Vasily Zakharovich Korzh ( be, Васіль Захаравіч Корж, russian: Василий Захарович Корж; 13 January 18995 May 1967), also known under the

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

''nom de guerre'' Komarov, was a

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, ...

Byelorussian communist activist, partisan, and one of the leaders of the

Belarusian resistance during World War II The Belarusian resistance during World War II opposed Nazi Germany from 1941 until 1944. Belarus was one of the Soviet republics occupied during Operation Barbarossa. The term Belarusian partisans may refer to Soviet-formed irregular milita ...

. A

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

chairman,

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

officer, and volunteer with the

Spanish Republican The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

forces in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, he is best remembered for organizing and leading one of the first

units during the 1941-1944 occupation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic by Nazi Germany. On account of his partisan service, Korzh was made a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in 1943 and was awarded the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

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 ...

in August 1944.

Biography

Born into a peasant Belarusian family in Khorostovo (south of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, then part of the

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. ...

) in 1899, Korzh spent his early years assisting his family's toils on the agricultural lands owned by the noble

House of Golitsyn The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest ...

.Kvitkevič, Siarhej
"Жыве імя легендарнага камбрыга"
("Long Live the Name of the Legendary Combrig"). ''Minskaja Praŭda''. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009. A supporter of the communist cause, Korzh participated in the guerrilla struggles of the pro-

Belarusian anti-Polish resistance movement in the 1920s in Western Byelorussia (first occupied by

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

and then officially ceded to the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

after the 1921

Treaty of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War. ...

in the aftermath of the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War). He had initially been conscripted into the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

during the conflict, but deserted from it after a fight with a Polish commander, provoked by the abuse inflicted on the Belarusian soldiers in the army's ranks.Galinskaya, A. V
"Василий Захарович Корж"
("Vasily Zakharovich Korzh").

Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum The Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum ( be, Беларускі дзяржаўны музей гісторыі Вялікай Айчыннай вайны, translit=Belaruski dzi͡arz͡haŭny muzeĭ historyi Vi͡alikaĭ Aĭchynnaĭ vaĭny, russia ...

. 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2009. Arriving in the Soviet Union in 1925, Korzh began working in agriculture and became a

chairman after organizing the first peasants' commune in the village of Metyavichi, though not yet a member of the All-Union Communist Party. After joining the party's ranks in 1929, Korzh went on to join the

in 1931. He left in 1936 in order to fight as a volunteer with the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

on the side of the leftist

Spanish Republicans Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

against the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

forces of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

in the

, returning to the Soviet Union in 1939 as a decorated fighter. He managed a

sovkhoz A sovkhoz ( rus, совхо́з, p=sɐfˈxos, a=ru-sovkhoz.ogg, abbreviated from ''советское хозяйство'', "sovetskoye khozyaystvo (sovkhoz)"; ) was a form of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union. It is usually contrasted wit ...

in 1939-1940 and became head of the local Communist Party's

Pinsk Region Pinsk Region (Pinsk Voblast, be, Пінская вобласць, russian: Пинская Область) was a territorial unit in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic created after the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in November 1 ...

organization in 1940. Korzh began organizing resistance cells in western Belarus immediately after the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany on 22 June 1941. Within a month, Korzh's unit was already battling the German troops, having first engaged the German tanks accompanying the 293rd Wehrmacht Infantry Division on 28 June. Having served out most of the war in the rank of "brigade commander" or "

kombrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

" among the Soviet partisans (the

also had not fully transitioned to the traditional officer ranks' system by the beginning of the German invasion), he was made a

in 1943. He subsequently was recognized with the

on 15 August 1944, during the last days of

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

, the Red Army's successful effort to liberate the remaining German-held Byelorussian territory. Korzh received his discharge from the military on account of poor health in 1946. He subsequently worked as an assistant to the Forestry Minister of the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

in 1949–1953, before returning to the Byelorussian countryside from Minsk in 1953. Upon his return, he was again elected as kolkhoz chairman of a Belarusian village. Korzh died on 5 May 1967.

Honours and awards

* 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 ...

* Two

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

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

1st class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

1st class *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Германией в Великой Отечественной войне 1941—1945 гг.») was a military de ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korzh, Vasily Zakharovich 1899 births 1967 deaths People from Salihorsk District Belarusian partisans Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Heroes of the Soviet Union NKVD officers Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet major generals Soviet people of the Spanish Civil War Soviet partisans International Brigades personnel Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni