This monument was erected to the Cossack Konstantin Nedorubov by no means on his grave, it was erected to him in the hero city of Volgograd. And there is a monument to the Cossack by right - Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov is a unique personality.

Veteran of three wars - the 1st World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. The only hereditary Don Cossack in Russia who had top honors both tsarist and Soviet Russia.

Konstantin Nedorubov met the 1st World War Nedorubov as a scout of the 15th Cossack regiment. From an ordinary Cossack scout, he rose to the head of a reconnaissance group.

He fought well. Once, alone, he captured 52 Austrian soldiers, led by an officer. However, the Austrians could also be understood - a two-meter-high Cossack, a slanting fathom in his shoulders, a saber in one hand, a grenade in the other, and he grins terribly. Monster, not human!

There were other exploits as well. For which he was awarded four St. George's crosses (full "St. George's bow") and was promoted to cadet.

AT civil war it didn’t work out that way with the awards, although he had a chance to fight for both the whites and the reds. And there, and there, twice.

Yes, he didn’t have any orders for this war, but they were awarded with red revolutionary harem pants.

In 1920 with military service in the Red Army, he preferred to leave - waking up, he fought! Although the Reds rose to the rank of commander of the 8th Taman Cavalry Regiment (by the way, Semyon Timoshenko, then unknown to anyone, began driving in his regiment). But eight scars on the body, like a bullet forever stuck in the chest, did not add health. But he retained his “George”, despite the new government, which greatly disliked royal awards.

In 1933 he "sat down" - being the chairman of the collective farm, he was "convicted under Article 109 of the Criminal Code" for the loss of grain in the field "". (Hunger. For the loss of grain, imaginary and obvious, the authorities punished without hesitation.) dark history.

Sentence - 10 years in the camps. I ended up in Volgolag, at the construction site of the Moscow-Volga canal. He worked there for almost three years and was released "at will" ahead of schedule. According to the official wording "for shock work" (although they say that the writer Sholokhov, whom Nedorubov knew personally, helped the Cossack a lot here). However, at the construction site Nedorubov really worked "like a convict". And not because they were forced, but because he could not do anything halfway.
After the "imprisonment" in the rights was not affected.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Konstantin Iosifovich was not subject to conscription due to age - whatever one may say, but 52 years old.
In October 1941, he volunteered for a cavalry Cossack division that was being formed in the city of Uryupinsk - they did not take it. Not even because of age, but p.k. former White Guard, and served time.

And Nedorubov went to the 1st Secretary of the Berezovsky District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Ivan Vladimirovich Shlyapkin. The old Cossack cried: "I'm not asking for the rear! .." Shlyapkin immediately called the head of the district NKVD: "Under my personal responsibility!"
Accepted. As well as the 17-year-old son of Nikolai Nedorubov.

And the third war began for the Cossack. The war is terrible. The most terrible of all three in which he participated.
Since July 1942 in battles. And the most terrible battles under the village of Kushchevskaya and around it. Chopped "to the bone"! Here both ours and the Germans did not even become brutalized, but became rabid. The 15th, 12th and 116th Don Cossack divisions against the 198th infantry, 1st and 4th mountain rifle divisions of the Wehrmacht, reinforced with everything that is possible. (They say that some Italians and Romanians even wormed their way there, however, German historians deny this.) Nobody wanted to give in!

The stamina of some was reinforced by their native land, some kind of internal fury and centuries-old fighting traditions, the stamina of others was a firm belief in themselves as in an ubermenshe, excellent combat skills and technical superiority. During August 2-3, Kushchevskaya changed hands three times.

Everything was in those battles - and the most severe mortar and artillery shelling, and hand-to-hand, and successful horse attacks on machine guns, and point-blank shooting, when the 70-round PPSh disc was fired in one burst in the chain of the attacking enemy (and not a single bullet went past the target ), and throwing grenades under tanks.

In one of the submissions for the award, it is written that in July-August 1942, Nedorubov personally destroyed over 70 enemy soldiers and officers in battles (confirming the old rule that "an old lion is still a lion"), but in reality he killed much more ( as Nedorubov himself said: "I killed 70 in just one day of fighting near Kushchevskaya").

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 25, 1943 for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against fascist german invaders and the courage and heroism of the guards shown at the same time, Lieutenant Nedorubov Konstantin Iosifovich was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 1302). In addition, he was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, and medals.

After being seriously wounded in the Carpathians, in December 1943, the Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Captain Nedorubov was recognized as a non-combatant and was dismissed from the ranks of the Red Army. He returned home to the village of Berezovskaya, Danilovsky district, Stalingrad region. Worked a lot.

Until the end of his life, he wore his "George" along with the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

The name of Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was given to the Volgograd Cadet Cossack Corps.

Cossack Konstantin Nedorubov was a full Cavalier of St. George, received a nominal checker from Budyonny, became a Hero of the Soviet Union even before the 1945 Victory Parade. He wore his Golden Star of the Hero along with the "royal" crosses.

Khutor Rubizhny

Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was born on May 21, 1889. The place of his birth is the village of Rubezhny, the village of Berezovskaya, the Ust-Medveditsky district of the Don army region (today it is the Danilovsky district of the Volgograd region).

The village of Berezovskaya was indicative. 2524 people lived in it, it included 426 households. There was also a magistrate, and a parish school, and medical centers, and two factories: a tannery and a brick one. There was even a telegraph office and a savings bank.

Konstantin Nedorubov received his primary education in a parochial school, learned to read and write, count, listened to the lessons of the Law of God. Otherwise, he received a traditional Cossack education: from childhood he rode and knew how to handle weapons. This science was more useful to him in life than school lessons.

"Full bow"

Konstantin Nedorubov was called up for service in January 1911, he ended up in the 6th hundred of the 15th cavalry regiment of the 1st Don Cossack division. His regiment was quartered in Tomashov, Lublin province. By the beginning of the First World War, Nedorubov was a junior officer and commanded a half-platoon of regimental scouts.

The 25-year-old Cossack earned his first George a month after the start of the war - Nedorubov, together with his Don scouts, broke into the location of the German battery, got prisoners and six guns.

The second George "touched the chest" of the Cossack in February 1915. Making a solitary reconnaissance near Przemysl, the officer stumbled upon a small farm, where he found sleeping Austrians. Nedorubov decided not to delay, waiting for reinforcements, threw a grenade into the courtyard and began to imitate a desperate battle with his voice and shots. From German language he is nothing but "Hyundai hoh!" did not know, but the Austrians had enough of that. Sleepy, they began to leave the houses with their hands up. So Nedorubov brought them along the winter road to the location of the regiment. There were 52 soldiers and one lieutenant taken prisoner.

Cossack Nedorubov received the third George "for unparalleled courage and courage" during Brusilov breakthrough.

Then Nedorubov was mistakenly handed another George of the 3rd degree, but after that, in the corresponding order for the 3rd Cavalry Corps, his surname and the entry opposite it “St. George Cross of the 3rd degree No. 40288” were crossed out, “No. th degree" and reference: "See. Order for Corps No. 73 1916.

Finally, Konstantin Nedorubov became a full Cavalier of St. George when, together with his Cossack scouts, he captured the headquarters of a German division, obtained important documents and captured a German infantry general, its commander.
In addition to the St. George Crosses, Konstantin Nedorubov during the First World War was also awarded two St. George medals for courage. He ended this war with the rank of coroner.

White-red commander

The Cossack Nedorubov did not have to live long without a war, but in the Civil War he did not join either the Whites or the Reds until the summer of 1918. On June 1, he nevertheless entered, along with other Cossacks of the village, into the 18th Cossack regiment of ataman Peter Krasnov.

However, the war "for the whites" did not last long for Nedorubov. Already on July 12, he was taken prisoner, but was not shot.

On the contrary, he went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and became a squadron commander in the cavalry division of Mikhail Blinov, where other Cossacks who had gone over to the side of the Reds fought side by side with him.

The Blinovskaya cavalry division showed itself in the most difficult sectors of the front. For the famous defense of Tsaritsyn, Budyonny personally handed Nedorubov a nominal checker. For battles with Wrangel, the Cossack was awarded red revolutionary trousers, although he was presented to the Order of the Red Banner, but did not receive it because of his too heroic biography in tsarist army. Received Nedorubov in Civil and wounded, machine-gun, in the Crimea. A Cossack carried a bullet stuck in his lung until the end of his life.

Prisoner of Dmitlag

After the Civil War, Konstantin Nedorubov held positions "on the ground", in April 1932 he became a collective farm foreman in the Bobrov farm.

He did not have a quiet life here either. In the fall of 1933, he was convicted under article 109 "for losing grain in the field." Nedorubov and his assistant Vasily Sutchev fell under the distribution. They were accused “to the heap” not only of stealing grain, but also of damaging agricultural equipment, they were given 10 years in the camps.

In Dmitrovlage, at the construction site of the Moscow-Volga Canal, Nedorubov and Sutchev worked as best they could, but they knew how well, they could not do otherwise. The construction was handed over ahead of schedule - July 15, 1937. Nikolai Yezhov personally accepted the work. The leaders received an amnesty.

After the camp, Konstantin Nedorubov worked as the head of the horse-post station, before the war itself - as the supply manager of the machine-testing station.

"I know how to fight them!"

When did the Great Patriotic War, Nedorubov was 52 years old, he was not subject to conscription due to age. But the Cossack hero could not stay at home.

When the consolidated Don Cossack cavalry division began to form in the Stalingrad region, the NKVD dismissed Nedorubov's candidacy - they remembered both merits in the tsarist army and a criminal record.

Then the Cossack went to the First Secretary of the Berezovsky District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Ivan Shlyapkin, and said: “I’m not asking for a cow, but I want to shed blood for my homeland! Young people die by the thousands because they are inexperienced! I won four St. George's Crosses in the war with the Germans, I know how to fight with them.

Ivan Shlyapkin insisted that Nedorubov be taken into the militia. under personal responsibility. At the time, this was a very bold move.

"Spellbound"

In mid-July, the Cossack regiment, in which Nedorubov's hundred fought, repelled German attempts to force the Kagalnik River in the Peshkovo region for four days. After that, the Cossacks drove the enemy out of the farms of Zadonsky and Aleksandrovka, destroying one and a half hundred Germans.

Nedorubov especially distinguished himself in the famous. His award list states: “Having been surrounded under the village of Kushchevskaya, fire from machine guns and hand grenades, together with his son, he destroyed up to 70 fascist soldiers and officers.”

For the battles in the area of ​​​​the village of Kushchevskaya on October 26, 1943, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In this battle, the son of Konstantin Nedorubov, Nikolai, received 13 wounds during mortar shelling and lay covered with earth for three days. Quite by accident, the inhabitants of the village stumbled upon him, burying the Cossacks in mass graves. Cossack women Matryona Tushkanova and Serafima Sapelnyak carried Nikolai to the hut at night, washed and bandaged his wounds and left. The fact that his son remained alive, Konstantin Nedorubov found out much later, but now he fought with redoubled courage, for his son.

Hero

At the end of August 1942, a hundred of Nedorubov destroyed 20 vehicles of the rear column with military equipment and about 300 Nazis. On September 5, in a battle for a height of 374.2 near the village of Kurinsky, Apsheronsky District, Krasnodar Territory, the Cossack Nedorubov single-handedly approached a mortar battery, threw grenades at it and destroyed the entire mortar crew from the PPSh. He himself was wounded, but did not leave the location of the regiment.

On October 16, near the village of Martuki, a hundred of Nedorubov repelled four SS attacks in a day and almost all died on the battlefield. Lieutenant Nedorubov received 8 bullet wounds and ended up in a Sochi hospital, then in Tbilisi, where the commission ruled that the Cossack was unfit for further service for health reasons.

Then, returning to his native village, he learned about the awarding of the Star of the Hero and that his son Nikolai was alive.

Of course, he didn't stay at home. He returned to the front and in May 1943 took command of a squadron of the 41st Guards Regiment of the 11th Guards Cavalry Division of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Corps.

He fought in Ukraine and Moldova, in Romania and Hungary. In December 1944, in the Carpathians, already with the rank of captain of the guard, Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was again wounded. This time he was commissioned for good.

On his 80th birthday, the authorities gave the old Cossack a house, he was the first in the village to have a TV, but the role of Konstantin Nedorubov, “treated with honors,” was burdensome, he continued to lead a simple lifestyle, chopped wood himself, led the household with his family, continued to exercise until the end of his life with a heavy poker, wielding it like a pike.

The Cossack died in December 1978, half a year before his 90th birthday. He left - besides Nikolai - a son, George, and a daughter, Maria.

When I found out about it amazing person, I decided to find information not only about him. After all, he had parents, a wife, children. And also the history of the appearance of St. George's crosses. In the entire history of their existence, there have been only 2,000 full St. George Knights. For comparison, there are 11,739 Heroes of the Soviet Union during the years of the Patriotic War, and 2672 full holders of the Orders of Glory. There is a lot of information. And this is our story. Story? which you are proud of.Nedorubov Konstantin Iosifovich - Full Cavalier of St. George, Hero of the Soviet Union. In the history of our country, there were only three complete Knights of St. George and at the same time Heroes of the Soviet Union: Marshal Budyonny, General Tyulenev and Captain Nedorubov.
In 1807, Emperor Alexander I received a proposal to establish some kind of award for soldiers and non-commissioned officers who distinguished themselves in the performance of combat missions. Allegedly, this will help to strengthen the courage of Russian soldiers who, in the hope of receiving the desired reward (which includes monetary rewards and a lifetime pension), will fight without sparing their lives. The emperor considered this offer quite reasonable, especially since news of the battle of Preussisch-Eylau reached him, in which Russian soldiers showed miracles of courage and endurance. In those days, there was one big problem: a Russian soldier who was a serf could not be awarded an order, since the order emphasized the status of its owner, and was, in fact, a knightly insignia. However, the courage of the Russian soldier had to be somehow encouraged, so Russian emperor introduced a special "insignia of the order", which in the future became the same St. George soldier's cross.

Konstantin Nedorubov was born on the Rubezhny farm in May 1889, and he announced his future exploits in the cradle. According to tradition, newborn boys in Cossack families were put a bullet in the cradle, watching the reaction of the baby. Kostya raked the bullet into his fist, after which the men said approvingly: "The good Cossack will grow up!" That's how he grew up. By the age of 18, even adult villagers feared his two-meter height and pood fists.

The father of the full St. George Cavalier - Joseph - was physically very strong. It used to be that he himself harnessed himself to a cart instead of a horse and dragged it to the opposite side of the ravine that cut the Rubizhny farm in two: “... the horse should rest. She'll plow in the morning." There was no ceiling in the kuren of the old Nedorubov - a coffin was constantly hung from the eaves of the roof - Joseph made them himself, saying that he did not trust this to anyone - they would do it badly, and it would be uncomfortable to lie in it. Joseph himself was buried in the fourth - he gave the first three to the funeral of his friends. Joseph was an avid fisherman and hunter. He sailed in a kayuk made by himself. This kayak became the cause of his death - the old Cossack, having rolled over on it in the ice drift, did not want to lose the boat and pulled it to the shore, clinging to the chain with his teeth. After that, he fell ill, fell ill and died a few weeks later. Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was the middle son in Joseph's family. His older brother Fedor participated in the First World War as a senior constable. He was awarded two St. George's crosses. On the fronts he was seriously wounded with crushing of the right leg. He walked with a limp, with a crutch. He was shorter than his brother Konstantin, but his physical strength was indefatigable. Fedor had two sons: Konstantin and Alexander. Little is known about Nedorubov's second brother Ivan. He died in the early 50s. last century. Konstantin in 1911 was called up for military service in the Russian imperial army, served in the 15th Cossack Regiment of the 1st Don Cossack Division of the 14th Army Corps.
Nedorubov himself always spoke about his exploits with humor. Somehow he called him, a regimental intelligence officer, commander Samsonov and said: "Help, brother, the bone is stuck in my throat!"
The Cossack was confused and began to make excuses: they say, I'm not a doctor, I don't understand anything about it. The staff officers burst out laughing and explained: the German battery is hindering our troops - here it is a bone in the throat, no one can get close to it. We decided to send scouts led by Nedorubov. And the Cossacks did not disappoint - they got close to the gunners, blew up their ammunition, and captured the gun crew. For this feat, Konstantin Nedorubov received his first George Cross. He was awarded the first St. George's Cross of the 4th degree for his heroism during one of the most difficult battles near the city of Tomashev. In August 1914, pursuing the retreating Austrians, despite a hurricane of artillery shelling, a group of Don Cossacks, led by constable Nedorubov, broke into the location of the enemy battery and captured it, along with servants and ammunition.
"Soldier George", as he was called by the people, could only receive the lower ranks of the Russian army, who showed selfless courage on the battlefield. Moreover, this award was not handed out at the request of the command, the soldiers themselves determined which of them was worthy of receiving the St. George Cross. According to the then existing rules, it was necessary to wear the St. George Cross on a special occasion. George Ribbon, which was worn in the buttonhole. The first soldier to become a cavalier St. George Order- non-commissioned officer Mitrokhin, who received it in the battle of Friedland in 1807. Initially, the George Cross did not have any degrees and was issued an unlimited number of times (this is in theory). In practice, the George Cross was issued only once, and the next presentation was purely formal, although at the same time the soldier's salary increased by a third. The undoubted advantage of a soldier awarded this distinction was the complete absence of corporal punishment, which was widely used at that time.
The second St. George Cross Konstantin Iosifovich received in February 1915 for a feat during the battles for the city of Przemysl. On December 16, 1914, according to Nedorubov's memoirs, he, as part of a group of scouts, went to the rear of the Austrians. As a result of the skirmish, Nedorubov's comrades died, and he himself was forced to make his way to his own through the village. I went out to a huge house, heard Austrian speech there. He threw a grenade at the threshold of the house. When the Austrians began to jump out of the building, Nedorubov realized that there were too many of them, and used his ingenuity. “I command loudly: “Right flank - go around!” Enemies huddled together, are frightened. Then I got up from the ditch, waved my hat at them, shouted: “Forward!” Listen, let's go. So I brought them to my unit.” When counting the prisoners, it turned out that one Cossack captured 52 people! The commander who took the prisoners could not believe his eyes and asked one of the Austrian officers to answer - how many people were in the team that captured them. In response, the Austrian raised one finger.
In 1844, a special George Cross was developed for soldiers who profess the Muslim faith. Instead of St. George, who is an Orthodox saint, a double-headed eagle was depicted on the cross. In 1856, the George Cross was divided into 4 degrees, while its degree was indicated on the cross.
How difficult it was to get the St. George Cross of the 1st degree is evidenced by impartial statistics. According to her, there were about 2,000 full holders of the St. George Order in its entire history. In 1913, the award officially became known as the St. George Cross, in addition, the St. George medal for courage appeared, also having 4 degrees. Unlike a soldier's award, the St. George medal could be awarded to civilians and military personnel in peacetime. After 1913, the George Cross began to be issued posthumously. In this case, the award was passed on to the relatives of the deceased and kept as a family heirloom.

The St. George Cross of the 2nd degree was awarded to Nedorubov for battles in the Balamutovka and Rzhavetsy regions. “... after going through three rows barbed wire, broke into the trenches and, after a fierce hand-to-hand fight, knocked out the Austrians, while taking eight officers, about 600 lower ranks and three machine guns. “His saber did not dry out with blood,” recalled the farm Cossacks who served in the same regiment with Nedorubov. And fellow countrymen from the farm jokingly suggested that he change his last name - from "Nedorubov" to "Pererubov".
The fourth - the golden "George" 1st degree, he received for captivity with a group of Cossacks of the headquarters of the German division, along with the general and operational documents.
During the First World War, about 1,500,000 people received St. George's Crosses. Of particular note is the first Knight of St. George of this war, Kozma Kryuchkov, who received his first cross for the destruction of 11 German cavalrymen in battle. By the way, until the end of the war, this Cossack became a full Knight of St. George.
The famous Durova, or "cavalry girl", who served as the prototype of the heroine from the "Hussar Ballad", was awarded the St. George Cross for saving the life of an officer; The Decembrists Muravyov-Apostol and Yakushkin also had St. George's Crosses, which they received for military merit in the battle of Borodino; General Miloradovich received this award from the hands of Emperor Alexander, who personally saw the courage of Miloradovich in the battle of Leipzig; In the photo Dmitry Ivanovich Mitaki (1892 - 1953) - Full Cavalier of St. George (awarded by Emperor Nicholas II in the church "Peter and Paul" in Bendery (Moldova), military intelligence officer, 19 wounds. The Museum of the History of Moldova (now the Republic of Moldova) has not preserved everything, duplicates of his awards and a few old photographs, the numbers of the medals "For Courage": No. 166722, No. 707194.

to his left: with 4 crosses and 2 medals P. I. Krizhenovsky Kozma Kryuchkov, who was full cavalier George Order, became Russian hero in life. By the way, a Cossack died in 1919 at the hands of the Red Guards, defending the tsarist regime until the end of his life; Vasily Chapaev, who went over to the side of the Reds, had 3 crosses and the St. George medal; Maria Bochkareva, who created the women's "battalion of death", also had this award. The memory of the St. George Cross was revived in 1943, when the Order of Glory was established. Everyone is now familiar George Ribbon, which adorn themselves with people celebrating Victory Day. At the same time, not everyone knows that although the ribbon symbolizes the Order of Glory, its roots go much deeper.
St. George medal of the 4th degree: “On April 4, 1916, together with Romanovsky Athanasius, volunteering to be hunters to reconnoitre the Austrian outposts in order to remove one of the field guards at night, crawled along railway west of the village of Boyan, 150 steps from the Austrian wire fences, they discovered a land mine planted under the railway, they decided to blow it up. When they began to carry out preliminary work, they were discovered by enemy artillery, which fired at them with heavy fire. When the land mine failed, they found the explosive device and delivered it to their boss.”
Three years of war - four St. George's crosses and two St. George's medals. By 1916, Konstantin Nedorubov was a full Knight of St. George.
Nowadays.
The Russian military order of St. George and the sign "St. George's Cross" were restored in Russian Federation in 1992 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation of March 2, 1992 No. 2424-I "On State Awards of the Russian Federation". 11 people were awarded.
During the three and a half years of participation in the battles, he was repeatedly wounded. He was treated in hospitals in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkov and Sebryakovo (now the city of Mikhailovka).
From October 1917 to July 1918, Konstantin Nedorubov was engaged in agriculture. But the war did not want to leave the brave Cossack alone. I didn’t have time to recover after the “German”, the Civil War began.
At the beginning of the summer of 1918, he was mobilized into the White Don Army of General P.N. Krasnov, enrolled in the 18th Cossack regiment. He took part in the battles on the side of the white troops. In July 1918 he was taken prisoner and on August 1, 1918 he was enrolled in the Red Army. Appointed squadron commander of the 23rd Infantry Division, participant in the defense of Tsaritsyn. Once he was caught by a patrol - he was considered a counter-revolutionary. But when they looked at the inscription on the seized saber, they were stunned. On it was written "To the squadron commander Konstantin Nedorubov for unparalleled heroism and courage in the defense of Tsaritsyn." And the signature - Budyonny. The hero was immediately released with an apology. At the beginning of 1919, he was again captured, now to the Whites, again enlisted in the White units.
Since June 1919, again in the Red Army, squadron commander of the cavalry division named after M.F. Blinov in the 9th, 1st Cavalry and 2nd Cavalry armies. At one time in 1920 he temporarily served as commander of the 8th Taman Cavalry Regiment. Participant in hostilities on the Don, in the Kuban and in the Crimea. Was badly wounded. In 1921 he was demobilized.
For battles with Wrangel, Konstantin Iosifovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and red revolutionary harem pants (somewhere a warehouse with red hussar riding breeches was found, which they decided to use "for the award").
In the rich combat biography of Nedorubov, there was also participation in the liquidation of the gang of Old Man Makhno. He returned to his native farm, worked as an individual peasant. From July 1929 - chairman of the Loginov collective farm in the Stalingrad region. From March 1930 - Deputy Chairman of the Berezovsky District Executive Committee. Since January 1931 - controller in the Serebryakovsky inter-district branch of the Zagotzerno trust in the Stalingrad region. Since April 1932 - the foreman (according to some sources - the chairman) of the collective farm on the Bobrov farm in the Berezovsky district.
In 1933 he "sat down" - being the chairman of the collective farm, he was "convicted under Article 109 of the Criminal Code" for the loss of grain in the field "". (Hunger. For the loss of grain, imaginary and obvious, the authorities punished without hesitation.) A dark story. Sentence - 10 years in the camps. I ended up in Volgolag, at the construction site of the Moscow-Volga canal. He worked there for almost three years and was released "at will" ahead of schedule. According to the official wording "for shock work" (although they say that the writer Sholokhov, whom Nedorubov knew personally, helped the Cossack a lot here). However, at the construction site Nedorubov really worked "like a convict". And not because they were forced, but because he could not do anything halfway. After the "imprisonment" in the rights was not affected.
Returning to his homeland, he continued to work as a storekeeper, foreman, head of the horse-post station, supply manager of the machine and tractor station.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Konstantin Iosifovich was not subject to conscription due to age - whatever one may say, but 52 years old. In October 1941, he volunteered for a cavalry Cossack division that was being formed in the city of Uryupinsk - they did not take it. Not even because of age, but because. former White Guard, and served time. And Nedorubov went to the 1st Secretary of the Berezovsky District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Ivan Vladimirovich Shlyapkin. The old Cossack cried: "I'm not asking for the rear! .." Shlyapkin immediately called the head of the district NKVD: "Under my personal responsibility!" Accepted. As well as the 17-year-old son of Nikolai Nedorubov.

In July 1942, after the breakthrough German troops near Kharkov, along the entire length from Voronezh to Rostov-on-Don, a "weak link" was formed. It was clear that it was necessary at all costs to restrain the advance of the German armies to the Caucasus, to the coveted Baku oil. It was decided to stop the enemy at the village of Kushchevskaya, Krasnodar Territory.




The Kuban cavalry corps was thrown towards the Germans, which included the Don Cossack division. There were no other regular units on this sector of the front at that time. The unfired militias were opposed by selected German units, intoxicated by the successes of the first months of the war. There, near Kushchevskaya, the Cossacks "bone to bone" met the Germans, at every opportunity imposing hand-to-hand combat on them. The Germans, however, did not like melee, but the Cossacks, on the contrary, loved. It was their element. “Well, where else can we have Christ with the Hans, except in close combat?” they joked. From time to time (unfortunately, not very often) fate gave them such an opportunity, and then hundreds of corpses in gray overcoats covered the place of the fight...
Near Kushchevskaya, the Don and Kuban held the line for two days. In the end, the Germans' nerves burst, and with the support of artillery and aviation, they decided on a psychic attack. It was a strategic mistake. The Cossacks let them within a grenade throw and met them with heavy fire. The father and son of the Nedorubovs were nearby: the elder watered the attackers from a machine gun, the younger sent one grenade after another into the German line.





No wonder they say - the bullet is afraid of the brave - despite the fact that the air was buzzing from bullets, not one of them touched the shooters. And the whole space in front of the embankment was strewn with corpses in gray overcoats. But the Germans were determined to go all the way. In the end, skillfully maneuvering, they were able to bypass the Cossacks from two sides, squeezing them into their "branded" pincers. Assessing the situation, Nedorubov once again stepped towards death. "Cossacks, forward for the Motherland, for Stalin, for the free Don!" - the battle cry of the lieutenant tore off the villagers who were lying under the bullets from the ground. “Nedorub, together with his son, again went to seek his death, well, we flew after him,” the surviving colleagues recalled that famous battle near Kushchevskaya. “Because it was shameful to leave him alone…”.




The militia fought to the death. Sons took an example from their fathers, who looked up to the commander. They believed him, respected his combat experience, endurance. Years later, in his letter to the head of the “Battle of Stalingrad” department of the State Museum of Defense I. M. Loginov, Nedorubov, describing the battle near Kushchevskaya, noted that when he had to repulse the superior enemy forces on the right flank of the squadron, he was with a machine gun, and son with hand grenades "waged an unequal three-hour battle in close proximity to the Nazis." Konstantin Nedorubov many times rose to his full height on the railway line and shot the Nazis point-blank. “Thus, out of three wars, I never had to shoot an enemy. I myself could hear my bullets clicking on Hitler's heads.
In that battle, together with their son, they destroyed more than 72 Germans. The fourth cavalry squadron rushed hand to hand and destroyed more than 200 German soldiers and officers.
“If we didn’t cover the flank, it would be difficult for the neighbor,” Konstantin Iosifovich recalled. - And so we gave him the opportunity to retreat without loss ... How my lads stood! And the son of Kolka that day showed himself well done. Didn't screw up. It was only after this fight that I thought I would never see him again. During the furious mortar shelling, Nikolai Nedorubov was seriously wounded in both legs, arms and other parts of the body. He lay in the forest belt for about three days. Not far from the forest plantation, women were passing by, and they heard a groan. Women in dark time days they transferred a seriously wounded young Cossack to the village of Kushchevskaya, and for many weeks they hid him at home.
"Cossack conscientiousness" then cost the Germans dearly - in that battle, the Don people ground over 200 German soldiers and officers. Plans to encircle the squadron were mixed with dust. The commander of the group, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm List, received an encrypted radiogram signed by the Fuhrer himself: “Another Kushchevka will be repeated Caucasian mountains point".
“We hallucinated as Cossacks…”
This is exactly what one of the German infantrymen, who survived the battle near Maratuk, wrote in his letter home, where Nedorubov’s Dons got to the coveted hand-to-hand combat and, as a result, as well as near Kushchevskaya, slaughtered over two hundred German soldiers and officers in close combat. For the squadron, this figure has become a trademark. “You can’t lower the bar lower,” the Cossacks joked, “why aren’t we Stakhanovites?”
"Nedorubovtsy" participated in raids on the enemy in the area of ​​​​the farms Pobeda and Biryuchy, fought in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Kurinskaya ... According to the Germans who survived after the horse attacks, "these centaurs seemed to be possessed by a demon."
Donets and Kuban used all the numerous tricks that were accumulated by their ancestors in previous wars and carefully passed down from generation to generation. When the lava piled on the enemy, there was a drawn-out wolf howl in the air - so the villagers intimidated the enemy from afar. Already within the line of sight, they were engaged in vaulting - they spun in their saddles, often hanging from them, depicting the dead, and a few meters from the enemy they suddenly came to life and broke into the enemy’s location, chopping right and left and arranging a bloody heap there.
In any fight, Nedorubov himself, contrary to all the canons of military science, was the first to go on the rampage. In one battle, he managed, speaking in official military language, "using the folds of the terrain, to secretly get close to three machine-gun and two mortar nests of the enemy and extinguish them with hand grenades." During this, the Cossack was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. As a result, the height, studded with enemy firing points, sowing fire and death around them, was taken with minimal losses. According to the most conservative estimates, Nedorubov himself personally destroyed more than 70 soldiers and officers during these battles.
The battles in the south of Russia did not pass without a trace for the guards of Lieutenant K.I. Nedorubov. Only in the terrible battles near Kushchevskaya he received eight bullet wounds. Then there were two more wounds. After the third, difficult, at the end of 1942, the conclusion of the medical commission turned out to be inexorable: "I am not fit for military service."
During the period of hostilities for the accomplished feats, Nedorubov was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner and various medals. On October 26, 1943, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, the Knight of St. George Konstantin Nedorubov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. “Our Konstantin Iosifovich made the Red Star related to the St. George Cross,” the villagers joked about this. Despite the fact that even during his lifetime he became a living legend, the Cossack Nedorubov did not acquire any special benefits and assets for himself and his family in peaceful life. But for all the holidays he regularly put on the Golden Star of the Hero along with four St. George's crosses.
The cadet of the 1st Don Cossack division, Nedorubov, with his attitude to awards, proved that power and the Motherland are completely different things. He did not understand why it was impossible to wear royal awards received for victories over a foreign enemy. About the “crosses” he said: “I walked in the front row at the Victory Parade in this form. And at the reception, Comrade Stalin himself shook his hand, thanked him for participating in two wars.

On October 15, 1967, a participant in three wars, the Don Cossack Nedorubov, joined the torch-bearing group of three veterans and lit the fire Eternal glory at the monument-ensemble to the heroes Battle of Stalingrad on the Mamaev Kurgan of the Hero City of Volgograd. Nedorubov died on December 11, 1978. He was buried in the village of Berezovskaya. In September 2007, in the city of Volgograd, in the memorial and historical museum, a monument was opened to the famous hero of the Don, the full Knight of St. George, Hero of the Soviet Union K.I. Nedorubov. February 2, 2011 in the village of Yuzhny, the hero city of Volgograd, a ceremony was held for the grand opening of a new state educational institution“Volgograd Cadet (Cossack) Corps named after the Hero of the Soviet Union K.I. Nedorubov.
The wife of Konstantin Iosifovich - Varvara Fedorovna (nee Nosaeva) - was the daughter of a front-line friend of Joseph Nedorubov. They served in the same squadron in the south of Russia, which the Turks have always coveted. In one of the battles, Fedor Nosaev was wounded, a horse was killed under him, and about a dozen Turks surrounded him and were about to capture him. Joseph broke through to Fedor, chopped up the Turks, picked up his comrade on the horse's croup and galloped off to his own.
After that, Joseph and Fedor became blood brothers, and to consolidate this union, Fedor offered to marry the children. At first, Joseph refused, because he was poor (the Nosaevs were among the wealthiest in the district). But Fedor insisted on his own - he took all the expenses for the wedding on himself, gave his daughter a rich dowry and even allocated part of his land allotment for the young. The wedding was played before Konstantin left for active service.
Varvara Feodorovna was a brave and determined woman. In 1917, she traveled across Russia with many transfers to visit her husband at the front. They lived together happily ever after.
Children and grandchildren. Konstantin Iosifovich and Varvara Fedorovna Nedorubov had four children:
Nina. She died of scarlet fever at the age of 22. She was married, lived in the Khokhly farm. She left behind her son George, who died in a car accident in adulthood.
George. Born in 1918. He was disabled since childhood, so he did not serve in the army. After graduating from seven classes of school in 1938, he was sent to study in Stalingrad, where he graduated from the school of the FZO of communications. After graduation, he worked as a long-distance station overseer at the Berezovskaya communications office, and later - as a station overseer at the Beryozovsky radio broadcasting hub. In July 1948, he went to work in the Berezovsky district forestry as a forester. But in this position he did not work long and already in July 1949 he returned to his former place of work. He was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
Was married. Had three children - Nina (candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, senior lecturer at the Volgograd Pedagogical Institute), Valentina (worked as a doctor at the Svetloyarsk district hospital, now works at the Sergievskaya district hospital of the Danilovsky district, does a great job of preserving the memory of his grandfather, often meets with journalists and young people ) and Tatyana (she worked in Volgograd and in the village of Berezovskaya, currently retired).
Died July 13, 2004. He was buried in the village of Berezovskaya.
Maria. Born in 1920. At the end of eighth grade high school in 1939 she entered the FZO school at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ) with a degree in electrician.
She worked in the foundry of the plant as an electric console operator until November 1941. On November 28, 1941, she was convicted by the Traktorozavodsky court for absenteeism for four months in prison. The conclusion took place in the camps of the plant "Red October" - from November 1941 to June 1942. From June 1942 to September 1943 she was mobilized to the Bolshevik collective farm for agricultural work.
In September 1943, Maria Nedorubova entered the position of a clerk in the Berezovsky district police department (Registry Office Department), where she worked until April 1944. Later she worked in the correctional labor department at the Berezovsky regional police department.
She died in November 1992. After her, there were children - Lidia Alekseevna Bakulina (she worked as a pharmacist in a pharmacy, currently retired) and Alexei Alekseevich Bakulin (lives in Volgograd, works as an auto mechanic).
Nikolay. Born in 1924. Favorite of Konstantin Iosifovich. He graduated from nine grades of high school - from the tenth grade he volunteered for the front under the command of his father. In August 1942, he was seriously wounded in the battles for the village of Kushchevskaya (Krasnodar Territory). In July 1943 he was demobilized due to a wound and in August he returned to the village of Berezovskaya.
He was awarded the Order of the Red Star, medals "For the Defense of the Caucasus", "For the Victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". Another award found the hero after the war - in 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree.
From February 1944 to October 1945 he worked as a military instructor at the Berezovskaya secondary school.
From October 1945 to July 1950 he studied at the Saratov state institute agricultural mechanization. Upon graduation, he was awarded the qualification of a mechanical engineer.
He worked first in the Gornobalykleysky district of the Stalingrad region (Lipovskaya forest protection station), then in the Berezovskaya forest protection zone (Berezovsky district of the Stalingrad region).
From 1954 to 1958, Nikolai Iosifovich Nedorubov was the director of the Malodelskaya LZS of the Frolovsky district, from 1958 to 1961 - the director of the Malodelsky repair and technical station, from 1961 to 1964 - the director of the Malodelsky state farm, in 1964 he was appointed deputy head of the Frolovsky production of the Kolkhoz-Sovkhoz Department of Agriculture of the Volgograd Region, in 1965 he was appointed head of the Production Department of Agriculture of the Surovikinsky District of the Volgograd Region, in 1970 he became the chief state inspector for the purchase of agricultural products in the Surovikinsky District (he held this post until his death - until the winter of 1987).
In 1962 he was awarded the Small Silver Medal of VDNH and a valuable prize, in 1968, 1973 and 1976 - the Order of the Badge of Honor (he had three in total!).
Was married. Didn't have children.
Great-grandchildren. Valentin Georgievich and Svetlana Grigorievna Nedorubov have four children: Dmitry, Oleg, Alexei and Andrey.
Andrei served in the hot spots of Russia during the second Chechen company- as part of a reconnaissance group. He was awarded the Zhukov medal and a nominal watch.

How many heroes whose names have sunk into eternity, the Russian land gave birth! One of them is the Don Cossack Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov, a full Knight of St. George, who received a saber with a dedicatory inscription from Budyonny himself. This brave man was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union long before the end of the Great Patriotic War. His Golden Star flaunted on his chest near the royal crosses...

On the Rubezhny farm

Konstantin Nedorubov was born in the late spring of 1889 on the Rubezhny farm of the Berezovskaya village (today it is a village in the Volgograd region), which was then indicative. More than two and a half thousand people lived there and there were four hundred households. There were two factories here - brick and leather. There was a parochial school, several medical stations, a savings bank, a telegraph office and a justice of the peace.

Kostya studied at a local school, learning to read and write, count and the Law of God. But he gave preference to simple Cossack science - horseback riding and the ability to wield weapons, which was known as a tradition in Cossack villages. Later it turned out that these skills in the future he needed more than theology.

Full cavalier

In January 1911, Nedorubov was called to serve in the cavalry regiment of the First Don Cossack Division, which was stationed in locality Tomashov, Lublin province. At the origins of the First World War, Konstantin had the rank of officer and led the formation of regimental scouts. Then he was awarded the first St. George's Cross, breaking into the location of the Germans with a personal platoon and capturing them along with full ammunition.

The second "George" he received in 1915, alone went to reconnaissance near Przemysl. It was there that the constable went to the farm, where he found himself next to the sleeping Austrians. The desperate warrior, without waiting for help, threw a grenade into the yard and began to shoot, shouting the only German phrase familiar to him, "hande hoch." The sleepy enemy was sure that he was surrounded. So one Russian hero, thanks to his resourcefulness, captured an officer and 52 soldiers of the enemy army and brought them to his regiment.

Nedorubov was awarded the third cross in 1916 after the famous Brusilov breakthrough, having shown courage and bravery in battles.

And Konstantin Nedorubov received the gold "George" 1st degree when, together with his comrades, he broke into the headquarters of an enemy division, captured a German general and captured important documents. He completed World War I with the rank of cadet, becoming not only a full Knight of St. George, but also earning two more awards for courage.

Combat Commander

The civil war for many was not only a difficult test, but also completely changed their worldview. This did not pass and Nedorubov. Until the summer of 1918, he did not join either the Reds or the Whites. However, he soon joined the regiment of Ataman Krasnov. Literally a month later, Konstantin was captured. They did not shoot him - the Bolsheviks did not scatter such experienced military personnel, but tried to convince him. Then Nedorubov made a decision that determined his whole further fate. He "changed color" and became the squadron leader of the cavalry division.

The division of Mikhail Blinov, who now had a former White Guard under his command, heroically proved itself in the most hot spots of the front. For participation in the defense of Tsaritsyn, which went down in history, Budyonny personally awarded Nedorubov with a nominal sword. For showing heroism in battles with Wrangel, the Cossack was awarded red revolutionary riding breeches. He was also presented to the Order of the Red Banner, but he did not have to add it to other awards: the award order was canceled due to his past service in the tsarist army.

The Civil War left in the memory of the hero not only the death of his comrades, blood and deprivation, but also a bullet lodged in his lung, which he carried until the end of his life.

In the camps

Returning victorious from the second war, Nedorubov began, as they said then, to raise Agriculture. He was appointed collective farm foreman, but Konstantin did not have to lead for long. He was accused of abuse of office for allowing the collective farmers to take the grain left after sowing for food. They also undeservedly attributed the theft of inventory. He was sentenced to 10 years and sent to build the Moscow-Volga Canal.

And here, in Dmitrovlage, the Cossack distinguished himself - he worked with enthusiasm and very conscientiously. The construction was commissioned ahead of schedule, and Nikolai Yezhov personally accepted the results. Nedorubov was amnestied and released after three years in prison.

Spellbound

Konstantin Iosifovich was already in his sixth decade when the Great Patriotic War began. Not only was he not subject to conscription because of his years, his candidacy was rejected for a criminal record and service in the tsarist army. Then he turned to the secretary of the district committee, who, under his own responsibility, helped Nedorubov go to the front.

For the courage shown during the capture of the village of Kushchevskaya in October 1943, the brave Cossack was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In this battle, the son of Nedorubov, Nikolai, received more than a dozen wounds and remained lying on the battlefield, covered with earth, next to the dead. Three days later, the villagers accidentally discovered him, hid him in the cellar and went out. But then the father did not know about it yet. He continued to drive the enemy from his native land.

Konstantin Iosifovich fought in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Hungary. He was repeatedly wounded and in 1944 was commissioned.

Having gone through so many wars, this amazing will man remained alive - it was not for nothing that his fellow soldiers called him "spellbound". Moreover, he did not forget how to enjoy life and forgive injustice. It is on such people that the world rests.

It is of great interest today. Real heroes.

Konstantin Nedorubov was called up for service in January 1911, he ended up in the 6th hundred of the 15th cavalry regiment of the 1st Don Cossack division. His regiment was quartered in Tomashov, Lublin province. By the beginning of the First World War, Nedorubov was a junior officer and commanded a half-platoon of regimental scouts.

The 25-year-old Cossack earned his first George a month after the start of the war - Nedorubov, together with his Don scouts, broke into the location of the German battery, got prisoners and six guns.

The second George "touched the chest" of the Cossack in February 1915. Making a solitary reconnaissance near Przemysl, the officer stumbled upon a small farm, where he found sleeping Austrians. Nedorubov decided not to delay, waiting for reinforcements, threw a grenade into the courtyard and began to imitate a desperate battle with his voice and shots. From the German language, he is nothing but "Hyunde hoch!" did not know, but the Austrians had enough of that. Sleepy, they began to leave the houses with their hands up. So Nedorubov brought them along the winter road to the location of the regiment. There were 52 soldiers and one lieutenant taken prisoner.

Cossack Nedorubov received the third George "for unparalleled courage and courage" during the Brusilov breakthrough.

Then Nedorbov was mistakenly handed another George of the 3rd degree, but after that, in the corresponding order for the 3rd Cavalry Corps, his surname and the entry opposite it “George Cross of the 3rd degree No. 40288” were crossed out, “No. th degree" and reference: "See. Order for Corps No. 73 1916.

Finally, Konstantin Nedorbudov became a full Cavalier of St. George when, together with his Cossack scouts, he captured the headquarters of a German division, obtained important documents and captured a German infantry general, its commander.
In addition to the St. George Crosses, Konstantin Nedorubov during the First World War was also awarded two St. George medals for courage. He ended this war with the rank of coroner.

White-red commander

The Cossack Nedorubov did not have to live long without a war, but in the Civil War he did not join either the Whites or the Reds until the summer of 1918. On June 1, he nevertheless entered, along with other Cossacks of the village, into the 18th Cossack regiment of ataman Peter Krasnov.

However, the war "for the whites" did not last long for Nedorubov. Already on July 12, he was taken prisoner, but was not shot.

On the contrary, he went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and became a squadron commander in the cavalry division of Mikhail Blinov, where other Cossacks who had gone over to the side of the Reds fought side by side with him.

The Blinovskaya cavalry division showed itself in the most difficult sectors of the front. For the famous defense of Tsaritsyn, Budyonny personally handed Nedorubov a nominal checker. For the battles with Wrangel, the Cossack was awarded red revolutionary trousers, although he was presented to the Order of the Red Banner, but did not receive it because of his too heroic biography in the tsarist army. Received Nedorubov in Civil and wounded, machine-gun, in the Crimea. A Cossack carried a bullet stuck in his lung until the end of his life.