The Young Guard Ivan Zemnukhov: biography, awards

Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich was one of the leaders of the "Young Guard" - an underground organization in the Ukrainian town of Krasnodon, who rose to defend the Motherland during the years of the fascist occupation. The underground consisted of more than 70 people: 24 girls and 47 boys. Discriminating Zemnukhov was the chief of staff of the organization. After the failure, he was captured by the Nazis and executed along with other underground workers: he was thrown into the pit of mine No. 5.

He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

Biography of Zemnukhov

Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov, whose biography includes only incomplete twenty years, was born September 8, 1923 in the Ryazan village Illarionovka in a poor peasant family. I had to study in the neighboring village of Olkhi.

In 1932, the Zemnukhov moved to the Donbass in the village of Sorokino. In 1938 the settlement was renamed Krasnodon. Here Vanya continued his studies at school number 1, which bore the name of Gorky.

At school, Zemnukhov was the leader among the Komsomol members: he was elected secretary of the school organization of young communists. He was patronizing the pioneers of the school, he was a pioneer leader. Participated in a literary circle, was his headman. For his readability, maturity of judgments, comrades called Zemnukhov a professor. According to the teacher Daniil Alekseevich Saplin, the young man bowed before Pushkin, Lermontov, even wrote poetry.

In 1941, Ivan graduated from the 10th grade. And then there was the war.

Donbass in the occupation

The outraged war crossed out all of Zemnukhov's plans: the young man wanted to be a lawyer, even enrolled in courses for the district committee of the Komsomol, but they did not have to end. This ended his peaceful biography: Ivan Zemnukhov rose to defend the Fatherland. True, he was not taken to the front for health reasons (poor eyesight). In the direction of the Komsomol District Committee, the young man participates in the activities of the commission for school work at the Komsomol Committee.

The fascists entered Krasnodon on July 20, 1942. Since the time of occupation, Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich joined the Young Guard, a Komsomol underground organization whose purpose was to fight the invaders.

"Young guard"

In the first days of the arrival of the Nazis in Krasnodon, leaflets appeared on the walls of the houses and posters of the town, a bath was burned, which was planned as a barracks for the Wehrmacht soldiers. This was the work of Sergei Tyulenin, who alone began to fight the invaders. Then another 8 people joined him. But in two weeks the Krasnodar underground had 25 people. But they were not related groups. And only on September 30 the members of the Komsomol decided to create a detachment and its headquarters.

Ivan Aleksandrovich Zemnukhov, Levashov Vasily, Georgy Arutyunyants and Sergei Tyulenin joined the staff, Zemnukhov was elected as the head. Later, Kosheva Oleg, Ulyana Gromova, Ivan Turkenich and Shevtsova Lyubov became members of the staff.

The beginning of October 1942 was the time of the formation of a unified organization that unified disparate groups of young anti-fascists.

"Young Guard" began to act in an organized and purposeful manner.

Chief of staff

In addition to the leadership of the headquarters, Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov was responsible for conspiracy and cipher design issues. The level of his work can be judged from the fact that for several months the Nazis could not attack the trace of the young guards, although the underground members acted, as they say, under the noses of the fascists.

Together with Turkmenic Ivan and Oleg Koshev, Zemnukhov develops operations, often participates in them. Without his participation they did not pass: the arson of the labor exchange, the hanging of red flags for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the October Revolution, the liberation of Soviet citizens,

Also under his leadership was organized an underground printing house, in which he took part, compiling the texts of leaflets. They compiled the text of the oath of the Young Guard.

At the end of 1942, Zemnukhov manages to obtain permission from the Germans to open a club for them. AM Gorky, in which he begins to work as an administrator. The new post allows him, as chief of staff, to collect groups of underground workers to discuss plans for operations. All this was done under the guise of working with participants in amateur art, in the circles of which were many underground workers.

At its core, the club was the headquarters for young underground workers.

Love and War

About the young guards written a lot: well and accurately, with a certain prejudice (good and not very). For the Soviet youth the young guards were an example of patriotism, an ideological pillar. But for some reason they are little represented as ordinary people, to whom nothing was alien, including love.

Vanya Zemnukhov's chosen one was Klava Kovaleva. She was also a well-read girl with a strong will. In the summer of 1941, Klava arranges fire department No. 1 Krasnodon as a telephone operator. Zemnukhov always accompanied Kovalev to duty and met after the shift.

With the arrival of the occupants in Krasnodon and the appearance of an underground organization, the young man recommends his girlfriend to the Young Guards. Claudia helps Ivan Zemnukhov write and distribute leaflets, organizes a combat group in one of the nearby villages.

After the arrest of Tretyakevich and Moshkov, the fascists went to Claudia Kovalev. Vitaly Zemnukhov was already in the Nazi dungeons.

Bullying sadists there was no limit: the girl burned her feet, cut out her breast, as a result of beating, the body of Klava swelled up beyond recognition. But the girl did not admit that she knew Ivan.

In the pit of mine No. 5 they stepped together, supporting each other at this last minute for them.

Stepping into immortality

The first day of 1943 was for the underground organization a day of failure: Viktor Tretyakevich and Evgeny Moshkov were arrested.

Zemnukhov Ivan Alexandrovich, learning about the arrest of his comrades, tried to help them out, but was captured by the police. Not knowing that, the Hitlerites fell right into the heart of the Young Guard.

The remaining members of the staff ordered all underground workers to leave immediately from Krasnodon, but many did not comply with this order (only ten underground workers managed to escape). Gennady Pocheptsov from the group of Pervomayka, after learning about the failure, came with a confession and told the fascists about the existence of the "Young Guard". Mass arrests were made.

From the memories of the mother Valeria Bortz, it is known that the fascists paid special attention to Zemnukhov Ivan and Tretiakevich Viktor: they were beaten every day with whips, hung up, brought to the frost, where the beatings continued. During one of the interrogations, the brutish fascist henchman Solikovsky broke the boy's glasses, splinters pierced his eyes.

On the night of January 15 to January 16, 1943, the execution of the first group of young guards took place. Among them was the blind Ivan Zemnukhov. The whole group was dropped by the executioners in the abandoned pit of mine No. 5.

Eternal glory

Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov is buried in the center of Krasnodon in a mass grave. In it lie comrades-in-arms young guardsmen.

Title Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov was awarded posthumously. In memory of the heroism of the Komsomol members and that terrible day, the memorial "Unconquered" was erected.

In the yard of the MKOU "Serpomolotskaya SOSH" there is an obelisk to Ivan Zemnukhov.

Here is the museum of the hero-young guard, in which his belongings, awards, biography are presented. Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov is immortalized in the memory of people, his short but bright life became an example for young patriots of our country, despite the attempts of some "researchers" to belittle the merits of his and his comrades-in-arms.

In conclusion about the "crooked mirrors"

As time showed, the executioners of the young guards were not only Hitlerites, they were some of our contemporaries, who continue the black business, mocking now over the memory of the heroes of the Komsomol members. "Researchers" call into question even the existence of the "Young Guard", although this is confirmed by documented testimony of the Nazis themselves.

An example of such "studies" may be the article "Young Guard: Genuine History, or Criminal Case No. 200556" by Eric Schur. "Research" Shura are full of inaccuracies, which contradict his own statements. The purpose of this article is clearly visible: to denigrate the glory of the Krasnodon underground, to debunk Fadeyev's novel The Young Guard, created on original materials.

About all such insinuations with indignation says the brother of Ivan Zemnukhov - Alexander.

The Russian newspapers Izvestia, Ogonek, Kuranty, Novy Mir, and, of course, Top Secret, paid attention to the work of the young guards. Each of them did not fail to "smear" mud at the glory of the Komsomol members of Krasnodon.

But the memory of the people about the underground will still be eternal.