Oleg Nikolayevich Ozerov (; 17 June 1922 – 30 January 2007) was a Soviet World War II Army soldier who was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during World War II. He has been widely decorated for his wartime efforts by both the French and Russian governments. Ozerov was born in

Spassk Spassk (russian: Спасск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Spassk, Penza Oblast, a town in Spassky District of Penza Oblast *Spassk, Kemerovo Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Tasht ...

Ryazan Governorate Ryazan Governorate (russian: link=no, Рязанская губерния, ''Ryazanskaya guberniya'', Government of Ryazan) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, wh ...

. After finishing secondary school in June 1940, he was called up to serve in the Red Army, in the border guards, and was sent to the Soviet Union’s western border where he completed an intensive artillery institute training course. He was stationed near Peremysl when war broke out on June 22, 1941. At the end of July he suffered shell shock and was taken prisoner. He then went through a number of

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

and work camps, the last of which was located in France near Bordeaux. With the help of French communists, Ozerov escaped and fought with a partisan detachment in Brittany (the Dombrovsky 13th International Brigade). He returned to his homeland at the end of 1945. After leaving the army, he graduated from the Minsk Polytechnic Institute, worked at a construction firm, Minmontazhspetsstroy, and was involved in building factories and bringing gas to Moscow Oblast. He was manager of a trust, deputy minister, and director of the State Technical Scientific Research Institute. In 1985, he became a deputy rector of the Moscow Transport Institute, where he also taught and later became the head of the Labour Protection Department. Ozerov was also leader of Combatants Volontaires, an interregional association of veterans of the French Resistance. He was decorated with the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

, the Croix de Guerre with swords, the Croix de Guerre, the

Cross of the Resistance Volunteer Combatant A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

and the

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

. In 2004, he was present at the 60th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, which was also attended by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. He died in January 2007.Озеров Олег Николаевич
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozerov, Oleg 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Spassky Uyezd (Ryazan Governorate) Communist members of the French Resistance Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Escapees from Nazi concentration camps Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Resistance Medal Soviet border guards Soviet escapees Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet partisans Soviet prisoners of war