Nikolai Ilyich Usenko (

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

: Николай Ильич Усенко; 22 December 1924 – 21 March 1996) was a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks". Henceforth, the ...

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 ...

. Usenko was awarded the title on 10 January 1944 for his actions 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 October 1943. During the battle, Usenko, a telephonist, was reported to have repaired numerous breaks in the line, often under German fire. He was also reported to have killed 25 German soldiers. Later he was seriously wounded and blinded by a German shell and medically retired from the Red Army. He subsequently returned to his home in

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia located in Siberia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia after ...

and worked in the logging industry.

Early life

Usenko was born on 22 December 1924 in Kamenka village in the

Irbeysky District Irbeysky District () is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13-3043 district (raion), one of the forty-three in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the krai and borders with Kansky and Ilansky Districts in the ...

to a peasant family. In 1930, his family was dispossessed and as '' special settlers'' relocated to the village of Kosoy Byk in the

Kezhemsky District Kezhemsky District () is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13-3110 district (raion), one of the forty-three in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the east of the krai and borders with Evenkiysky District in the north, Irkutsk ...

. After the completion of his six classes of school, he worked as a lumberjack as well as a raftsman on the

Angara River The Angara (; ) or Angar ( мүрэн) is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisey. It is long, and has a ...

World War II

In October 1942, he was drafted into the Red Army. He became a telephonist and was sent to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

as part of a ski brigade, which was merged into the 3rd Guards Airborne Division. Usenko served with the division's 8th Guards Airborne Regiment from January 1943 on. He fought in the Demyansk Offensive from 15 to 28 February and the Staraya Russa Offensive from 4 to 19 March. In April 1943 the division was withdrawn into the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

. One month later it became part of the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during the ...

. In July, Usenko fought 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 ...

as well as the subsequent

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 ...

as part of his division. During the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive in the

, Usenko helped to defend the division's bridgehead 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 ...

. Usenko repaired 12 breaks on the telephone line during German air raids on 4 October. On 5 October, Usenko attempted to repair the line again and encountered a group of German soldiers, of whom he reportedly killed 25 with three hand grenades. The next day he provided communications between the battalion commander and its companies, by personally delivering a report to the battalion commander through the German lines. His actions were able to save the battalion from encirclement by German troops. On the same day, he was seriously injured and blinded by a German artillery shell. For these actions he was later awarded the

title 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 ...

on 10 January 1944. After six months of treatment, Usenko was discharged from the

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 ...

in April 1944 for being medically unfit.

Later life

After being discharged he returned to

and lived in Kosoy Byk. Usenko worked in the ''Dvoretskom Lesopunkt'' (logging area) of the Kezhemsky District logging industry. He retired in 1976 and lived in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

. In 1985, Usenko 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, along with all other surviving veterans. He died on 21 March 1996 and was buried in the Badalyskoe Cemetery in Kransnoyarsk. To honor him two streets in

Kodinsk Kodinsk () is a town and the administrative center of Kezhemsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Angara River, north of Krasnoyarsk. Population: History It was founded in 1977 as the settlement of Kodinskoye () servicing th ...

and Kamenka are named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usenko, Nikolai 1924 births 1996 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin People from Krasnoyarsk Krai Soviet military personnel of World War II