The latest domestic perestroika went like a skating rink not only through living people. She touched on the heroes of the past. Their debunking was put simply on stream. The underground members of the Young Guard organization were among these people.
"Revelations" of young anti-fascists
The essence of these "revelations" was that the existence of this organization was almost completely denied. According to the theory, even if these young anti-fascists, destroyed by Hitler, existed, their contribution in the fight against the invaders was insignificant. Therefore, they are not even worth remembering.
Oleg Koshevoy had more than others. The reason for this was his title of commissar of this organization, which was used in the historiography of the Soviet Union. Most likely, this was the main reason for the great hostility towards his personality of the "whistleblowers".
There were even rumors that Oleg Koshevoy, whose feat is known to almost the whole world, has nothing to do with the Red Guard. His mother, a fairly we althy woman in the pre-war period, simply decided to earn extra money on the glory of her son. And for this, she carried out an identification of the corpse of some old man, passing him off as the dead Oleg. The same glory did not bypass other people. These include the mother of Zoya and Sasha Kosmodemyansky Lyubov Timofeevna.
People who de alt with these cases work in the Russian media until our time. These are candidates and doctors of historical sciences with high academic degrees and a fairly good position in society.
Young Guard and Oleg Koshevoy
Young Guards operated in the mining town of Krasnodon. It is located at a distance of approximately 50 kilometers from Lugansk. During the Great Patriotic War it was called Voroshilovgrad.
In the 1930-1940s, there were a large number of working youth in this city. In the upbringing of these young pioneers and Komsomol members, the main place was occupied by the development of the spirit of Soviet ideology. Therefore, they treated the fight against the German occupiers in the summer of 1942 as a matter of honor.
It is not surprising that within a short period of time after the occupation of Krasnodon, several underground youth groups were formed. They were created and operated independently of each other. Red Army soldiers who escaped from captivity also joined these communities.
Ivan Turkevich was among these Red Army soldiers. He was a lieutenant who was elected to the position of commander of the Young Guard. It was an organization that was created in Krasnodon by young anti-fascists in the early autumn of 1942. Among the representatives of the headquarters of this association wasand Oleg Koshevoy, whose feat does not leave our contemporaries indifferent.
Key Biographical Facts
The future hero of the Soviet Union was born on June 8, 1926. His homeland is the town of Priluki, which is located on the Chernihiv land. In 1934 he began to study at a school in the city of Rzhishchev. After 3 years, Koshevoy Oleg Vasilyevich, whose feat was ahead of him, was forced to move with his father to the city of Anthracite, Luhansk region. The change of residence and place of study was due to the divorce of his parents.
Since 1940, his mother, Elena Nikolaevna, lived in Krasnodon. Soon, Oleg Koshevoy also moved in with her, the truth about whose feat is still worrying the world. Here he continues to study at a local school and meets future young guardsmen. He is described as a brave, inquisitive and well-read boy.
In his school years, he was a newspaper editor, a participant in amateur performances. Oleg Koshevoy, whose feat will remain in the memory of people for a long time, was also the author of poems and stories. They were published in the Krasnodon almanac "Youth". The works of N. Ostrovsky, M. Gorky, E. Voynich, T. Shevchenko had the main influence on the formation of his worldview.
Start of Oleg's underground activities
Oleg Koshevoy was 16 years old in the summer of 1942. At that time he was not supposed to be in the city. Just before the occupation of Krasnodon, he was evacuated along with the others.
But due to the rapid advance of the enemy, they were unable to retreat toconsiderable distance. Therefore, he was forced to return to the city. His mother, when she talked about what a feat Oleg Koshevoy accomplished, said that at that time he was very gloomy, blackened with grief. Oleg practically did not smile, walked from corner to corner and did not know where to put himself. For him, it was no longer a shock what was happening around. It only evoked an irrepressible feeling of anger in the soul of the future hero.
But after the first shock was experienced, the young man begins to look among his friends for like-minded people who are willing to become members of an anti-fascist group. In the early autumn of that year, Koshevoy's group became part of the Young Guard. Here he planned the operations of the Young Guard, took part in various actions, kept in touch with representatives of other underground groups that operated in the city of Krasnodon and around it.
Oath of the Young Guards
Young Krasnodon guys took an oath in the fall of 1942. They promised to take revenge on the enemy for everything. Then the eldest of them was 19 years old, and the youngest was 14. Oleg Koshevoy, who was the main organizer and inspirer, was only 16 years old.
The feat of Oleg Koshevoy, the description of which in many sources testifies to this, fulfilled this oath, as, indeed, did all the other members of the anti-fascist group. They could not be broken even with the help of inhuman torture carried out by the German occupiers after their arrest. From January 15 to January 30, 1943, 71 representatives of the Young Guard were thrown into the pit of a local mine. Some of them were still alive at that time. Others were shot before.
After a few days, the execution of Oleg Koshevoy, Lyubov Shevtsova, Semyon Ostapenko, Dmitry Ogurtsov and Viktor Subbotin took place in the city of Rovenki. Another four young people were executed in other areas. Before they died, they all suffered inhuman torture and torture. They were not destined to live to see the liberation of Krasnodon. The Red Army came to the city on February 14, 1943, just a few days after their deaths.
Koshevoy's activities in an underground organization
The most desperate and courageous member of the "Young Guard" was Oleg Koshevoy. The feat briefly and quite clearly testifies to this. Almost no military operation took place without his attention. The hero was engaged in the distribution of leaflets, led operations related to the defeat of the Nazi machines and the collection of weapons necessary for the full-fledged activity of the Young Guard. But these are far from all the underground cases that Oleg Koshevoy conducted. The feat briefly speaks about the active work of the hero:
- he and his like-minded people set fire to the grain harvest that was supposed to be sent to Germany;
- he has many released prisoners of war on his account.
He was also the coordinator of the activities of all underground groups located in the area of the city of Krasnodon. The young Komsomol members who were part of the Young Guard were inspired by the victorious glory of our army, which drove the enemy away and was supposed to liberate the city from the enemy in the near future. This was the reason foractivating the actions of the Young Guards. They became bolder and bolder. Because of their youth, they felt invulnerable.
Activities of the Young Guards
The young people who were part of the underground organization were not familiar with the laws of the underground. But this did not prevent them for some time from violating the numerous plans of the enemy authorities and raising the inhabitants of the city and villages to fight them.
Tasks and activities performed by Koshevoy Oleg Vasilievich (feats he was helped to accomplish by his associates, members of the Young Guard):
- active distribution of campaign leaflets;
- installation of 4 radios and informing the population of the city about all reports of the Information Bureau;
- acceptance of new people in the Komsomol ranks;
- issuance of temporary certificates to those who came;
- accepting membership fees;
- preparing an armed uprising, obtaining weapons;
- carrying out various acts of sabotage (liberation of soldiers from a concentration camp, killing enemy officers, blowing up their cars, etc.).
Treason, arrests and executions
Over time, a very wide range of young people were involved in the ranks of the organization. Among them were those who turned out to be less persistent and hardy. This was the main reason that she was discovered by the police.
In January 1943 mass arrests of the Young Guard began. They received an order from headquarters to urgently withdraw fromcities. Small groups of young underground workers were supposed to make an imperceptible movement towards the front line. Oleg Koshevoy, whose feat speaks of him as a rather brave person, in a group with some of his associates, made an attempt to cross the front line. But she was unsuccessful.
Return to death
Therefore, on January 11, he returned to the city in an extremely exhausted and tired state. Despite this, the next day Oleg Koshevoy (a feat, a photo of him can be found in historical reports) goes to Bokovo. On the way to him near the city of Rovenki, he is detained by the field gendarmerie. The hero was first taken to the local police station, and then to the district gendarmerie station.
He had several blank temporary Komsomol certificates and the seal of an underground organization, as well as his Komsomol card, which could not be left even at that time. Oleg Koshevoy could not hide this evidence in the forest. The feat briefly and vividly testifies to him as a dedicated person.
Terrible interrogations and execution of Oleg Koshevoy
The future Hero of the Soviet Union behaved heroically during interrogations. He never bowed his head, steadfastly and heroically endured all the tortures. And in this situation, Oleg Koshevoy performed a feat. Its brief content lies in the fact that unshakable will and stamina did not fall under the pressure of red-hot iron, wickerwork and other sophisticated tortures of the enemy.
During another torturehe loudly prophesied defeat to the enemies. After all, our troops were already so close. From what kind of torture and bullying the sixteen-year-old commissioner experienced in prison, he became completely gray-haired. But until his last breath he was proud and unsubdued, not betraying his comrades-in-arms and the holy cause to which he devoted his whole life. So did Oleg Koshevoy's feat. His summary cannot convey the full power and influence of this historical person.
February 9, 1943, his heart was stopped by a bullet fired from the weapon of a Nazi executioner. It happened in the Rattlesnake Forest. At that time, almost all of his associates and like-minded people were executed. And 3 days later, on February 14, 1943, the troops of the Red Army entered the city.
Post-war glory of the Young Guards
The ashes of Oleg Koshevoy were buried on March 20, 1943 in a mass grave, which is located in the center of the city of Rovenki. It will not be long before streets and organizations will be named after those who have dedicated their lives to underground activities in the occupation. Writers will write their works about them. Directors will make films.
They kept their vow to the end. And their names to this day shine in eternal glory.
