The history of the creation of the city of Artem. Seven exploits in the Russo-Japanese War

The history of the city of Artem is inextricably linked with the history of the Primorsky Territory. By the decision of the Educational and Methodological Council of the municipal institution of additional education "Education Center of Artem" under the ed. ed. Ph. n. Ilyukhina I. Yu., associate professor of the Far Eastern State University, for the first time published the book “Essays on the history and geography of the city of Artem”. According to the materials of this book, the most ancient history of the city of Artyom falls on the periods of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Iron Age. Archaeological sites in the settlements of Artemovsky and Kirovsky, the village of Olenye, on the northern coast of Pionerskaya Bay and Lake Losinoy are of historical value.

1906 Map

Interesting and surprising is the history of the development and settlement of the territory of today's Artyom, located in a valley in the north of the Muravyov-Amursky peninsula in the south of Primorsky Territory. It was a swampy valley covered with dense taiga. Because of the swamps and midges, this territory for a long time was an unpopulated space. And only in 1891 the first settlement of Russian people appeared here - Uglovoe, in one of the bays of the Amur Bay. The founders were peasants - settlers from the western territories and regions of Russia. After that, during 1896, two villages were founded at once - Krolevets and Knevichi.

The construction of the Ussuriysky section of the Trans-Siberian Railway had a huge impact on the development of the first settlements on the territory of Artem.

In 1913, in the area of the 9th verst of the Suchansk railway, outcrops of rich coal seams were discovered. This deposit was staked out by the famous Vladivostok businessman L. Sh. Skidelsky.

Chaim - Leiba Shimon Skidelsky(Leiba Shimonovich) was born in 1844 or 1845. The place of birth is unknown, but in 1871 he was listed as a tradesman in the town of Slonim, Grodno province, and 20 years later he became a merchant of the first guild in the town of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). Around the same time, Skidelsky appears on the construction of the Severo-Ussuriysky section of the Vladivostok-Khabarovsk railway, where he takes on a contract for earthworks and the construction of artificial structures, of which he built at least 50% of the total. All work was done efficiently and on time.

In 1896, the enterprising merchant Leonty Solomonovich Skidelsky (under this name he began to be called in the Primorye reference books) was ranked among the Vladivostok merchant society, which gave him the right of permanent residence "outside the Jewish settlement" that took place in the then Russian Empire.

At the end of 1913 he became the owner of three Zybunny mines. The total value of his real estate (according to documents found by Y. Tarasov) was estimated at an astronomical amount for those times - 8.6 million rubles.

L. Sh. Skidelsky died in 1916, having passed on to his heirs a fortune in the amount of 9.5 million rubles. In the name of one of the sons - Yakov Skidelsky in 1922. was named one of the mines on Ozernye Klyuchi.

After the nationalization of all property in 1923, the Skidelsky family fled to Manchuria. Their further fate is unknown.

By order of L. Sh. Skidelsky, three mines and a village on swampy soil - zybuny - were simultaneously laid. These coal mines were named "Zybunnye", laying the foundation for the history of the future city. On May 9, 1923, by the decision of the Dalrevkom and the decision of the Arbitration Court, all financial assets, enterprises and real estate belonging to the Skidelsky were nationalized. In the same year, a meeting of workers took place, at which it was decided to assign the name of the Soviet party leader Artyom (F. A. Sergeev) to the mine and the village.

Since 1924, the mine was officially named “Artyomovsk State Coal Mines”. According to ZM Ovchinnikova, an old-timer and local historian of the city of Artem, there was a document in which, as early as November 20, 1923, there was a stamp “Artyomovsk state coal mines”. Unfortunately, the city's archives were burned twice, and it is not possible to find the document.

Until the mid-20s, the Zybunny mine of Skidelsky was referred to as khodosevich farm Knevichansky volost, Shkotovsky district.

settled in our area in 1907. He was the first Russian to set up a farm among Korean fans. The fate of Grigory Khodosevich is a whole historical era, which became known to the Artyomovites thanks to the efforts and search work of local historians and researchers of the city of Artem Y. Tarasov, Z. M. Ovchinnikova, V. N. Kovalchuk.
In January 1913, among the swampy bogs - swamps, as the locals called them, the first plot was staked out on a lonely birch tree. So, at the 9th kilometer, three mines are being laid. And in the fall of the same year, the first one begins to be built.

The work was carried out by a Chinese brigade, which completes the mine sinking at the beginning of 1914. At the same time, a second mine is being laid. And two years later, sinking begins at mine No. 3.

All three mines were combined into one mine, called "Zybunny" and which has preserved to this day a mark in the history of the city - the ninth kilometer, which gave its name to the city's microdistrict.

History reference

Khodosevich Grigory Zakharovich (1874-1924), founder of the city of Artem, Primorsky Territory. Nobleman. Hero of the Russo-Japanese War. George Knight. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of the first settler of Artem. (The documentary basis is the materials of the personal archive of the guardian and an excellent connoisseur of the history of the city, Zinaida Ovchinnikova, as well as documents from the fund of the Artyomovsk branch of VOOPIiK).

On May 27, 2005, all of Russia celebrated the centenary of the Russian-Japanese war. This date coincides with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Grigory Zakharovich Khodosevich, a participant in the Russian-Japanese war, Knight of St. George, nobleman-farmer and the first settler of the city of Artyom.
For the most part, the names of the founders remain unknown to the descendants. Our city is lucky. We know the name of its first inhabitant - Grigory Khodosevich.
In the archives of the Far East and Primorsky Territory, information has been preserved that “the site was credited for agriculture on September 27, 1907. The owner was installed in February 1908. Has a house of 15 x 8 yards and a barn with a roof. About five dessiatines of plowing and about 9 dessiatines of hayfields were developed, "and further in 1909, Khodosevich's plot comprised 27 dessiatines of meadows, 28 dessiatines of forest and 19 dessiatines of land.

As we learned from the surviving memories of his close relatives, Grigory Khodosevich is one of the few survivors of the Terrible destroyer crew, who died in an unequal battle on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur in March 1904. With the outbreak of war with Japan, a native of the city of Borisov, Minsk province, was mobilized into the army and sent to the Port Arthur fortress.
We do not yet know the circumstances under which Khodosevich, who was considered the fortress commandant, was included in the command of the Scary destroyer.
On March 30 (old style), 1904, the Scary destroyer, as part of a detachment of Russian ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron, performed a mission to reconnoiter the location of the Japanese fleet and install minefields covering Port Arthur from the sea.

"Terrible" was the last one in the order of warships. During the night search, he broke away from the main detachment of ships and single-handedly headed for the harbor.
When dawn began, four unknown ships appeared nearby. "Terrible" raised the callsigns. In response, the ships lit up with flashes of shots. An unequal battle began.
The commander, Captain 2nd Rank K. Yurasovsky, was killed almost immediately. On the deck, in the premises, other killed and wounded appeared. Fighting off the enemy, "Terrible" rushed to Port Arthur. After a shell hit a mine vehicle, the destroyer swayed helplessly on the waves. Lieutenant E. Maleev fired at the Japanese destroyers from the last remaining unharmed cannon. But the minutes of the ship were numbered ...
The cruiser Bayan, which left Port Arthur to help the Terrible, picked up only five sailors from the water. The remaining 49 found their grave in the cold waters of the Yellow Sea.
Among the rescued was Khodosevich. According to the information available, in the bloody confusion of the battle, he managed to get out of the safe and hide between two life jackets the secret package of the commander of the Pacific squadron S.O. Makarov and the entire cash amount of the ship's treasury. For this feat, he was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree.

The death of the fearless destroyer was the prologue to the tragedy that unfolded on March 31. The flagship battleship "Petropavlovsk" when leaving the Arthur Bay, following to the battlefield, ran into a Japanese mine. Split in two from the explosion, he sank in a matter of minutes. Among the dead 27 officers and 652 lower ranks of the battleship were the outstanding naval commander Vice Admiral Makarov and the famous battle painter Vereshchagin.
Khodosevich, who received a serious spinal injury and spent several hours in cold sea water, was deprived of the ability to move normally for the rest of his life. Only after two years of treatment in a Vladivostok hospital did he learn to walk on crutches. With his retirement in 1907, he decided to stay in Primorye and acquired a plot of land in the area of the 9th km of the Suchansk railway. During the construction, the farm was consecrated with the icon of the Kazan Mother of God.
By 1912, there were 3 houses on the site, in which Grigory Khodosevich and his brothers Klim and Ignat lived, who, at the invitation of Grigory, came to live in the Far East. There is information that in 1911 Yakov Skidelsky, a well-known entrepreneur and founder of the Zybunny mine, who gave rise to the miners' Artem, came to the farm on the day of the opening of the monument to the perished lower ranks of the Varyag cruiser. Skidelsky and Khodosevich departed in a black cab pulled by a black troika of horses, covered with a black velvet blanket, to the opening ceremony of the monument at the Vladivostok Sea Cemetery.

In the history of the Russian-Japanese war, the feat of the Scary destroyer is comparable to the feat of the heroes of the Varyag and Rurik.
The personal fate of the Knight of St. George was difficult and tragic. In 1908, his brother Ignat died after catching a cold. In 1918 his three-year-old son Vasya dies. The tragic events of the Civil War in our area caused the death of his wife Stephanida in March 1919. Three young daughters remained orphans. The death of his beloved wife undermined Khodosevich's strength and he barely walked on crutches with difficulty. His second marriage in 1920 was unsuccessful - the new wife got together before his death with a farm clerk. And with the advent of Soviet power in 1922, Grigory Zakharovich was put on a special account, being recorded in the category of "unreliable".
After a serious illness, he died in 1924 and was buried in the cemetery of the 8th km of Artem. There were no male heirs after his death.
In 1930, the farm was nationalized, and its inhabitants were evicted and dispossessed. The name of Khodosevich was erased from the memory of people. His remaining descendants, frightened by the repressions of the 30s, for many years hid the fact that they are close relatives of the nobleman and the Knight of St. George. And only at the beginning of the 70s, Zinaida Ovchinnikova, who led the movement of "red pathfinders", managed to find people who knew Khodosevich himself and documents confirming the events of his life.
During the years of Soviet power, none of the leaders was able to pay tribute to the memory of the first settlers of the city. His grave was looked after by the relatives of his close friend and neighbor Luka Tulupov. The buildings of the farm itself, located at the entrance to the city of Artem, existed until 1974. By the decision of the then authorities, they were burned on the eve of the motorcade of L.I. Brezhnev to a meeting with US President D. Ford.
In May 2003, on the initiative of the Artyomovsk branch of VOOPIIiK, we identified the burial of the first settler of the city G.Z. Khodosevich and photographing the place where the buildings of his farm were located, which gave rise to the city of Artem. The burial places and the territory of the Khodosevich farm were determined with the help of members of the Tulupov family, whose father, Luka Tulupov, bequeathed to bury him next to Grigory Zakharovich.
The city administration expressed its intention to allocate funds for the installation of a memorial tombstone at the burial place of Khodosevich in the cemetery of the 8th km of Artem. I would like to hope that this intention will be carried through to the end, because we are talking about the restoration of historical justice in relation to a person who has performed a feat in the name of the Fatherland.

This is how the story of the future Artyom began. .

One of the oldest settlements on the territory of Artyom is the village of Oleniy. Its history is interesting. The name Oleniy is not the only one, before it, like the state farm, was called Maykhe. And even earlier it was the Patyukov farm, the date of foundation of which varies from 1887 to 1912. The article by the teacher, historian Y. Tarasov provides the following data: “... the Silinsky breeding farm was organized on the basis of the kulak farm of Patiukov, which existed here since 1912.”

Thus, the history of the farm began long before the beginning of the 20th century. The very choice of location speaks of the entrepreneurial abilities of the retired sailor Mikhail Patiukov. It was here that at that time there was a crossroads of the main communication routes (rivers and paths) connecting Vladivostok and Shkotovo with the valleys of the Maykhe and Batalyanza rivers.

In 1891, near one of the bays of the Amur Bay, peasants founded a village Corner- the first permanent settlement of the Russian people. Several years later, the village of Krolevets(1896) and Knevichi(1896), named so by the settlers in honor of the places where they came from. The report on the resettlement of peasants by sea in 1896 says the following about this: “The settlers formed four new villages this year, including the villages ... Knevichi and Krolevets in the Batalyanza river valley”. According to this statement, thirteen families from Krolevets and five families from Novozybkovsky districts of the Chernigov province settled in Krolevets. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to find out the names of the founders of the village of Knevichi. They dissolved among the first settlers of neighboring Krolevets. At least eleven families of the Knevich residents apply for the role of the second wave of immigrants, among them the families of Domnitsky, Krivenko, Sushchenko, Nazarenko, Oleshko, Khrushch, Oleinik and others.

From about October 1907, the name "Batalyanza" appeared in church books, which from January 1 of the next year was used in parallel with the official name "Surazhevka"... The village is named in honor of the Surazhevsky district of the Chernigov province, from which almost all of its original inhabitants came. All of them came from the village. Kozhny of the Vereshchak volost of the Surazhevsky district. Among the founders of the village are the families of Anton Koryavchenko, Foki Borisenko, Nikita Golik (Golikov), who received the nickname Shchun.

Modern Surazhevka is a whole greenhouse town where vegetables are grown. On March 15, 1982, an experimental production farm (OPH) “Dalnevostochnoye” was established here. In 1988, on the basis of the Far Eastern Department of the Research Institute of Vegetable Economy in Surazhevka, the Primorskaya Vegetable Experimental Station was created. There are six divisions in its structure.

Shevelevka. The fate of this village turned out to be similar to the fate of other villages. There is an extract from the journal of the Primorsky Regional on Peasant Affairs of the Presence of March 19, 1907, where it is written the following: "We listened to the presentation of the head of the resettlement of settlers in the Coastal subdistrict of May 4 of this year, No. 324, on the formation of the village" Shevelevka "of the Tsemukhinsky volost ..."

Today, perhaps, only the name of one of Artyom's cemeteries reminds of it, and two or three houses with a diner, located on the former outskirts of the village.

From all settlements on the territory of Artem Zavodskoy village the newest and, perhaps, the youngest settlement, dating back to the second half of the 20th century.

For a long time, the territory near the village of Krolevtsy (where Zavodskoy is now located) was a flat area. Here during the Great Patriotic War there was a training airfield, where the cadet pilots practiced their technique and skills.

In 1956, it was decided to build a plant for reinforced concrete products (concrete goods) and building materials on this site. It was the construction site of the century, which attracted builders from all over the Union.

The Mikhailovskaya broiler poultry farm, the largest in the Far East, is being built in the village.

So in a short time, large production enterprises grew on the empty site of the former training airfield.

This is a brief history of the city, villages and townships on the territory of today's Artyom.

Since 1931, Artem has become the main supplier of coal in Primorye. In 1932, the construction of the largest in the Far East mine No. 3-Ts (“Dalnevostochnaya”) and the first regional power plant in the Far East - Artemovskaya GRES began. The Komsomol members who came from the European regions of the country worked hard at this construction site. The power plant was named after S. M. Kirov.

Dzerzhinsky street

one of the new buildings of the first five-year plan-mine No. 3-c in the city of Artem

Fedor Andreevich Sergeev (Artem) (1883 - 1921) Political figure. He led the armed uprising in Kharkov in 1905 and 1917, chairman of the Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK). Since 1918 the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Republic, in 1920 the chairman of the Donetsk Provincial Executive Committee. In 1920 - 1921 secretary of the Moscow Committee (MC) of the party, then chairman of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Union of Miners. Member of the Central Committee of the party in 1917 - 1918, 1920 - 1921. Killed during the test of the air car.

Artem (real family member Sergeev) Fyodor Andreevich (1883, village of Glebovo, Kursk province - 1921, approx. Art. Serpukhov) - Soviet party and statesman, Bolshevik. Born into a peasant family. She spent her childhood and youth in Yekaterinoslav. In 1892 - 1901 he studied at the Yekaterinoslav Real School. In 1901 he entered the Moscow Higher Technical School. In 1902 he was arrested for participating in a political student demonstration and sentenced to six months in prison. As Artem wrote, "in the ranks of the Iskra-ists, Bolsheviks and Communists since 1902." From 1902 to 1903 he studied at the Russian Higher School of Social Sciences in Paris. In 1903 he returned to his homeland. "I fled shamefully to Russia, because I felt bad among the European culture that I did not understand. And I felt myself in my element in comparatively barbaric Russia."

In December 1905, he led an armed uprising in Kharkov, V. In 1906 he was a delegate to the IV Congress of the RSDLP. In the same year he was arrested, escaped from a Kharkiv prison and was again arrested in Perm: "The cell is large, light. The food is not bad, a walk for almost 2 hours a day, a bath every week, and most importantly, I can have so many books here. , as much as I want, and I have a lot of time to study. " He was sentenced to life in exile in Vost .. Siberia, but in 1910 he fled through Korea and China to Australia, where he worked as a loader, a laborer. And here Artyom was actively involved in the roar. movement: "The sight of the disorganized masses is unbearable for me."

He headed the Union of Rus. emigrant workers, was the organizer and editor of the gas. "Australian Echo". After the February roar. 1917 returned to Russia and headed the Bolshevik Committee of the Kharkov Council. At the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) he was elected a member of the Central Committee. In oct. 1917 took an active part in the Bolshevik coup in Petrograd. Participated in. struggle for the establishment of Sov. authorities in Ukraine. Bolshevik-Leninist, he consistently opposed the Mensheviks, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, supported V.I. Lenin on the ratification of the Brest Peace. He made a great contribution to the organization of the defense of the south of the country. After the end of the civil war, he participated in the restoration of the Donbass mines. From November 1920 to January 1921 he worked as secretary of the Moscow. committee of the CPSU (b), was a supporter of Lenin during a discussion about trade unions. Artem opposed L.D. Trotsky and the "workers' opposition". At the beginning of 1921, Artem headed the Central Committee of the All-Russian Union of Miners, dreamed of creating the Red Profintern of Miners, which would embrace the miners of the whole world. Killed during the test of the air car. Buried on Red Square in Moscow.

About the 1917 revolution

Artem (surname and name Sergeev Fedor Andreevich) (March 7, 1883, the village of Glebovo, Fatezhsky district, Kursk province, - July 24, 1921, near Moscow). Of the peasants. In 1901-02 a student of Moscow. Imperial high tech. uch-schA; in 1901 he joined the RSDLP. In 1902-03 the listener Rus. higher. schools of societies, sciences M.M. Kovalevsky in Paris. From 1903 he was a Bolshevik. Member of the Revolution of 1905-07 (Kharkov, Ural); delegate to the 4th (United) Congress of the RSDLP (1906). Was repeatedly arrested and exiled, was in exile.

After the February Revolution of 1917, he returned to Russia in June. Since the beginning of July in Kharkov, a member of the city committee of the RSDLP (b) and a delegate to the Council, a Bolshevik employee. gas. "Proletarian", secretary region metalworkers' union bureau. In July, in connection with the call of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries to unite with the Bolsheviks, he published Art. “Woe-Uniteers”, where he wrote: “We want to know who you are and why you came. and Skobelev, those who refuse the cross. to-There the right to own the land until the Constituent Assembly approves it for them, if you are the same ones who keep the old counter-revolution in power, not chosen by the people. bureaucracy: if you are the ones who transfer power to the worst enemies of the people - landlords and big capital; if you are the ones on whose behalf and on whose behalf they destroy the military units of the workers and [direct] punitive expeditions to various districts of Russia: if you those who introduce a convict regime for those who fight for freedom of discussion and for the rights guaranteed to citizens in the bourgeois democratic republics - tell me: why do you come to us to unite with us? After all, we are fighting against everything that you do "(" Proletarian ", Kharkov, 1917, July 11).

In connection with the July events in Petrograd, Artem noted in his speech on July 11 in the region. school desks. conferences of the Bolsheviks Yugo-Zal, the region in Kiev: "It seems that the repressions of the last days have made some changes. But these repressions took place a month ago. The changes took place only in the fact that the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries declared open war on us, isolated us This is a democratic reaction at a time when the republic has not yet been declared, when the land is still in the hands of the landowners "[Artem (FA Sergeev). Articles, speeches, letters, M., 1983, p. 159]

In a speech at a meeting of members of the "voenka" at the Kharkov committee of the RSDLP (b), he said: "The capitalists began to disorganize industry ... They started a crazy game of raising the ruble. Small-scale production should have perished under such conditions. The workers had to demand an increase. The workers were accused of the current situation. Everywhere they set them not on the real culprits, but on the Soviets. At the same time, they began to organize counter-revolutionary forces from all those who were afraid of the new order ... 1917, July 20). Affairs. 1st region conferences of the organization of the RSDLP (b) of the Donetsk basin and the Krivoy Rog region (July 13-16); became a part of the ool. to-that, elected deeds. to the 6th Congress of the RSDLP (b). In July - August he took part in the 6th Congress of the RSDLP (b), was elected a member. CC

In aug. at a general meeting of the members of the metalworkers' union of Lugansk noted: "Prospect is deaf to all the demands and position of the proletariat, and therefore the bourgeoisie boldly and with impunity arranges sabotages and lockouts, regardless of the work on defense, although it shouts about the salvation of the homeland" ("Donetsk Proletarian ", Lugansk, 1917, 23 Aug.). In the end. Aug at a meeting of the Kharkov Council, he pointed out: "At present, the proletariat must conduct a defense, policy, defending self-proclaimed revolutionary organizations (councils, trade unions, factory enterprises, etc.) and accumulating forces so that at the moment of a new upsurge of the revolution , which is inevitable ... to seize power, put an end to the war and crush imperialism "(" Proletarian ", Kharkov, 1917, August 29).

4 Sep at a conference of factory committees in Kharkov he said: “At the present time we have broken with the Provisional Government and have begun to form our own government, the organization of which will involve the entire Donetsk basin. We supported the government while it was fighting Kornilov, but now after the appointments of Alekseev, Danilov, Ruzsky and other hidden and obvious enemies of democracy to responsible and command posts, as well as the news of Kerensky's formation of a new cabinet, make us ask: "Who gave Kerensky the right to form the production? We did not give him the authority "" [Artem (FA Sergeev). Articles, speeches, letters, M .. 1983. p. 166) At a meeting of the Kharkov Council in the middle. Sep Artyom, addressing the Socialist-Revolutionaries, said: "Let them say openly: we are for the slogan - land to the landowners. We propose the following resolution: All land to the labor cross - immediately and without ransom. Whoever is against this resolution, let him speak openly." The Social Revolutionaries voted against this proposal and it was rejected. Then Artyom asked to include this fact in the minutes with the addition that "for three or four hours the Council discussed the issue. Who should own the land - the landowners or the peasants, and, finally, decided that the landowners!" ("Kharkov and Kharkov province. In the Great October. Socialist Revolution". Collection of documents and materials, Kharkov, 1957, pp. 187-88).

In Art. "To liars and traitors" ("Donetsk Proletarian", Lugansk, 1917, November 7) Artem wrote that the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries "scream: why did they wrest power from the counter-revolution by force, as if the landowners themselves did not hold power with the help of the most brutal violence .. . When the Socialist-Revolutionary gentlemen needed strength to fight tsarism, did they themselves ... not call for a violent overthrow of the government and an uprising! " ("Artem in Ukraine". Documents and materials, Kharkov, 1961, p. 169). Speaking in mid. nov. at the plenum of the region. Committee of the Soviets of the Donetsk and Kryvyi Rih basins on the demand of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries to create a "homogeneous social. Prospect", Artem said:

"Who can be called homogeneous now? Either those who are with the Soviets, or those who are opposed. It means that the power could be homogeneous with a stretch no more than the bloc of Bolsheviks, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and Left Menshevik internationalists. But after all, the bloc of Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries it is obvious that the Menshevik internationalists are not a party of the masses, they have compromised themselves among the masses by compromise and the most disgusting persecution of the victorious proletarian-cross. revolution "(ibid., p. 174). In nov. elected member Founding. Collected from the Kharkov province. From 24 nov before. executive committee of the Kharkov Council and lips. VRK. Dec. on the 1st Vseukr. Congress of Soviets made a report on the current situation, elected member. CEC of the Soviets of Ukraine and appointed People. Secretary (Commissar) for Trade and Industry.

In Jan. 1918 prev. South region council of bunks. x-va. led the nationalization of prom. enterprises. From Feb. prev. SNK and Commissar Nar. kh-va Donetsk-Krivoy Rog owls. republics. Affairs. 7th Congress of the RCP (b) (March), on March 7, he argued for the need to ratify the peace treaty with Germany: re-elected member. Central Committee. One of the organizers of the struggle against Center. Rada, ataman A.M. Kaledin, Austro-German. occupiers. From ser. 1918 on desks, state. and prof. work. Killed in the railway. disaster.

Testimony of a contemporary:

On April 30, 1905, F.I. Shalyapin gave a concert for the workers at the Kharkiv People's House. When the last words of the mighty "Dubinushka" were heard and the frantic applause finally died down, a young broad-shouldered man with an open, strong-willed face took the stage. It was Artyom, the recognized leader of the Kharkov workers and a remarkable Bolshevik agitator. He called on the proletarians for a general strike on May Day, for organizing combat squads and arming against the forces of the autocracy. He spoke passionately and enthusiastically,

Even in the Yekaterinoslav real school, Fedor Sergeev became close to the Social Democrats, and in 1902 in Moscow, already a member of the RSDLP, he participated in a student demonstration, for which he was expelled from the Higher Technical School with a "wolf ticket" and sent to prison. After serving his sentence, Fyodor Sergeev went to study in Paris, at the Russian Higher School of Social Sciences, where V. I. Lenin gave a course of lectures on the agrarian question. In the same year, Sergeev returned to Russia. A professional revolutionary works in Yekaterinoslav, cities and towns of Donbass. From the miners Fyodor Andreevich got his party name - Artem.

At the beginning of 1905, after leaving the tsarist prison for the third time, Artyom went on the instructions of the party to Kharkov. In this formidable year, strikes, demonstrations are taking place in the city one after another, rallies break out, clashes with the police and Cossacks. And always Artem is in the thick of the battle. A pack of spies prowls in his footsteps. How many times did he leave them, spending the night here and there, hiding in the steppe, in the swamps, and even in the isolation ward for the violent. Artyom was an excellent conspirator, possessing a downright artistic gift of reincarnation.

In June, Kharkov was rocked by a three-day general political strike. And in December, Artyom, together with other Bolsheviks, roused the workers to an armed uprising. Despite the defeat, it played its role as a formidable warning to the autocracy. The Kharkov workers elected Artyom as their delegate to the IV Congress of the RSDLP. On the instructions of V.I. Lenin, he went to the Urals. The work was enormous. But with the help of the traitor, the secret police managed to capture all the members of the Perm Party Committee. The court sentenced Artyom to eternal exile in Siberia. Artyom flees abroad through the Far East. The years of living in a foreign land were full of labor and hardship. But always Artem served the revolution as best he could. In Australia, he headed the union of Russian émigré workers, which fought alongside the Australian proletariat, and established the publication of the Russian newspaper Australian Echo. Artem spoke at rallies about the need to fight for their rights. For organizing one of these rallies, the authorities put him behind bars.

With the first news of the February Revolution, Artyom returned to his homeland. He is again in Kharkov, again in a struggle: the masses must be conquered, the revolution continues - there are still battles for the dictatorship of the proletariat ahead. As a delegate of the Kharkov Bolsheviks, he spoke about this at the 6th Party Congress. He was elected to the Central Committee. Artem became the head of the Donetsk Regional Committee of the RSDLP. And in October 1917, at the invitation of the Central Committee, he arrived in Petrograd and took part in an armed uprising.

The civil war opened up the talent of a military leader in Artyom. He organizes the defense of Donbass and directs military operations against the troops of the Austro-German invaders, Central Rada and Kaledin. He takes part in the heroic campaign of the 5th Army and the defense of Tsaritsyn.

In days of peace, Artem is in the leadership of the party and the Soviet government of Ukraine. A new life is being built, factories and factories are rising from the ruins. Artyom's special concern is the revival of Donbass.

In recent years, he worked in Moscow - first as secretary of the Moscow Party Committee, and then as chairman of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Union of Miners. His life ended abruptly, in the 38th year.

From the memories of his son:

My father and Stalin were great friends and like-minded people. They met for the first time in 1906 at the IV Party Congress. Father was then 23 years old, and he spoke at that convention 19 times. Stalin was 4 years older. They did not see each other until 1917. Father was arrested in 1907, Stalin was also arrested. The second time they met at the VI Congress in July 1917, and since then they constantly communicated: at plenary sessions, then they were together in Tsaritsyn, lived there in the same carriage. Nadezhda Sergeevna went to Tsaritsyn as Stalin's wife.
They were different people, but this did not interfere with their friendship or work. On the contrary, they complemented each other.
After the death of my father (July 24, 1921) there was a meeting of the Politburo, where all 5 of its members were present, including V. I. Lenin. And the 18th item on the agenda was "On providing for the family of comrade Artyom." The document itself, I did not see what was there, I do not know. I saw only a document dated July 27, 1921, where clause 18 was: “They heard:“ About providing for the family of Comrade Artyom. Executor: Stalin ". Then there was a document dated December 1921, which read: “We heard about the execution of clause 18 of the decision of 27 July. I. Stalin reported. "
However, it was not only about the assignment, but also about friendship. My mother was friends with Nadezhda Sergeevna. And we were even born with Vasily in the same maternity hospital with a difference of 19 days: I was on March 5, 1921, he was on March 24.

When my father died on July 24, 1921 as a result of the air car crash, Budyonny lamented, they say, such an accident, a catastrophe, how ridiculous and unexpected. To which Stalin said: "If an accident has political consequences, then such an accident must be looked at."
So, if we talk about accidents-non-coincidences, then here we need to look more broadly. And when once again there was a conversation about the crash of the air car, in which my father and together with him the leaders of the union of miners of mining states died, Stalin remarked to the remark that, obviously, the car was not perfect enough, Stalin remarked: “So you think, that the reason is still technical? Maybe political? Don't forget the class struggle. " This conversation was attended by Kirov, Budyonny, Zhdanov. (pp. 74-75)

This is the habit of those people who considered the party and the state to be their offspring. When my father, for example, traveled abroad, and this was not uncommon, my mother told me how enthusiastically he spoke, how much he brought back the currency without spending it. (p. 126)

Defense of Port Arthur, 1905

On the night of 8-9 February 1904 without declaring war, the Japanese squadron attacked the Russian naval base Port Arthur. This was preceded by a meeting at sea of Russian and Japanese ships. Russian sailors, not having an order, did not open fire on the Japanese, but as a result of inept maneuvering, two Japanese destroyers collided with each other and were damaged.

After that, four Japanese ships approached Port Arthur unnoticed and launched a torpedo attack. It could not be called successful. Of the 16 torpedoes fired, thirteen either missed their targets or did not explode. However, three torpedoes damaged three of the strongest Russian ships based in Port Arthur - the battleships Retvizan and Tsesarevich and the cruiser Pallada.

Soldiers erect fortifications in the defense of Port Arthur

Fire at the Golden Mountain during the defense of Port Arthur, 1905

The first battle of the Russo-Japanese War continued in the morning, when the fleets began a firefight from a distance of eight kilometers. The total losses in this battle were 150 people from the Russians and 90 people from the Japanese.

Only the next day, February 10, 1904, Japan officially declared war on Russia. Today we remember the exploits of the soldiers of the Russian army in this war.

The death of the destroyer "Guarding"

In St. Petersburg, on the Petrograd side, there is a magnificent monument to all the sailors who died in the Russian-Japanese war. On it, two surviving sailors of the "Guarding" destroyer open the kingstones in order to flood the ship and not give it to the enemy. The team of the "Guardian" really accomplished a real feat, only there are no kingstons on the ships of this class, and the "Guardian" sank itself from the resulting holes.

The first Russian submarine "Dolphin", which took part in the Russo-Japanese War

The destroyers "Guarding" and "Resolute" On February 10, on the day of the official declaration of the Russo-Japanese war, they were returning to Port Arthur when they were blocked by four Japanese destroyers "Akebono", "Sadzanami", "Sinonome" and "Usugumo". Subsequently, they were joined by two cruisers "Tokiwa" and "Chitose". The commanders of the Russian destroyers decided to avoid the battle, but the breakthrough to Port Arthur was only successful for the "Resolute". The "Guarding" was damaged by a direct hit from a shell, and he continued the battle, practically losing speed. Despite the significant superiority of the enemy, "Guarding" fought for almost an hour.

At the beginning of the battle, the St.Andrew's flag was nailed to the mast so that it would not be accidentally ripped off by an explosion. The commander of the ship, Lieutenant Sergeev, led the battle lying on the deck with his legs broken. When he died, Lieutenant N. Goloviznin took command, but he too was soon struck by a shrapnel. At the end of the battle, when the ship could no longer shoot back, a seriously wounded mechanical engineer V. Anastasov commanded it. When the last weapon fell silent, the dying signaller Kruzhkov, with the help of the fireman Osinin, was able to throw signal books overboard, tying a load to them.

All officers and 45 out of 49 sailors were killed on the "Guarding". The Japanese tried to tow the sinking destroyer, but could not - the ship sank, breaking the towing cable.

Operating room in a field hospital during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Wounded soldiers in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905

Our proud "Varyag" does not surrender to the enemy

The legendary cruiser Varyag met the beginning of the war in the neutral Korean port of Chemulpo. The captain of the ship, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev, had an order from the Tsar's governor, Admiral Alekseev, not to get involved in Japanese provocations, so the cruiser remained in the roadstead even when the Japanese fired at the gunboat "Koreets", which was sent to Port Arthur with a report on the landing of Japanese troops in the port ...

The cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" return after a hard battle to the Korean port of Chemulpo

On February 9, the captain of the Varyag, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev, received an ultimatum from the Japanese: to leave the port before 12 o'clock, otherwise the Russian ships would be attacked in the roadstead. Rudnev decided to break through to Port Arthur, and in case of failure, blow up the ships. At noon "Varyag" and "Koreets" left Chemulpo. When leaving the port, the Russian ships met a Japanese squadron, which was occupying a position behind the island of Phamildo.

The heroic battle of "Varyag" and "Koreyets" against fourteen Japanese warships lasted for an hour. "Varyag" and "Koreets" destroyed the Japanese destroyer and cruiser, damaged one more cruiser. But the Varyag itself was so riddled with shells that Rudnev decided to return to the port of Chemulpo. There the kingstones were opened on the cruiser and the ship was sunk. The gunboat "Koreets" was blown up. In this unprecedented battle, 1 officer and 30 sailors from the Varyag were killed, another 85 sailors were seriously wounded.

Closed the hole with my body

Russia still remembers another hero of the Russian-Japanese war. This is the mechanical engineer of the Russian destroyer "Strong" Vasily Zverev. On March 27, 1904, at 2:15 am the Japanese attempted to block the entrance to the inner roadstead of Port Arthur, sending 4 large commercial steamers there, accompanied by 6 destroyers.

The enemy's attempt was thwarted by the "Strong" destroyer. The ship rushed to the attack, dealt with the steamers and entered into battle with six Japanese destroyers. Having received a hole in the steam line, "Strong" turned into a fixed target for enemy shelling. Then Zverev closed the hole with his body and returned the course to the ship, sacrificing his life. The dead were solemnly buried in Port Arthur.

Emperor Nicholas II visits the formation of regiments leaving for Manchuria

Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich together with officers of the 4th Siberian Cossack regiment

Before reading - eat

The gunman of the Port Arthur fortress Grigory Khodosevich was aboard the Russian destroyer "Terrible" when on March 30, 1904, the ship entered into an unequal battle with four Japanese warships. 49 sailors were killed in the battle, only five people survived, including Khodosevich.

He found himself in the icy water with a severe injury to his back. He had secret documents hidden under his life jacket. Seeing a Japanese boat approaching him, Khodasevich with his fingers stiff from the cold began to tear the bag and eat the paper along with the seaweed. When the Japanese approached and lifted him aboard, there was practically nothing left of the package. The interrogation also gave nothing - Grigory Khodosevich did not say a word about the contents of the secret documents. The hero was sent to a prisoner of war camp and returned to his homeland only after the war.

Captive Japanese taken at the village of Yuhuantun

Port Arthur - from here to eternity

The feat of the border guard

Another of the heroes of Port Arthur was the lieutenant colonel of the Russian border guard, head of the Kwantung department of the Special Zaamur border district, Peter Butusov.

In July 1904, Lieutenant Colonel Butusov led the search, in which the border guards blew up an enemy cannon and removed the locks from three. On August 6, Butusov's border guards, together with the riflemen, drove the Japanese out of the Water Redoubt they had captured. On October 15, Lieutenant Colonel Butusov was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree for his bravery in battles to repel the second assault on Port Arthur.

On November 21, 1904, during the fourth assault on Port Arthur, Butusov was appointed commandant of Mount Vysokaya, where he was mortally wounded. He died on November 22 and was buried at the Port Arthur military cemetery.

Orenburg Cossacks at a halt. Russo-Japanese War 1994 - 1905

Russians ambushed in Gaolyang

Russian "Chinese" Vasily Ryabov

The scout of the Russian army, Private Vasily Ryabov, repeatedly went to the rear of the Japanese in the clothes and wig of a Chinese peasant. And one day Ryabov's group ran into a Japanese patrol. Vasily Ryabov was taken prisoner, but during interrogation he steadfastly kept a military secret and, being sentenced to be shot, behaved with dignity. Everything happened strictly according to the ritual. They shot from rifles from fifteen paces. Vasily Ryabov accepted death with open eyes.

The Japanese were delighted with the courageous behavior of the Russian and considered it their duty to bring this to the attention of his superiors. The note of the Japanese officer sounds like a presentation for the award: "Our army cannot but express our sincere wishes to the respected army that the latter would bring up more of such truly wonderful soldiers worthy of full respect."

Dmitry Grigoriev - "Rossiyskaya Gazeta"

The name of Khodosevich Grigory Zakharovich is well known to the residents of the Primorsky Territory, but almost nothing is known about him in other regions of the country. Meanwhile, this is a truly legendary person, the Knight of St. George, one of the survivors of the destroyer team "Scary", who died in an unequal battle in the Russo-Japanese War. The feat of a destroyer is comparable to the feat of cruisers "Varangian" and "Rurik".

Grigory Zakharovich Khodosevich was born in 1874 in the city of Borisov. With the outbreak of the war with Japan, he was mobilized and sent to serve in the fortress of Port Arthur. The circumstances under which G.Z. Khodosevich, being the commandant of the fortress, got on a battleship are unknown, but already in March 1904 he took part in a sea battle.

On March 30, 1904, the Scary destroyer, as part of a detachment of Russian ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron, performed a mission to reconnoitre the location of the Japanese fleet and install minefields covering Port Arthur from the sea. During a night search, he broke away from the main detachment of ships and went alone to the harbor.

When dawn began, four unknown ships appeared nearby. "Terrible" gave the callsigns. In response, the ships lit up with flashes of shots. An unequal battle began. The commander, Captain 2nd Rank K. Yurasovsky, was killed almost immediately. On the deck, in the premises, other killed and wounded appeared. After a shell hit a mine vehicle, the destroyer swayed helplessly on the waves.

Leaving Port Arthur to help the "Terrible" cruiser "Accordion"Picked up only five sailors from the water, the remaining 49 died

Among the rescued was Khodosevich. In the bloody confusion of the battle, he managed to get from the safe and hide between two life jackets the secret package of the commander of the Pacific squadron S.O. Makarov and the entire cash amount of the ship's treasury. For this feat, he was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree.

Grigory Zakharovich, who received a serious spinal injury and spent several hours in cold sea water, was deprived of the opportunity to move normally for the rest of his life. Only after two years of treatment in a Vladivostok hospital did he learn to walk on crutches.

After retiring in 1907, he decided to stay in Primorye and acquired a plot. During the construction, the farm was consecrated with the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. On the site of the farm, a city later arose, which received the name Artyom under Soviet power. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the inhabitants of this city call G.Z. Khodosevich the first founder and settler of Artem. By 1912, there were three houses on the site where Grigory Khodosevich and his brothers Klim and Ignat lived, who, at the invitation of Grigory, came from Borisov to live in the Far East.

The personal fate of our fellow countryman was difficult and tragic. In 1908, his brother Ignat died after catching a cold. In 1918 his three-year-old son Vasya dies. The tragic events of the Civil War in Primorye caused the death of his wife Stephanida in March 1919. Three young daughters remained orphans. The death of his beloved wife undermined Khodosevich's strength and he barely walked on crutches with difficulty. His second marriage in 1920 was unsuccessful. And with the coming to power in Primorye of the Bolsheviks in 1922, Grigory Zakharovich was put on a special account, being recorded in the category of "unreliable".

After a serious illness, he died in 1924 and was buried in the cemetery of the 8th km of Artem. There were no male heirs after his death.

Today there is nothing from the farm except a conventional place. In 1974, during a meeting between Brezhnev and US President Ford, in order not to overshadow the appearance of the city with old buildings, the farm was ordered to be burned down. In 2005, a memorial plaque was erected at the burial site of the pioneer settler Artyom.

Fire at the Golden Mountain during the defense of Port Arthur, 1905

Only the next day, February 10, 1904, Japan officially declared war on Russia. Today we remember the exploits of the soldiers of the Russian army in this war.

The death of the destroyer "Guarding"

The first Russian submarine "Dolphin", which took part in the Russo-Japanese War

All officers and 45 out of 49 sailors were killed on the "Guarding". The Japanese tried to tow the sinking destroyer, but could not - the ship sank, breaking the towing cable.

Operating room in a field hospital during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Wounded soldiers in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905

Our proud "Varyag" does not surrender to the enemy

The cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" return after a hard battle to the Korean port of Chemulpo

Our proud "Varyag" does not surrender to the enemy!- The truth about the greatest feat of Russian sailors in the Chemulpo Bay - Oleg Svatalov

Closed the hole with my body

Emperor Nicholas II visits the formation of regiments leaving for Manchuria

Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich together with officers of the 4th Siberian Cossack regiment

Before reading - eat

Captive Japanese taken at the village of Yuhuantun

Port Arthur - from here to eternity

On the night of February 8-9, 1904, without declaring war, the Japanese squadron attacked the Russian naval base Port Arthur. This was preceded by a meeting at sea of Russian and Japanese ships. Russian sailors, not having an order, did not open fire on the Japanese, but as a result of inept maneuvering, two Japanese destroyers collided with each other and were damaged.

After that, four Japanese ships approached Port Arthur unnoticed and launched a torpedo attack. It could not be called successful. Of the 16 torpedoes fired, thirteen either missed their targets or did not explode. However, three torpedoes damaged three of the strongest Russian ships based in Port Arthur - the battleships Retvizan and Tsesarevich and the cruiser Pallada.

The first battle of the Russo-Japanese War continued in the morning, when the fleets began a firefight from a distance of eight kilometers. The total losses in this battle amounted to 150 people from the Russians and 90 people from the Japanese. Only the next day, February 10, 1904, Japan officially declared war on Russia ...

One of the real heroes of the defense of Port Arthur is undoubtedly the commandant of the fortress, Lieutenant General Roman Kondratenko. He personally directed the defense in the most difficult and dangerous areas. Roman Kondratenko knew how to raise the spirit of the soldiers in the most difficult moments of the siege of the city, which could repel the assault of the Japanese several times. He died on December 15, 1904 from a direct hit of a howitzer shell into the fort casemate. Along with him, 8 more officers died. After the end of the Russian-Japanese war, the hero's body was solemnly reburied in St. Petersburg, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The gunman of the Port Arthur fortress Grigory Khodosevich was aboard the Russian destroyer "Terrible" when on March 30, 1904, the ship entered into an unequal battle with four Japanese warships. 49 sailors were killed in the battle, only five people survived, including Khodosevich, who ended up in the icy water with a severe back injury. He had secret documents hidden under his life jacket. Seeing a Japanese boat approaching him, Khodasevich with his fingers stiff from the cold began to tear the bag and eat the paper along with the seaweed. When the Japanese approached and lifted him aboard, there was practically nothing left of the package. The interrogation also gave nothing - Grigory Khodosevich did not say a word about the contents of the secret documents. The hero was sent to a prisoner of war camp and returned to his homeland only after the war.

The very defense of Port Arthur is often presented as a confrontation between patriots led by the heroic General Roman Kondratenko and a certain "party of cowards and capitulators", which consisted of Stoessel and his "accomplices" - General Fock

and Colonel Reis.

It is argued that while Kondratenko was alive and in charge of the defense, the Japanese suffered one defeat after another, but when he died, the "party of traitors" raised their heads and quickly brought the fortress to surrender.

Indeed, Kondratenko was killed on December 2, 1904 (hereinafter the dates are given according to the old style), and only eighteen days later, Port Arthur surrendered. But does it follow from this that the city could hold out longer? Strictly speaking, no.

On November 25, 1904, the Fortress Defense Council was held, and it was suggested that January 1, 1905 is the deadline until which the garrison is able to resist. Kondratenko took part in this discussion. And in those years it was accepted that if the opinion of a member of the Council differs from the point of view of the majority, and the officer himself wants to emphasize his disagreement, then the “special opinion” of this person is entered into the protocol, separately from the general text. If a member of the Council believes that his words were distorted when they were recording, then he has the right not to sign the protocol at all. Kondratenko did not express his dissenting opinion and signed the text. In other words, he did not protest against the thesis that the city can only hold out until January 1, 1905.

In reality, Port Arthur fell on December 20, and the remnants of the garrison were withdrawn from the fortress on December 23. As you can see, there is no fundamental difference between these dates and January 1.

Go ahead. Port Arthurian Dudorov later recalled that when the Japanese captured Mount Vysokaya, Kondratenko himself said that "this is the beginning of the end." Moreover, it was Kondratenko who oversaw the defense of Vysokaya, and then he also organized a counterattack in order to regain control over this key point. The counterattack failed. In other words, the events that predetermined the fall of Port Arthur took place during the life of Kondratenko and with his direct participation. Taking these facts into account, the opposition between the “party of heroes” and the “party of capitulators” no longer looks obvious.

You can often come across the thesis that Port Arthur surrendered unexpectedly for its defenders, who are ready to defend themselves for a long time. This is also regarded as proof of cowardice and (or) betrayal of Stoessel and his “accomplices”. However, entries from the diary of the Port Arthurian military engineer Lilier show how wrong this view is.

Here, please, is the entry of October 21: “… The complete decline of animation is noticed. Everyone is obviously fed up with the tried and tested impressions of all the horrors of the war. " November 22: "The fortress is overworked and makes its last desperate attempt, sending its last defenders to its last battle ..." November 25: "Many officers are fully aware of the despair and bleakness of the situation of both the fortress itself and its defenders." November 27: “In general, the fortress's position is completely hopeless. There is even talk in the city about its surrender. "

Please note that these remarks refer to the period when the ground defense was led by Kondratenko, but there is no trace of optimism about the current situation.

The note made by Lilier on December 19, that is, on the eve of the surrender, reflects the atmosphere of hopelessness of further resistance: “The mood in the garrison is the most depressed. Now a lot of voices are being heard openly about the complete impossibility of further defense of the fortress ... ”.

After the trial of Stoessel, the commission under the General Staff, which carefully studied the circumstances of the siege of Port Arthur, published its opinion on the position of the fortress shortly before the surrender: “On December 19, the Japanese won a major success: on the Western Front, they captured the first defensive line. The line of defense on the Eastern Front has assumed a position extremely unfavorable for defense. "

Night of December 20: “The capture of the Great Eagle's Nest put the second defensive line in such a position that it was almost impossible to hold on to it. ... Once again, the position of the line of the Eastern Front changed even more for the worse ... the position of the third defensive line became extremely difficult, since now its sectors could be hit not only by frontal, but also by rear fire. "

The commission also found that by December 20, there were 11.5 thousand people in positions, of which more than half were sick with scurvy. But despite the data of such an authoritative source, the ridiculous figure of 23 thousand defenders of Port Arthur still walks in publicism and even professional historical works. At the same time, the army of General Noga, which besieged Port Arthur, numbered about 70-80 thousand people by December 20.

In such a scenario, the city could not hold out much longer. Another general assault on the Japanese would have turned into a massacre of the remnants of the Russian garrison, or even a massacre of civilians and the wounded, about which the Japanese themselves had warned Stoessel in advance. The garrison did the best it could. Stoessel is the same hero as Kondratenko, who defended the city to the last, and then saved its population from the massacre.

sources