A Vitebsk resident compiled a list of Belarusians awarded the St. George's Cross
Either a chest adorned with crosses, or a head in the bushes. Victory or death, in other words. But few people realize that this saying originated during the First World War. And the crosses in question are the Crosses of St. George – one of the highest soldier's awards of the Russian Empire. Until now, little has been recalled about the war that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and claimed over 20 million lives in Europe. The same applies to the Knights of St. George. Now, many historians agree that the heroes of the First World War have been undeservedly forgotten.
For example, in Smorgon, where the Russian-German front line ran for two and a half years, they plan to erect a monument to them. Enthusiasts are painstakingly collecting their names and descriptions of their feats. It's not surprising, as a whole century has passed! Among such amateur historians is Boris Matveev, a pensioner from Vitebsk. Over 20 years, he has compiled what is perhaps the most complete list of natives of Belarus awarded "Georgievsky" crosses of all four degrees. He has gathered information concerning 58 people.
From St. George to the Stars
Two decades ago, Boris Matveev was a deputy of the Vitebsk Regional Council. Then, he accidentally encountered the grandson of a full Knight of St. George, Ivan Gudkov, a native of the Gorodok district. Since then, he began to study reference books, encyclopedias, and search for information about the heroes of the First World War in libraries in Vitebsk, Minsk, and Moscow. He became one of the authors of the book "Glory and Pride of the Vitebsk Land," which tells about Heroes of the Soviet Union and Cavaliers of the Order of Glory. At the same time, he noticed that many holders of the tsarist "Georgievsky" crosses also distinguished themselves under Soviet rule. For example, two of our countrymen, who had three Crosses of St. George each, were later awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. These are Alexey Tereshkov from the Gomel region and the legendary partisan brigade commander from the Dvina region, Minay Shmyrev. His daughter Zinaida also spoke about Minay Filippovich's St. George awards.
However, according to Denis Yakovlev, the chief custodian of the Shmyrev Museum's collections, no documentary evidence has survived:
- We know the story of how St. George's awards saved Minay Filippovich's life during World War I. However, we do not have any award documents, the awards themselves, or photographs of Shmyrev with them. Most likely, the papers burned during the Great Patriotic War.
There are known cases when, after the revolution, gold and silver crosses were donated to the fund for the starving Volga region. Ibrahim Zhdanovich from Kletsk, a full St. George's Cavalier, lost his crosses in Kyiv in 1918. According to one version, they were stolen. According to another, they were sold due to poverty. Efim Ageichenko from the Liozno district, who possessed three crosses, was arrested on a vile denunciation in the 1930s.
His grandson, retired Captain Gennady Agnishenko, remembers that his grandfather spent 5 years in the Vitebsk prison:
- Grandfather served as a "plastun". That is, a scout. He went to capture prisoners. He said that Nicholas II personally presented him with the "George" in Mogilev in front of the formation. Each cross was accompanied by a gold chervonets. Grandfather saved money and bought land. Then he was declared a kulak. A relative who held a position helped get grandfather out of prison. Grandfather hid the crosses and showed them to me only once. The house was sold after his death, and what happened to the awards is unknown.
Some Red Army soldiers openly wore St. George's awards. One of them was Konstantin Nedorubov, a full St. George's Cavalier. He wore his crosses along with the Hero of the Soviet Union Star. In World War I, Nedorubov was a junior ensign and participated in the Brusilov Offensive. During the Great Patriotic War, he formed a cavalry detachment of volunteers and rose to the rank of captain.
Scouts, Aces, and Medics
The Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore also has little information about St. George's Cavaliers. It houses two St. George's crosses. One is silver, 4th class. The other is made of non-precious white metal. Such crosses were minted from February to November 1917. Both are without numbers. Their owners are unknown. Yet, the biographies of many St. George's Cavaliers, believes Konstantin Gaidukov, a foreign language teacher at the Vydreyskaya Secondary School in the Liozno district, who shares Matveev's hobby, could form the basis of an exciting novel or thriller!
During the same war, Karp Gotovsky-Bykhovets from the Rossony district received two St. George's crosses and was wounded four times. He went over to the side of Soviet power. In February 1918, he assembled a partisan detachment that stopped the German advance on Dris. He was a military commissar in Polotsk. He died in Moscow in 1947.
Among the Belarusians who received 3 "Georgievsky" crosses is nurse Evdokia Belskaya. A native of the Mogilev region, she went through three wars.
But perhaps the fate of Donat Makienok from the Verkhnedvinsk district amazed me the most. A native of a peasant family, he began his service in the 97th Lifland Infantry Regiment. However, in 1914, he graduated from aviation school in Sevastopol and became a true air ace. He took part in battles in East Prussia. There he received the St. George's cross of the 4th degree. In 1916, he shot down his first aircraft. In total, he has 9 enemy aircraft to his credit. He participated in bombings and distributed leaflets. Some historians consider him the first pilot to escape from captivity in an airplane! In 1917, Donat Adamovich contracted tuberculosis. After treatment, he ended up in the Polish Army. When the Second World War began, the Germans arrested him in Warsaw and imprisoned him in Auschwitz. He died in July 1941...
For Konstantin Gaidukov, interest in the country's history began with an interest in family history:
- My great-great-uncle Pyotr Dolbeshkin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And when I encountered the topic of St. George's Cross holders, I became convinced that many of them – brave, courageous people – were born in Belarus. But, unfortunately, we know too little about them.
- We have found 58 full St. George's Cross holders from Belarus, as well as 22 countrymen who had three St. George's Crosses each. Dispersed information about them can be found in various books, reference materials, and newspapers. It needs to be collected and processed. If someone undertakes the preparation of such a consolidated publication, Gaydukov and I will gladly share our information, which fits into several large notebooks.
Valery Durov, a recognized expert on the awards of the Russian Empire, wrote that all St. George's Cross holders were supposed to be entered into a general Eternal List. However, lower ranks awarded after 1913, during World War I, could not be entered into it. Such is the historical injustice. It is good that there are people striving to correct it.
From the memoirs of Zinaida Shmyreva:
- During World War I, my father was a brave and resourceful artilleryman. For his exploits, he received three St. George's Crosses. Once, these awards saved him from a court-martial. His battery fought in Romania. Once, during a night halt, a nobleman officer, being in a bad mood, started hitting soldiers in the face by the fire for no reason. He reached my father, and my father hit him in the ear. Blood spurted from the officer's face. My father was arrested, of course. He faced execution. But they couldn't try him immediately. In those times, to do so, he had to be stripped of all his awards. And only the Tsar could remove the St. George's Crosses! They were afraid to submit a petition to Nicholas II. And my father was only punished by being demoted to a private.
Sergey Golesnik, "Sovetskaya Belorussiya"