Denis Vasiliyevich Vetchinov (; 28 June 1976 – 9 August 2008) was a

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

killed in action during the

2008 South Ossetia war The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

and posthumously awarded Russia's highest military award,

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

, for his role in the conflict. In film ''

August Eighth ''August Eighth'' (, translit. ''Avgust. Vosʹmogo'') is a 2012 Russian propaganda war film about the 2008 August War. It was produced and directed by Dzhanik Fayziev. Background The film tells the story of a young single mother who must ...

'' Vetchinov became a prototype of captain Ilya played by

Khasan Baroyev Khasan Makharbekovich Baroyev (born December 1, 1982) is a Russian Greco-Roman wrestler of Ossetian origin, who competes in the 120 kg weightclass. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman 120 kg at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the g ...

Biography

Born 23 June 1976 in

Stepnogorsk Stepnogorsk (; ) is a town in Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. History Stepnogorsk was established in 1959, and has been a town since 1964. It began as a closed town A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions ar ...

(now

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

), he graduated from the Omsk Officers' Academy in 1999. He participated in the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

Death

On 9 August 2008, the second day of Russian involvement in the

Battle of Tskhinvali The Battle of Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალის ბრძოლა; ) was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgia ...

, a column of Russian vehicles with a few journalists and 58th Army commander

Anatoly Khrulyov Colonel General Anatoly Nikolayevich Khrulyov (; Naro-Fominsk; born 3 June 1955) is a Russian general who was the commander of the Russian 58th Army from 2006 until his retirement in 2010. He saw service in South Ossetia during the 2008 Russo-Geo ...

onboard was

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

ed by Georgian

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in the outskirts of

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...

. Khrulyov was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Allegedly Vetchinov, armed with a trophy Georgian machine gun, organised defence but was wounded in both legs. He continued firing at the enemy and killed a Georgian soldier. Vetchinov kept covering fire until he was hit in the head by Georgian fire. He died on the way to hospital. On 15 August Denis Vetchinov was posthumously awarded the

golden star "for courage and heroism while fulfilling his duty in the North Caucasus region". He is survived by his wife and little daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vetchinov, Denis 1976 births 2008 deaths People from Akmola Region Heroes of the Russian Federation Russian military personnel killed in action Military personnel killed in the Russo-Georgian War

Biography

Death

See also

References