Poster of the Young Guard
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://msk.kprf.ru/2016/07/26/13055/]
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The Young Guard (Russian: Молодая гвардия, translit. Molodaya gvardiya, Ukrainian:
Молода гвардія, translit. Moloda hvardiya) was an
underground anti-fascist
Komsomol organization, in the German-occupied Soviet city of Krasnodon (Ukrainian SSR, now Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine). They were active during the World War II, until January 1943. They
carried out several acts of sabotage and protest before being destroyed by
German forces. Most members of the Young Guard, about 80 people, were
tortured and then executed by the Germans.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Guard_(Soviet_resistance) & Russian Wikipedia (English translation here)
1944 Postage Stamp
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History
The
Young Guard was established soon after Krasnodon was occupied by Nazi
Germany on 20 July 1942. Several youth groups amalgamated, calling themselves
the Young Guard. One of the first meetings of the organization was held
on October 2 of the same year.
The
organization was led by the local Communist Party underground of
Krasnodon, headed by Philipp Lyutikov. Lyutikov
was the former head of the parents' committee of the 4th secondary
school of Krasnodon, where many members of the organization had studied.
There is some controversy concerning the leadership of the Young Guard.
It is widely accepted that the commander was Ivan Turkenich
and the commissar
was Oleg
Koshevoy, but recent sources claim that the leaders were other members of
the Staff of the Young Guard, namely Viktor Tretyakevich, Sergei Tyulenin and Ivan Zemnukhov.
Ivan Vasilyevich
Turkenich
(Russian: Иван Васильевич Туркенич)
(January 15, 1920 – August 14, 1944)
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The first cover of the Novel, “The Young
Guard”
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Activities
Among the
main activities of the organization were
- the release of 70 prisoners from the German concentration camp on 15 November 1942 (20 more people were released from the hospital of the camp)
- the burning of the German Labour Exchange of Krasnodon on 6 December 1942. A list of about 2,000 citizens of Krasnodon, who were intended for the deportation into Germany was burnt, thus saving them from deportation
- eight flags of the Soviet Union were hung out on highest buildings of Krasnodon on 6 and 7 November 1942 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution
- about 5,000 anti-fascist leaflets were issued and spread in Krasnodon during the existence of the organization
Members
of the organization also destroyed motor vehicles, ammunition and enemy fuel
supplies. Jointly with the Communist Party
underground of Krasnodon the Young Guard prepared for an anti-fascist armed rebellion,
but treachery within the organization and the betrayal to the Germans stopped
these preparations.
1965 Postage Stamp
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Treachery
and execution
The
Germans knew about the existence of the underground and tried to discover its
membership. Finally they succeeded in this, helped by treachery within the
organization. Massive arrests began on 5 January 1943 and lasted until 11
January. Just 11 members managed to evade their pursuers. All the arrested
people were tortured. 71 of them, along with members of the Communist Party underground,
including its head Philipp Lyutikov, many of
them still alive, were thrown into the 53-meter deep pit of Coal Mine Number 5
on 15, 16, and 31 January 1943. Oleg
Koshevoy, Lyubov Shevtsova, Viktor Subbotin, Dmitry
Ogurtsov, Sergei Ostapenkov were shot on 9 February 1943 in the town park of
the town Rovenky.
Just five days later, on 14 February 1943 Krasnodon was liberated by the Red Army.
Tributes
On
13 September 1943 five members of the Young Guard: Juliana
Gromova, Oleg Koshevoy, Lyubov
Shevtsova, Sergei Tyulenin and Ivan Zemnukhov were awarded the
title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously,
many other members were awarded various orders and medals.
Soviet
writer Alexander Fadeyev wrote a
bestselling book Molodaya Gvardiya (The Young Guard), in which he depicted
the activities of the Young Guard. A film was made of this novel.
In
Krasnodon the Monument to the Members of the Young Guard was erected in
1951-1954, the memorial
complex Young Guard with the museum was built in 1970 and the monument Nepokoryonnye
(Unsubdued in English) was erected near the Coal Mine Number 5 in
1982. The new town Molodogvardeysk in Luhansk
Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR was named after the Young Guard
in 1961. Many towns, settlements, streets of Soviet
cities were also named after the organization and its members.
Russian
inter-regional public organization the Young Guard was established in Voronezh in
1999.
Still from the film ‘Young Guard’
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Skepticism
The
official story of the group, including Fadeyev's book, has been questioned
almost from the day that Krasnodon was liberated. Several researchers (both
officially-sanctioned and independent) revealed ambiguities and anomalies in
the versions of the story promoted by Fadeyev, the groups survivors, and the
Communist Party. Some survivors and witnesses declared they were pressed to
follow the official version of events until the end of Soviet era.
Several
alternative versions emerged in late 1990s, the most exotic among them being
the story of a Young Guard as Ukrainian nationalist (not
Komsomol) organization.
The
full true story of the Young Guard remains a mystery. For example, as of 2004
it is not known for certain who betrayed the Young Guard. The leadership
of the organization, as mentioned above, has also been called into question.
A
stamp was issued in 1944 honoring the leadership of the Young Guard, and
featuring Ulyana Gromova, Ivan Zemnukhov, Oleg Koshevoy, Sergei Tyulenin, and
Lyubov Shevtsova, all of whom were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. The Pravda
article referenced below, written in 2003, names the leadership as Koshevoy,
Shevtsov, Ostapenko, Ogurtsov, and Subbotin. Only two of these names (Koshevoy
and Shevstov, presumably Shevstova) correspond with the people named on the stamp.
Ivan Vasilyevich
Turkenich
(Russian: Иван Васильевич Туркенич)
(January 15, 1920 – August 14, 1944)
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.molodguard.ru/guardian7.htm]
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