Mikhail Grigoryevich Solovyov (

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 ...

: Михаил Григорьевич Соловьёв; 1917 – 7 October 1943) 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 ...

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 ...

and posthumous

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 ...

. Solovyov was posthumously awarded the title for his leadership of a company during the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II. Being one of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost four million troops at one point and stretched over a front. Ov ...

, in which he reportedly killed 31 German soldiers. Solovyov was killed in action during the Battle of the Dnieper.

Early life

Solovyov was born in 1917 in Sluzna village,

Spas-Demensky District Spas-Demensky District () is an administrativeCharter of Kaluga Oblast, Article 4 and municipalLaw #354-OZ district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Kaluga Oblast, twenty-four in Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west ...

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...

, in a peasant family. After the completion of his education, he worked as a teacher. In 1941, he graduated from the Moscow Law Institute. He worked as an investigator in the Moscow Oblast

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

World War II

In August 1942, he joined the

. In 1943, he graduated from the Moscow Infantry School. He was at the front from July 1943, fighting in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

. Solovyov was awarded the

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 ...

for actions during that battle. As a company commander in the 10th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, Solovyov fought in the

. On 2 October 1943, his company captured Medwin village on the right bank of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. In the battle, 65 German soldiers were killed. Retreating, the Germans attempted to make a stand at Hill 120. Solovyov led his company in the attack, reportedly killing 8 German soldiers. The hill was captured and the pursuit was continued. Solovyov's company advanced too far and was surrounded. At night, the company broke out. During these actions, he reportedly killed more than 20 Germans. On 7 October, he reportedly killed 11 Germans. During this engagement, Solovyov was killed. On 10 January 1944, Solovyov was posthumously awarded the title

and an

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 ...

. He was buried in

Hornostaipil Hornostaipil (, , Yiddish: ''Horensteipl, Hornosteipel'') is a Ukrainian village in northern Ukraine, which is part of Vyshhorod Raion within Kyiv Oblast. It belongs to Ivankiv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Geography The ...

.Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоении звания Героя Советского Союза генералам, офицерскому, сержантскому и рядовому составу Красной Армии» от 10 января 1944 года
// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 19 января (№ 3 (263)). — С. 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solovyov, Mikhail Grigoryevich 1917 births 1943 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet military personnel killed in World War II People from Kaluga Oblast Soviet Army officers