ALESHKOV'S ARC - Tales from the Russian Wilderness

 

EARLY LIFE

He was born in the forest village of Gryn in the Kaluga region of the Soviet Union. The details surrounding his birth were not preserved. In 1942, German soldiers launched an attack on Gryn killing both fighters and civilians. Sergei's 10 year old brother, Petya was hanged while his mother was shot. He escaped through a window with the help of a neighbour. He became a young boy lost in the forest all alone, he survived on wild fruits and rain water. There was incident when he encountered German soldiers and his only refuge was a tree that had snakes on it, but he preferred the tree. In August of that year, he was found by a reconnaissance group of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment.

The red army decided to keep him and they brought him to the staff dogout. Because of his age, he was made a pupil of the 142nd Guards Infantry Regiment and the 47th Guards Rifle Division. The Major Mikhail Vorobyov grew fond of him and decided to adopt him. He was a messenger and during combat, he delivered water, bullets and medical supplies to soldiers.

He was delivering newspapers one day when he saw something strange in a haystack, he quickly called for attention and Voila! it was Nazi's. In the beginning of November 1942, the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment was transferred to Starlingard. During artillery shelling, Sergei's adoptive father was buried under debris. Sergei tried to dig him out but could not, he then ran to get sappers which he used to rescue Mikhail. For this, he was awarded the "For Combat Merit Medal".

As a boy in combat, he had his own share of near death experiences;

1.      He almost died crossing the Soverny Donets river.

2.      His vehicle while on a mission hit a mine.

3.      A shiny strap on his uniform attracted a Nazi pilot who opened fire on him and got hit on his heel.

4.      On November 18, 1942, he alongside his Red army soldiers fell under mortar fire. He had a shrapnel in the leg, he was treated and returned to the front line.

He stopped combat in Poland when General Vasily Chuikov, who was the commander of the 62nd army where he served ordered him to be sent to the Suvorov military school. As a parting gift, he was given a Trophy Browning Pistol.

He could not complete his career in the army because of his addiction to smoking. He later obtained a law degree from the Kharkow Law Institute. To honour the 40th anniversary of the war, he was awarded the "Order of Patriotic War in First Degree. He died on the 1st of February 1990 in Chelyabinsk, Russia from a heart attack at the age of 54.

SOURCES

WIKIPEDIA

RUSSIABEYOND