Pyotr Petrovich Vershigora (first name also Petr) () or Petro Petrovych Vershyhora () ( – 23 March 1963) was one of the leaders of the

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ac ...

movement in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and later a writer. Petro Vershigora was born in the village of Severinovca near the

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

n town of

Rîbnița Rîbnița ( or , , ) or Rybnitsa (; ) is a town in the breakaway state, breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria. According to the 2004 Census in Transnistria, 2004 census, it has a population of 53,648. Rîbnița is situated in the northern half ...

. His parents were ethnic Ukrainian teachers at the local rural school, who died during his childhood. As a young orphan he worked at various jobs, including

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, and librarian, as well as amateur actor and musician in his native village. In 1927, after completing his conscript military service, he enrolled in the

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Fine Arts Academy and upon graduation worked as an actor and stage manager. In 1936 Vershigora completed his studies at cinema school and worked on several documentary films with the

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

cinematographic company. Following 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 ...

, he joined 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 ...

. On 23 June 1942 he was air dropped on a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

mission in the German-occupied

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

region with orders to join the underground resistance movement there. Within a few months Vershigora joined the partisan units led by

Sydir Kovpak Sydir Artemovych Kovpak (; ), (June 7, 1887December 11, 1967) led Soviet partisans in Ukraine from 1941 to 1944 during the Axis-Soviet War phase of World War II. Biography Kovpak was born to a poor Ukrainian peasant family in Kotelva vi ...

in northeastern Ukraine. After the death of Semyon Rudnev in the summer of 1943, he became Kovpak's right-hand man and the head of his scouting and reconnaissance elements. Under his leadership, the 1st Ukrainian Partisan Division raided German-occupied western Belarus and eastern Poland, harassing the German rear. On 3 July 1944 they joined the regular Soviet army that was fighting to expel German forces from Belarus. In August 1944, after three years of fighting, Vershigora was promoted to the rank of major general. After the war Vershigora taught at the military academy in Moscow and wrote a number of books, including ''Lyudi s chistoi sovestyu'' (People with a Clear Conscience, 1947), his memoirs about the war.

Honours and awards

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 ...

* Two

Orders 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 ...

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 ...

* Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st class *

Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

1st class *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

References

War Hero Pyotr Vershigora

''People with a Clear Conscience''
— Pyotr Petrovich Vershigora's Memoirs {{DEFAULTSORT:Vershigora 1905 births 1963 deaths People from Camenca District People from Olgopolsky Uyezd Transnistrian people of Ukrainian descent Soviet major generals Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Soviet partisans in Ukraine Ukrainian anti-fascists Soviet writers Ukrainian male writers Recipients of the Stalin Prize Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 1st class