Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin ( rus, Матве́й Кузьми́ч Кузьми́н, p=mɐˈtvʲej kʊˈzmʲin; 3 August 1858 – 14 February 1942) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

peasant who was killed in

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 ...

. He was posthumously the oldest person to be named a

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 ...

on May 8, 1965War Heroes
based on his age at death.

Early life

Kuzmin was born in 1858 in the village of Kurakino, in the

Velikoluksky District Velikoluksky District (russian: Великолу́кский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #833-oz and municipalLaw #419-oz district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the oblast and ...

(then

Uezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

) of

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, ...

. He was a self-employed farmer who declined the offer to join 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 ...

Boris Polevoy. The most memorable: history of my reportings (Полевой Б. Н. «Самые памятные: Истории моих репортажей». — М.: Мол. гвардия, 1980, стр. 173—179)
From military diaries of Boris Polevoy
or collective farm. He lived with his grandson and continued to hunt and fish on the territory of the kolkhoz "Rassvet" (russian: Рассвет, 'Dawn'). He was nicknamed "Biriuk" (lone wolf).

Malkino Heights

Kuzmin's home region was occupied by the forces of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in World War II. In February 1942, he helped house a German battalion in the village of Kurakino. The German unit was ordered to pierce the Soviet defense in the area of

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-П ...

by advancing into the rear of the Soviet troops dug in at Malkino Heights. On February 13, 1942, the German commander asked the 83-year-old Kuzmin to guide his men and offered Kuzmin

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

, and a

Sauer & Sohn J. P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH (Sauer & Sohn) is a manufacturer of firearms and machinery and is the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. The products of this company are frequently referred to as Sauer. J. P. Sauer und Sohn History ...

hunting rifle. Kuzmin agreed, but on learning of the proposed route, sent his grandson Vasilij to Pershino (6 km from Kurakino) to warn the Soviet troops and to propose an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

near the village of Malkino. During the night, Kuzmin guided the German units through straining paths, leading them to the outskirts of Malkino at dawn. There the village defenders and the 2nd battalion of 31st Cadet Rifle Brigade of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

attacked. The German battalion came under

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...

fire and suffered losses of about 50 killed and 20 captured. Among the chaos, a German officer had realized what had happened and turned his pistol towards Kuzmin and shot him twice. Kuzmin died during the skirmish. Three days later Kuzmin was buried with military honors. Subsequently he was reburied at the military

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Legacy

Kuzmin's death became known through an article in ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'', by

Boris Polevoy Boris Nikolaevich Polevoy (or Polevoi) (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Полево́й; – 12 July 1981) was a Soviet writer. He is the author of the book '' Story of a Real Man'' about Soviet World War II fighter pilot Aleksey M ...

. Polevoy was a military correspondent in that area and attended Kuzmin's funeral. In 1948 Polevoy wrote the children's story ''The Last Day of Matvey Kuzmin'',All School Program in Literature - 3rd Grade (in Russian
The Last Day of Matvey Kuzmin
/ref> which is still included in Russian school readings for third grade. Kuzmin's self-sacrifice, which was compared with that of

Ivan Susanin Ivan Susanin ( rus, Иван Сусанин, p=ɪˈvan sʊˈsanʲɪn; died 1613) was a Russian national hero and martyr of the early-17th-century Time of Troubles. According to the popular legend, Polish troops seeking to kill Tsar Mikhail hire ...

, earned him the posthumous honour of being named a

. Throughout the Soviet Union, streets were named in his honour. A Soviet

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...

was also named for him. In 1943 a statue to him was raised in a

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...

station Izmailovsky Park, now Partizanskaya, which was designed by the Soviet sculptor

Matvey Manizer Matvey Genrikhovich Manizer (russian: Матвей Генрихович Манизер, – 20 December 1966) was a prominent Russian sculptor. Manizer created a number of works that became classics of socialist realism. Life Manizer wa ...

References

External links

В День всех влюбленных погиб псковский Иван Сусанин - - www.Museum.ru -
at www.museum.ru
Ships and Shipping Companies Database – WORLD SHIPPING REGISTER – Index
at www.e-ships.net
Moscow Metro / Lines & Stations / Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line / Partizanskaya
at engl.mosmetro.ru {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzmin, Matvey 1858 births 1942 deaths People from Velikoluksky District People from Velikoluksky Uyezd Russian people of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet civilians killed in World War II

Early life

Malkino Heights

Legacy

See also

References

External links