Konstantin Nedorubov Russian seven. Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov. Cossack, full Knight of St. George and hero of the Soviet Union. Attack on Kuban

This monument was erected to the Cossack Konstantin Nedorubov not at his grave; it was erected to him in the hero city of Volgograd. And the Cossack rightfully has a monument there - Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov is a unique person.

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

Konstantin Nedorubov met the 1st World War Nedorubov as a scout of the 15th Cossack regiment. He rose from an ordinary Cossack intelligence officer to the head of a reconnaissance group.

He fought well. Once he single-handedly captured 52 Austrian soldiers led by an officer. However, the Austrians could also be understood - a two-meter tall Cossack, with slanting fathoms in his shoulders, a saber in one hand, a grenade in the other, and grinning terribly. A monster, not a man!

There were other feats. For which he was awarded four St. George's crosses (a full "St. George's bow") and was promoted to sub-knight.

In the Civil War, this did not work out with awards, although he had the opportunity to fight for both the Whites and the Reds. Both there and there, twice.

Yes, he didn’t have any orders for this war, but he was awarded red revolutionary trousers.

In 1920, he chose to part with military service in the Red Army - when he woke up, he fought! Although among the Reds he rose to the rank of commander of the 8th Taman Cavalry Regiment (by the way, the then unknown Semyon Timoshenko began riding in his regiment). But eight scars on the body, like the bullet stuck forever in the chest, did not improve health. But he kept his “georgies”, despite new government, who greatly disliked royal awards.

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

Sentence: 10 years in 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 early. According to the official wording, “for shock work” (although they say that the writer Sholokhov, whom Nedorubov knew personally, greatly helped the Cossack here). However, at the construction site Nedorubov really worked “like a convict.” And not because they forced him, but because he couldn’t do anything halfway.
After serving time, my license was not impaired.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Konstantin Iosifovich was not subject to conscription due to his age - whatever one may say, he was 52 years old.
In October 1941, he volunteered to join the Cossack cavalry division that was being formed in the city of Uryupinsk, but was not accepted. Not even because of age, but because of p.c. a former White Guard, and he 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 to go to the rear!..” Shlyapkin immediately called the head of the district NKVD: “Under my personal responsibility!”
Accepted. As well as Nedorubov’s 17-year-old son Nikolai.

And the third war began for the Cossacks. War is terrible. The most terrible of all three in which he participated.
Since July 1942 in battles. And the most terrible battles were near and around the village of Kushchevskaya. They were chopped to the bone! Here both ours and the Germans did not even become brutal, but became mad. The 15th, 12th and 116th Don Cossack divisions against the 198th infantry, 1st and 4th mountain rifle divisions of the Wehrmacht, reinforced with everything possible. (They say that there were even some Italians and Romanians there, however, German historians deny this.) No one wanted to give in!

The fortitude of some was supported by their native land, some kind of visceral rage and centuries-old military traditions, while the fortitude of others was supported by a firm belief in themselves as ubermen, excellent combat training and technical superiority. On August 2-3, Kushchevskaya changed hands three times.

It was all there in those battles - the most brutal mortar and artillery shelling, hand-to-hand combat, successful horse attacks on machine guns, and point-blank shooting, when a 70-cartridge PPSh disk was fired in one burst in the chain of the attacking enemy (and not a single bullet missed the target ), and throwing grenades at tanks.

In one of the nominations 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”).

By 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 Nazi invaders and the courage and heroism of the guard, Lieutenant Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov, was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union with the presentation 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, Hero of the Soviet Union Guard Captain Nedorubov was declared 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 “St. George” along with the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

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

Nedorubov Konstantin Iosifovich - full Knight of St. George, Hero of the Soviet Union. In the history of our country, there were only three full Knights of St. George and at the same time Heroes of the Soviet Union: Marshal Budyonny, General Tyulenev and Captain Nedorubov.

The fate of Konstantin Nedorubov bizarrely resembles the fate of the hero Quiet Don Grigory Melekhov. A hereditary Cossack, a native of a farm with the characteristic name Rubezhny (now part of the Lovyagin farm in the Volgograd region), he, along with other villagers, was drafted to the German front. There it quickly became clear that war, with all its horrors and passions, was the native element of the Don Cossack.

He was awarded the first St. George Cross, 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 hurricane artillery fire, a group Don Cossacks Led by sergeant Nedorubov, she broke into the location of the enemy battery and captured it along with servants and ammunition.

Konstantin Iosifovich received the second St. George Cross in February 1915 for his feat during the battles for the city of Przemysl. December 16, 1914, while on reconnaissance and examining locality, in one of the courtyards he noticed enemy soldiers and decided to take them by surprise. Throwing a grenade over the fence, he handed in German command: “Hands up, squadron, surround!” The frightened soldiers and the officer dropped their weapons, raised their hands and hurried out of the yard into the street. Imagine their surprise when they found themselves under the escort of a Cossack on horseback with a saber in his hand. There was nowhere to go: the weapons remained in the yard, and all 52 prisoners were escorted to the headquarters of the Cossack regiment. Scout K.I. Nedorubov, in full form, reported to the commander of his unit that, they say, he had been captured. But he doesn’t believe it and asks: “Where are the rest of the scouts? With whom did you capture the prisoners?” The answer is: “One.” Then the commander asked the enemy officer: “Who took you prisoner? How many were there? He pointed at Nedorubov and raised one finger.

The young Nedorubov received the third St. George Cross for distinction in battles in June 1916 during the famous Brusilov breakthrough (counteroffensive), where he showed selfless courage and courage. “His saber did not dry out from the 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”.

During three and a half years of participation in battles, he was wounded several times. He was treated in hospitals in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkov and Sebryakovo (now Mikhailovka).

Finally that war ended. Before the Cossack had time to return to his native farm, the Civil War broke out. And again the Cossack was caught up in the bloody whirlwind of fateful events. It was all clear on the German front, but here, in the feather grass of the Don and Tsaritsyn steppes, they fought their own against their own. Who is right and who is wrong - go figure...

And fate, in this confusion of thoughts and passions of the Cossack Nedorubov, like Grishka Melekhov, swung like a living pendulum - from red to white, from white to red... Unfortunately, this was a fairly typical situation for that confused and bloody time. Ordinary Cossacks, who had not read Marx and Plekhanov and were not familiar with the basics of geopolitics, could not understand who held the truth in this terrible civil strife. But even being on opposite sides of the barricades, they fought bravely - they couldn’t do it any other way.

At one time, Konstantin Iosifovich even commanded the red Taman cavalry regiment and received the most active participation in the famous defense of Tsaritsyn.

In 1922, when the flashes of war finally subsided and it became clear that Soviet power came seriously and for a long time, Nedorubov returned to the village in the hope of taking a break from the two wars he had experienced. But they didn’t really let him live peacefully - after eight years, the Cossack was finally repressed by commissars in leather jackets, recalling his service in both the White and Tsarist armies. Nedorubov was not at all surprised or broken by this.

“I’ve never been in such trouble before!” - the Knight of St. George decided for himself and “gave the country coal” during the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal. As a result, he was released early for shock work - this is according to the official version. According to the unofficial story, the camp authorities helped by carefully studying his personal file. Still, in all centuries, men of all tribes and peoples respected courage and bravery...

"Give me the right to die!"

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Knight of St. George Nedorubov was no longer subject to conscription due to his age. By that time he was 53 years old.

But in July 1941, a squadron of Cossack militia began to be formed in the Don villages.

Together with his old combat friend Sutchev, Konstantin Iosifovich decisively headed to the regional executive committee: “Give me the right to use all my combat experience and die for the Motherland!” At first the regional executive committee was dumbfounded, then they became inspired. And they appointed the Knight of St. George as the commander of the newly formed Cossack squadron (only volunteers were recruited into it).

But then, as the Cossacks say, one problem “stuck in”: his 17-year-old son, who had not reached conscription age by that time, “hung” on his father’s shoulders. Relatives rushed to dissuade Nikolai, but he was adamant. “Remember, son, you will not be given any concessions,” was all Nedorubov Sr. said. - I will ask you more strictly than experienced Cossacks. The commander’s son should be the first in battle!” So the third war came into the life of the Cossack Nedorubov... And also a world war - like the first.

In July 1942, after the breakthrough of German troops near Kharkov, a “weak link” was formed along the entire stretch from Voronezh to Rostov-on-Don. It was clear that the advance had to be stopped at all costs. 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, which included the Don Cossack Division, was thrown towards the Germans. There were no other regular units on this section 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 fought bone-to-bone with the Germans, forcing them into hand-to-hand combat at every opportunity. The Germans, however, did not like hand-to-hand combat, but the Cossacks, on the contrary, loved it. This was their element. “Well, where else can we celebrate Christ with the Hans, except in close combat?” - they joked. Periodically (unfortunately, not very often) fate gave them such an opportunity, and then the battle site was covered with hundreds of corpses in gray overcoats...

Near Kushchevskaya, the Donets and Kubans held the defense for two days. In the end, the Germans' nerves burst and, with the support of artillery and aviation, they decided to launch a psychic attack. This was a strategic mistake. The Cossacks brought them within grenade throw distance and met them with heavy fire. Father and son Nedorubov were nearby: the elder was spraying the attackers with a machine gun, the younger was sending one grenade after another into the German line.

It’s not without reason that they say that bullets fear the brave - despite the fact that the air was buzzing with bullets, not a single one of them touched the shooters. And the entire space in front of the embankment was strewn with corpses in gray overcoats. But the Germans were determined to go to the end. In the end, skillfully maneuvering, they were able to get around the Cossacks on both sides, squeezing them into their “trademark” pincers. Having assessed the situation, Nedorubov once again stepped towards death. “Cossacks, forward for the Motherland, for Stalin, for the free Don!” - the lieutenant’s battle cry tore the villagers, who were flattened by bullets, from the ground. “The underdog and his son again went to seek his death, and we flew after him,” surviving colleagues recalled about that famous battle near Kushchevskaya. “Because it was a shame to leave him alone...”

The militia fought to the death. The sons followed the example of their fathers, who looked up to the commander. They believed him, respected his combat experience and endurance. Years later, in his letter to the head of the “Battle of Stalingrad” department State Museum defense of I.M. Loginov, Nedorubov, describing the battle near Kushchevskaya, noted that when the squadron had to repel superior enemy forces on the right flank, he with a machine gun and his son with hand grenades “fought an unequal three-hour battle in close proximity to the Nazis.” Konstantin Nedorubov rose to his full height on the line many times railway and shot the fascists point-blank. “In three wars, I have 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 hadn’t covered the flank, it would have been difficult for our neighbor,” recalled Konstantin Iosifovich. - And so we gave him the opportunity to retreat without losses... How my boys stood! And Kolka’s son showed himself to be a great man that day. I didn't drift away. Only after this fight did I think that I would never see him again.

During the frantic mortar attack, Nikolai Nedorubov was seriously wounded in both legs, arms and other parts of the body. He lay in the forest for about three days. Women were passing not far from the forest plantation, and they heard a groan. In the dark, the women carried the seriously wounded young Cossack to the village of Kushchevskaya, and sheltered him for many weeks.

“Cossack conscientiousness” cost the Germans dearly at that time - in that battle the Donets crushed over 200 German soldiers and officers. Plans for the squadron's encirclement were mixed with dust. The commander of the group, General Field Marshal Wilhelm List, received an encrypted radiogram signed by the Fuhrer himself: “Another Kushchevka will be repeated, you will not learn to fight, you will march in a penal company through the Caucasus Mountains, period.”

"We hallucinated the Cossacks..."

This is exactly what one of the German infantrymen, who survived the battle near Maratuk, wrote in his letter home, where Nedorubov’s Don forces finally got to the desired hand-to-hand combat and, as a result, as at Kushchevskaya, slaughtered over two hundred German soldiers and officers in close combat. For the squadron, this figure became a trademark. “We can’t lower the bar lower,” the Cossacks joked, “why aren’t we Stakhanovites?”

“Nedorubovtsy” took part in raids on the enemy in the area of ​​the Pobeda and Biryuchiy farms, fought in the area of ​​​​the village of Kurinskaya... According to the Germans who survived the horse attacks, “it was as if a demon had possessed these centaurs.”

The Don and Kuban people used all the numerous tricks that were accumulated by their ancestors in previous wars and were carefully passed on from generation to generation. When the lava fell on the enemy, there was a prolonged wolf howl in the air - this is how 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, pretending to be killed, and a few meters from the enemy they suddenly came to life and broke into the enemy’s position, slashing right and left and creating a bloody heap there.

In any battle, Nedorubov himself, contrary to all the canons of military science, was the first to get into trouble. In one battle, he managed, in official military language, “using folds in the terrain to secretly get close to three enemy machine gun and two mortar nests 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 guard of Lieutenant K.I. Nedorubova. Only in the terrible battles near Kushchevskaya he received eight bullet wounds. Then there were two more wounds. After the third, difficult one, at the end of 1942, the conclusion of the medical commission turned out to be inexorable: “Unfit for military service.”

During the period of hostilities, Nedorubov was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner and various medals for his feats. On October 26, 1943, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, Knight of St. George Konstantin Nedorubov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. “Our Konstantin Iosifovich related the Red Star to the Cross of St. George,” the village residents joked about this.

Despite the fact that during his lifetime he became a living legend, Cossack Nedorubov never acquired any special benefits or assets for himself and his family in peaceful life. But on all holidays he regularly put on the Golden Star of the Hero along with four St. George Crosses.

The sub-horunzhi of the 1st Don Cossack Division, Nedorubov, with his attitude towards 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 this form at the Victory Parade in the front row. And at the reception, Comrade Stalin himself shook hands and thanked him for his participation in two wars.”

On October 15, 1967, a participant in three wars, Don Cossack Nedorubov became part of a torch-bearing group of three veterans and lit the fire Eternal glory at the monument-ensemble to heroes Battle of Stalingrad on the Mamayev 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 Volgograd, in the memorial historical museum, a monument to the famous hero of the Don, full Knight of St. George, Hero of the Soviet Union K.I. Nedorubov. On February 2, 2011, in the Yuzhny village of the hero city of Volgograd, the grand opening ceremony of the new state educational institution“Volgograd Cadet (Cossack) Corps named after Hero of the Soviet Union K.I. Nedorubova."

Based on materials from Triedine Rus'

Victor Starchikov

Born May 21, 1889 in x. Rubezhny village of Berezovskaya, Ust-Medveditsky district of the Don Army. Died December 13, 1978. Full Knight of St. George, Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1911 he was called up to military service. During the First World War in the active army, in the troops of the South-Western and Romanian fronts. The first St. George Cross, the clerk of the 15th regiment of the 1st Don Cossack Division, K. Nedorubov, was awarded for the resourcefulness and heroism he showed on December 16, 1914 during reconnaissance, when he alone captured 52 Austrians. Participant of the Brusilov breakthrough. Podkhorunzhy.

In 1918 - 1920 at the fronts Civil War Squadron commander, acting commander of a cavalry regiment. As part of the troops of the 9th Army, and then the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Armies of the Southern Front, he took part in combat operations on the territory of the Ust-Medveditsky District, in the Salsky steppes, in Northern Tavria, and in the Crimea.

Returning from the front, he worked as chairman of the village council. Rubezhny. In 1930, he headed one of the first collective farms in the Berezovsky district.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a people's militia corps was formed in the Stalingrad region. K.I. Nedorubov took an active part in the creation of the consolidated Don Cavalry Division of Cossack hundreds. In the spring of 1942, the division went to the front as the 15th Don Cossack cavalry division(later 11th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry Division). K.I. Nedorubov took part in the battles near Azov, Rostov, and Bataysk. Squadron commander. In fierce battles for the village of Kushchevskaya, Krasnodar Territory, from July 30 to August 2, 1942, the squadron under the command of Nedorubov destroyed over 200 enemy soldiers and officers, about 70 personally by K. I. Nedorubov.

September 5, 1942 in the battle near the village. Kurinsky Krasnodar region K.I. Nedorubov threw hand grenades at 3 machine gun and 2 mortar points of the enemy. He was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. The height has been taken.
On October 16, 1942, near the village of Maratuki, Krasnodar Territory, a squadron under the command of K. I. Nedorubov repelled four attacks by the Nazis, destroying up to 200 enemy soldiers and officers.

By a resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 26, 1943, the commander of the cavalry squadron of the 41st Guards Cavalry Regiment, K. I. Nedorubov, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

IN recent years lived and worked in st. Berezovskaya. On October 15, 1967, he was part of the honorary escort that delivered the torch lit from the Eternal Flame on the Alley of Heroes to Mamayev Kurgan.

Honorary citizen of the village of Berezovskaya, Danilovsky district, Volgograd region. Streets in the village of Berezovskaya, Volgograd Region and in the city of Khadyzhensk, Krasnodar Territory are named after K.I. Nedorubov. He was buried in the village of Berezovskaya.

Cossack Nedorubov. Video

In the Soviet Union throughout its history there were only six full St. George Knights of the Russian Empire, who were also awarded the highest Soviet award- the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. One of these six is ​​a Don Cossack Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov.

I first learned about it only in 2014 from the newspaper “Arguments and Facts”. The article is written so beautifully that I will allow myself to quote some fragments and tell you the story of the Great Russian Warrior, participant and hero of three bloody wars. The description of the life and exploits of this man may seem like a myth and an incredible thing. But what I will tell you is the absolute truth.

So, first things first.

Konstantin Nedorubov was born on the Rubezhny farm in May 1889, and announced his future exploits while still in the cradle. According to tradition, a bullet was placed in the cradle of newborn boys in Cossack families, observing the baby’s reaction. Kostya grabbed 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 village residents were afraid of his two-meter height and pound fists.

Konstantin was drafted into the army just before the First World War, and the famous General Brusilov was enlisted in the 14th Army Corps - the same one who would later develop and carry out the legendary “Brusilovsky breakthrough”. Nedorubov himself always spoke about his exploits with humor. One day Army Commander Samsonov called him, a regimental intelligence officer, and said: “Help, brother, there’s a bone stuck in my throat!”.

The Cossack was confused and began to make excuses: I’m not a doctor, I don’t understand anything about this. The headquarters officers burst out laughing and explained: our troops are being hampered by the German battery - so it is a bone in the throat, no one can get close to it. They decided to send scouts led by Nedorubov. And the Cossacks did not disappoint - they approached the artillerymen, blew up their ammunition, and took the gun crew prisoner. For this feat, Konstantin Nedorubov received his first St. George Cross.

And then feat followed feat. Saving your headquarters from a surprise attack by the Austrians. Capture alone!!! 52!!! enemy soldier. Decisive actions and personal courage during the Brusilov breakthrough. Capturing enemy headquarters with secret documents and German generals. For all this, Konstantin Nedorubov became a full Knight of St. George. In addition to the four St. George Crosses, sub-choor Nedorubov was awarded two St. George medals for military courage.

After being wounded, the hero returned to his native Don. And then the Civil War broke out in the country. Nedorubov was an apolitical person, because during the three years of the First World War he had fought his fill. However, there are times when if YOU are not involved in politics, then SHE will be involved in you. In May 1918, he was mobilized by the Whites to serve in the Don Army.

What happened next very clearly reflects everything that happened then both on the Don and in the country as a whole. In the same year 18, Nedorubov was captured by the Reds, who offered to go over to the side of the working class. Whether they convinced the Cossack, or in this way he wanted to save his life, is unknown, but soon he was already fighting in the ranks of the Red Army. And in 1919... he was captured by the whites. They could have put him against the wall, but out of respect for the merits of the full St. George Knight, Nedorubov was invited to join White army. And he again found himself in the camp of the White Guards, only to soon go over to the Reds again.

Nedorubov fought bravely, rose to the rank of squadron commander and distinguished himself during the defense of Tsaritsyn. For his battles with Wrangel, he was even nominated for the Order of the Red Banner, which at that time was the highest order in the young Republic, but the hero was not rewarded. But the Cossack was awarded a personalized saber from Budyonny himself and red revolutionary trousers.
Red trousers were a very serious encouragement back then; they would later be glorified by the wonderful film “Officers”... Konstantin Nedorubov ended the Civil War as a regiment commander with eight wounds and a keen desire to never take up arms again. One day 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. It was written on it “Squadron commander Konstantin Nedorubov for unparalleled heroism and courage during the defense of Tsaritsyn.” And the signature - Budyonny. The hero was immediately released with an apology.

But during the famine of the 30s, Nedorubov became a victim of someone’s vile denunciation - during the sowing season, he, as a foreman, allowed the collective farmers, who were staggering with the wind from malnutrition, to cook a soup from seed grains. They accused him of stealing grain and gave him 10 years, which Konstantin Nedorubov spent on the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal. The Cossack worked there like hell, and upon completion of construction he was released early as a labor striker.

The Great One struck Patriotic War. Nedorubov was already 52 years old, and he was not drafted into the Red Army, and he was not accepted as a volunteer because of his criminal record. But the full Knight of St. George went through the authorities and obtained permission to fight the Nazis. Moreover, he himself formed a squadron of volunteers, becoming its commander. It was amazing military formation, the backbone of which was made up of old Cossacks, who were 50-60 years old. But the old men fought in such a way that they terrified even seasoned Nazis.

In the battles near the village of Kushchevskaya, something happened that is sometimes shown in Hollywood films, and the reality of which is almost impossible to believe. However, witnesses confirm - Konstantin Nedorubov PERSONALLY!!! destroyed 70!!! enemy soldier. He cut them off with a Maxim machine gun mounted on a cart. By the way, his son Nikolai helped him in this.
In the battles near Kushchevskaya, the Cossacks of Lieutenant Nedorubov killed more than two hundred German soldiers and officers in close combat. One of the German infantrymen, who survived the Don attack, wrote the following in his letter home: “We hallucinated the Cossacks...”

There is our answer to this European word “hallucinated” - an old Cossack saying - “There are never too many Cossacks, but there won’t be too few”.
What’s also interesting is that in one of the battles in the Caucasus, Nedorubov raised his Donets and Kubans to attack with a Cossack song and threw the Germans off an important height.

On October 26, 1943, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and his son Nikolai awarded the order Red Star. So Nedorubov became one of six full St. George Knights awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He celebrated the victory over Germany with the rank of captain, with two Orders of Lenin, with the Order of the Red Banner, as well as with 11 wounds and severe concussion. Despite his wounds, he took part in the Victory Parade and even attended a reception with Stalin.

Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov lived a long and heroic life. He is one of three people in Russian history, who are simultaneously holders of both the highest military awards Russian Empire, and the USSR. Two military commanders became Knights of St. George of all degrees and heroes of the Soviet Union - Marshal Budyonny and General Tyulenev, and an ordinary Cossack captain Nedorubov.

Konstantin Nedorubov was born in 1889 on the Rubezhny farm (Volgograd region). He is of Cossack origin - from a family of hereditary Don Cossacks. Youth years spent on the farm, driving ordinary life young Cossack. He received a primary education, only three grades. Later, many biographers of Nedorubov drew attention to the amazing similarity of his fate with the hero of M. Sholokhov’s greatest novel, Grigory Melekhov.

At the age of 22, Konstantin was called up to serve in the Don Cossack regiment in the corps of General Brusilov. The regiment was stationed near Warsaw. This is where Nedorubova was found by the First world war. The Cossack showed courage on the verge of insolence, taking an active part in the battles on the South-West and Romanian fronts. As the leader of a reconnaissance team, he made numerous forays, capturing enemy soldiers, and once even the Austrian headquarters. The result of such heroic activity was the awarding of the Cossack, who by the end of the war had the low rank of sergeant, with all four degrees of the Cross of St. George and two medals of St. George.

A serious injury in 1917 put Nedorubov out of action. After long-term treatment in Kharkov, Kyiv, Tsaritsyn, Konstantin Nedorubov was faced with the question of where to move next - the civil war was flaring up. IN next year he participates in battles in the army of General Krasnov on the side of the Whites. In the summer he is captured by the Reds and goes to serve in the Red Army. Six months later, history repeats itself - Nedorubov is captured by the Whites, pardoned because of his previous merits, and again fights on the side of the Whites. In the summer of 1919, Konstantin Iosifovich was again in the ranks of the Red Army. He becomes the commander of a cavalry squadron, bravely fights in the Kuban, Don and Crimean peninsula.

After the end of the Civil War, Nedorubov returns to peaceful life in his native village. At first, an ordinary individual owner, later he was appointed deputy chairman of the collective farm, controller and foreman on various collective farms. The unwinding flywheel of repression affected Konstantin Nedorubov immediately. In 1933 for abuse job responsibilities(allowed the peasants to keep the leftover grain), he was sentenced to 10 years in the camps. Three years passed by hard work on the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal. Early release.

Nedorubov during the Great Patriotic War

In 1941, K.I. Nedorubov is not subject to mobilization due to his age, but he does not remain on the sidelines. In the fall of 1941, he signed up as a volunteer to defend his homeland. He takes his 16-year-old son with him. Nedorubov becomes the commander of a Cossack squadron of volunteers, and in the summer of 1942 his detachment takes part in fierce battles on the North Caucasus Front. Once again, almost 30 years later, Konstantin Iosifovich’s squadron distinguishes itself with daring and successful attacks on the enemy. By personal example, he rouses his fighters to attack, rushing into hand-to-hand combat. Personally destroys hundreds of enemies.

For unparalleled courage and heroism in October 1943, Konstantin Iosifovich Nedorubov was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. At the same time, a serious wound put the already middle-aged hero out of action. After treatment in the Caucasus, he was sent to the reserve. Having already become a living legend, Nedorubov took part in the Victory Parade. Moreover, he proudly wore all his awards: both from Tsarist times and Soviet ones. About yours St. George's Crosses He then repeated to everyone who was interested: “I walked in the front row at the Victory Parade like this. And at the reception, Comrade Stalin himself shook hands and thanked him for his participation in two wars.” IN post-war period Nedorubov held various party positions and was elected as a deputy of the district council.

In 1967, K.I. Nedorubov, among 3 veterans, lights the Eternal Flame with a torch at the memorial to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan. Konstantin Iosifovich spent the rest of his life in the village of Berezovskaya, Volgograd region, and this is where his grave is now located. He died shortly before his 90th birthday, in 1978.

Biographies and exploits of Heroes of the Soviet Union and holders of Soviet orders: