Meliton Kantaria is one of the most famous heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Many streets and avenues are named after him. Monuments to the soldiers of the Red Army stand in many cities of various post-Soviet countries.
The photo where Kantaria and Yegorov hoist the Banner of Victory over the Reichstag is one of the symbols of victory over Nazi Germany all over the world.
Meliton Kantaria: biography
Meliton was born on October 5, 1920. He lived in the city of Jvari with his family: his mother, three brothers and two sisters. Meliton studied at elementary school for 4 years. Then he worked on a collective farm in the same village. The Kantaria family belonged to the Mingrelian people, who were part of the Georgian nationality, but with some differences. The Meliton brothers died in the late 1990s. One of the sisters lives in Greece.
Father Varlam participated in the so-called rear front. He was engaged in the supply of Soviet troops and worked at enterprises. For his labor merits, he received the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" and others.
With the beginning of the war, Meliton Kantaria was drafted into the Red Army to fight the fascist invaders. Already in 1941, he became a scout of the 3rd shock army.
Berlin offensive operation
In 1944, the first Belorussian Front was formed. It included the 150th Rifle Division, in which Meliton Kantaria served. The troops of this front liberated the occupied cities of the Soviet Union in Belarus, after which the offensive began in Poland. During the fighting, Polish partisans, members of the People's and Home Army joined the Red Army. The front was commanded by the legendary Marshal Rokossovsky. The 3rd shock army crossed the Vistula.
After the start of the Berlin offensive, it was the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front that were instructed to take Berlin and finally defeat Nazi Germany. In total, 2 and a half million people of the Red Army and about 160 thousand Polish soldiers, 6 thousand tanks and a huge amount of artillery participated in this operation. Ultimately, the operation was completed successfully, which led to the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Making the Banner of Victory
The banner that Meliton Kantaria, together with Yegorov and Berest, raised over the Reichstag, was made a few days before. By Stalin's personal order, the victory over Germany was to end with the raising of the Victory Banner over Berlin. The leader mentioned this in his famous speech in October 1944. When the Soviet troops surrounded Berlin, the command of some divisions began to make special banners.
The political department of the 150th Infantry Division gave the order to make 9 special flags that can be used as banners. Stalin personally indicated the object, whichwould symbolize Nazi Germany as much as possible - the Reichstag. Meliton Kantaria was in reconnaissance, so he constantly participated in battles on the front line. According to the recollections of one of the participants in the manufacture of the Banner, the flag was made in the basement at night. After the order of the command, the female soldiers sewed a flag from the fabric taken in Berlin. One of the front-line artists - Vasily Buntov - manually brought out the hammer and sickle. During the making, many wept as they realized for the first time that the worst war in human history was coming to an end. Cornices and sawn boards were used as a pole.
Raising the Banner of Victory
In the last days of April, the most fierce battles for Berlin flared up. Soviet troops were in the very center of the capital. The enemy was so close that hand grenades and bayonet shovels were used. Literally on every meter there were bloody battles. On the evening of April 30, units of the 150th Infantry Division approached the Reichstag. Fighting broke out in the building itself, the fire engulfed several floors. Kantaria Meliton Varlamovich was among the group that was awarded the assault flag.
On May 30, the Red Army broke into the building and captured several floors. On the morning of May 1, Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria raised the Victory Banner over the dome of the Reichstag. The snapshot of this moment is recognizable all over the world. For his courage and participation in the historical moment, Kantaria was awarded the medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
After the war, helived in Sukhumi. Kantaria Meliton Varlamovich died in 1993.
