Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov (russian: Я́ков Федо́тович Па́влов; 17 October 191728 September 1981) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

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, afte ...

soldier who became 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 ...

for his role in defending the eponymous "

Pavlov's House Pavlov's House (russian: дом Павлова tr. ''Dom Pavlova'') was a fortified apartment building which Red Army defenders held for 60 days against the ''Wehrmacht'' offensive during the Battle of Stalingrad. The siege lasted from 27 Septe ...

" during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Biography

Born in 1917 to a peasant family in the small village of Krestovaya in northwestern Russia (present-day

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, includin ...

), Pavlov joined the

in 1938. During

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 opposing ...

, he fought on the

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, Stalingrad, 3rd Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian fronts. Pavlov was a commander of a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

unit, an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

man, and a commander of a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

unit with the rank of senior sergeant. During the Battle of Stalingrad, on the night of September 27, 1942, Pavlov's

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

recaptured a four-story residential building from the German Army, and defended it against continual attack by the Germans until relieved by advancing Soviet forces two months later.

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw h ...

, commanding general of the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, later joked that the Germans lost more men trying to take Pavlov's House than they did taking Paris.«European Cultural Benefits»
in Russian The building and its defense went down in history as "

" (''Дом Павлова''). For his actions in Stalingrad, he was awarded the

, the

Order 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 ...

, the

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

, two Orders of the Red Star and numerous other medals. Post-war, he joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

. He was elected three times as Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Pavlov died on 28 September 1981, and was buried in Novgorod.

In popular culture

Pavlov appeared in a level in the 2003 first-person shooter game ''Call of Duty''. The player, playing as Junior Sergeant Alexei Ivanovich Voronin assists Sergeant Pavlov and his unit in capturing an apartment complex and defending it against a German counterattack until Soviet reinforcements arrive. Pavlov appeared in a level in the strategic game Panzer-Corps 2 DLC Axis Operations 1942. Pavlov VR, a

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

first person shooter game, is named after Yakov Pavlov's defense of the building that came to be known as Pavlov's House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlov, Yakov 1917 births 1981 deaths People from Novgorod Oblast Battle of Stalingrad Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Russian people of World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet politicians