Abukhadzhi Idrisovich Idrisov (, ; 17 May 1918 – 22 October 1983) was a Soviet sniper and machine-gunner in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He is considered as one of the deadliest snipers in history. Throughout the war he killed a total of 349 enemy combatants for which he was awarded the title

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 ...

just shortly before he was deported to the Kazakh SSR solely on the grounds of his Chechen ethnicity. He was only able to return to his native village in Chechnya in 1957 where he worked in agriculture after the Chechen nation was granted the right of return in the Khrushchev era.

Early life

Idrisov was born on 17 May 1918 in Berdikel, Mountain Republic (present-day Komsomolskoye, Chechenya) to a Chechen peasant family. He graduated from primary school and worked as a shepherd at the Sovetskaya Rossiya

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

Military career

Idrisov was drafted into the Red Army in October 1939 and assigned to the 125th Rifle Division in the Baltic states. He received training as a machine-gunner and saw combat from the first day of the German-Soviet War during the defense against Operation Barbarossa. With the rest of his regiment he retreated Northeast. In July 1941, his Division took up defensive positions on the

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

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

line between

Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen (, ) is a large lake in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Veliky Novgorod, which is a major trade center of the ro ...

and

Lake Seliger Seliger ( rus, Селиге́р, p=sʲɪlʲɪˈgʲer) is a lake in Ostashkovsky District of Tver Oblast and (in the extreme northern part) in Demyansky District of Novgorod Oblast of Russia, in the northwest of the Valdai Hills, a part of the V ...

. There, they repulsed frequent German attacks against

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

; Idrisov was reported to have killed 22 German soldiers with his machine gun, resulting in him being sent for training to become a sniper. After completing sniper training he was assigned in October 1942 to a sniper group positioned on a section of the North-Western Front where Axis forces were expected to advance. In a period of ten days of intense fighting Idrisov managed to kill approximately 100 enemy infantrymen as a sniper. By April 1943 he was reported to have killed over 300 German soldiers in total, while serving with the 1232nd Rifle Regiment of the

370th Rifle Division The 370th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. After forming, the division ...

. After participating in the breakthrough of the blockade in Leningrad he fought in the offensives to retake the Pskov region and Baltic states. By March 1944 his tally as reported by his superiors totaled 349 kills and he had been nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Idrisov was demobilized in April after he was seriously wounded by a fragment of a mine that exploded next to him. He survived due to his fellow soldiers finding him unconscious and sending him to a hospital, and on 3 June 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. At a military exhibition his rifle and wartime photographs were put on display with the title "The glorious son of the Chechen people, Hero of the Soviet Union Abukhazhi Idrisov, destroyed more than three hundred German fascists."

Postwar life and exile

Despite his awards and honors for serving loyally in the Red Army he was deported to Kazakhstan after spending four months in the Gorky hospital recovering from his wounds. While in exile he lived in Southwest Kazakhstan and worked on a farm as a sheep breeder. He returned to Chechnya immediately after being granted the right of return and became a member of the Communist Party in 1962. He lived in Chechnya for the remainder of his life and died in

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

on 22 October 1983.

Awards and honors

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 ...

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 ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Idrisov, Abukhadzhi 1918 births 1983 deaths Soviet military personnel of World War II Chechen military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military snipers Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People from Groznensky District