Mikhail Petrovich Minin (russian: Михаил Петрович Минин; July 29, 1922 – January 10, 2008) was a Russian

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

who was the first to enter the Reichstag building on April 30, 1945, during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

, and the first soldier to mount the flag on the Reichstag building at 10:40 pm. He was born in

Palkinsky District Palkinsky District (russian: Па́лкинский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #833-oz and municipalLaw #420-oz district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west of the oblast and borders with ...

. The iconic picture showing a Georgian soldier,

Meliton Kantaria Meliton Varlamis dze Kantaria or Kantariya ( ka, მელიტონ ქანთარია, russian: Мелитон Варламович Кантария; 5 October 1920 – 27 December 1993) was a Georgian sergeant of the Soviet Army credite ...

, fixing a pole with the hammer-and-sickle flag blowing in the wind was posed on the Reichstag roof two days later, on May 2, 1945. The night that the Reichstag was taken by Minin's platoon there was no photographer available. Mikhail Minin was born in 1922 in the village of Vanino, in western Russia's

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

. In June 1941 he volunteered to join the army to fight against Nazi Germany. He took part in battles to liberate Leningrad from blockade and made his way across the fronts from

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

The Battle of Berlin

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

had urged his troops to mount the flag on the Reichstag building no later than May 1, 1945. Minin's superiors had told the soldiers that any piece of red cloth fixed to the building would symbolize that the battle was won. Minin recalled in a recent interview in a German documentary, the "War of the Century", that by the time the building needed to be stormed, morale among the victorious Soviet soldiers was low. They knew the building could only be taken on foot and it was still heavily defended. So his commanders decided to launch a night attack and Minin was put in charge of the platoon. "Nobody really wanted to die that night because the war was already won," he declared. "Even a promise by our officers that those who captured the building would get the highest decoration of

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 ...

called forth few volunteers. Except for my little company." The four men, G. Zagitov, A. Lisimenko, A. Bobrov, and M. Minin, made their way towards the Reichstag they were met by heavy fire. Minin later reported Minin was recognized for his feat, but was not rewarded as one would expect: even though the brigade's commanders requested that all soldiers in Minin's platoon be awarded the Hero of Soviet Union decoration, they only received a lower-ranking decoration, the

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 th ...

. As there were no photos taken when the flag was put on the roof on 10 p.m., other photos were taken afterwards to recreate the event for the camera. The details were documented in part 19/19 of a German documentary from 2004 called ''The War of the Century''. The documentary includes Minin revisiting the Reichstag and meeting a German soldier who was hiding inside.

Recognition

Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Minin continued his army service. In 1959 he graduated from the V. V. Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy (russian: Военно-инженерная академия) in Moscow and joined

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Фед� ...

. He retired from the military in 1969 as a lieutenant colonel. He moved to Pskov in 1977 and decided to stay in the city afterwards. Minin had to wait five decades for a greater recognition, finally granted to him with an official honour by President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

, on the 50th anniversary of the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Minin died on January 10, 2008, and was buried in his native city of

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

on January 12, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minin, Mikhail 1922 births 2008 deaths People from Pskov Oblast 1945 in Germany Russian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II Battle of Berlin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union