, a pioneer who never parted with her red tie, died a heroic death. Fighting partisan friends buried the brave pioneer near a small river flowing near the Rostov farm, eighteen kilometers from Lake Peipus.
"Yuta was sleeping soundly, even in her sleep she was clutching the machine gun to herself. Suddenly thick night Shots burst out. Yuta jumped up and began rubbing her eyes with frostbitten fingers. The hands did not obey.
The door to the hut swung open.
- Germans!!!
The dream disappeared instantly. Utah rushed after the partisans.
- Where?! - the commander shouted. - Back! We can cope without you!
But could Yuta sit in the hut while his comrades fought to the death?
Clutching the machine gun, she ran out into the street.
The neighboring hut was on fire. A bright flame streaked the black sky, and the Germans were clearly visible in its reflections.
The partisans went on the attack. Utah walked with them.
Suddenly, a German machine gun started firing from behind. Utah quickly turned towards the shots, staggered and fell into the snow.
- Yuta, Yutik, are you injured?
Yuta tried to get up and fell again. With a machine gun at outstretched arms."
Yuta’s mother remained in Leningrad.
Yuta Bondarovskaya was posthumously awarded the order Patriotic War 1st degree, medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War” 1st degree.

About Utah's feat: Zhanna Brown "Utta Bondarovskaya" (Moscow, 1982) - read

L.G. Korneva

Less than a year ago, I blogged about pioneer heroes: Marate Kazee And Volodya Dubinin. To this day, stories about child heroes are read with interest (judge for yourself: today the page about M. Kazei has been viewed and read 4090 times, about V. Dubinin - 1874 times). This became a signal for me: I don’t know whether children or adults remember the names of heroes, but I decided to continue collecting stories about children of the Great Patriotic War who became Heroes...

*****

The war obscured the sun from people with the black crosses of airplanes.
The war smoked the sky with dirty smoke from fires. Yuta saw at night how it was burning and exploding in the direction where Leningrad was, where her mother remained...
I saw refugees walking and walking through their village. Hunchbacked from bundles of belongings. I saw how men silently went to war. I heard women crying as they saw off their husbands, fathers, and sons to war.
And her heart sank with grief and hatred."

Utah had a hard time being cut off from Leningrad. When she heard the news that her hometown was surrounded by the Germans, she immediately wanted to act: Yuta so dreamed of liberating Leningrad and seeing her mother.

“...I’ll run into the forest to the partisans. ...I’ll find them myself. I’ll take them now and run away. At night it’s even better, the Germans have been asleep for a long time, and no one will see. I’ll blow up the German trains. One by one. One by one. None of the fascists will approach Leningrad. And then I’ll go on reconnaissance, make my way to Leningrad and save my mother...”

"...A boy in a torn hat, barefoot, with a beggar's bag over his shoulder, wandered through the village. From house to house.

The boy lingered near the German headquarters. He approached every German and begged for bread for a long time. The Germans brushed him off like an annoying fly."

Disguised as a beggar boy, Utah helped the partisans: she collected information about the location of the enemy around the area. She was repeatedly threatened with death. One of her partisan friends, Masha, was exposed by the Germans. The "beggar" girls found explosives in the basket. Masha was shot.

After the liberation of the Leningrad region from the fascist invaders, Utah remained in the partisan detachment. Just then, the 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade was formed to fight the enemy on Estonian territory.

The brigade began its journey from Gdov. From there we went to the village of Kamenny Belt, located on the shores of Lake Peipsi. To get to the Estonian forests, you had to cross the lake. The brigade fought across the front line. In these heavy battles, they lost their supply train and horses... A detachment of three hundred people with the wounded on stretchers moved on foot in knee-deep snow. They walked hungry on the ice of the lake day and night. Utah endured this transition steadfastly.

No one ever heard her complain. On the contrary, when the detachment reached the opposite shore of the lake, Yuta was the first to volunteer to go on reconnaissance, to find out if there was a village nearby. She was released. Soon Utah returned. She, it turns out, stumbled upon a farm. The scout found out that there were no Nazis nearby. And the partisans did not eat anything for seven days. I had to go to the farm. It was February 28, 1944. The partisans settled in huts to rest. There was deep silence. And suddenly - shots and shouts: “Fascists!” Grabbing their machine guns on the move, the partisans rushed towards the enemy. Utah was with them. But when the partisans, having killed almost all the Nazis and won the battle, retreated to the forest, Utah was no longer among them. She was found later. Yuta Bondarovskaya, the little heroine of the great war, a pioneer who never parted with her red tie, died a heroic death. Fighting partisan friends buried the brave pioneer near a small river flowing near the Rostov farm, eighteen kilometers from Lake Peipsi.

“Yuta was sleeping soundly, even in her sleep she was clutching the machine gun to herself. Suddenly, the thick night was torn apart by shots. Yuta jumped up and began rubbing her eyes with frostbitten fingers. Her hands did not obey.

The door to the hut swung open.

- Germans!!!

The dream disappeared instantly. Utah rushed after the partisans.

- Where?! - the commander shouted. - Back! We can cope without you!

Utah Bondarovskaya pioneer hero

Yuta was born in the village of Zalazy, Leningrad Region, on January 6, 1928.

Beginning of the war

Summer has finally begun, classes at Peterhof School No. 415 are over and 13-year-old pioneer from Leningrad Yuta Bondarovskaya went to spend her holidays in the Pskov region, to visit her mother’s sister. However, the holidays never took place.

On June 22, 1941, German troops invaded the territory Soviet Union. While tanks and cars rumbled in the forests and on the roads, the sky was obscured by thousands of fighters and bombers.

It was in the Pskov region that the war found Utah. I saw and heard bombs exploding in the west, including from Leningrad, and the sky was burning. And this was the hardest thing for Yuta - the realization that while she was here in Leningrad, where her mother remained, there was a fierce war going on.

But after news reached her that the Germans had put Leningrad under siege, Utah could not sit idly by. Her soul was warmed by the dream of getting to her hometown and freeing her mother.

Guerrilla activity

With such thoughts, Utah ended up in the partisan detachment. Despite the fact that the partisans initially wanted to send her back to her aunt, she was so stubborn that they were forced to leave her. At first, Utah was simply a messenger for the partisans, but later she became a scout. Dressing as a beggar, Utah walked around the villages, asked the Germans for some food, and at the same time memorized the location of the German troops, the composition of the groups, their defensive and offensive resources. Despite a good disguise, the Germans exposed Yuta’s partner, Masha, and shot her.

Fatal passage to Estonia

As time passed, Utah, as an exemplary pioneer and patriot, continued to contribute to the defense of her homeland. Even after the blockade was lifted from her native Leningrad, she remained in the partisan detachment. She joined the 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade, which moved west into Estonia. It was an incredibly difficult transition. When crossing the frozen Lake Peipus, where the front line was located, the brigade was subjected to constant attacks in open territory. Supplies, horses, and convoys were lost in the battles, and many soldiers were killed and wounded.

The wounded were carried on stretchers through deep snowdrifts, there was no food or time to rest, and the frosts only got worse. But this did not break the spirit of resistance in Utah and she steadfastly endured all these difficulties, tirelessly helping the partisans at the age of 15, and her constant red pioneer tie instilled hope in the fighters even when the situation seemed completely hopeless.

On February 27, 1944, the lake was finally behind us; Utah was the first to volunteer to go on reconnaissance. She discovered a village free of Germans, where she led the hungry and exhausted partisans. But there was little time to rest. The next day, the Germans and Utah came to the village, together with other partisans, they grabbed a machine gun and ran into the thick of it. The partisans stopped the Germans that day, the battle was won, but Utah did not live to see its end.

Utah, at the age of 15, died in battle from shots from a German machine gun, holding a machine gun and wearing a red tie. She was found later and buried. 15-year-old Yuta Bondarovskaya was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and the medal “Partisan of the Patriotic War,” 1st degree. Her mother survived the blockade and remained in Leningrad.

In memory of heroes

Since childhood, we all know stories about the heroism shown by the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. No one can be indifferent in the face of an enemy who has come to your native home. It doesn’t matter at all whether you are 15 years old or 35. You are an experienced soldier, or just a girl who came to summer holidays to his aunt. It is impossible to stay away when the enemy surrounded your hometown, where your mother remained. And it is our duty to remember this, no matter what. Even after centuries, we must remember this feat of our people, when history was made every day by a simple soldier, tractor driver or just a child.

It is difficult to predict how history would have turned out if Utah had not made a choice at the beginning of the war, because history does not like the subjunctive mood at all. Perhaps much more partisans would have died if they had not received information from Utah about the location of German troops. It is quite possible that the 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade would not have overcome Lake Peipus, and the village residents would have died from the German occupiers. But Utah Bondarovskaya made her choice, and the partisans, who had the information, carried out targeted strikes over and over again, undermining German troop groups.

The 1st Estonian Partisan Brigade crossed Lake Peipus and repelled the attack of German troops, took an active part in the liberation of Estonian territories, saving countless lives. Utah Bondarovskaya made a choice and laid down her life on the altar of war so that the next generations could live in freedom and equality. It is not for nothing that the Soviet children's writer Zhanna Brown dedicated her story to Utah, which was named after her. It was published in the cycle of stories “Pioneer Heroes” and extremely colorfully describes all the difficulties that Utah had to face in its partisan activities and does not leave the reader indifferent to either Utah or her feat and dedication. How can we repay the heroes of the past?

The most important thing to remember. After all, if we remember those events, they cannot happen again. And the second thing we can do is be proud that it was our people who, with their strength and will, saved the whole world from fascism.