Semyon Danilovich Nomokonov (; 12 August 1900 – 15 July 1973) was a

Soviet sniper Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II, apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts. In World War II, Soviet snipers used the 7.62×54mmR rifle cartridge with light, heavy, armou ...

during

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 opposing ...

credited with 367 kills. An ethnic Hamnigan Evenk, Nomokonov was among the

indigenous peoples of Russia Lists of indigenous peoples of Russia cover the indigenous ethnic groups in Russia other than Russians. As of 2010 these constituted about 20% of the population. The period lists are organized by the official classifications based on the number o ...

who fought in the war. He received the nickname "

Taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

" from enemies.

Early life

Nomokonov was born in the settlement of Delyun in

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. " Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai ...

, Russia (then

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), to a poor family of hunters, and from childhood lived in the

. Nomokonov first used a rifle at the age of 7. He hunted Sable,

Manchurian wapiti The Manchurian wapiti (''Cervus canadensis xanthopygus'') is a subspecies of the wapiti native to East Asia. Description The Manchurian wapiti's coat is reddish brown during summer, and brownish gray in winter. It has dark hairs on the neck and ...

and

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, and was nicknamed Eye of the

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...

. Nomokonov was baptized at the age of 15 and received the name Semyon. In 1928 Nomokonov moved to the settlement of Nizhny Stan in the Russian

Shilkinsky District Shilkinsky District (russian: Шилкинский райо́н) is an administrativeRegistry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities and municipalLaw #316-ZZK district (raion), one of the thirty-one in Zabaykalsky Krai ...

. He continued hunting and also practiced carpentry.

War

Nomokonov started his military service in August 1941, initially in a subsistence farm of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

. Then he made crutches for the wounded. Nomokonov became a sniper by chance. In the fall of 1941 he was evacuating one of the wounded, when he noticed a German, aiming at him. Nomokonov killed him with his own rifle. According to another version, in October 1941 Nomokonov received a rifle and decided to test it. To avoid wasting the rounds, Nomokonov tested the rifle on a German, who was moving along the wooded lake shore, bending down. After that Nomokonov was transferred to a sniper

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

. He started to shoot from a Mosin–Nagant rifle without a

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a '' reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate ...

. Nomokonov fought at the Valdai Heights,

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Lithuania, East Prussia and then in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

. He initially marked the number of kills on his

smoking pipe A smoking pipe is used to inhale the smoke of a burning substance; most common is a tobacco pipe, which can also accommodate almost any other substance. Pipes are commonly made from briar, heather, corn, meerschaum, clay, cherry, glass, porcela ...

. Nomokonov was wounded eight times and suffered a blast injury twice. As a sniper instructor, Nomokonov trained over 150 soldiers.

After the war

Nomokonov returned home on a horse. He continued practicing carpentry in Nizhny Stan, but then moved to the settlement of Zugalay, where his elder sons were living. He built a house and continued hunting during free time. In the fall of 1945 Nomokonov received a horse, binoculars and a rifle no. 24638 for his military service. According to Nomokonov's daughter Zoya Babuyeva, he was a taciturn person and did not like to talk much about the war. Nomokonov died in Zugalay and was interred there. Poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach dedicated a poem to him. Nomokonov left nine children and 49 grandchildren.

Awards

Order 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 ...

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 ...

* Two Order of the Red Star *

Medal "For Battle Merit" The Medal "For Battle Merit" (russian: Медаль «За боевые заслуги») was a Soviet military medal awarded for " combat action resulting in a military success", "courageous defense of the state borders", or "successful military ...

* campaign and jubilee medals

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nomokonov, Semyon 1900 births 1973 deaths People from Zabaykalsky Krai Evenks Soviet military snipers Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner