Mikhail Ivanovich Budenkov (; 5 December 1919 – 2 August 1995) was a Soviet sniper in

World War II 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 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 ...

on 24 March 1945 for killing 413 Nazis. By the end of the war he had killed 437 Nazis, making him one of the best snipers of the war.

Early life

Budenkov was born on 5 December 1919 to a Russian peasant family in Slavtsevo. After completing seven grades, he worked on a collective farm, then studied to become a ship mechanic. He worked on a ship that sailed on the

Moscow Canal The Moscow Canal (), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an ...

. He returned to his home village in 1939 to work as a tractor driver, but later that year he was drafted into the Red Army and stationed in Brest.

World War II

As soon as the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

began, Budenkov fought on the frontlines as a sniper in the 84th Rifle Regiment. Initially, he was a part of the retreat towards Moscow, but in September 1942, he assumed command of a mortar crew and, in his spare time, began working as a sniper. In May 1942 he was wounded, but after he was released from the hospital in August 1942 he was assigned to the 59th Guards Rifle Regiment and was made commander of a mortar company. He hunted as a sniper in his free time, and killed 17 enemy soldiers this way before requesting a transfer to a rifle company in the same unit to fight as a sniper. He had killed over 200 enemy soldiers by mortar fire in the battles for

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

. He specialized as a sniper, but utilized a machine gun during an offensive. He was wounded again in June 1943, but recovered and returned to combat. By September 1943 he had killed 107 Nazis by sniper fire, and the end of December brought his kill count to 158. During a battle that month he replaced his company commander, leading an advance on a strategic height and holding it, repelling counterattacks and not retreating despite getting wounded again. By the end of the battle, only eight soldiers were left, all wounded. He later became the party organizer of his battalion, having become a member of the Communist Party in 1943. His accurate sniper fire killed enemy machine gun crews in the battles for the city of

Madona Madona (; ) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality. History The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries of old buria ...

, allowing the advance of Soviet troops. His squad commander described him as a "born sniper", and on 25 March 1945 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He received his gold star on 19 May at a ceremony in the Kremlin, and on 24 June 1945 he marched in the famous Victory Day Parade on Red Square. Shortly before victory he was sent to a military-political school, but he did not graduate because he was demobilized in December 1945 with the rank of senior lieutenant.

Later life

He worked as deputy director of the Lyakhovskaya Machine-Tractor Station, and in 1947 he graduated from party school in

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

and then in

Ivanovo Ivanovo (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia and the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir and Kostroma. ...

in 1951. He then moved to Melenki, where he worked at a flax mill. He died on 2 August 1995.

Awards

(24 March 1945) *

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 ...

(24 March 1945) *

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 ...

(15 January 1945) *

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 (11 March 1985) * Medal "For Courage" (11 March 1943)

Footnotes

References

{{Authority control 1919 births 1995 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet military snipers