Mavriky Trofimovich Slepnyov (russian: Маврикий Трофимович Слепнёв; – 19 December 1965) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

polar aviator who was awarded

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Early life

Slepnyov was born at June 15 (27), 1896 in Yamskovitsy village,

Yamburgsky Uyezd Yamburgsky Uyezd (russian: Ямбургский уезд) was one of the eight subdivisions of the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Yamburg (Kingisepp). Yamburgsky Uyezd was located in the westernmost part of the g ...

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...

(now

Kingiseppsky District Kingiseppsky District (russian: Кингисе́ппский райо́н, fi, Kingiseppin piiri) is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #81-oz district (raion), one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in t ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 194 ...

) in peasant's family. He was a Russian national. Mavrikiy Slepnyov graduated from the

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

s' School (1915), Gatchina Flying School (1917), First Higher School of Military Pilots (1923), and

Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Air Force. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the following sp ...

(1936). Slepnyov took part in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

staff captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

. He then participated in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

as a military engineer for the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division. In 1925, Mavrikiy Slepnyov became a pilot of the Civil Air Fleet and took part in the exploration of the airways of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

, and the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

The Deed and further Life

Slepnyov was awarded the title of the Fifth Hero of the Soviet Union on April 20, 1934, for the rescue of

SS Chelyuskin SS ''Chelyuskin'' ( rus, «Челю́скин», p=tɕɪˈlʲuskʲɪn) was a Soviet steamship, reinforced to navigate through polar ice, that became ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern Maritime Route from Murmansk t ...

crew from an improvised airfield on the frozen surface of the Chukchi Sea near

Kolyuchin Island Kolyuchin Island or Koliuchin Island (russian: Остров Колючин, ) is a small island in the Chukchi Sea. It is not far from the coast, being only from the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula. Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its long ...

. He personally evacuated 5 men and airlifted ill

Otto Schmidt Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...

for care to USA. In 1935-1938 Mavriky Slepnyov was member of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union. In 1937, he was appointed Chief Inspection Head at the Civil Air Fleet and dirigible squadron commander, at the same time (since 1935). In 1939, Mavrikiy Slepnyov became head of the Civil Air Fleet Academy. During the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, Slepnyov was a deputy commander of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

Black Sea Fleet aviation brigade (1941–1942) and then was employed by the Main Department of the Naval Air Force and General Headquarters of the Soviet Navy. Mavrikiy Slepnyov retired in 1946. Slepnyov died at December 19, 1965. He is buried in Moscow, at Novodevichy Cemetery. Mavrikiy Slepnyov was awarded two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

, Order of the Red Half Moon of the Tajik SSR and numerous medals.

Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comme ...

TD of

Russian Emergency Ministry The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergency Situations and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (russian: Министерство Российской Федерации по делам гражданской ...

was named in his honour as well as the street in Moscow and

Gatchina The town of Gatchina ( rus, Га́тчина, , ˈɡatːɕɪnə, links=y) serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slepnyov, Mavriky 1896 births 1965 deaths People from Kingiseppsky District People from Yamburgsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union members Soviet Navy officers Russian aviators Soviet Air Force officers Russian people of World War II Soviet World War II pilots Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Lenin