They chose Russia: Stories from the lives of foreigners in the Russian Federation

" Hans, 11 years old, German. I don’t want to be a “German”!
The game of war itself jarred and even frightened me. I saw that Russian children were playing it enthusiastically even from the window of our new house in a large garden on the outskirts. It seemed crazy to me that boys 10-12 years old could play killing with such passion. I even talked about this with Hans’s class teacher, but quite unexpectedly, after listening to me carefully, she asked if Hans plays computer games with shooting and do I know what is shown on the screen? I was confused and couldn’t find an answer. At home, I mean, in Germany, I was not very happy with the fact that he sat a lot with such toys, but that’s how it was for him. at least he wasn’t drawn to the street, and I could be calm for him. Besides, computer game- this is not reality, but here everything happens to living children, doesn’t it? I even wanted to say this, but suddenly I acutely felt that I was wrong, for which I also did not have words. Class teacher looked at me very carefully, but kindly, and then said softly and confidentially: “Listen, it will be unusual for you here, understand. But your son is not you, he is a boy, and if you don’t stop him from growing up, like the children here, then nothing bad will happen to him - except maybe something unusual. But in fact, the bad things, I think, are the same both here and in Germany.” It seemed to me that these were wise words, and I calmed down a little.

Before, my son had never played war or even held a toy weapon in his hands. I must say that he did not often ask me for any gifts, being content with what I bought for him or what he himself bought with his pocket money. But then he very persistently began to ask me for a toy machine gun, because he doesn’t like playing with strangers, although one boy he really likes gives him a weapon - he named the boy, and I disliked this new friend in advance. But I didn’t want to refuse, especially since, having sat through the calculations from the very beginning, I realized an amazing thing: life in Russia is cheaper than here, it’s just that its external surroundings and some kind of carelessness and unkemptness are very unusual. On the May weekend (there are several of them) we went shopping; new friend Hansa joined us, and I was forced to change my opinion about him, although not immediately, because he appeared barefoot, and on the street, walking next to the boys, I was taut like a string - it seemed to me every second that we were now They’ll just detain me, and I’ll have to explain that I’m not this boy’s mother. But despite him appearance, he turned out to be very well-mannered and cultured. In addition, in Australia I saw that many children also walk around in something like this.

The purchase was made with knowledge of the matter, with a discussion of weapons and even trying them on. I felt like the leader of a gang. In the end, we bought some kind of pistol (the boys called it, but I forgot) and a machine gun, exactly the same as what ours used, German soldiers last time World War. Now my son was armed and could take part in hostilities.

Later I learned that the fighting itself caused him a lot of grief at first. The fact is that Russian children have a tradition of dividing into teams in this game with the names of real peoples - as a rule, those with whom the Russians fought. And, of course, it is considered honorable to be “Russian”; due to the division into teams, fights even break out. After Hans brought his new weapon into the game characteristic appearance- he was immediately registered as a “German”. I mean, into Hitler's Nazis, which, of course, he didn't want

They objected to him, and from a logical point of view it was quite reasonable: “Why don’t you want to, you’re German!” “But I’m not that German!” - my unfortunate son screamed. He had already watched several very unpleasant films on television and, although I understand that what was shown there is true, and we are actually to blame, it is difficult to explain this to an eleven-year-old boy: he flatly refused to be “that” German.

Hans, and the whole game, was helped out by that same boy, my son’s new friend. I convey his words as Hans conveyed them to me - apparently, verbatim: “Then you know what?! We will all fight against the Americans together!”
This is a completely crazy country. But I like it here, and so does my boy.

Max, 13 years old, German. Burglary from a neighbor's cellar (not the first burglary on his account, but the first in Russia)

The local police officer who came to us was very polite. This is generally a common thing among Russians - they treat foreigners from Europe timidly, politely, and warily; it takes a lot of time to be recognized as “one of their own.” But the things he said scared us. It turns out that Max committed a CRIMINAL OFFENSE - BURGAL! And we are lucky that he is not yet 14 years old, otherwise the question of a real prison term of up to five years could be considered! That is, the three days that remained before his birthday separated him from the crime of full responsibility! We couldn't believe our ears. It turns out that in Russia, from the age of 14 you can actually go to prison! We regretted coming. To our timid questions - how is it possible, why should a child answer at such an age - the district police officer was surprised, we simply did not understand each other. We are accustomed to the fact that in Germany a child is in a position of super-priority; the maximum that Max would face for this in his old homeland is a preventive conversation. However, the district police officer said that it was unlikely that the court would have given our son a real prison sentence even after 14 years; this is very rarely done the first time for crimes not related to an attempt on personal safety. We were also lucky that the neighbors did not write a statement (in Russia this plays a big role - more serious crimes are not considered without a statement from the injured party), and we don’t even have to pay a fine. This surprised us too - the combination of such a cruel law and such a strange position of people who do not want to use it. After hesitating just before leaving, the district police officer asked whether Max was generally prone to antisocial behavior. He had to admit that he was inclined, moreover, he didn’t like it in Russia, but this, of course, is connected with the period of growing up and should go away with age. To which the district police officer noted that the boy should have been torn out after his first prank, and that would be the end of it, and not wait until he grew into a thief. And left.

We were also struck by this wish from the mouth of the law enforcement officer. To be honest, we didn’t even think at that moment how close we were to fulfilling the officer’s wishes.

Immediately after he left, the husband talked to Max and demanded that he go to the neighbors, apologize and offer to work off the damage. A huge scandal began - Max flatly refused to do this. I won’t describe what happened next - after another very rude attack on our son, my husband did exactly as the district police officer advised. Now I realize that it looked and was more funny than it was actually harsh, but at the time it amazed me and shocked Max. When my husband let him go - himself shocked by what he had done - our son ran into the room. Apparently, it was catharsis - it suddenly dawned on him that his father was much stronger physically, that he had nowhere and no one to complain about “parental violence”, that he was REQUIRED to compensate for the damage himself, that he was one step away from a real trial and prison. In the room he cried, not for show, but for real. We sat in the living room like two statues, feeling like real criminals, moreover, taboo breakers. We waited for the demanding knock on the door. Terrible thoughts swarmed in our heads - that our son would stop trusting us, that he would commit suicide, that we had caused him serious harm. mental trauma- in general, a lot of those words and formulas that we memorized in psychotrainings even before Max was born.

Max didn’t come out for dinner and shouted, still in tears, that he would eat in his room. To my surprise and horror, my husband replied that in this case Max wouldn’t get dinner, and if he didn’t sit at the table in a minute, he wouldn’t get breakfast either.

Max came out half a minute later. I've never seen him like this before. However, I didn’t see my husband like that either - he sent Max to wash and ordered, when he returned, to first ask for forgiveness, and then permission to sit at the table. I was amazed - Max did all this, gloomily, without raising his eyes to us. Before he started eating, the husband said: “Listen, son. Russians raise their children this way, and I will raise you this way. The nonsense is over. I don't want you to go to jail, I don't think you want that either, and you heard what the officer said. But I also don’t want you to grow up to be an insensitive slacker. And here I don’t care about your opinion. Tomorrow you will go to your neighbors with an apology and you will work where and how they say. Until you work off the amount you deprived them of. Do you understand me?"

Max was silent for several seconds. Then he looked up and answered quietly but clearly: “Yes, dad.”...

...You won’t believe it, but we not only no longer had the need for such wild scenes as the one that took place in the living room after the police officer left - it was as if our son had been replaced. At first I was even afraid of this change. It seemed to me that Max was holding a grudge. And only after more than a month I realized that there was nothing like that. And I also realized a much more important thing. In our house and at our expense lived for many years a small (and no longer very small) despot and slacker who did not trust us at all and did not look at us as friends, as those by whose methods we “raised” him convinced us “- he secretly despised us and skillfully used us. And it was we who were to blame for this - we were to blame for behaving with him the way the “authoritative specialists” inspired us to believe. On the other hand, did we have a choice in Germany? No, it wasn’t, I honestly tell myself. There, a ridiculous law stood guard over our fear and Max’s childish egoism. There is a choice here. We did it, and it turned out to be correct. We are happy, and most importantly, Max is really happy. He had parents. My husband and I have a son. And we have a FAMILY.
Mikko, 10 years old, Finnish. Snitched on classmates

Four of his classmates beat him up. As we understood, they didn’t beat us very badly, they knocked us down and hit us with backpacks. The reason was that Mikko came across two of them smoking in the garden behind the school. He was also offered to smoke, he refused and immediately informed the teacher about it. She punished little smokers by taking away their cigarettes and forcing them to wash the floors in the classroom (which in itself amazed us in this story). She didn’t name Mikko, but it was easy to guess who told about them.

The next day Mikko was beaten. Quite a lot. I couldn't find a place for myself. My husband also suffered, I saw it. But to our amazement and Mikko's joy, a day later there was no fight. He ran home very cheerful and excitedly told that he had done as his father ordered, and no one began to laugh, only someone muttered: “Enough, everyone has already heard...” The strangest thing in my opinion is that from that moment on the class He accepted our son completely as his own, and no one reminded him of that conflict.

Zorko, 13 years old, Serbian. About the carelessness of Russians

Zorko really liked the country itself. The fact is that he doesn’t remember what happens when there is no war, explosions, terrorists and other things. He was born just during the Patriotic War of 1999 and practically lived his entire life behind barbed wire in an enclave, and a machine gun hung above my bed. Two shotguns with buckshot lay on a cabinet near the outer window. Until we registered two guns here, Zorko was in constant anxiety. He was also alarmed that the room’s windows overlooked the forest. In general, to find himself in a world where no one shoots except in the forest while hunting was a real revelation for him. Our eldest girl and younger brother Zorko accepted everything much faster and calmer due to their age.

But what struck and horrified my son most of all was that Russian children are incredibly careless. They are ready to be friends with anyone, as Russian adults say, “as long as the person is good.” Zorko quickly became friends with them, and the fact that he stopped living in constant anticipation of war is mainly their merit. But he never stopped carrying a knife with him, and even with his light hand, almost all the boys in his class began to carry some kind of knives with them. Simply because boys are worse than monkeys, imitation is in their blood.

So this is about carelessness. There are several Muslims studying at the school from different nations. Russian children are friends with them. From the very first day, Zorko set a boundary between himself and the “Muslims” - he does not notice them, if they are far enough away, if they are nearby - he bullies, pushes them away in order to go somewhere, sharply and clearly threatens with beatings even in response to an ordinary glance, saying that they have no right to look up at the Serb and the “right-winger” in Russia. Such behavior caused amazement among Russian children; we even had some, although small, problems with the school authorities. These Muslims themselves are quite peaceful, I would even say polite people. I talked to my son, but he answered me that I wanted to deceive myself and that I myself told him that in Kosovo they were also polite and peaceful at first, while there were few of them. He also told Russian boys about this many times and kept repeating that they were too kind and too careless. He really likes it here, he literally thawed out, but at the same time my son is convinced that war awaits us here too. And, it seems, he is preparing to fight in earnest.

Ann, 16 years old and Bill, 12 years old, Americans. What is work?

Offers to work as a babysitter caused people either bewilderment or laughter. Ann was extremely upset and very surprised when I explained to her, having become interested in the problem, that it is not customary for Russians to hire people to supervise children over 7-10 years old - they play on their own, go for walks on their own, and generally outside of school or some kind of clubs and sections left to their own devices. And for the children younger age Most often they are observed by grandmothers, sometimes by mothers, and only for very young children do wealthy families sometimes hire nannies, but these are not high school girls, but women with solid experience who make a living from this.

So my daughter was left without income. A terrible loss. Terrible Russian customs.

Through a short time Bill was hit as well. Russians are very strange people, they don’t mow their lawns and don’t hire children to deliver mail... The job that Bill found turned out to be “work on a plantation” - for five hundred rubles he spent half a day digging up a hefty garden with a hand shovel for some nice old woman. What he turned his hands into resembled bloody chops. However, unlike Ann, my son rather reacted to this with humor and already quite seriously noticed that this could become a good business once your hands get used to it, you just need to hang up advertisements, preferably in color. He offered to share with Ann in the weeding - again, manually pulling out the weeds - and they immediately quarreled.

Charlie and Charlene, 9 years old, Americans. Peculiarities of the Russian worldview in rural areas.

Russians have two unpleasant features. The first is that during a conversation they try to grab your elbow or shoulder. Secondly, they drink incredibly much. No, I know that in fact many peoples on Earth drink more than Russians. But Russians drink very openly and even with some pleasure.

However, these shortcomings seemed to be made up for by the wonderful area in which we settled. It was simply a fairy tale. True, the settlement itself resembled a settlement from a disaster movie. My husband said that it’s like this almost everywhere here and that you shouldn’t pay attention to it - the people here are good.

I didn't really believe it. And our twins were, it seemed to me, a little frightened by what was happening.

What completely horrified me was that on the very first day of school, when I was just about to pick up the twins in our car (it was about a mile to school), some not-so-sober man in a creepy, half-rusty jeep had already brought them straight to the house. , similar to old Fords. He apologized to me for a long time and in many words for something, referred to some holidays, showered praise on my children, said hello from someone and left. I attacked my innocent little angels, who were vigorously and cheerfully discussing the first day of school, with strict questions: didn’t I tell them enough that they should NEVER DARES EVEN CLOSE TO STRANGERS’ PEOPLE?! How could they get into this man’s car?!

In response, I heard that this was not a stranger, but the head of the school, who has golden hands and whom everyone loves very much, and whose wife works as a cook in the school canteen. I was frozen with horror. I gave my children to a brothel!!! And everything seemed so nice at first glance... Numerous stories from the press about the wild customs reigning in the Russian outback were spinning in my head...

...I won’t intrigue you any further. Life here has been truly wonderful, and especially wonderful for our children. Although I'm afraid I've gotten quite a few gray hairs from their behavior. It was incredibly difficult for me to get used to the very idea that my nine-year-old (and ten-year-old, and so on later) children, according to local customs, are considered, first of all, more than independent. They go for walks with the local kids for five, eight, ten hours - two, three, five miles away, into the forest or to a creepy, completely wild pond. That everyone here walks to and from school, and they also soon began to do the same - I simply don’t mention it anymore. And secondly, here children are largely considered common. They can, for example, go with the whole group to visit someone and immediately have lunch - not drink something and eat a couple of cookies, but have a hearty lunch, purely in Russian. In addition, virtually every woman who comes into her sight immediately takes responsibility for other people’s children, somehow completely automatically; For example, I learned to do this only in the third year of our stay here.

NOTHING EVER HAPPENS TO THE CHILDREN HERE. I mean - they are not in any danger from people. From none. IN big cities, as far as I know, the situation is more similar to the American one, but here it is so and exactly like that. Of course, children themselves can cause considerable harm to themselves, and at first I tried to somehow control this, but it turned out to be simply impossible. At first I was amazed at how soulless our neighbors were, who, when asked where their child was, answered quite calmly, “He’s running around somewhere, he’ll be there by lunchtime!” Lord, in America this is a judicial matter, such an attitude! It took a long time before I realized that these women were much wiser than me, and their children were much more adjusted to life than mine - at least as they were in the beginning.

We Americans pride ourselves on our skills, abilities, and practicality. But, having lived here, I realized with sadness that this was a sweet self-deception. Maybe it was like that once. Now we - and especially our children - are slaves of a comfortable cage, into the bars of which a current is passed that completely prevents normal, free development person in our society. If the Russians are somehow weaned off drinking, they will easily and without firing a single shot conquer the entire modern world. I declare this responsibly.

Adolf Breivik, 35 years old, Swede. Father of three children.

The fact that Russian adults can quarrel and make scandals, that under the influence of a hot hand they can blow up a wife, and a wife can whip a child with a towel - BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY ALL REALLY LOVE EACH OTHER AND THEY FEEL BAD WITHOUT ANOTHER - in the head of a person converted to the standards accepted in our native lands simply do not fit. I won’t say that I approve of this; this is the behavior of many Russians. I do not believe that beating your wife and physically punishing your children is the right way, and I myself have never done this and will not do it. But I just urge you to understand: family here is not just a word. Children run away from Russian orphanages to their parents. From our slyly named “replacement families” - almost never. Our children are so accustomed to the fact that they essentially do not have parents, that they calmly obey everything that any adult does to them. They are not capable of rebellion, escape, or resistance, even when it comes to their life or health - they are accustomed to the fact that they are the property not of the family, but of EVERYONE AT ONCE.

Russian children are running. They often flee into appalling living conditions. At the same time, in Russian orphanages it is not at all as scary as we are used to imagining. Regular and plentiful meals, computers, entertainment, care and supervision. Nevertheless, escapes “home” are very, very frequent and meet with full understanding even among those who, on duty, return children back to the orphanage. “What do you want? - they say words that are completely unimaginable for our police officer or guardianship worker. “That’s where the HOUSE is.” But we must take into account that in Russia there is not even close to the anti-family tyranny that reigns here. For a Russian child to be taken to an orphanage, it must actually be HORRIBLE in his family of origin, believe me.

It is difficult for us to understand that, in general, a child who is often beaten by his father, but at the same time takes him fishing with him and teaches him to use tools and tinker with a car or motorcycle, can be much happier and in fact much happier than a child whom his father never laid a finger on, but whom he sees for fifteen minutes a day at breakfast and dinner. This will sound seditious to a modern Westerner, but it is true, believe my experience as a resident of two paradoxically different countries. We tried so hard, at someone’s unkind orders, to create “ safe world“for their children, who destroyed everything human in themselves and in them. Only in Russia did I really understand, with horror, that all those words that are used in my old homeland, destroying families, are in fact a mixture of utter stupidity, generated by a sick mind and the most disgusting cynicism, generated by the thirst for rewards and the fear of losing one’s place in the guardianship authorities. By talking about “protecting children”, officials in Sweden - and not only in Sweden - are destroying their souls. They destroy shamelessly and madly. There I couldn't say it openly. Here I say: my unfortunate homeland is seriously ill with abstract, speculative “children’s rights”, for the sake of which happy families are killed and living children are maimed.

Home, father, mother - for a Russian these are not just words and concepts. These are words-symbols, almost sacred spells.

It's amazing that we don't have this. We don't feel connected to the place we live in, even a very comfortable place. We don't feel a connection with our children, they don't need a connection with us. And, in my opinion, all this was taken from us on purpose. This is one of the reasons why I came here. In Russia, I can feel like a father and husband, my wife - a mother and wife, our children - beloved children. We are people, free people, and not hired employees of the state limited liability corporation “Family”. And it's very nice. It is comfortable purely psychologically. To such an extent that it makes up for a whole bunch of shortcomings and absurdities of life here.

Honestly, I believe that there is a brownie living in our house, left over from the previous owners. Russian brownie, kind. And our children believe in it."

Liberation of Right Bank Ukraine Ilya Borisovich Moshchansky

Odessa offensive operation (March 26 - April 14, 1944)

Odessa offensive operation

In the difficult October days of 1941, Soviet soldiers with pain in their hearts left the beautiful Odessa - a hero city, the courage and courage of whose defenders were an example for everyone.

And now, in the spring of 1944, our soldiers and officers were given the task of liberating Odessa. But before completing it, our troops had to endure another difficult battle with the enemy.

On March 11, 1944, during the offensive from Ingulets to the Southern Bug, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the 3rd Ukrainian Front to increase the pace of pursuit of the enemy and prevent him from retreating beyond Southern Bug, seize river crossings in the Konstantinovka, Voznesensk, Novaya Odessa sector, successively capture Nikolaev, Tiraspol and Odessa and continue the offensive with the aim of reaching the Prut and Danube - on state border Soviet Union.

In the Headquarters directive this task was formulated as follows:

"1. The 3rd Ukrainian Front should pursue the retreating enemy and prevent his withdrawal beyond the river. Southern Bug and capture crossings across the river. Southern Bug in the area of Konstantinovka, Voznesensk, Novaya Odessa, in order to prevent the enemy from organizing on the river. Southern Bug defense.

The cities of Nikolaev and Kherson should be liberated immediately.

In the future, occupy Tiraspol, Odessa and continue the offensive with the goal of reaching the river. Prut and the northern bank of the river. Danube, that is, to our state border.”

On March 19, the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and the representative of Headquarters, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky, sent a report to Headquarters on the further conduct of the operation.

The plan for the upcoming operation provided for “delivery of the main attack by four right-flank armies (57, 37, 46 and 8 Guards armies. - Note auto) with a total of thirty-eight divisions, two artillery divisions, I. A. Pliev’s group and the 23rd Tank Corps in the zone mainly Voznesensk, Nov. Odessa on Zhovten, st. Serbka, Tiraspol, Razdelnaya, covering from the northwest coast and mountains. Odessa.

An auxiliary strike by the forces of the 6th and 5th shock armies with a total number of fourteen divisions without reinforcement means in the general direction of Nikolaev, Nechayanoye, Odessa.”

The considerations also indicated the specific tasks of the armies. It was planned that the 28th Army with its five smallest divisions, after capturing Nikolaev, would be withdrawn to the reserve of Headquarters.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command, having examined the presented plan, approved it and ordered the immediate start of preparations for the operation.

The task of defeating the enemy in the lower reaches of the Southern Bug was to be accomplished by the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in close cooperation with the 2nd Ukrainian Front. By March 22, when the main forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the Southern Bug and, having captured several bridgeheads, fought stubborn battles on them, the troops of the right wing and center of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the Dniester in the Mogilev-Podolsky, Yampol, and troops of the left wing of the front crossed the Southern Bug south of Gaivoron. The threat of deep envelopment loomed over the 8th and 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies.

By March 28, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front consisted of 57 rifle and 3 cavalry divisions, tank and mechanized corps - 470 thousand people, 12,678 guns and mortars (without 50 mm), 435 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 436 combat aircraft.

By this time, the troops of the 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies opposing the front had 20 divisions (16 German, 4 Romanian), 2 tank battalions, 8 brigades of assault guns. They numbered 350 thousand people, about 3,200 guns and mortars, 160 tanks and assault guns. In this direction, the enemy could use up to 550 combat aircraft of the 1st Aviation Corps of the 4th air fleet Germans and Romanian Air Corps.

Although our troops had some superiority in strength, they faced a difficult task, since the enemy occupied advantageous positions. In the depths of its defense, lines were prepared along the Tiligul and Bol rivers. Kuyalnik, Mal. Kuyalnik, Dniester. The approaches to Odessa were especially strongly strengthened. The difficulties of the upcoming operation were aggravated by mud, which limited the maneuver of troops and the supply of material.

Taking into account the experience of previous operations, the front and army commands paid special attention to increasing the mobility of troops in every possible way in order to quickly bypass enemy resistance centers and strongholds, reach the enemy’s rear and capture important road junctions, crossings and bridges on rivers. Therefore, along with the preparation for combat operations of the 23rd Tank Corps and the cavalry-mechanized group of General I. A. Pliev (4th Guards Mechanized and 4th Guards Cavalry Corps), each division was ordered to create a mobile forward detachment consisting of up to a company of machine gunners, a platoon of sappers in vehicles, with one or two 45-mm guns or self-propelled artillery units.

During March 27 and on the night of March 28, the troops of the right wing of the front fought stubborn battles to expand previously captured bridgeheads on the right bank of the Southern Bug. Overcoming enemy resistance, the 57th and 37th armies by the end of March 28 expanded the bridgehead to 45 km along the front and from 4 to 25 km in depth.

Seeing the success on the right wing, the front commander immediately made adjustments to the operation plan. The cavalry mechanized group and the 23rd Tank Corps, located in the area northeast of New. Odessa, in the zone of the 46th Army, it was decided to immediately regroup the 57th and 37th armies into the zone.

On March 28, the cavalry-mechanized group received an order: by morning next day concentrate in the area of Aleksandrovka, Voznesensk, cross the bridges of the 37th Army, decisively advance in the general direction of Moldavka, Mostovoe, Berezovka and by the morning of March 30 reach Berezovka, then act in the direction of Art. Separate.

The 23rd Tank Corps was ordered to concentrate in the Trikraty, Aleksandrovka, Voronovka area by the morning of March 28 and be ready to cross in the Aleksandrovka area on the night of March 29, in order to then strike in the direction of Tiraspol.

In accordance with the order of the front commander, the 23rd Tank Corps and the cavalry-mechanized group began to regroup in a new area in order to increase the impact of the two armies of the front’s right wing.

At this time, troops of the 6th, 5th shock and 28th armies fought heavy battles in the Nikolaev area. On the night of March 28, the 61st Guards Rifle Division of Major General L.N. Lozanovich and the 243rd Rifle Division of Colonel M.I. Togolev from the 6th Army crossed the river under heavy enemy fire using improvised means. Ingul and at 3 o'clock on March 28 they broke into Nikolaev from the north. The breakthrough of these divisions disrupted the stability of the enemy's defense. Without allowing the enemy to come to his senses, the Soviet units broke through into the city center by 4 o'clock.

At the same time, the 130th Infantry Division of the 5th Shock Army under the command of Colonel K.V. Sychev crossed the river. Ingul and, together with other army divisions advancing from the east, broke into the city.

Units of the 28th Army were advancing on the city from the south.

As a result of concerted efforts, our troops completely cleared Nikolaev, a major port and one of the important shipbuilding centers, by the morning of March 28. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief expressed gratitude to the troops who distinguished themselves during the liberation of the city. Many of them were awarded the honorary name “Nikolaevsky” and awarded orders of the Soviet Union.

In the battles during the liberation of the city, troops from the 384th separate marine battalion of the Black Sea Fleet and the 1st Guards fortified area of the 28th Army acted bravely. On the night of March 26, a detachment of 67 people under the command of Senior Lieutenant K.F. Olshansky and Deputy for Political Affairs Captain A.F. Golovlev left the village on seven fishing boats. Bogoyavlensk and, having walked 15 km along the river, at 5 o’clock in the morning landed in the Nikolaev port, east of the new elevator. For two days, the paratroopers pinned down large enemy forces and selflessly repelled their attacks. At a tense moment of the battle, they radioed: “We, the soldiers and officers, the sailors of Comrade Olshansky’s detachment, swear to our Motherland that we will carry out the task facing us until last straw blood, not sparing life." Up to 700 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed by the paratroopers, but they themselves suffered heavy losses. 55 people, including 5 officers, died a brave death. The homeland highly appreciated their feat: all paratroopers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the capture of Nikolaev, the 28th Army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

The enemy's 5th airfield, 302nd and 304th infantry divisions, which held Nikolaev, were thrown back to the western bank of the river with heavy losses. Southern Bug. During the retreat, the enemy managed to partially blow up the bridge across the river in the Varvarovka area. Immediately after the liberation of the city, units of the 37th Rifle Corps of the 5th Shock Army began crossing the Southern Bug in this area. By the morning of March 29, Soviet units crossed the river, capturing Varvarovka. At the same time, measures were taken to restore the bridge for the crossing of equipment and heavy weapons. Seven sapper and engineer battalions worked all night on March 29 under enemy fire. In 10 hours, the bridge, more than a kilometer long, was restored, with 200 m of it being built anew. During March 29, almost all of the regimental and divisional artillery of the 37th Rifle Corps was transported to the opposite bank of the river, and in the following days heavy artillery reinforcements were transferred.

The defeat of the enemy in the Nikolaev area, as well as the successful offensive of the 57th and 37th armies from the bridgeheads at Konstantinovka and Voznesensk, threatened both flanks of the 6th German Army. The army was forced to begin a hasty retreat along the entire front.

Aviation of the 17th Air Army launched massive attacks on the retreating enemy columns. The attack aircraft of the 5th Guards and 306th Assault Aviation Divisions were especially active. At this time, the 288th and 295th fighter aviation divisions covered the crossing of the 23rd Tank Corps and a cavalry mechanized group across the river. Southern Bug in the Aleksandrovka region. The crossing was carried out over one pontoon bridge with a lifting capacity of 30 tons and therefore took a long time. It was completed only on the morning of March 30th.

Having crossed to the western bank of the river, the 23rd Tank Corps under the command of Major General of Tank Forces A. O. Akhmatov and the cavalry mechanized group I. A. Pliev began to advance following the 57th and 37th armies, which reached R. Tiligul. The 23rd Tank Corps entered the battle in the Stryukovo area in the first half of the day on March 30, parts of the cavalry-mechanized group - on the night of March 31 in the Berezovka area.

At this time, troops of the 5th Shock Army were successfully advancing on the left wing of the front, along the Black Sea coast. On March 30, units of the 1st Guards fortified area, the forward detachment of the 295th Infantry Division of this army and units of the Black Sea Fleet liberated Ochakov with a combined attack from land and sea.

The German command, fearing the encirclement of the 6th Army and trying to quickly remove it from attack, took all measures to delay the advance of the troops of the 57th and 37th armies, the 23rd Tank Corps and the cavalry-mechanized group at the line R. Tiligul. The right bank of the river dominates the left in many places. Here the enemy prepared defensive structures in advance, which were occupied by withdrawn units. The swampy banks of the river and its muddy bottom were a strong obstacle for the advancing troops.

However, despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the troops of the 37th Army and the cavalry-mechanized group crossed the river on March 31 and drove the enemy from the heights of the right bank. In battles during the crossing of the river. Tiligul, during an enemy air raid on March 31, the commander of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, participant in the Battle of Stalingrad, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces T. I. Tanaschishin was killed. Major General of Tank Forces V.I. Zhdanov took command of the corps.

The advance of our troops after crossing the river. Tiligul became even more difficult as the recent rains completely ruined the roads. Enemy aircraft in groups of 30–40 aircraft systematically bombed the combat formations of the troops. Rifle and mechanized troops experienced acute difficulties with ammunition and fuel. Therefore, it was necessary to allocate an increasingly significant number of aircraft of the 17th Air Army to deliver urgent cargo to the troops.

On April 1–3 alone, army transport aviation carried out 60 sorties, delivering 85 tons of cargo.

But, despite the difficulties, the offensive continued. On April 4, formations of a cavalry-mechanized group captured the station. Separated, cutting railway, connecting Odessa with Tiraspol. Units of the enemy's 258th and 335th Infantry Divisions, which suffered losses in this battle, hastily fled from the station area. Soviet troops captured 37 locomotives, more than 900 carriages with various property and military equipment.

It is characteristic that the divisions of the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps, supported by tanks of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, attacked Razdelnaya in horse formation.

With the entry of Soviet troops into the Razdelnaya area, the enemy group was cut into two parts. 30th and 52nd Army Corps of the 6th German Army (15th, 76th, 257th, 320th, 384th Infantry Divisions, 97th Jaeger Division, Corps Group "A" consisting of battle groups of three divisions, 278th and the 286th brigade of assault guns) under the attacks of the 37th and 57th armies and the 23rd tank corps were thrown back to Tiraspol. 29th, 44th and 72nd Corps of the 6th Army (3rd Mountain Infantry Division, 9, 17, 258, 294, 302, 306, 335th Infantry Divisions, 93rd and 560th Tank Battalions, 243 1st and 259th assault gun brigades) and the 3rd Romanian army corps (5th airfield, 304th infantry divisions, 21st and 24th Romanian divisions) were covered by front forces from the north and northwest and pressed to Odessa. For this enemy group, the threat of encirclement was brewing. It became especially acute when the troops of the cavalry-mechanized group after Razdelnaya, for the first time during this operation, breaking away from the battle formations of the rifle troops, reached Strasbourg on April 5, where the 30th Cavalry Division of Major General V. S. Golovsky reached. Part of the forces of the German 29th Army Corps, consisting of a brigade of assault guns and two tank battalions operating in this area, was pushed back beyond the Dniester in the Belyaevka area.

The German command understood the danger created for the grouping of its troops in the Odessa region. In the afternoon of April 5 and on the night of April 6, the 3rd Mountain Infantry, 17th, 258th, 294th and 335th Infantry Divisions under the command of the commander of the 29th Army Corps began to rush into the area southeast of Razdelnaya. The 97th Jaeger and 257th Infantry Divisions of the 30th Army Corps were concentrated northwest of Razdelnaya. Both of these groups were supposed to strike towards each other in the direction of Razdelnaya and unite.

On the morning of April 6, the enemy, with the forces of the 29th Army Corps, launched an attack from the area southeast of Razdelnaya, which hit units of the 82nd Rifle Corps of the 37th Army. As a result of stubborn fighting, the enemy managed to push back parts of the corps and reach the river crossings. Kuchurugan and connect with their troops operating northwest of Razdelnaya.

Other troops of the 37th Army were brought to the Razdelnaya area. As a result of continuous fighting, our troops in the second half of April 7 managed to split the enemy group breaking through into two parts. The divisions of the 29th Army Corps managed to connect with their troops retreating to Tiraspol, and the troops of the 44th Army Corps were again thrown back to the south and southeast of Razdelnaya. At the same time, in the Razdelnaya area, our troops captured a large number of weapons and military equipment.

Meanwhile, the troops of the center and left wing of the front were getting closer and closer to Odessa, which was defended by the 72nd Special Purpose Corps and part of the forces of the 44th Army Corps of the 6th German Army. In total, more than six enemy divisions and a large number of individual units operated in the Odessa area. When organizing the defense of the city, the enemy used defensive structures left over from the fall of 1941. Numerous gullies, ravines filled with water, and estuaries greatly hampered the actions of our troops.

The cavalry-mechanized group, having captured Belyaevka and Mayaki on April 7, continued to conduct heavy fighting in this area, repelling attacks from enemy troops retreating from Odessa. The 10th Guards Cavalry Division under the command of Colonel S.A. Shevchuk captured the village of Skura and began fighting for Ovidiopol.

The 8th Guards Army of Colonel General V.I. Chuikov, bypassing Odessa from the north-west, reached the Freudenthal, Peterstal, Dalnik line with its main forces.

The 6th Army under the command of Lieutenant General I.T. Shlemin from the north-west reached the approaches to Odessa and fought on the line Dalnik, Usatovo, Kuyalnik.

Troops of the 5th Shock Army under Lieutenant General V.D. Tsvetaev captured the Sortirovochnaya, Kuyalnik, Peresyp stations at 6 p.m. on April 9 and broke into northern part Odessa. Among the first to start fighting in the city were the 86th Guards, 248th, 320th and 416th Rifle Divisions, commanded respectively by Colonels V.P. Sokolovsky, N.Z. Galai, Major Generals I.I. Shvygin and D. M. Syzranov.

In anticipation of combat operations at night in big city was carried out in advance in the troops preparatory work. Commanders and staffs up to and including the regiment received a city plan indicating its most important objects, with the designation of neighborhoods for better orientation. Assault groups were assigned to capture the most important junctions and highways. Guides were selected from local residents. In the evening, the artillery took up firing positions, taking all approaches to the city from the sea under fire. Front aviation was aiming for this as well.

Thus, by the evening of April 9, enemy troops in the Odessa region found themselves in conditions of almost complete encirclement. Only in the Ovidiopol area was there an escape route with a subsequent crossing across the Dniester estuary. This is where the bulk of the rear forces, and then the combat troops of the Odessa enemy group, rushed. Large groups of infantry tried to make their way to the crossings across the Dniester in the Belyaevka area.

On the evening of April 9 and especially on the night of April 10, the enemy’s flight from Odessa already assumed panic proportions. Soviet aircraft attacked the enemy's retreating rear columns. The 262nd night bomber division under the command of Colonel G.I. Belitsky and the 244th bomber division under Lieutenant Colonel P.V. Nedosekin bombed enemy ships in the port. In the lower reaches of the Dniester estuary, attacks were made on enemy transports and convoys of the 9th Mixed Air Corps under the command of Aviation Major General O.V. Tolstikov.

On the night of April 10, troops of the 8th Guards, 6th and 5th Shock Armies, after a short artillery preparation, attacked the enemy in Odessa. Troops of the 8th Guards Army broke into the western part of the city, and formations of the 6th and 5th Shock Armies pushed the enemy from the north and northwest. By 10 a.m. on April 10, Odessa was completely in the hands of Soviet troops.

The order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief regarding the liberation of Odessa stated: “The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front today, April 10, as a result of a skillful outflanking maneuver of infantry and cavalry-mechanized formations, in combination with a front attack, captured an important economic and political center of the country, a regional city of Ukraine and a first-class port on the Black Sea - Odessa - a powerful stronghold of the German defense, covering the routes to central regions Romania".

The troops that distinguished themselves in the battles for the city received the honorary name “Odessa”.

During the liberation of Odessa, significant assistance to the Soviet troops was provided by partisan detachments under the command of S. I. Drozdov, E. P. Barkalov, K. A. Timofeev, L. F. Gorbel, N. A. Krylevsky.

As our units approached the outskirts of the city, a partisan detachment under the command of S.I. Drozdov began a battle with the enemy at 21:00 on April 9, which lasted until 4:00 in the morning on April 10. A group of Czech and Slovak partisans under the leadership of M. P. Canchetti also took part in this battle. It was formed from soldiers of the Slovak regiment stationed in Odessa, who defected to the partisans at the end of 1943.

The partisans of the Kuyalnitsky detachment under the command of L.F. Gorbel destroyed the German subversive team, which was supposed to blow up the dam of the Khadzhibeyevsky estuary and flood the Peresyp. By doing this, the partisans not only prevented the flooding of the suburb, but also opened the way for our troops through Peresyp to the city.

On April 8 and 9, the partisans of the Usatov detachment, led by N. A. Krylevsky, fought with the retreating columns of the enemy.

The efforts of the Odessa partisans prevented the explosion of the port, piers, buildings, and warehouses prepared by the Germans.

On April 23, 1944, a meeting of thousands of workers took place in liberated Odessa. The participants of the rally, on behalf of the entire population of the city, stated: “We consider it a duty of our civic honor to speedy recovery everything that was destroyed by the Romanian-German occupiers in Odessa, the revival of all forms of our full-blooded Soviet public life. We will not spare any effort or time for this. We firmly believe that our beloved Odessa will quickly again become one of the leading ranks of the flourishing Soviet cities of Ukraine.”

After the capture of Odessa, the 6th and 5th shock armies were withdrawn to the second echelon of the front, and the remaining armies continued to develop their offensive to the west.

The 57th Army with the 23rd Tank Corps attached to it advanced 20 km to the west on April 11 and reached the eastern bank of the Dniester in the Parcani area (6 km northwest of Tiraspol) on April 12.

At 12 noon, the 93rd Rifle Division of the 68th Rifle Corps (division commander, Major General A. Ya. Kruse) crossed the Dniester in the Butora and Sheryany area. At 18 o'clock, using the success of the 93rd division, the 113th rifle division of Colonel P.V. Dmitriev crossed the Dniester. Two other corps of the 57th Army (9th and 64th Rifle Corps) also crossed the Dniester in their zones and captured small bridgeheads on its western bank.

On the night of April 11, the 37th Army broke enemy resistance with the forces of the 57th Rifle Corps of Major General F. A. Ostashenko (92nd Guards and 228th Rifle Divisions), as well as the 188th Rifle Division of the 82nd Corps broke into the southeastern outskirts of Tiraspol. On the night of April 12, the city was cleared of the enemy.

Troops of the 6th Guards Rifle Corps under the command of Major General G.P. Kotov reached the river on April 11. Dniester south of Tiraspol. The 20th Guards Rifle Division of Major General N. M. Dreyer, with two regiments, crossed the Dniester on the evening of April 11 and in the area west of Slobodzeya Moldavanskaya (4 km southwest of Tiraspol) captured a bridgehead of up to 2 km along the front and up to 1.5 km deep. By the end of April 12, the bridgehead had been significantly expanded; Four rifle divisions had already crossed over to it.

By the end of April 11, the 46th Army reached the eastern bank of the Dniester in the area south of Chobruchi, and on April 12, with the help of reconnaissance units, it crossed the Dniester 3 km southeast of Raskaytsy.

The 8th Guards Army and the cavalry-mechanized group fought heavy battles with the enemy, who had retreated from the Odessa area and sought to hold the bridgehead fortifications in the Ovidiopol area in order to transport their troops to the western bank of the Dniester estuary.

On the night of April 11 and during the day, the 17th Air Army crushed enemy troops at crossings. The Akkerman railway junction and crossings in the Ovidiopol area were most heavily impacted by aviation.

On April 14, the 8th Guards Army completely cleared the coast of the Dniester estuary and on the night of April 15, with the forces of the 74th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel D.E. Bakanov, crossed the Dniester at Ilyichevka (2 km southeast of Belyaevka).

In the following days, front troops continued to build up their forces on the captured bridgeheads along the western bank of the Dniester. The German command, having put its troops in order and gathered its strength, took all measures to eliminate the captured bridgeheads. The enemy sent large air forces against the Soviet troops who had crossed to the western bank of the Dniester. Therefore, the struggle to expand and retain bridgeheads was long-term and extremely intense.

As a result of the Odessa operation, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in cooperation with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated the enemy group operating between the Southern Bug and the Dniester. Seven divisions of the German 6th Army lost up to half of their strength. Having advanced 180 km, Soviet troops liberated a large number of large settlements, including important Black Sea ports - Nikolaev, Odessa, Ochakov.

Having advanced to the lower reaches of the Dniester and seizing bridgeheads on its opposite bank, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front occupied an advantageous position for subsequent actions with the aim of liberating Moldova and advancing into the interior of Romania and the Balkans. The entry of Soviet troops into the Odessa region put the group of enemy troops in the Crimea in an even more hopeless position, which contributed to its rapid defeat by the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the Separate Primorsky Army and the Black Sea Fleet.

Due to exceptionally difficult weather conditions, our rifle troops played a decisive role in the operation. They, despite the mud and muddy roads, tirelessly and stubbornly moved forward, knocking down enemy units from intermediate lines of defense, crossing overflowing rivers, driving the Germans out of cities and towns. In many cases, rifle units and units were forced to pull up artillery and carry ammunition with them.

The mobile formations of the front - the 23rd Tank Corps and the cavalry-mechanized group - due to difficult weather conditions, operated mainly in the combat formations of the rifle troops.

Only at the final stage of the operation were they able to break away from the infantry, but they immediately found themselves in a difficult position. Thus, on April 10, the 23rd Tank Corps was surrounded in the Ploskoye area and fought there until April 11, until the rifle formations arrived. The 10th Guards and 30th Cavalry Divisions also found themselves in a difficult position, which on April 10 north of Ovidiopol were attacked by large enemy forces retreating from Odessa and were forced to retreat north. Our mobile troops experienced an acute shortage of ammunition and fuel, so they were sometimes unable to withstand attacks by large enemy forces. Nevertheless, mobile troops played an important role in completing the operation. This especially applies to the swift attack of the cavalry-mechanized group on Razdelnaya and its rapid exit to the Belyaevka, Mayaki area, which put the Odessa enemy group at risk of encirclement. The enemy was forced to flee, trying to quickly retreat beyond the Dniester.

Difficult weather conditions and remote bases made it difficult for the 17th Air Force to operate. Nevertheless, it provided significant assistance to the troops, striking at enemy strongholds, crossings, retreating columns, railway junctions, and naval vehicles. In total, from March 28 to April 14, the aviation of the 17th Air Army made 2026 sorties (of which 1622 during the day and 414 at night). Transport aviation carried out 215 sorties, delivering 330 tons of ammunition, fuel and other cargo to the troops.

Aviation and ships of the Black Sea Fleet took part in the operation. By striking the enemy's sea communications, they prevented the enemy's evacuation by sea and attacked the ports of Constanta and Sulina, making it difficult for them to supply troops.

Aviation of the Skadovsk air group of the Black Sea Fleet also took part in raids on enemy transports in the port of Odessa and when crossing them by sea. On April 9, three groups of naval aircraft sank an enemy transport with a displacement of 3 thousand tons, damaged a patrol boat, two barges and a transport of 1.5 thousand tons.

Torpedo boats operated against enemy floating assets and fired at the Odessa port. Submarines attacked enemy transports at sea. So, on April 14, our submarine sank an enemy barge west of Cape Chersonesos with two torpedoes.

During the operation, the fleet carried out two landings - one in Nikolaev, the other in Ochakov - from the Kirnburn Spit. Both landings played their role in the defeat of enemy troops in Nikolaev and Ochakov.

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