The feat of 28 Panfilov heroes

On November 16, 1941, at the new Dubosekovo junction, 28 fighters from the division of General Panfilov performed their immortal feat

By the end of October 1941, the first stage of the German operation of the attack on Moscow called "Typhoon" was completed. German troops, having defeated parts of three Soviet fronts near Vyazma, reached the near approaches to Moscow. At the same time, the German troops suffered losses and needed some respite to rest the units, put them in order and replenish. By November 2, the front line in the Volokolamsk direction had stabilized, the German units temporarily went on the defensive.

On November 16, German troops again went on the offensive, planning to defeat the Soviet units, surround Moscow and victoriously end the 1941 campaign. In the Volokolamsk direction, the Germans were blocked by the 316th Infantry Division, which occupied the defense on the front with a length of 41 kilometers from the village of Lvovo to the Bolychevo state farm. On the right flank, its neighbor was the 126th rifle division, on the left - the 50th cavalry division from the corps Dovator. On November 16, the division was attacked by the forces of two German tank divisions: the 2nd Panzer Division of Lieutenant General Rudolf Fayel attacked the positions of the 316th Rifle Division in the center of defense, and the 11th Panzer Division of Major General Walter Scheller hit in the area Dubosekovo on the positions of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, at the junction with the 50th Cavalry Division. The main blow fell on the positions of the 2nd battalion of the regiment.

The 1075th Rifle Regiment suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment in previous battles, but before new battles it was significantly replenished with personnel. The question of the artillery armament of the regiment is not completely clear. According to the state, the regiment was supposed to have a battery
of four 76-mm regimental guns and an anti-tank battery of six 45-mm guns (See:). The obsolete French guns also had poor ballistics; nothing is known about the presence of armor-piercing shells for them. However, it is known that for firing at tanks from guns of this type, shrapnel shells were used, the fuse of which was set to strike. From a 500-meter distance, such a projectile pierced 31 millimeters of German armor.

(four of them were in the second battalion), RPG-40 grenades and Molotov cocktails.

distinguished by high armor penetration, especially when using cartridges with B-31 bullets that had a tungsten carbide core.

They could hit German tanks only at close range from a 300-meter distance, breaking through 35-mm armor at such a distance.

Battle at the Dubosekovo junction became the first case of the use of anti-tank rifles, the production of which was just beginning to unfold, and their number was still insufficient.

Right here at Dubosekova, and the fourth company of the 1075th rifle regiment accepted the battle. According to the staff of division 04/600, there should have been 162 people in the company, and by December 16 there were about 120 people in the standing. Where did the number 28 come from?

The fact is that on the eve of the battle, from among the most persistent and most accurate fighters, a special group of tank destroyers was created in the amount of about 30 people, commanded by a 30-year-old political instructor Vasily Klochkov. All 11 anti-tank rifles were transferred to this group, and therefore the number of tanks destroyed does not look fantastic at all - out of 54 tanks moving towards the Panfilovs, the heroes managed to destroy 18 vehicles, the loss of 13 of which was recognized by the Germans themselves. But the Germans recognized the tank as lost only if it could not be restored, and if after the battle the tank was sent for major repairs with the replacement of the engine and weapons, such a tank was not considered lost.

A list of these fighters a few days later was compiled from memory by the company commander, Captain Gundilovich, at the request of the Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent Alexander Yuryevich Krivitsky. The captain may not have remembered someone, and someone probably got on this list by mistake - he died earlier or fought with the Germans as part of another unit, because the group included not only the captain's subordinates, but also volunteers from other units shelf.

Despite the fact that, following the results of the battle, the battlefield remained with the Germans, and most of our fighters who participated in this battle died or were captured, the motherland did not forget the feat of the heroes, and already on November 27, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper for the first time informed the people about this feat, and the next day in the same newspaper an editorial appeared under the heading "Testament of 28 Fallen Heroes." This article indicated that 29 Panfilov soldiers fought with enemy tanks. At the same time, the 29th was called a traitor. In fact, this 29th was sent Klochkov with a report to Dubosekovo. However, there were already Germans and a fighter in the village. Daniil Kozhabergenov was taken prisoner. On the evening of November 16, he escaped from captivity to the forest. For some time he was in the occupied territory, after which he was discovered by horsemen Dovator who are in the raid on the German rear. After connection exit Dovator from the raid, was interrogated by a special department, admitted that he did not participate in the battle, and was sent back to the division Dovator. By this time, a submission had already been drawn up for conferring the title of Hero on him, but after an investigation, his name was crossed out from the list.

To the monument named after them, to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame and pay tribute to the memory of the heroes. Today we decided to once again recall the Panfilovites with the help of the Central State Archive of Film, Photo Documents and Sound Recordings of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which has rich material.

Alma-Ata, 1941. This is how the train looked like for sending soldiers of the 316th Infantry Division to the front.

The newspaper "Red Star" dated November 28, 1941: "Late autumn of the first year of the Great Patriotic War. On November 16, 1941, in the morning, German troops went on the offensive in the zone of the 16th Army, delivering the main blow with the forces of two tank and two infantry divisions on the left flank of the Rokossovsky army south of Volokolamsk ... Over fifty enemy tanks moved to the lines occupied by twenty-nine Soviet guards from the division Panfilov ... Only one out of twenty-nine was cowardly ... Only one raised his hands up ... Several guardsmen at the same time, without saying a word, without a command, shot at a coward and a traitor ...
... The battle lasted more than four hours. Already fourteen tanks froze motionless on the battlefield. Sergeant Dobrobabin has already been killed, the fighter Shemyakin has been killed ... Konkin, Shadrin, Timofeev and Trofimov are dead ... Klochkov looked at his comrades with inflamed eyes. “Thirty tanks, friends,” he told the fighters, “we will all have to die, probably. Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat. Behind Moscow. All twenty-eight laid down their heads. They died, but did not miss the enemy.

The feat of the heroes was first reported by the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper in its issue of November 27, 1941, in an essay by a front-line correspondent Koroteev. The article said that all the fighters died. The next day, November 28, 1941, the same newspaper published the article “The Testament of 28 Fallen Heroes”, written by the literary secretary of the “Red Star” Krivitsky. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 21, 1942, all 28 guardsmen listed in Krivitsky's essay were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

However, later the official version began to cause great doubt. The conclusion of the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office: "The materials of the investigation established that the feat of 28 Panfilov guardsmen, covered in the press, is a fiction of the correspondent Koroteev, the editor of Krasnaya Zvezda Ortenberg, and especially the literary secretary of the newspaper Krivitsky." Therefore, the version of the feat should be considered a legend based on real events, since the fact of heavy defensive battles of the Panfilov division against the 2nd and 11th German tank divisions in the Volokolamsk direction on November 16, 1941 is undeniable.

In that battle, 6 Panfilov guardsmen survived: Illarion Vasiliev, Grigory Shemyakin, Ivan Shadrin, Dmitry Timofeev, Daniil Kozhabergenov and Ivan Dobrobabin.

Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov led the 316th Rifle Division at the beginning of the Second World War. It was formed in Alma-Ata in July-August 1941. The main backbone of the division was made up of residents of the cities of Alma-Ata and Frunze, the villages of Nadezhdenskaya and Sofia. The division became famous in the battles near Moscow, stopping the advance of the advanced units of the German Army Group Center on Moscow in October and November 1941. Colonel General Erich Hoepner, who commanded the 4th Panzer Group, whose striking forces were defeated in battles with the 8th Guards Division, calls it in his reports "a wild division, fighting in violation of all charters and rules of combat, whose soldiers do not surrender captured, extremely fanatical and not afraid of death. On November 18, 1941, for courage and heroism, the division received the title of Guards, and on November 23, 1941, it was named after commander Ivan Panfilov, who died in battle on November 18 from a fragment of a German mine.

Letter from the Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Panfilov to his wife Maria dated November 13, 1941, that is, 5 days before his death:

“Hello, dear Murochka. First, I hasten to share the joy with you. Mura, you have probably heard more than once on the radio and write a lot in the newspapers about the heroic deeds of soldiers, commanders and, in general, about our unit. The trust that is given to me is the protection of our native capital, it is justified. You, Murochka, can’t imagine what good fighters and commanders I have, these are true patriots, they fight like lions, in everyone’s heart there is only one thing - to prevent the enemy from reaching their native capital, to mercilessly destroy reptiles. Death to fascism!

Mura, today, by order of the front, hundreds of fighters, division commanders were awarded the Orders of the Union. Two days ago I was awarded the third Order of the Red Banner. This, Moura, is only the beginning. I think soon my division should be guards, there are already three heroes. Our motto is to be all heroes. Moore, for now. Follow the newspapers, you will see about the affairs of the Bolsheviks.

Now, Murochka, how do you live there, how are things in Kyrgyzstan, how do the guys study and, finally, how does my Makushechka live? I miss you very much, but I think the end of fascism will soon be over, then we will again build the great cause of communism. Valya feels well, I think that soon she will also be an order bearer, they accepted her into the party, they are very satisfied with her work.

Murochka, I sent you 1000 rubles...

Dear Mura, you are very stingy, you do not write at all. For all the time I received one letter from you. Write more often, you know how good it is when you get news from home. Write. I kiss you and the children tightly: Zhenya, Viva, Galochka and my dear Makochka. Say hi to everyone...

Write, address: active army, divisional headquarters.

I kiss you, I. Panfilov.

Greetings from Valushka.

In the photo: Panfilov's heroes and Valentina Ivanovna Panfilova among the pioneers of school No. 94, Alma-Ata, 1966.

Valentina Ivanovna Panfilova, the eldest daughter of General Ivan Vasilyevich, was a nurse on the front line where the division fought.
“I went to the front with my father,” said Valentina Ivanovna. He didn't resist for long. Mom too. I was already 18! There was only one agreement: not to show family ties to anyone. We didn't show. Thanks to this, I learned a lot about my dad, as if from the outside. She served in the medical battalion, and the wounded, without hesitation, discussed their divisional commander. It was felt, loved, Batya was called. On November 16, 1941, the Germans launched a second general offensive against Moscow. And on the morning of November 17, the medical instructors were ordered to provide assistance to the wounded soldiers of the mortar troops. The path ran through the command post of the division. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I hurriedly looked to my father. Oh, how glad he was to meet! Asking about letters from home, the general immediately began to praise the soldiers of his division: “Imagine: fifty steel monsters go to the trenches, and a handful of our brave men enter into single combat with them. And he wins!” There was so much brilliance in my father's eyes, but how could I then imagine that this was our last meeting.
By the morning of the next day, the number of wounded increased every hour. Combat injuries, blood, groans were heard from all sides of the dressing station. I had to work tirelessly. During the next dressing, calming down a seriously wounded soldier who was sobbing at the top of his voice, I suddenly found out about the death of my father. And, as it turned out, the fighter was crying not at all from combat wounds, but from the fact that Batya was killed! They buried their father in Moscow. Of all our large family, I was the only one at the funeral.
I immediately returned to my unit to fight until the Victory. And on December 6, at dawn, a deafening cannonade began. At times it seemed that the whole earth was turning inside out. We jumped out into the street and the first thing we saw was a large party of our heavy bombers, accompanied by hawks, flying towards the enemy positions. Equipment is being pulled up along the highway, troops are marching. Yes, it's an attack! The heart is beating happily. We rip off our hats and toss them up: “Hurrah! We're coming!" On that memorable day, the Kryukovo station changed hands several times, the enemy fiercely resisted. We have a lot of wounded, but no one wants to evacuate. During the bombardment, I was wounded by small fragments in the face and head. But, having put on a bandage, I continue to work. Finally a breakthrough! And our units rushed forward, freeing the Moscow region, the Tula, Ryazan regions. Mutilated fascist equipment is lying along the roadsides, corpses in mouse-gray overcoats lie. A column of captured fascists is moving towards us. They whine dejectedly, distorting the Russian words: "We are leaving ... General Panfilof ... His division is very wild ...". Even after his death, the father was terrible to the Nazis!

After the war, Valentina Ivanovna lived in Alma-Ata on the street named after her father, Major General Panfilov, and worked in the District House of Officers.

It is political instructor Vasily Klochkov who is credited with the very legendary words: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat. Behind Moscow! Klochkov was from the Saratov province. In 1940 he moved to Alma-Ata. In May 1941, he began working as a deputy manager of a canteen and restaurant trust in Alma-Ata. There is evidence that his unit was formed at the intersection of the current Satpaev and Nauryzbai Batyr streets. After the war, the building of school No. 23 was built on this site, which still bears the name of Klochkov.

During the battle, he threw himself under a tank with a bunch of grenades and died. In July 1942 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

1943 Guard Lieutenant Colonel Bauyrzhan Momyshuly on a war horse.

Bauyrzhan Momyshuly served from September 1941 as part of a division under the command of Panfilov. For the courage and heroism shown in the battle of Moscow, Captain Bauyrzhan Momyshuly in 1942 was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but was awarded it only posthumously on December 11, 1990. He entered the history of military science as the author of tactical maneuvers and strategies that are still being studied in military universities. Brilliantly put into practice the tactics developed by Major General Panfilov of combat tactics with small forces against an enemy many times superior in strength, which later received the name "Momyshuly's spiral". The hero himself spoke of it like this: “I call it a spiral because all the battles of the Panfilov division near Moscow are characterized by the fact that it cut the path, bounced to the side and dragged the enemy along, took him ten kilometers away, then with a jerk again stood on his way, left again. With such maneuvers, enemy forces are dispersed, our units again go out onto the highway. In the real sense of the word, exhausting the enemy gave a gain in time.

Kalinin Front, May 1943 (left to the right): Guards Lieutenant Colonel Bauyrzhan Momyshuly, Guards Majors Dmitry Potseluev-Snegin, Leonid Matveev and Pavel Kuznetsov.

In the intervals between battles, perhaps, Momyshuly’s statements were born, which later became a reader for the defenders of the Fatherland: “Do not sell honor for bread”, “The most formidable weapon is the soul of a soldier, and ammunition for it is spiritual food”, “For the Motherland if you go into the fire, you will not be burned.” And Dmitry Fedorovich Potseluev-Snegin, being a famous writer, dedicated the stories “On the Distant Approaches” and “On the Offensive” to the soldiers of the Panfilov Division.

Bauyrzhan Momyshuly with his stepdaughter Shapiga Musina.Photo from a family album.

The story of the screenwriter, director, former chairman of the board of the Association of Women Cinematographers of Kazakhstan Shapiga Musina was passed down to her descendants by her daughter, granddaughter of Bauyrzhan Momyshuly Leyla Tanaeva. The famous actress Gaynikamal Baubekova married Bauyrzhan Momyshuly in 1961. However, their love story began long before that...

- Atashka and my mother, - says Shapiga Musina, - met when my mother was 17 years old, in Alma-Ata. This was even before the war, Bauyrzhan was already an officer then - tall, fit, with burning eyes, in military uniform, and very popular among girls. My mother began her career as an actress, and Bauyrzhan was sent to the Far East, and my mother could not leave with him: she had a job at home, a career, she fed her family - her mother, her brother. But they fell in love with each other and tried to meet during the Great Patriotic War. After the Second World War, Momyshuly was married several times, but his first true love was my mother. After the war, my mother was sent to work in the Semipalatinsk Theater, where she was surrounded by young poets, writers and actors, among whom was my father Shahan Musin. Many years passed, and my mother nevertheless went to Bauyrzhan Momyshuly. The divorce of my parents was scandalous, Momyshuly was reprimanded along the party line with entering into his personal file. He was summoned to a party meeting in the Writers' Union demanding an explanation, and he said: "People gave me a party ticket, but God gave me love." Atashka and mother lived together for 12 years, until the death of my mother.
Subsequently, Bauyrzhan-Atashka and I became friends, but the formation of our friendship was difficult, not easy. He had a rather complex character, he demanded unquestioning obedience, and I was a teenager, and compared to my father, who was very gentle, Momyshuly even seemed rude, somehow tough. And of course, what helped me in the development of our relationship was my respect for him. He was an interesting, extraordinary person. He had an unusual outlook on seemingly ordinary things. For example, he told me: “Dochulya, you need to be able to read newspapers between the lines.” I didn’t understand then what it meant, and asked: “How is it, because there are no letters?”. He laughed and said: “Okay, you are still small, you don’t understand this.”
Bauyrzhan-Atashka was a maximalist, like me, and if I had teenage maximalism, then it was part of his character.

Ivan Dobrobabin, one of the Panfilov soldiers who survived the battle along Dubosekovo, a fighter with a difficult fate.

He was captured, fled, served with the Germans as a policeman in his native village of Perekop. When the village was liberated, he again fought on the side of the Red Army, participated in the liberation of Romania, Austria and other countries. After the war, he returned to the city of Tokmak (Kyrgyz SSR), from where he was drafted into the army at the beginning of the war. There he learned that a street was named after him and even a monument was erected in his honor. In 1948, he was sentenced to 15 years for cooperation with the Nazi invaders, the decree on awarding him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was canceled. In the mid-1950s, Dobrobabin was released and left for Ukraine. In the late 1980s, he sought rehabilitation, but to no avail. He motivated the request for rehabilitation by the fact that during the service he did not harm anyone and even helped several people, warning them about being taken to Germany. He was rehabilitated by the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in 1993. Ivan Evstafievich died in 1996 in the city of Tsimlyansk.

Panfilov Ivan Natarov in July 1941 he was drafted into the Red Army. According to the myth created by the journalists of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, on November 16, 1941, at the Dubosekovo junction, as part of a group of tank destroyers, Ivan participated in repelling numerous enemy attacks, during which 18 enemy tanks were destroyed.
In the military archives, the date of the death of Ivan Moiseevich Natarov is November 14, that is, two days before the legendary battle. However, Krivitsky, the author of an article about the feat of the Panfilovites, claimed that he wrote everything from the words of Natarov, who was wounded in that battle. In 1942, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Natarov Ivan Moiseevich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

And here is how the fate of the rest of the surviving Panfilovites turned out:
Daniil Alexandrovich Kozhabergenov was a liaison officer of political instructor Klochkov. He did not participate in the battle, because in the morning he was sent with a report to Dubosekovo, where he was taken prisoner. On the evening of November 16, he escaped from captivity to the forest. For some time he was in the occupied territory, after which he was discovered by the horsemen of General Lev Dovator. Then he was interrogated by a special department, admitted that he did not participate in the battle, and was sent back to the Dovator division. By this time, a submission had already been drawn up for conferring the title of Hero on him, but after an investigation, his name was changed to Askar Kozhabergenov. Daniil Kozhabergenov died in 1976.
Illarion Romanovich Vasiliev was badly wounded and taken to the hospital. After recovery, he returned to the front, but in 1943 he was demobilized for health reasons. Received the star of the Hero, died in 1969 in the city of Kemerovo.
Dmitry Fomich Timofeev was wounded in battle and taken prisoner. After the end of the war he returned to his homeland. He received the Star of the Hero shortly before his death, in 1950.
Grigory Melentievich Shemyakin He was also wounded and ended up in the hospital. When he learned that he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero, he announced his participation in the battle. Shemyakin returned to Alma-Ata and died in 1973.
Ivan Demidovich Shadrin He said that immediately after the battle he was taken prisoner, being in an unconscious state. Until 1945, he was in a concentration camp, and then spent another 2 years in a Soviet filtration camp for former prisoners of war. In 1947 he returned home, but his wife had already married another. He was later given a Hero star, died in 1985.

Kalinin Front, 1943. Ibragim Suleimenov, sniper of the 8th Panfilov Infantry Division.

He was awarded two orders of the Red Star and the medal "For Courage". In the battles for the city of Velikiye Luki, he destroyed 239 Nazis.

1942 Guards Major General Kutuzov attaches the Order of Lenin to the banner of the 8th Panfilov Guards Rifle Division.

1944, Kaunas. The battle. Kazakhstanis stand to the death. The deceased gunner was replaced by the deputy commander of the political unit of the artillery regiment, Major N. Zhetsybaev.

1942 From such guns, the Panfilov guardsmen fought.

1941, the city of Novonikolsk near Moscow. A group of nurses from the medical battalion of the division who lived in Kazakhstan before the war. Of the eight people, three were killed: V. Kirichenko (left to right, first row, first), N. Lobyzova (left to right, second row, second), Zh. Boyko (left to right, second row, fourth). The rest of the women after the war worked in medical institutions in Tambov, Alma-Ata, Karaganda, Kaskelen.

1942 Soldiers of the Panfilov division receive gifts from fellow Kazakhstanis.

1943 Field kitchen workers are preparing lunch for the soldiers on the front line. Photo taken from the regional museum of the North Kazakhstan region.

Active army, 1943. Rare moments of leisure fighters. In the photo: a group of soldiers from the battery of Senior Lieutenant Yulin. Senior Sergeant Serko A.M. reads the newspaper.

1965 Panfilov's heroes in the House of Culture of the Alma-Ata garrison.

July 31, 1971. The presidium of the meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Panfilov division.

Alma-Ata, 1975. In the photo, Usenov Abdrasil Usenovich, a veteran of the 8th Guards Rifle Division named after Panfilov, served at the headquarters of the division.

His grandson Daulet Smagulov wrote about his grandfather in 2009: “Every year on May 9 they gather in the park named after. 28 Panfilov guardsmen to honor the memory of the soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War. Veterans are standing. The wind ruffles their gray hair. They move their pale lips, naming the names of those who are no longer with them, who heroically died defending their homeland. My grandfather, Abdrasil Usenovich Usenov, a veteran, a former officer of the headquarters of the 8th Guards Motorized Rifle Division named after I.V., came here every year. Panfilov. He participated in the battles near Moscow, Leningrad. He fought near Staraya Russa, Pskov, in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania. He passed away four years ago. And when he was alive, I was only seven years old, and I only looked with interest at my grandfather's chest, full of orders and medals. But only now I realized how hard he won them. From the autumn of 1941 to the spring of 1942, the defense of Moscow lasted. You can learn about this in detail from my grandfather's books “We were not going to surrender Moscow” and “Life is short - glory is long”. In March 1945, in the battles for Liepaja in the western part of Latvia, the 8th Guards Division was surrounded. Communication with the command post was interrupted. The Nazis threw here more and more new forces. It was the eighth day of fighting. Command was taken by Ivan Leontyevich Shapshaev. The earth groaned and shook from the explosions. Sentinel killed. Our trenches and trenches have been destroyed. The main thing is to eliminate enemy tanks. The guards bravely defended themselves, many of them died the death of the brave, others went out of action due to injury. When the panicked soldiers began to retreat, commander Shapshaev, shouting "For the Motherland!" ran towards the enemy. He was badly wounded. A plane was sent for the commander, but he remained with the soldiers to the end. Only at night came combat support. Panfilov went on the attack with a shout of "Hurrah!", The two sides united and broke through the encirclement. Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kirghiz fraternally hugged each other. Shapshaev was then awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This is how the legendary Panfilov division fought, this is how the Red Army fought in fire and smoke. Thanks to their courage, we live on this earth. Sometimes I feel my grandfather stroking my head with his big strong hands, blessing me: “Be happy, grow up to be a real horseman. Take care of the motherland!

Moscow region, 1948. Funeral meeting at the grave of 28 Panfilov guardsmen in the village of Dubosekovo.

Instead of an afterword. The legacy of Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, which is kept in a museum in Almaty, may migrate to Kyrgyzstan. This was stated to the Megapolis newspaper by the granddaughter of the legendary war hero Aigul Baikadamova. She said that in Kazakhstan they are almost indifferent to the heritage of their grandfather, while in the neighboring country everything is different. “I visited Kyrgyzstan for the 70th anniversary of the Panfilov division. There the reformed division celebrated its anniversary. It touched me very much - the attitude of the generals to this whole topic is extremely respectful. In our country, the Panfilov Museum in Almaty, located in the House of the Army, is in limbo. I decided: if it is closed, then I will transfer all the exhibits of the Panfilov family to the Panfilov division of Kyrgyzstan,” Baikadamova said. According to Mikhail Tyunin, executive director of the Information Initiative Foundation, the museum with its unique exposition is indeed in oblivion, as if no one needs it. “Suffice it to say that his keeper is an elderly person, and if she wants to retire or even just go on vacation, there is no one to replace her,” he explained.

But that, as they say, is a completely different story ...

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The memorable battle, better known as the feat of 28 Panfilov's men, took place exactly 74 years ago. During this time, it has acquired many legends, ranging from simple doubts that there was no such battle at all, to bewilderment: how did people from among the Panfilovites who were considered dead turn out to be alive?

Recall that in the summer an official report from the State Archives of the Russian Federation was published, according to which the whole story is a fantasy of journalists. See the extract at the end of the article. Nevertheless, there are many myths and legends with this story. Books, articles are published, films are made. The opinion of the author of the book about the feat of the Panfilovites is curious.

Opinion of the doctor of historical sciences, professor of the Kazakh National University named after al-Farabi Layla Akhmetova. She is also a co-author of the book "Panfilov's men: 60 days of heroic deeds that have become a legend."

MYTH FIRST

Doubts about the feat of the Panfilovites appeared when people began to appear who were considered dead and were awarded posthumously.

- Yes, some of the fighters were alive after the battle. We know the specifics of the Soviet years: if they said that everyone died, then everyone died. And then someone survived. Accordingly, everything must be done to prevent this from happening. Soviet propaganda wanted to talk about these people only as dead heroes.

For three days - November 15, 16 and 17 - the great and massive feat of the Panfilov division continued. All were heroes. But at the top they decided to name only one unit and show exactly the war against tanks, which at that time everyone was very afraid of. The title of hero was awarded to those who fought at the Dubosekovo junction. The main blow of the Germans fell here.

In principle, the Germans occupied the height. By that time, dusk had come, but the enemy did not take advantage and did not develop success. And when the next day the Germans launched an offensive, after a kilometer they met fierce resistance. It was a new battle tactic created by General Panfilov. Therefore, the resistance of the Panfilovites was not the same as that of the others, and the Germans got stuck near Moscow, and did not go by leaps and bounds.

MYTH TWO

During the investigation, back in Soviet times, they found the regiment commander, who testified that there was no battle at the Dubosekovo junction.

“I read the interrogation protocols. There are no such words in the testimony of the regiment commander, who allegedly said that there was no battle at the Dubosekovo junction. He admitted only that he had not witnessed the fight. This was his regiment, and he could not abandon his dead comrades.

It was just that after the war, following the path knurled since the pre-war years, they decided to organize the “military business” - the system could not live without repressions. On the other hand, marshals and generals gained immense popularity among the people, which began to grow since the battle of Moscow. And who were the heroes? Panfilovites. There was no one to protect them at that time. General Ivan Panfilov died on November 18, 1941. Army commander Rokossovsky - in Poland, front commander Zhukov - in Odessa.

This is how the "military case" began - they began to collect compromising evidence. Collected, of course, under torture. And those who could not endure torture said what they said. Then the “military case” was canceled and the documents were hidden in the archive. From time to time, depending on the situation, this issue was raised. This is already the third wave of the information war against the Panfilovites in 75 years.

Photo: Fund of the Military History Museum at the Army House

MYTH THREE

The essay about the Panfilovites was written on the assignment “to find some kind of feat”, and the author found out about the battle near Dubosekovo by accident.

- Krivitsky is not the first to write about this battle. Journalists interviewed the surviving fighter Ivan Natarov lying in the hospital. He died three weeks after the fight. However, Natarov was wounded in the middle of the battle, so he could only tell about its first part.

The survivors told much later about something else. But they tried not to listen. Naturally, they also interviewed the commanders. And here I see an inconsistency. They write: the regiment commander said that there was no battle. Nevertheless, he also spoke about the mass feat of the Panfilovites during these three days and about the battle at the Dubosekovo junction.

MYTH FOUR

The essay about the Panfilovites was written from the words of higher commanders; the author of the text never visited the battlefield.

- Indeed, journalists could not be at the battle site. First, this land was under the Germans, then covered with deep snow, mined. They dug it up only at the end of April 1942. And after the war, Kazakhstani Panfilov writers Bauyrzhan Momysh-uly, Dmitry Snegin, Malik Gabdullin, recalling the November battles, noted that they were not interviewed.

It is remarkable that each of them left their memories of the battle at the Dubosekovo junction. But for some reason we do not read their works, we do not quote them, we are not proud of all the Panfilovites of those years.

Photo: Mikhail Mikhin

MYTH FIVE

The phrase "Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind!" does not belong to a participant in the battle, it was invented by a journalist.

- On November 16, during the day, on the height section near Dubosekovo, the Germans went on the offensive at least three times. In the morning, the command of the battle was led by senior sergeant Gavriil Mitin. He died before lunch. Sergeant Ivan Dobrobabin took command. He was shell-shocked, he lost consciousness. The sergeant was dragged away, to where the wounded were being taken. The few surviving soldiers, all wounded, held the line. They knew the order: you can not retreat.

How many of them remained after dinner is unknown. By this time, political instructor Vasily Klochkov arrived with orderly Daniil Kozhubergenov. He knew that there was a fight everywhere, there would be no help, he had to hold on. And then he decided to stay with this handful of fighters to the end. His task was to encourage the soldiers, support them with a word and go to another unit. Thus see the entire division. But here the picture was the most difficult.

He stayed with the fighters and said: “It seems that we will have to die, guys ...” - and then the well-known words. The phrase "There is nowhere to retreat - behind Moscow" is taken from the order of the front commander Georgy Zhukov. Political instructor Vasily Klochkov simply had to say it to all soldiers and officers.

In early December 1941, almost the same words were said by Bauyrzhan Momysh-uly, preparing for battle near the village of Kryukovo. But by that time the words “Great Russia is not yet known, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind!”. And this is also a well-known fact. It was just a different interpretation. The publication with these words appeared later.

REFERENCE

The battle took place on November 16, 1941, when the German army made another attempt to storm Moscow. At the Dubosekovo junction, soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 1075th Infantry Regiment met a detachment of fifty enemy tanks. They were able to defend their positions, destroying about eighteen tanks, as a result of which the enemy had to retreat. However, most of the Soviet soldiers died.

The country learned about the feat of the Panfilovites from a note in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, which came out just a few days after the battle.

The first report on the feat of 28 Panfilov's men was in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper of November 28, 1941.

At the very beginning of the article, I promised an extract-report from the State Archives of Russia, which officially debunked the myth of the feat of the "Panfilov heroes."

“In connection with numerous appeals from citizens, institutions and organizations, we are posting a certificate-report of the Chief Military Prosecutor N. Afanasyev “On 28 Panfilovites” dated May 10, 1948, based on the results of an investigation by the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office, which is stored in the fund of the USSR Prosecutor’s Office (GA RF. F. R. -8131)"

The feat of 28 Panfilov heroes

November 16, 1941 under the new the advance of the fascist army on Moscow at the Dubosekovo junction, 28 fighters from the division of General Panfilov performed their immortal feat

By the end of October 1941, the first stage of the German operation of the attack on Moscow called "Typhoon" was completed. German troops, having defeated parts of three Soviet fronts near Vyazma, reached the near approaches to Moscow.

At the same time, the German troops suffered losses and needed some respite to rest the units, put them in order and replenish. By November 2, the front line in the Volokolamsk direction had stabilized, the German units temporarily went on the defensive.

On November 16, German troops again went on the offensive, planning to defeat the Soviet units, surround Moscow and victoriously end the 1941 campaign. In the Volokolamsk direction, the Germans were blocked by the 316th Infantry Division of Major General I.V. Panfilov, who took up defense at the front with a length of 41 kilometers from the village of Lvovo to the Bolychevo state farm.

Ivan Vasilievich Panfilov

On the right flank, its neighbor was the 126th rifle division, on the left - the 50th cavalry division from the corps Dovator.

Lev Mikhailovich Dovator

On November 16, the division was attacked by the forces of two German tank divisions: the 2nd Panzer Division of Lieutenant General Rudolf Fayel attacked the positions of the 316th Rifle Division in the center of defense, and the 11th Panzer Division of Major General Walter Scheller hit in the area Dubosekovo on the positions of the 1075th Infantry Regiment, at the junction with the 50th Cavalry Division.

Walter Scheller

PzKpfw-IIIG of the 11th Panzer Division at the Dubosekovo junction

year of issue - 1937; weight - 15.4 tons; crew - 5 people; armor - 14.5 mm;gun - 37 mm;

speed - 32 km/h

The main blow fell on the positions of the 2nd battalion of the regiment.

The 1075th Rifle Regiment suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment in previous battles, but before new battles it was significantly replenished with personnel. The question of the artillery armament of the regiment is not completely clear. According to the staff, the regiment was supposed to have a battery of four 76-mm regimental guns and an anti-tank battery of six 45-mm guns.

The obsolete French guns also had poor ballistics; nothing is known about the presence of armor-piercing shells for them. However, it is known that for firing at tanks from guns of this type, shrapnel shells were used, the fuse of which was set to strike. From a 500-meter distance, such a projectile pierced 31 millimeters of German armor.

At the same time, it is known that in general, the 316th Rifle Division on November 16, 1941 had 12 - 45-mm anti-tank guns, 26 - 76-mm divisional guns, 17 - 122-mm howitzers and 5 - 122-mm corps guns , which could be used in combat with German tanks. The neighbor, the 50th Cavalry Division, also had its own artillery. The infantry anti-tank weapons of the regiment were represented by 11 ATGMs (four of them were in the second battalion), RPG-40 grenades and Molotov cocktails.

Anti-tank guns distinguished by high armor penetration, especially when using cartridges with B-31 bullets that had a tungsten carbide core.

PTRD could hit German tanks only at close range from a 300-meter distance, breaking through 35-mm armor at that distance.

Battle at the Dubosekovo junction became the first case of the use of anti-tank rifles, the production of which was just beginning to unfold, and their number was still insufficient.

Right here at Dubosekova, and the fourth company of the 1075th rifle regiment accepted the battle. According to the staff of division 04/600, there should have been 162 people in the company, and by December 16 there were about 120 people in the standing. Where did the number 28 come from?

The fact is that on the eve of the battle, from among the most persistent and most accurate fighters, a special group of tank destroyers was created in the amount of about 30 people, commanded by a 30-year-old political instructor Vasily Klochkov.

Vasily Georgievich Klochkov - Diev

All anti-tank guns were transferred to this group, and therefore the number of tanks destroyed does not look fantastic at all - out of 54 tanks moving towards the Panfilovites, the heroes managed to destroy 18 vehicles, the loss of 13 of which was recognized by the Germans themselves. But the Germans recognized the tank as lost only if it could not be restored, and if after the battle the tank was sent for major repairs with the replacement of the engine or weapons, such a tank was not considered lost.

A list of these fighters a few days later was compiled from memory by the company commander, Captain Gundilovich, at the request of the Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent Alexander Yuryevich Krivitsky. The captain may not have remembered someone, and someone probably got on this list by mistake - he died earlier or fought with the Germans as part of another unit, because the group included not only the captain's subordinates, but also volunteers from other units shelf.

Despite the fact that, following the results of the battle, the battlefield remained with the Germans, and most of our fighters who participated in this battle died, the motherland did not forget the feat of the heroes, and already on November 27, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper for the first time informed the people about this feat, and on the following day, an editorial appeared in the same newspaper under the headline "Testament of 28 Fallen Heroes". This article indicated that 29 Panfilov soldiers fought with enemy tanks. At the same time, the 29th was called a traitor. In fact, this 29th was sent Klochkov with a report to Dubosekovo. However, there were already Germans and a fighter in the village. Daniil Kozhabergenov was taken prisoner. On the evening of November 16, he escaped from captivity to the forest. For some time he was in the occupied territory, after which he was discovered by horsemen Dovator who are in the raid on the German rear. After connection exit Dovator from the raid, was interrogated by a special department, admitted that he did not participate in the battle, and was sent back to the division Dovator.

The main blow fell on the positions of the 2nd battalion, which occupied the Petelino-Shiryaevo-Dubosekovo defense line. The 4th company of this battalion covered the most important section - the railway crossing near Dubosekovo, behind which a direct road to Moscow opened. The firing points immediately before the move were organized by the soldiers of the 2nd platoon of tank destroyers - a total of 29 people. They were armed with PTRD anti-tank rifles, as well as anti-tank grenades and Molotov cocktails. There was one machine gun.

bottles with cop

On the eve of this battle, the commander of the second platoon, D. Shirmatov, was wounded, therefore, the “Panfilovites” were commanded by the castle platoon commander, sergeant I. E. Dobrobabin.

Ivan Efstafievich Dobrobabin

He made sure that the firing positions were equipped to the conscience - five full-profile trenches were dug, reinforced with railway sleepers.

reconstruction of the trenches "Panfilov"

At 8 am on November 16, the first Nazis appeared near the fortifications. The “Panfilovites” hid and did not show their presence. As soon as most of the Germans climbed to the heights in front of the positions, Dobrobabin whistled briefly. The machine gun immediately responded, shooting the Germans at close range, from a hundred meters.

Opened heavy fire and other soldiers of the platoon. The enemy, having lost about 70 people, rolled back in disorder. After this first encounter, 2nd Platoon had no casualties at all.
Soon, German artillery fire fell on the railway crossing, after which the German submachine gunners again went on the attack. She was repulsed again, and again without loss. In the afternoon, two German PzKpfw-IIIG tanks appeared near Dubosekovo, accompanied by an infantry platoon. The Panfilovites managed to destroy several infantrymen and set fire to one tank, after which the enemy retreated again. The relative calm in front of Dubosekovo was explained by the fact that a fierce battle had been in full swing at the positions of the 5th and 6th companies of the 2nd battalion for a long time.

Having regrouped, the Germans carried out a short artillery preparation and threw a tank battalion into the attack with the support of two companies of machine gunners. The tanks were deployed front, 15-20 tanks in a group, in several waves.

The main blow was inflicted in the direction of Dubosekovo as the most tank-accessible area.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, a heated battle broke out before the move. Anti-tank guns, of course, could not stop the advance of a dozen German tanks, and the battle began near the village itself. The soldiers had to jump out of the trenches under gun and machine-gun fire in order to surely throw a bunch of anti-tank grenades or a Molotov cocktail. At the same time, they still had to repel the attacks of enemy machine gunners, shoot at tankers jumping out of tanks on fire ...

As a participant in that battle testifies, one of the platoon soldiers could not stand it and jumped out of the trench with his hands up. Carefully aiming, Vasiliev removed the traitor.
From explosions in the air there was a constant curtain of dirty snow, soot and smoke. This is probably why Dobrobabin did not notice how the enemy practically destroyed the 1st and 3rd platoons on the right and left. Soldiers and his platoon perished one by one, but the number of destroyed tanks also grew. The seriously wounded were hastily dragged into the dugout, equipped in positions. The lightly wounded did not go anywhere and continued to fire ...
Finally, having lost several tanks and up to two infantry platoons before moving, the enemy began to retreat. One of the last shells fired by the Germans severely concussed Dobrobabin, and he lost consciousness for a long time.

The command was taken by the political instructor of the 4th company V. G. Klochkov, sent to the position of the second platoon of the commander Gundilovich. The surviving fighters later spoke respectfully about Klochkov - without any pathetic phrases, he raised the spirit of the fighters, exhausted and sooty by many hours of battle.

The soul of the detachment of guards was a political instructor V.G. Klochkov. Already in the first days of the fighting near the walls of the capital, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and honored to participate in a military parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941.
Vasily Klochkov made his way into the trenches at the Dubosekovo junction and stayed with his soldiers to the end. Twenty black, with white crosses, clanging caterpillars, smugly rumbling fascist tanks were advancing on the Dubosekovsky trench in an avalanche. The Nazi infantry ran behind the tanks. Klochkov remarked: “There are a lot of tanks coming, but there are more of us. Twenty tanks, less than one tank per brother. The warriors decided to fight to the death. The tanks moved very close. The fight has begun. The command was given by political instructor Klochkov. Under fire, the Panfilovites jumped out of the trench and threw bundles of grenades under the tracks of tanks, and bottles of fuel on the engine part or gas tank.

For four hours a firestorm raged over the trenches of the brave men. Shells exploded, bottles of combustible mixture flew, shells hissed and whistled, flames raged, melting snow, earth and armor. The enemy could not stand it and retreated. Fourteen steel monsters with ominous white crosses on their sides blazed on the battlefield. The survivors got away. Thinned the ranks of the defenders. In the haze of the advancing twilight, the rumble of motors was heard again. Having licked their wounds, filling their belly with fire and lead, the enemy, seized by a new fit of rage, again rushed to the attack - 30 tanks moved on a handful of brave men.

Political instructor Klochkov looked at the soldiers.
“Thirty tanks, friends!” he said. Probably, we will have to die here for the glory of the Motherland. Let the Motherland find out how we fight here, how we defend Moscow. We have nowhere to retreat - behind Moscow.

These words of Klochkov entered the hearts of the fighters, like a call of the Motherland, a demand, her order, instilling in them a new force of selfless courage. Now it was already clear that in this battle the warriors would find their own death, but still they wanted to make the enemy pay dearly for their lives. The soldiers, bleeding, did not leave their combat posts. The attack of the Nazis bogged down. Suddenly another heavy tank tries to break through to the trench. Political instructor Klochkov stands up to meet him. His hand is clutching a bunch of grenades - the last bunch. Seriously wounded with grenades, he rushed to the enemy tank and blew it up.

The brave political instructor did not hear how a strong explosion echoed through the snow-covered expanses. Next to Klochkov, head to head, lay the wounded soldier Ivan Nashtarov and, as if through a dream, from somewhere far away, he heard the voice of the political instructor “We are dying, brother ... Someday they will remember us ... If you live, tell us ... ". Second attack repulsed. Again the enemy did not pass. He rushed about in smoke and flames and, finally, backing away, growling in impotent rage, turned into a shameful flight, leaving 18 of his 50 tanks to burn out. The resilience of 28 Soviet hero heroes turned out to be stronger than enemy armor. More than 150 fascist conquerors lay on the snow at the site of a fierce battle. The battlefield was silent. The legendary trench was silent. The defenders of their native land did what they had to do. Spreading their weary arms, as if covering their wounded, blood-soaked native land with their lifeless bodies, lay those who stood. For boundless courage, heroism, military prowess and courage, the Soviet government posthumously awarded the participants in the battle at the Dubosekovo junction the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Panfilovites became a terrible curse for the Nazis, and there were legends about the strength and courage of the heroes. On November 17, 1941, the 316th Rifle Division was renamed the 8th Guards Rifle Division and awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Hundreds of guardsmen were awarded orders and medals.
On November 19, the division lost its commander ... 36 days fought under the command of General I.V. Panfilov 316th Rifle Division, defending the capital in the main direction.
Having not achieved decisive successes in the Volokolamsk direction, the main enemy forces turned to Solnechnogorsk, where they intended to break through first to Leningradskoe, then to Dmitrovskoe highway and enter Moscow from the north-west.
As it turned out later, not all 28 Panfilov soldiers fell in this unprecedented battle. The Red Army soldier Nashtarov, seriously wounded, having gathered his last strength, crawled away from the battlefield and was picked up by our scouts at night. In the hospital, he spoke about the feat of Soviet soldiers. Three days after the battle, he died. The Red Army soldiers Illarion Romanovich Vasilyev, Grigory Melentyevich Shemyakin were picked up half-dead on the battlefield and, after being cured, returned to their native division. Red Army soldier Ivan Demidovich Shadrin during the battle in an unconscious state was captured by the Germans. For more than three years, he experienced all the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps, while remaining faithful to his homeland and the Soviet people. Vasiliev died in the city of Kemerovo, Shemyakin died in Alma-Ata in December 1973, Shadrin, who lived in the village of Kirovskoye, Alma-Ata region, died.
The names of the Panfilov heroes are included in the annals of the Great Patriotic War in gold letters

By the end of the day, despite stubborn resistance, the 1075th Rifle Regiment was driven out of its positions and forced to retreat. An example of self-sacrifice was shown not only by the “Panfilovites” near Dubosekovo. Two days later, 11 sappers of the 1077th rifle regiment from the same Panfilov's 316th division delayed the advance of 27 German tanks with infantry near the village of Strokovo for a long time at the cost of their lives.

In two days of fighting, the 1075th regiment lost 400 people killed, 100 wounded and 600 missing. From the 4th company, which defended Dubosekovo, hardly a fifth remained. In the 5th and 6th companies, the losses were even heavier.

Contrary to the legends, not all "Panfilov" died in battle - seven soldiers survived from the 2nd platoon, and all were seriously wounded. These are Natarov, Vasiliev, Shemyakin, Shadrin, Timofeev, Kozhubergenov and Dobrobabin. Before the arrival of the Germans, local residents managed to deliver the most seriously wounded Natarov and Vasiliev to the medical battalion. Shemyakin, seriously shell-shocked, crawled through the forest from the village, where he was discovered by the cavalrymen of General Dovator. The Germans managed to capture two - Shadrin (he was unconscious) and Timofeev (heavily wounded).

Natarov, taken to the medical battalion, soon died of his wounds. Before his death, he managed to tell something about the battle at Dubosekovo. So this story fell into the hands of the literary editor of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper A. Krivitsky.

But, as we remember, six people survived from the second platoon - Vasiliev and Shemyakin recovered in hospitals, Shadrin and Timofeev went through the hell of concentration camps, and Kozhubergenov and Dobrobabin continued to fight for their own. Therefore, when they declared themselves, the NKVD reacted to this very nervously. Shadrin and Timofeev were immediately written down as traitors. It is not known what else they did in captivity of the Nazis. The rest were looked at very suspiciously - after all, the whole country knows that all 28 heroes died! And if they say that they are alive. So they are either impostors or cowards. And we don't know which is worse.

The story of the 28 Panfilovites who defended Moscow is known to almost everyone. At the same time, disputes constantly arise around the reliability of these events, first described in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. In the Kremlin, for example, they believe that "the story in one form or another with the Panfilov heroes really took place." This was stated by the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky even stated that no one should question the reliability and authenticity of the feat of soldiers on the outskirts of Moscow. Is the story about 28 Panfilov's men true, experts discussed.

Questions:

What is the story of the 28 Panfilovites based on?

Nikita Petrov

The story about the feat of the Panfilov guardsmen was published in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on November 28, 1941 by the literary secretary of the newspaper Krivitsky. Already in the title of his article - “Testament of 28 Fallen Heroes” - it was as if the exact number of heroes was contained, and the text itself quite categorically stated: “They laid down their heads - all twenty-eight. They died, but did not miss the enemy. Later, Krivitsky himself admitted that he wrote the article on behalf of the editor of Krasnaya Zvezda, who told him the fictitious death toll.

Mikhail Myagkov

The story is based on a real battle that took place at one of the most critical moments in the defense of Moscow. The first to describe him were the war correspondents of Krasnaya Zvezda. Their source is eyewitness accounts recorded at the end of November 1941. It was then that the figure of 28 Panfilovites appeared. There are also transcripts of conversations with other servicemen of the 316th Rifle (Panfilov) Division, which are stored in the scientific archive of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Why do disputes arise about the veracity of the story about the 28 Panfilovites?

Nikita Petrov

Doubts about the authenticity of this story arose already in 1942, and the reason was that not all the awardees died, and the survivors, as it turned out, were captured, and some even served with the Germans. The conclusions of the Military Prosecutor's Office of 1948, which checked all these circumstances, were not made public, but partially leaked out. In the future, rumors that this feat was invented and unrealistic only grew and multiplied. By the mid-1960s, the voices of doubters had become so noticeable that the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU could no longer pass by. At one of the meetings on November 10, 1966, Leonid Brezhnev said indignantly: “It is criticized in some works, in magazines and other publications that in the hearts of our people is sacred, most dear. After all, some of our writers agree, and they are published, to the point that supposedly there was no Aurora salvo, that it was supposedly a blank shot, and so on, that there were no 28 Panfilov’s, that there were fewer of them, this fact is almost invented that there was no Klochkov and his appeal, that "Moscow is behind us and we have nowhere to retreat." But if under the conditions of Soviet censorship it was possible to prohibit the discussion of this topic, then after August 1991, in the conditions of a free press, documents were made public that left no doubt that this was a myth.

Mikhail Myagkov

The essence of the dispute is that some (including the former director of the State Archives of the Russian Federation S.V. Mironenko) stand on the position that the names of 28 Panfilovites were taken from the ceiling, there was no such battle. They refer to the report of the chief military prosecutor N. Afanasyev of 1948, which states that the feat of 28 Panfilov's men is an invention of military journalists. Their goal is to debunk the myth. But let's not be naive. The purpose of the whistleblowers is to show the untenable the whole meaning of the sacrificial struggle for their homeland. Since there were no feats, there were no people who were ready to go for them, and today there will not be. That is, it would be better if the Americans liberated us, so at least democracy would be imposed. Others say that there was a battle and these 28 participated in it, although there were much more distinguished men in the Panfilov division. I am close to the position of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences G.A. Kumanev, who writes: “It turned out that not all of the “twenty-eight” turned out to be dead. What of it? The fact that six of the twenty-eight named heroes, being wounded, shell-shocked, against all odds, survived the battle on November 16, 1941, refutes the fact that an enemy tank column was stopped at the Dubosekovo junction, rushing towards Moscow? Doesn't refute."

Was there a battle near Dubosekovo?

Nikita Petrov

According to scientific publications based on materials from archives, including German ones, it was established that on November 16, 1941, the 1st and 2nd German tank groups launched an offensive in the morning at 07:40 and, having passed the village of Nelidovo and the Dubosekovo platform, already by 9 o'clock in the morning they occupied Bolshoe Nikolskoye and Petelino. That is, the tanks were not stopped. And by the end of the day, tank groups captured Rozhdestveno and Lystsevo, advancing more than ten kilometers in a day. Later, on the territory of the Nelidovsky village council, residents first found the bodies of three dead soldiers of the Red Army, then in the spring of three more, including political instructor Klochkov. All of them are buried in a mass grave on the outskirts of the village of Nelidovo. That is, the real picture of the events of November 16 does not at all correspond to the myth launched by Krivitsky.

Mikhail Myagkov

Yes, there was. On the day of the beginning of a new German onslaught on Moscow - November 16, 1941 - the 316th Infantry Division of General Panfilov was attacked by one infantry and two tank divisions of the Wehrmacht. But it was not possible to reach the capital in two or three jumps. Enemy tanks are stuck in our defenses. It is a fact that at that time the entire 316th Panfilov division, the entire 1075th regiment and its entire 4th company, which included the legendary 28 Panfilov’s men, fought heroically. After the war, regiment commander I.V. Karpov noted: “On this day, at the Dubosekovo junction, as part of the 2nd battalion, the 4th company fought with German tanks, and really fought heroically. More than 100 people died from the company, and not 28, as they wrote about it in the newspapers. Already on November 18, 1941, the 316th division was renamed the 8th Guards and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On this day, its legendary commander, Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, died in battle.

Are the Panfilovites real people?

Nikita Petrov

All those awarded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 21, 1942 were real people, but they did not do what was attributed to them. The history of the appearance of the list for submission for awarding in itself testifies to the random nature of its formation and the deliberate adjustment of the number of awardees to the figure of 28 given by newspaper essays.

Mikhail Myagkov

The real political instructor Klochkov fought and died near Dubosekovo. It was there that the other 28 heroes fought. There are their names, photographs, track records. They were not aliens, as they are trying to present to us today. Lucky that one of these 28 survived. By the way, General I.V. Panfilov, who had served since the First World War, knew that soldiers should be trained not to die, but to destroy the enemy. Artillery ambushes, special troikas of fighters armed with grenades and Molotov cocktails are his merit and his tactics. The result is the recognition of the German generals: "The 316th Russian division has many well-trained soldiers in its composition and is waging an amazingly stubborn fight."

What is the historical significance of the story of the 28 Panfilovites?

Nikita Petrov

It is safe to say that the history of the emergence and debunking of any historical myth is instructive and important. Never forget that truth is always concrete. And in this case, both Krivitsky's essay in Krasnaya Zvezda, and numerous book publications by him and other authors did not pass the test for specificity and for compliance with historical sources. The second lesson is also important, which is indicated in today's controversy around the 28 Panfilovites. It is impossible to build the education of patriotic feelings on lies or "deception that elevates us." The truth is always revealed sooner or later. And the result of many years of deceit and ideological brainwashing will be the cynicism of the younger generation and disbelief in nothing.

Mikhail Myagkov

This is a battle symbol. And this symbol helped us win in 1945. Today, the memory of 28 Panfilov soldiers is part of our big truth about the war. The truth that has entered our gene pool shapes our historical consciousness. Anyone who today does not believe that these 28 could stop 18 German tanks would probably be the first to run from the battlefield near Dubosekovo on a frosty November day in 1941. And one more thing: does anyone consider today that the Spartans who stopped the Persians in the 5th century BC were not three hundred, but maybe more or less? No. The number three hundred entered history, culture, became a legend. So the feat of the 28th became legendary when the legend was composed of were.