Alexander Petrovich Nikolayev (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Александр Петрович Николаев; 14 November 1918 – 13 June 2009) was a

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 ...

senior lieutenant and

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 ...

. He received the title Hero of the Soviet Union and 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 ...

for his actions during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. Nikolayev also fought in the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

Early life

Alexander Nikolayev was born on 14 November 1918 in the village of Strakhinovo in

Bezhetsky Uyezd Bezhetsky Uyezd (''Бежецкий уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Tver Governorate of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Bezhetsk. Bezhetsky Uyezd was situated in the eastern part of the governorate (in the eastern part of the pre ...

of the

Tver Governorate Tver Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Tver. The governorate was lo ...

to a peasant family. He graduated from junior high school. After graduation, Nikolayev worked as a shepherd on the farm. In 1935, he moved to

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 ...

and became a plumber. In October 1939, he was drafted into the

World War II

Nikolayev fought in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

as a driver in the 824th Motor Transport Battalion. On 22 June 1941, he was stationed with the 13th Tank Brigade. He fought in the early stages of the

. When the tank brigade was sent to reform in the area of

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...

, Nikolayev transferred to become a driver in the 128th Rifle Division's 15th Motor Transport Battalion. The remnants of the division retreated into the Sinyavino swamps. After Nikolayev's truck was destroyed in a bombing raid, he fought with a rifle platoon. By then a senior sergeant, Nikolayev became the platoon commander. In December, German infantry began to attack. After letting the German troops advance a hundred meters, the platoon opened fire with machine guns. Reportedly, none of the German troops escaped and eleven wounded were taken prisoner. He became a candidate member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in February and was promoted to junior lieutenant. In March 1942, Nikolayev led a reconnaissance patrol in the area of the Chernaya River. After the patrol had captured two German prisoners and was preparing to withdraw, it was ordered to occupy the trench. He helped the patrol repulse multiple German attacks but was wounded in the evening. While in the hospital, Nikolayev was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. Due to the lack of officers in the regiment, he became a company commander. In August 1942, the division fought in the

Sinyavino Offensive The Sinyavino offensives were a series of Soviet offensives in 1941–1943 during World War II around the Sinyavino Heights, east of Leningrad, to lift the Siege of Leningrad. The area was only fully liberated during the Leningrad–Novgorod offe ...

. The 741st Rifle Regiment helped capture Worker's Settlement No. 8. Nikolayev reportedly captured a bunker with six machine guns and attacked the German headquarters, capturing two officers and a radio operator. During the battle for Worker's Settlement No.5, he was wounded four times. Three of the bullets passed through the soft tissue, but the fourth was in the shoulder. These wounds were severe enough to send him into the hospital. After being discharged from the hospital, Nikolayev was sent to the "Vystrel" Commander's Courses in Sverdlovsk, from which he graduated in March 1943. In the spring, he became a company commander in the 197th Tank Brigade's mechanized infantry battalion. The brigade was part of the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps. Nikolayev fought in the

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German ''Ger ...

in August. On 8 August, he led the company during heavy fighting for control of the village of Volosatov. Nikolayev reportedly distracted the German troops with a smokescreen and machine gun fire to their front while he led a platoon into the ravines in the German rear area. The platoon attacked a German firing point, the signal for an attack by the battalion. The village was captured and the German troops reportedly lost 600 killed. After several more days of fighting, Nikolayev was severely wounded and sent to the hospital again. On 28 August, he was awarded 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 ...

for his actions. While in the hospital, Nikolayev was promoted to senior lieutenant. In fall 1944, he became a rifle company commander in the

37th Guards Rifle Division The 37th Guards Rechitsa, twice Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army which fought during World War II. The division was formed on 2 August 1942 from the 1st Air ...

's 118th Guards Rifle Regiment. He fought in the fighting to hold the

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

bridgehead. During the Narew bridgehead fighting, he was wounded by shrapnel in the leg. Nikolayev continued to fight in combat and participated in the capture of Graudenz in January 1945 and the East Pomeranian Offensive. During the capture of Danzig between 21 and 23 March, Nikolayev reportedly led his company in breaking through German positions, killing 80 German troops and capturing 12. On 23 March, he was wounded in action but did not leave the frontline. He was recommended for the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

but instead awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 6 May. On 20 April, Nikolayev led his company across the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

near

Schillersdorf Schillersdorf is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History *1208: First mention of "Schiltolfesdorf"...... *1358: Becomes schillersdorf which veient Schilter, which means village on a hill...... *1400 ...

, southwest of

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

. The company held off German counterattacks until the rest of the regiment arrived. In this action, he was wounded again. On 29 June 1945, Nikolayev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions during the Oder crossing.

Postwar

In August 1946, Nikolayev was discharged from active duty due to illness. Returning home, he became the chairman of the village council in Puzyrevsky. In September 1947, he was hired by the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

and worked in various positions in the forced labor system. He graduated from the

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

military-political school in 1951. Nikolayev was dismissed from the internal affairs ministry in 1954 on grounds of redundancy. He became a mechanic at the Kalinin Artificial Fiber Factory, where he led the party organization. Nikolayev graduated from the University of Marxism-Leninism. On 6 April 1985, he was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class for the 40th anniversary of World War II. After retirement, he lived in

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

village and became an honorary citizen of Tver in 1997. He died on 13 June 2009. Nikolayev was buried in the local Dmitrovo-Cherkassy Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolayev, Alexander 1918 births 2009 deaths People from Kesovogorsky District People from Bezhetsky Uyezd Soviet Army officers Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner