Mikhail Averyanovich Panikakha (, ; 1914 – 2 October 1942) 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 ...

soldier. He was posthumously 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 ...

for destroying a German tank with two

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s while on fire during the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

Early life

Mikhail Panikakha was born in 1914 in the village of Mogilev (now Mohyliv) in

Novomoskovsky Uyezd The Novomoskovsk uezd (; ) was one of the subdivisions of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Novomoskovsk. Demographics At the time of ...

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

to a peasant family. He received primary education and worked on the farm. In 1939, he was drafted into the

. Panikakha became a sailor in the Pacific Fleet.

World War II

In March 1942, Panikahka volunteered for combat service and was assigned as a private to the 883rd Rifle Regiment of the 193rd Rifle Division. On 28 September, during the

, two regiments of the division, including the 883rd, crossed the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

and took up positions to the west of the Red October factory. They were attacked by German troops from the

24th Panzer Division The 24th Panzer Division was formed in late 1941 from the 1st Cavalry Division (Wehrmacht), 1st Cavalry Division based at Königsberg. The division fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front from June 1942 to January 1943, when it ...

and 71st Infantry Division. On 2 October, Panikakha was helping to repel the German attacks when the German troops sent in tanks. He had already thrown his grenades and had two

s left. Panikakha raised the bottle in order to throw it when a bullet smashed it, setting him on fire. He then took the remaining bottle, jumped out of the trench and onto the engine deck of the nearest German tank and hit it with the cocktail. The German tank was then set on fire, causing the other tanks to withdraw due to seeing the fierceness of the

attacking in spite of being on fire. Panikakha was recommended for a

award by his regimental commander in November, but was not awarded the title until 5 May 1990, along with 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 ...

. On 9 December 1942, 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 his actions.

Legacy

At the site of Panikakha's death, there is a monument, which was erected on 8 May 1975. The monument was sculptured by R.P. Kharitonov and Yu. Belosov. It is located at the intersection of the Avenue of Metallurgists and Tarachantsev Street. A street in

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

is named after him. His name is also inscribed on the memorial plaque at the mass grave on

Mamayev Kurgan Mamayev Kurgan () is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) in Southern Russia. The name in Russian means "tumulus of Mamai". The formation is dominated by a memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stali ...

. There is a plaque in both Mohyliv village and

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

(formerly Dnipropetrovsk). On 16 November 2013, a monument to Panikakha in Dnipropetrovsk was unveiled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panikakha, Mikhail 1914 births 1942 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin People from Novomoskovsky Uyezd Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine