Guryanov Mikhail Alekseevich. The Great Patriotic War
» Guryanov Mikhail AlekseevichGuryanov Mikhail Alekseevich
He was born on October 1, 1903 in the village of Petrovskoye, Istrinsky district. Russian, member of the CPSU since 1931
He began his working career at the age of 12 - he was in the service of the owner of a local tea shop. Then he studied to become a turner at a factory in Tushino. In 1920 he became a worker at the Oktyabrskaya Cloth Factory. At the end of the twenties he was elected Chairman of the Petrovsky Village Council.
And then - studying at courses in Soviet construction in Moscow. M.A. Guryanov is elected chairman of the executive committee of the Ugozavodsky District Council (now Zhukovsky district of the Kaluga region).
In this position he met the Great Patriotic War. When the Nazis occupied the area, Guryanov was the commissar of the partisan detachment.
He died when he turned 38. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Nowadays the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov is widely known not only among us, his fellow countrymen, but throughout the country. Streets in Moscow, Dedovsk, Zhukov, Obninsk are named in his honor. In the book “History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,” our fellow countryman is rightly placed on a par with such outstanding commanders and organizers of the partisan movement as T.P. Bumazhkov, K.S. Zaslonov, S.A. Kovpak, P.K. Ponomarenko, S.V. Rudnev, A.N. Saburov, A.F. Fedorov.
Around the beginning of February 1942, the MK VKP (b) prepared a certificate about the combat activities of M.A. Guryanov, it indicated that M.A. Guryanov "was distinguished by exceptional courage and courage in the fight against the Nazi invaders" that he "took an active part in all combat operations of the partisan detachment." “He knew the terrain of his area well,” the certificate stated, “he repeatedly went on reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines, maintained contact with the population, and led Red Army soldiers out of encirclement.”
And further: “His courage and courage set an example for the soldiers of the detachment and instilled in them fearlessness and courage. While in reconnaissance, he established the location of the corps headquarters and the enemy garrison, which was located in the regional center in Ugodsky Zavod.” “According to his intelligence data, a decision was made to destroy the headquarters of the German troops with the combined forces of partisan detachments. Comrade Guryanov was directly involved in the development of the attack plan.”
Obviously, this certificate was accepted as an award sheet when the issue of awarding M.A. was considered. Guryanov the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
It is also known that on February 8, 1942, Secretary of the MK and MGK of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks A.S. Shcherbakov sent to I.V. Stalin’s letter, which, in particular, said that the Moscow Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “sends you a list of 95 partisans who distinguished themselves in the fight against the German invaders, asks them to reward them, including three partisans - Comrade Kuzin I .N., Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, M.A. Guryanov - to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union."
Eight days later, on February 16, 1942, named on the list by A.S. Shcherbakov awarded three courageous patriots with this high title.
In October '41, the front came close to the Ugodsky Plant. An underground had already been prepared in the area and a partisan detachment had been created. The commander of the detachment was a recent Komsomol member-border guard V.A. Karasev (now retired lieutenant colonel, Hero of the Soviet Union), commissar - as more experienced in working with people M.A. Guryanov.
On October 17, 1941, our units left the area. According to the plan, the execution of which was entrusted to M.A. Guryanov, the power equipment of the factory and the workshops of the orphanage were blown up, the machines of the starch factory were drowned in the river, the equipment of the regional communications center was destroyed, the bank and savings bank were put out of action. On the morning of October 20, Guryanov and a group of comrades were the last of the Ugod partisans to leave the regional center.
From the very beginning of his work in the partisan detachment, Mikhail Alekseevich became its de facto leader. To coordinate and resolve necessary issues, he crossed the front line more than once, visited the Moscow Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the Moscow Regional Executive Committee, and the Serpukhov District Party Committee. Together with the detachment command and the leadership of the district party committee (Secretary A.N. Kurbatov), he took an active part in the development of operation plans.
To destroy the headquarters of a large enemy formation at Ugodsky Zavod, several more partisan detachments arrived under the command of Koverznev, Babakin, Shuvalov and others. A united detachment of 302 people was formed.
Having walked 25 kilometers in the bitter cold through a dense forest, by two o'clock in the morning on November 24, 1941, the combined detachment was concentrated 800 meters from the regional center, and at two o'clock in the morning the battle had already begun. The partisans took the Nazis by surprise and caused panic in their camp. Detachment commander V.A. Karasev, recalling this operation, wrote that during the capture of the district executive committee building, where the headquarters of the enemy corps was located, Guryanov actively led a group of partisans. So the sentries were destroyed. Grenades were thrown at the windows on the first floor. Several people rushed to the main entrance to break into the building. But the massive door did not budge.
You won’t do anything to it, it’s strong,” came the voice of Mikhail Alekseevich. - Well, go away!
And Guryanov threw two grenades one after another. The door flew off its hinges. The partisans rushed forward, rushed up the stairs to the second floor, where the Nazis sat down with machine guns. And again - Guryanov is ahead. Having contrived, he threw a grenade. Our guys burst into the office. They opened the closet and safe, took away documents and set the building on fire.
The battle was fleeting and fierce. But the enemy had more forces. However, the partisans dealt them a strong blow. But they themselves suffered losses. Eighteen of the best guys have already died. Eight more were seriously wounded.
The partisans began to retreat.
Guryanov was the last to leave, with a cover group. On the way they were ambushed and surrounded. But the partisan commissar was well armed and defended himself steadfastly. The Nazis captured him after he was wounded twice...
The Sovinformburo then said about this partisan raid in one of its morning messages:
“A message was received about the great success of the partisans operating in the German-occupied areas of the Moscow region. On November 24, several partisan detachments under the command of K., P., B., united for joint actions against the invaders, raided a large populated area where the headquarters was located one of the military formations of the fascist German army. At night, after careful reconnaissance, the glorious Soviet patriots attacked the unsuspecting enemy... The headquarters of the German corps was destroyed. Important documents were captured. Brave partisan fighters killed about six hundred Germans, including many officers. , destroyed a fuel warehouse, an automobile repair base, 80 trucks and 23 passenger vehicles, 4 tanks, an armored vehicle, a convoy with ammunition and several machine gun points...".
And again let's return to our hero-countryman Guryanov. For more than two days, fascist monsters tortured Guryanov. He was tortured, burned with hot iron.
- Where are your people, Guryanov?!
This is what the executioners wanted from him. And he answered proudly:
- My people are everywhere! These are Soviet people...
Many residents were rounded up for Guryanov's execution. At three o'clock in the afternoon on November 27, 1941, he was brought to the building of the district executive committee to hang him on the balcony. And so he, already with a noose around his neck, defiantly threw at his executioners:
- Death to fascism! Long live our Motherland!
These were the hero's last words.
The Nazis did not allow the executed commissar to see the body, on whose chest was a white note: “Leader of the Partisans.” For about two weeks the Nazis did not allow the corpse to be removed.
...On the third of January 1942, when Soviet troops entered the Ugodsky Plant, a mourning meeting took place in the center of the village. After a three-time gun salute, the coffin with the body of M.A. Guryanov was buried.
The Soviet government highly appreciated the operation carried out at the Ugodsky Plant. In December 1941, many of its participants, including 11 partisans, were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union. Commissioner of the Ugodsko-Zavodsky partisan detachment M.A. Guryanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. And two months later he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
N. Grebenshchikov
Mikhail Guryanov- Hero of the Soviet Union.
Born on October 1, 1903 in the village of Novo-Petrovskoye, now Istrinsky district, Moscow region, in a working-class family.
Russian. Primary education (4 years of rural school).
From the age of 12 he worked as a servant for the owner of a tea shop. Since 1918 - apprentice and turner at the Provodnik plant (Moscow), since 1920 - turner at the Manikhinskaya (now Oktyabrskaya) cloth factory. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1931. In 1933 he completed courses in Soviet construction (Moscow). Then he worked as chairman of the Petrovsky village council. From 1934 to 1937 - Chairman of the Dedovsky Village Council in the Istrinsky District of the Moscow Region. Since January 1938 - Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Ugodsko-Zavodsky District Council of Workers' Deputies of the Moscow Region (now Zhukovsky District of the Kaluga Region).
Participant of the Great Patriotic War since October 1941. He took an active part in the formation of a partisan detachment on the territory of the Ugodsko-Zavodsky district, and after the occupation of the area by German troops, he became the detachment’s commissar. Participant in the Moscow Battle.
The commissar of the partisan detachment, Mikhail Guryanov (detachment commander - V.A. Karasev) actively participated in the preparation and conduct of the operation to defeat the German headquarters (in Soviet literature it is usually indicated that this was the headquarters of the 12th Army Corps; in fact, part of the headquarters was located in the Ugorsk plant 263rd Infantry Division of this corps) in the village of Ugodsky Zavod (since 1997 - the city of Zhukov, Kaluga Region). On the night of November 24, 1941, several groups of partisans and soldiers of the Special Purpose Detachment of the Western Front headquarters, totaling about 400 people, surrounded the village and broke into it from different sides. The buildings housing headquarters units, the German garrison, warehouses, post office, the territory of repair shops with German equipment located on it, and other objects were attacked. Group M.A. Guryanova attacked the building of the former district executive committee and destroyed the Nazis who were in it.
In this battle, the enemy suffered significant losses in manpower, although their estimate by the Soviet command (about 600 killed and wounded) is most likely overestimated. A lot of enemy equipment was also destroyed. Soviet partisans and soldiers lost 18 killed, 8 wounded and 37 missing in action.
When M.A.’s group departed Guryanov in the area of the village of Ryzhkovo, now Zhukovsky district, Kaluga region, while trying to get to food caches on November 26, 1941 Guryanov M.A. was ambushed. He took on an unequal battle, was wounded and captured by punitive forces. The Germans subjected the partisan commissar to brutal torture, including burning him with fire, but did not obtain any information from him.
On November 27, 1941, the punishers publicly hanged M.A. Guryanov in the village of Ugodsky Zavod - on the balcony of the house where a memorial to prisoners of German concentration camps is currently located.
The body of the brave partisan hung for seven days. The Nazis did not allow anyone near him, and only when the Red Army entered the Ugodsky Plant was M. Guryanov’s body buried with honors on January 3 in the park of the district center.
For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism demonstrated by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 16, 1942, partisan Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded the Order of Lenin (02/16/1942, posthumously), the Red Banner (12/2/1941, posthumously).
In the city of Zhukov, a bust was installed on the Hero’s grave and a memorial plaque at the site of his execution. Also, a memorial plaque was installed in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga region. In Moscow, a memorial sign was installed on the street named after him. Streets in Moscow, Kaluga, Obninsk, as well as the collective farm in the village of Tarutino, Zhukovsky district, Kaluga region, are named after the Hero.
The partisan movement of 1941 is a special and very controversial page in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Along with numerous facts of cowardice of members of partisan detachments, mainly from among the party and economic activists of the regions, the partisans of 1941 gave many examples of courage and devotion to their Motherland, and readiness to stand up for its defense. One of these selfless people is Hero of the Soviet Union partisan Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov. Commissioner of a partisan detachment operating in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kaluga region.
USSR USSR
Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov(October 10, 1903 - November 27, 1941) - participant in the Great Patriotic War, commissar of a partisan detachment operating in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kaluga Region, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Biography
Born in the village of Petrovskoye (now Istrinsky district, Moscow region) in a working-class family. Russian by nationality.
As commissar of the partisan detachment, Mikhail Guryanov participated in the preparation and conduct of the operation to defeat the headquarters of the Wehrmacht army corps.
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Excerpt characterizing Guryanov, Mikhail Alekseevich
It was already two o'clock in the afternoon. The French have already entered Moscow. Pierre knew this, but instead of acting, he thought only about his enterprise, going over all its slightest future details. In his dreams, Pierre did not vividly imagine either the process of delivering the blow or the death of Napoleon, but with extraordinary brightness and with sad pleasure he imagined his death and his heroic courage.“Yes, one for all, I must commit or perish! - he thought. - Yes, I’ll come up... and then suddenly... With a pistol or a dagger? - thought Pierre. - However, it doesn’t matter. It’s not I, but the hand of Providence that will execute you, I say (Pierre thought about the words he would utter when killing Napoleon). Well, go ahead and execute me,” Pierre continued to say to himself, with a sad but firm expression on his face, lowering his head.
While Pierre, standing in the middle of the room, reasoned with himself in this way, the door of the office opened, and a completely changed figure of the always previously timid Makar Alekseevich appeared on the threshold. His robe was open. The face was red and ugly. He was obviously drunk. Seeing Pierre, he was embarrassed at first, but noticing the embarrassment on Pierre’s face, he immediately cheered up and walked out into the middle of the room with his thin, unsteady legs.
“They were timid,” he said in a hoarse, trusting voice. - I say: I won’t give up, I say... is that right, sir? “He thought for a moment and suddenly, seeing a pistol on the table, he unexpectedly quickly grabbed it and ran out into the corridor.
Gerasim and the janitor, who were following Makar Alekseich, stopped him in the hallway and began to take away the pistol. Pierre, going out into the corridor, looked at this half-crazy old man with pity and disgust. Makar Alekseich, wincing from the effort, held the pistol and shouted in a hoarse voice, apparently imagining something solemn.
- To arms! Aboard! You're lying, you can't take it away! - he shouted.
- It will, please, it will. Do me a favor, please leave. Well, please, master... - said Gerasim, carefully trying to turn Makar Alekseich towards the door by his elbows.
- Who are you? Bonaparte!.. - shouted Makar Alekseich.
- This is not good, sir. Come to your rooms and rest. Please give me a pistol.
- Get away, despicable slave! Don't touch! Saw? - Makar Alekseich shouted, shaking his pistol. - Aboard!
“Get involved,” Gerasim whispered to the janitor.
Makar Alekseich was grabbed by the arms and dragged to the door.
The hallway was filled with ugly sounds of fussing and the drunken, wheezing sounds of a breathless voice.
Suddenly a new, piercing female scream came from the porch, and the cook ran into the hallway.
- They! Dear fathers!.. By God, they are. Four, mounted!.. - she shouted.
Gerasim and the janitor released Makar Alekseich from their hands, and in the quiet corridor the knocking of several hands on the front door was clearly heard.
Pierre, who had decided with himself that before fulfilling his intention he did not need to reveal either his rank or knowledge of the French language, stood in the half-open doors of the corridor, intending to immediately hide as soon as the French entered. But the French entered, and Pierre still did not leave the door: irresistible curiosity held him back.
There were two of them. One is an officer, a tall, brave and handsome man, the other is obviously a soldier or orderly, a squat, thin, tanned man with sunken cheeks and a dull expression on his face. The officer, leaning on a stick and limping, walked ahead. Having taken a few steps, the officer, as if deciding with himself that this apartment was good, stopped, turned back to the soldiers standing in the doorway and in a loud commanding voice shouted to them to bring in the horses. Having finished this matter, the officer, with a gallant gesture, raised his elbow high, straightened his mustache and touched his hat with his hand.
It's night outside. There are four of them. They lie on the floor of the school classroom. This is their last night in their home village. Early in the morning they will leave for the partisan base. The kindest, most tender words were said to the families as they said goodbye. A few more night hours and another life will begin. Each of the four thought about this to themselves, so as not to disturb the others to be in their own world.
Mikhail Alekseevich lay with his eyes open, peering into the twilight of the room. Just recently, he, the chairman of the district executive committee, came into this class and sat among cute boys and girls. It’s like I returned to my childhood years when I got here. Only it was much more difficult for him then. There was an imperialist war going on, and there was an eternal shortage in the house. Before school, when there is nothing to eat. He studied for only three years. And then he began to earn his own bread. A local kulak mercifully took him as a sex worker to a tea shop. Much later, Misha read about Pavel Korchagin’s childhood. What a similarity of destinies. Working day 15-16 hours a day. And in addition there are punches, beatings, and insults.
But when they asked him whose he was, Misha answered: “The son of a hereditary worker.” He was proud of this. His father, Alexey Guryanov, worked at the Khishin factory, at the Provodnik plant, and for the last seven years as a fireman at the Oktyabrskaya cloth factory. Mother - Anna Pavlovna - is also a hard worker. For fifteen years she washed sheets, underwear, and gowns in the hospital.
Misha was constantly at odds with the owner. When news of the revolution reached Petrograd, Misha showed him one combination of three fingers and left. He was hired as an apprentice at the Provodnik plant. My father worked here. Misha began the path of a working man under Soviet rule. He mastered the profession of a turner. In 1925 he joined the Komsomol. He worked at the Oktyabrskaya Cloth Factory for ten years. And here many spoke kindly about his father. Truly, Mikhail followed in his father’s footsteps, absorbing the traditions of the working class.
1931 Each person has his own special date. For Mikhail Guryanov, this year is memorable. He was accepted into the Leninist party. From then on, his active social and political activities unfolded. Chairman of the village council - first in Petrovsk, then in Krasnovidovo. The young Soviet worker energetically implemented the party's policy in collective farm construction. Study in Moscow. He returned from there not only with a diploma of honor, but he grew ideologically and began to judge more maturely the problems of the Soviet countryside and the prospects for its development. Wherever he was sent, he devoted himself entirely to the task. Four years before the Great Patriotic War, Mikhail Alekseevich was elected chairman of the executive committee of the Ugodsko-Zavodsky District Council of Workers' Deputies.
Mikhail Alekseevich stood up and went to the window. The streets were drowning in darkness. But in his memory the village lay clear in the palm of his hand. A house of culture, a savings bank, a children's clinic, a house for agricultural specialists, a fire station... All this was built under him. On his initiative, industrial and food processing plants, sewing, embroidery and woodworking artels were created.
And in the villages of the region? Using the method of popular construction, bridges and roads were built, shops, hospitals and veterinary clinics, clubs were opened...
The workers of the region harvested the harvest in a short time: the army, which heroically fought the enemy, needed bread, potatoes, and vegetables. Collective farmers gave them. The community's livestock and farm vehicles were quickly evacuated. It was hectic work. The day was not enough to do what was planned in the morning. Should we build an airfield? Will. Mikhail Alekseevich visited the site and helped organize the delivery of the necessary materials. Five days - and the task of the military command is completed: the airfield is ready. What a pace! Do you need an anti-tank line? Length 750 meters? Fine. People go and build.
They helped as much as they could. Here are some numbers: the workers of the region donated 179,910 rubles worth of paid government bonds to the defense fund, 17,709 rubles in cash, and 380 rubles worth of valuables. Collective farms allocated 53 heads of cattle, 110 heads of poultry, 17 sheep, over 20 thousand liters of milk, 296 centners of grain. And this is in just over two months. And with what excitement the collection of warm clothes took place! In September, 669 kilograms of wool and 579 sheepskins were delivered for the needs of the front. People gave blankets, sweaters, short fur coats, and felt boots to their native army. They gave it without any propaganda. “For victory,” they said and put it on the table, adding: “Our children are there too.”
German guns were already rolling through the villages of the region. Along the roads that Mikhail Alekseevich traveled. They burned those houses in which he sat at the table with hospitable hosts. Our troops were moving through the Ugodsky Plant. Tough step. Severe faces.
Mikhail Alekseevich remained at his post. He gave the final instructions in a calm, firm voice. What to do with the engine? Throw it into a pond or destroy it. What to do with the property? Take him to the forest. Leave nothing to the enemy. The last institutions and enterprises were closing. The life that he had directed just yesterday froze.
But another one was already beginning. A partisan detachment of 65 fighters was formed in the area, food bases, and reserves of weapons and ammunition were created. As always, Guryanov showed a lot of care in this matter. They were waiting for him in the forest. Tomorrow, or rather, today he will be there.
Mikhail Alekseevich never fell asleep that night. Surrendered to his thoughts, he did not notice how she passed. Dawn was breaking. He got up and went to the district executive committee.
The building of the district executive committee was unusually quiet and empty. Pain squeezed my heart. The secretary of the district party committee, Kurbatov, appeared at the door of the office.
“Well, it’s time for us,” he said, wiping his glasses. At dawn, Guryanov, Kurbatov and a group of comrades left the regional center for the forest.
Mikhail Alekseevich knew his own and neighboring areas well. He found paths along which he and his comrades made their way behind enemy lines and led Red Army soldiers out of encirclement.
His old acquaintances also met on the partisan roads. One day, near the village of Chentsovo, Guryanov noticed a woman walking alone. I took a closer look. Yes, this is the collective farmer Feoktistova.
- So we met. Glad. Hello. We got talking,
- Do the partisans have everything? - the woman asked. He hesitated.
- Speak up, Alekseich, don’t be shy.
Guryanov knew the kindness of the Russian people. When we were collecting warm clothes, I was convinced of this myself. He saw the generosity of his compatriots in various manifestations.
- Everything is fine, Varvara Nikiforovna. Only now the meat has run out. “Well, yes, we are not spoiled people,” said Mikhail Alekseevich.
- What are you, what are you. Is it possible in your life without meat? “You know what,” she suddenly suggested, “take my cow.”
- I won’t think so, no, no.
No matter how he refused, the woman still insisted on her own.
“Okay,” he agreed, “but on condition...
- What other conditions are there between us? We are our own people, Soviet people.
- And on the condition that as soon as we drive away the invaders, I will return the cow to you. Chairman's word.
All the partisans in the detachment were touched to the depths of their souls by this selfless care of an ordinary peasant woman. It was worth going to death and torment for such people. In the meantime, live to fight and win. This is the law of a fighter.
The partisans had someone to follow as an example, someone to learn endurance, perseverance, and courage from. Next to them on the bunk, having returned from a mission, after everyone else, the deputy commissar of the detachment, Guryanov, fell asleep. Before he lies down, he will think about Others. And in military affairs he is always the first. To establish contact with the command of the active army, how many times did he cross the front line? Whether the road had to be mined or the Germans had to be attacked, Mikhail Alekseevich was always in the battle group.
Forays into the German rear, attacks on their convoys, and individual groups became more and more frequent. However, Guryanov's restless soul asked for more. He flushed all over when he learned that the German headquarters was located in the district executive committee. He walked around thoughtfully all day.
- What are you, Mikhail Alekseevich? - asked the detachment commander Karasev.
- It’s difficult for our army. If only I could help her... Hit the Ugodsky Plant. There's a big connection there.
- We can't do it. Thirty-seven fighters.
“Of course, we can’t do it alone.” What if you gather several squads into a fist? What do you think, commander?
- Interesting.
Guryanov's thoughts were occupied with the upcoming operation. Data was collected. The enemy behaves arrogantly (oh how I want to teach him a lesson!), neglects blackout (give him fireworks!), soldiers and officers get drunk (drink them full of lead!).
Gradually the attack plan took concrete shape. In presenting it, Mikhail Alekseevich substantiated every detail, he had an answer to every question, “And he would make a good staff commander,” thought Karasev.
“Good,” he said. “The floor now belongs to Moscow.”
Guryanov quickly got ready for the trip. They were looking forward to it. With his impulse, he ignited all the partisans. There is one topic in the dugouts: the attack on the Ugodsky Plant. Will Moscow approve? Finally, Guryanov invigorates with the news. He barely escaped the embrace of the partisans.
- Shut up, you devils. Save your strength, you will need it.
Then he talked about the capital, about Muscovites, their moods. The city is like a fighter. Strict and smart. One feels that he will soon unfold his heroic shoulders. This story brightened the faces of the partisans and increased their confidence in victory.
In mid-November 1941, Commissar Kurbatov left the detachment. Who will replace him? The most suitable candidate is Guryanov.
Commissar... Before his mind's eye were the commissars of the civil war. Commissars of active units. Pistol in hand, figure looking forward. The tactics of guerrilla warfare, it is true, are different from combat operations at the front, but a personal example, a more passionate word, is also valued here, like a sip of water when you are thirsty, like a cartridge in difficult times.
Several days passed. The partisans met comrades in arms - fighters of the Moscow detachments D.K. Kaverznev and V.N. Babakin, the Kolomna detachment N.V. Shivalin. But the special forces detachment of the Western Front, led by V.V. Jabot, arrived. This detachment was to form the main force. The camp became crowded.
“The people are like at logging,” Guryanov joked. The walking pace is usually five kilometers per hour. But there were no roads here. The partisans walked twenty-five kilometers for two days. They walked carefully, maintaining a disguise so as not to give themselves away. Otherwise - failure. The houses of the Ugodsky Factory finally appeared. Stop. Fatigue was making itself felt. Many fighters went to sleep right on the frozen ground. The scouts went to the regional center and stayed there until the evening.
“Report,” said V. Jabot.
Fresh data helped clarify certain details of the operation. In the enemy camp, eight of the most important targets were chosen for attack. Accordingly, they were divided into eight groups.
Guryanov decided to go with Karasev’s group. She was entrusted with a difficult and responsible task - to attack the enemy in the district executive committee, where a unit of the headquarters of the German formation was under heavy security. The operation starts at two o'clock in the morning. Starting position at the edge of the forest.
In battle, the password is “Motherland”, the response is “Moscow”.
- All clear? - Jabot addressed the group commanders.
- No questions.
- Check the training of people, bring the task to everyone.
Minutes before the fight. The partisans concentrated on the starting line. The outskirts of the regional center are less than a kilometer away.
The last lights in the village went out. Sensitive silence above. The tree branches froze motionless. They also seem to be waiting. Mikhail Alekseevich hears the clock knocking on his hand. Or is it the heart? The whole body is tense, the signal is coming soon. Ten minutes left, five...
Somewhere nearby a shout: “Halt! Ver commmt?” At the same moment, a machine gun burst was heard. It was as if someone had walked along the fence with a stick. A dotted line of tracers traced the darkness of the night. It was Karasev who gave the long-awaited signal - forward!
He had seen this house more than once in his dreams. Two floors. Balcony. The first floor is stone, white. The second is wooden, painted green.
This was his office, here he had heated debates and intimate conversations with his colleagues. Information from all over the region flowed here and advice, instructions, and help came from here. Now he is running towards him through the snow with a machine gun in his hand, shooting as he goes.
Another jerk, another, and the building is surrounded. Guryanov swung: a grenade through one window, another grenade through the other. Explosion. Flame. Second explosion. The fire illuminated the rooms. The Nazis did not expect such fireworks. They rushed to the windows. Back. Friendly queues forced them to flee.
Guryanov - to the main entrance. The door is locked and won't budge. Damn it! It's a pity for time. There is another door from the yard. He'll be there in no time. The Nazis are already at the door. Queue them. We settled down. Like this. We sat in the district executive committee, that's enough...
The detachment's attack was swift and friendly. The battle raged throughout the village. An ammunition depot went up in the air. Elsewhere, barrels of gasoline caught fire. It became as bright as day. Wherever the Germans rushed in panic, everywhere they were overtaken by the punishing revenge of the partisans.
Operation was successfully completed. Results: the headquarters of the 12th Army Corps were destroyed, about 600 soldiers and officers, 80 trucks and 23 cars, four tanks, an armored vehicle, five motorcycles, an ammunition train, two fuel depots, a food warehouse and an auto repair shop were destroyed. Maps, diagrams and other important staff documents fell into the hands of the partisans. They helped the Red Army command organize a counteroffensive near Moscow.
“We’re leaving, comrades,” the commander ordered.
The partisans were moving towards their intended camp site. The detachment lost 18 people killed, eight were wounded.
Commissioner Guryanov turned to the side. It was necessary to go into the previously abandoned dugouts to prepare food for comrades, to open the key at the bottom of the ravine. The way was still long.
Time passed, but Guryanov did not return. The search for him was fruitless. As it later turned out, he was ambushed by an enemy in the area of the partisan camp. One against fifty.
- Drop your weapon! - they shouted to him in German. Guryanov responded with fire. In a hot battle he was seriously wounded. Then they attacked him.
The enemies took out all their hatred on Commissar Guryanov. Three days of torment and torture. The Nazis burned his body with hot irons and did not even give him a sip of water. Who you are? First Name Last Name? Not a word in response. The will of the communist was stronger than torture. He was silent. Left in solitary confinement, he whispered with broken lips: the password is “Motherland”, the review is “Moscow”.
He was betrayed by a traitor. Then he told the executioners: “Yes, I am Guryanov, chairman of the regional Council of Workers’ Deputies. I’m proud of it!” Turning to the traitor, he contemptuously asked: “What can you be proud of, Judas?”
They beat him again. When he came to his senses, they again dragged him for interrogation.
Investigator:
- We promise to save your life if you tell us where the partisans are, how many there are, with whom they keep in touch, who the commanders and commissars are.
- I'll tell you. partisans are everywhere, there are millions of them, they keep in touch with all the people. Your death is inevitable.
Guryanov was taken outside. It was getting dark.
He walked under guard, beaten, wounded, but proud of his strength as a communist.
- Stop.
Overhead is the balcony of the district executive committee. From here, on holidays, the chairman of the district council addressed the people with fiery words. Here he will be executed.
Many village residents witnessed this tragic scene. Mikhail Alekseevich managed to shout: “Comrades! They will kill me now. Destroy the fascists! Long live the Motherland!”
The telephone wire tightened around his throat. Feet touched the ground. So he stood for several days and nights at the place of execution. Tormented by the enemy, but not broken. Killed, but not defeated.
When units of the Red Army liberated the Ugodsky Plant, the partisans found the body of their fearless commissar in a shelter, behind the district executive committee. And then they presented the whole tragedy, which ended with the murder of Mikhail Alekseevich. Their hearts shook. They took off their hats to the courage of this man. His hands were burned. There was a gaping wound on the head with burnt flaps of skin. The right leg was in burlap filled with clots of blackened blood.
The residents of the village started the New Year 1942 without their chairman. For two days they walked past the hero’s coffin, paying their last respects to the communist partisan. The coffin was taken out of the district executive committee building. In the park opposite, a mound of earth grew over the grave.
The homeland highly appreciated the feat of its faithful son.
Soon after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the hero’s mother Anna Pavlovna Guryanova received a voluminous package from Moscow. Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin wrote:
“Dear Anna Pavlovna! Your son Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov died a brave death in the battles for the Soviet Motherland.
For the heroic feat performed by your son Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov in the partisan struggle in the rear against the German invaders, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, by Decree of February 16, 1942, awarded him the highest degree of distinction - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
“I am sending you a letter from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR conferring on your son the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to be kept as a memory of the heroic son, whose feat will never be forgotten by our people.”
Kaluga residents sacredly honor the blessed memory of their illustrious fellow countryman. In the Ugodsko-Zavodsky and regional museums of local history, exhibitions are dedicated to him. There is a bust of him at the House of Culture, and a memorial plaque on the building of the district executive committee. People passing by involuntarily slow their pace and read the words carved in marble:
“Here on November 27, 1941, Hero of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Ugodsko-Zavodsky Executive Committee of the District Council of Working People’s Deputies, was brutally tortured and hanged by the German occupiers
GURYANOV
Mikhail Alekseevich"
The stormy days have passed. One day Varvara Nikiforovna Feoktistova from the village of Chentsovo received a notice. The district executive committee informed her that, at the request of M. A. Guryanov’s military friends, she was given a cow to replace the one she gave to the partisans in the fall of 1941. Varvara Nikiforovna’s heart was filled with great joy. She warmly thanked the people who had not forgotten her patriotic act.
The fame of M. A. Guryanov has long become national. Millions of people open the book "History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union." Among the outstanding commanders and organizers of the partisan movement, the name of Mikhail Alekseevich Guryanov is mentioned in this book. Think about it, friend: what kind of people make the history of our party and country!