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Rubén Ruiz Ibárruri (; January 9, 1920 – September 3, 1942) was a Spanish military officer and Soviet commander of the 100th Machine Gun Company of an independent training battalion of the 35th guards rifle division of the 62nd army of the Stalingrad Front. He was posthumously awarded the rank of captain of the Guards unit, and also 2 times the
Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
(July 22, 1941, and October 22, 1942). By the decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was posthumously awarded the title of
Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
(August 23, 1956) and awarded the
Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
(August 23, 1956). He was a Lieutenant of the International Brigade during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. The asteroid 2423 Ibarruri (discovered by Soviet astronomer
Lyudmila Zhuravleva Lyudmila Vasilyevna Zhuravleva (, ; born 22 May 1946) is a Soviet Union, Soviet, Russian and Ukraine, Ukrainian astronomer, who worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, where she discovered 213 minor planets. She also serves a ...
) was named in his honour at 1972. He died in the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
.


Biography


Early life

Rubén Ruiz Ibárruri was born on January 9, 1920, in the village of Somorrostro in the family of one of the founders of the Communist party of Spain, Julián Ruiz Gabiña, and the famous revolutionary, the future General Secretary of the party, Dolores Ibárruri. While still a child, Ibárruri took part in political activities. When he was thirteen, he distributed illegal communist leaflets and had to evade the police. In 1935, after his mother was imprisoned, he and Amaya were sent to the Soviet Union. Rubén resided in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
with the Bolshevik leader Panteleimon Lepeshinsky and his wife, biologist Olga Lepeshinskaya. He took up an apprenticeship in the Joseph Stalin 1st State Factory for Automobiles.


Spanish Civil War

After the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the sixteen-year-old Ibárruri approached the Spanish Embassy in Moscow under a pseudonym and - after lying about his age - volunteered to fight on the Republican side. He joined a
Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...
mountain infantry unit in Major Juan Modesto's corps. When General Alexander Rodimtsev met him in August 1937, he already held the rank of a corporal. After participating in the
Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro (, ) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly ...
, he was promoted to sergeant. During February 1939, Ibárruri crossed the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
into
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, with the remnants of the defeated Republican Popular Army, and was interned in the Argelès-sur-Mer concentration camp. He managed to escape and reach the Soviet Embassy in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, from where he returned to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
at April, reuniting with his mother and his sister. Ibárruri attempted to enroll into the Stalingrad Military Flight School, but was rejected on medical grounds. He then entered the Moscow
All-Russian Central Executive Committee The All-Russian Central Executive Committee () was (June – November 1917) a permanent body formed by the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (held from June 16 to July 7, 1917 in Petrograd), then became the ...
Military Academy. After graduation, Second Lieutenant Ibárruri was stationed in the machine-gun platoon of the Moscow 1st Proletarian Division's 175th Company.


World War II

In early July 1941, soon after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the 1st Division confronted the enemy in the town of Borisov, near the Berezina River. Ibárruri's platoon covered the retreat of the regiment across the river. He was severely wounded during the battle, and evacuated to the Kuibyshev where he recovered and associated with
Leonid Khrushchev Leonid Nikitovich Khrushchev (10 November 1917 – 11 March 1943) was a Soviet fighter pilot and the son of Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev served as a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Forces during the Winter War and the Eastern Front of World War ...
who was also recovering there. After recovering, Lieutenant Ibárruri joined the 35th Guards Rifle Division, which was formed from the 8th Airborne Corps in August 1942, as the commander of the 100th Machine Gun Company. The division was consigned to the 62nd Army, which defended Stalingrad. When arriving in the area, the division was rushed to the village of Samofalovka, 30 kilometres north-west of Stalingrad, to halt the advance of the German army toward the
Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
. By the night of 23 August 1942, only a part of the 35th reached the area. Ibárruri's battalion, commanded by Captain A.A. Stolyarov, was deployed in the Kotluban train station and immediately attacked by German forces. Stolyarov was killed in the fight, and Ibárruri replaced him, leading the soldiers while the rest of the division arrived. In the morning, he was hit by a bullet in the abdomen and sent to a field hospital in Srednyaya Akhtuba - a town on the other side of the Volga, 20 kilometres east of Stalingrad. He died from his wound on 4 September 1942. On 2 November 1948, his remains were re-buried in the Square of Fallen Heroes, on the
Mamayev Kurgan Mamayev Kurgan () is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) in Southern Russia. The name in Russian means "tumulus of Mamai". The formation is dominated by a memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stali ...
.


Awards

*
Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
(23 August, 1956, posthumously) *
Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
(September 1941 by president
Mikhail Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (, ; 3 June 1946) was a Soviet politician and Russian Old Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the first chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1938 until his resignation in 1946. From ...
; October 1942)"'Shoulder to Shoulder with Soviet Troops". ''Vecherny Peterburg'', 17 September 2010.
/ref>


References


External links


Rubén Ruiz Ibárruri
on the Heroes of the USSR's official website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz Ibarruri, Ruben 1920 births 1942 deaths People from Greater Bilbao Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in the Soviet Union Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish military personnel killed in World War II Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Russian people of Basque descent Russian people of Spanish descent Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union