Young Guards Zemnukhov Ivan Alexandrovich: biography, awards

Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich was one of the leaders of the Young Guard, an underground organization in the Ukrainian town of Krasnodon, which defended the homeland during the years of fascist occupation. The underground included more than 70 people: 24 girls and 47 boys. Reasonable Zemnukhov was the chief of staff of the organization. After the failure, he was captured by the Nazis and executed together with other underground members: he was thrown into the pit of mine No. 5.

He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

Biography Zemnukhov

Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich, whose biography includes only incomplete twenty years, was born on September 8, 1923 in the Ryazan village of Illarionovka in a poor peasant family. I had to study in the neighboring village of Alder.

In 1932, the Zemnukhovs moved to the Donbass in the village of Sorokino. In 1938, the village was renamed Krasnodon. Here Vanya continued his studies at school No. 1, which bore the name of Gorky.

At school, Zemnukhov was a leader among the Komsomol members: he was elected secretary of the school organization of young communists. He patronized the pioneers of the school, was a pioneer leader. He participated in a literary circle, was his headman. For his well-read, mature judgments, comrades called Zemnukhov a professor. According to the teacher Daniil Alekseevich Saplin, the young man worshiped Pushkin, Lermontov, even wrote poetry.

In 1941, Ivan graduated from the 10th grade. And then there was a war.

Donbass in the occupation

The war broke out crossed out all Zemnukhov’s plans: the young man wanted to be a lawyer, even enrolled in courses in the direction of the Komsomol district committee, but did not have to finish them. This ended his peaceful biography: Ivan Zemnukhov defended the Fatherland. True, he was not taken to the front for health reasons (poor eyesight). In the direction of the Komsomol district committee, the young man participates in the activities of the school work commission under the Komsomol committee.

The Nazis entered Krasnodon on July 20, 1942. From the moment of the occupation, Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich joined the Young Guard, a Komsomol underground organization whose goal was to fight the invaders.

"Young guard"

In the very first days of the Nazis' arrival in Krasnodon, leaflets appeared on the walls of houses and posters of the town, the bathhouse, which was planned as a barracks for Wehrmacht soldiers, burned down. This was the work of Sergei Tyulenin, who alone began to fight the invaders. Then another 8 people joined him. But after two weeks, the Krasnodon underground had 25 people. But these were unrelated groups. And only on September 30, the Komsomol decided to create a detachment and its headquarters.

Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov, Levashov Vasily, Georgy Arutyunyants and Sergey Tyulenin became part of the headquarters, Zemnukhov was elected as the head. Later, Kosheva Oleg, Gromova Ulyana, Turkenich Ivan and Shevtsova Lyubov became members of the headquarters.

The beginning of October 1942 was the time of the formation of a single organization, uniting disparate groups of young anti-fascists.

The "Young Guard" began to operate in an organized and purposeful manner.

Chief of staff

In addition to the leadership of the headquarters, Zemnukhov Ivan Alexandrovich was responsible for conspiracy theology and the development of ciphers. The level of his work can be judged by the fact that for several months the Nazis could not attack the trail of the Young Guards, although the underground acted, as they say, under the noses of the Nazis.

Together with Ivan Ivanovich Turkenich and Oleg Koshev Zemnukhov develops operations, often participates in them. They didn’t pass without his participation: setting fire to the labor exchange, hanging red flags for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the October Revolution, the liberation of Soviet citizens, etc.

Also, under his leadership, an underground printing house was organized, in which he took part, composing the texts of leaflets. He compiled the text of the oath of the Young Guard.

At the end of 1942 Zemnukhov managed to get permission from the Germans to open a club to them. A. M. Gorky, in which he begins to work as an administrator. The new position allows him, as chief of staff, to assemble groups of underground workers to discuss operations plans. All this was done under the guise of working with participants in amateur performances, in the circles of which were many underground workers.

At its core, the club was the headquarters for young underground workers.

Love and war

Quite a lot has been written about the Young Guards: good and accurate, with a certain bias (good and not very). For Soviet youth, the Young Guards were an example of patriotism, a sort of ideological pillar. But for some reason they are poorly represented as ordinary people to whom nothing was alien, including love.

The chosen one of Vanya Zemnukhov was Klava Kovaleva. She was also a well-read girl with a strong will. In the summer of 1941, Klava got into the fire department of Krasnodon No. 1 by a telephone operator. Zemnukhov always accompanied Kovalev on duty and met after the shift.

With the advent of the invaders in Krasnodon and the emergence of an underground organization, the young man recommends his girlfriend to the "Young Guard". Claudia helps Ivan Zemnukhov to write and distribute leaflets, organizes a battle group in one of the nearby villages.

After the arrest of Tretyakevich and Moshkov, the Nazis came to Claudia Kovaleva. Vanya Zemnukhov was already in the Nazi dungeons.

The sadists' bullying knew no bounds: the girl was burned her feet, her breasts were cut out, as a result of the beating, Klava’s body was swollen beyond recognition. But the girl never admitted that she knew Ivan.

They stepped into the pit of mine No. 5, supporting each other at this last minute for them.

Stepped into immortality

The first day of 1943 was a day of failure for the underground organization: Viktor Tretyakevich and Evgeny Moshkov were arrested.

Zemnukhov Ivan Aleksandrovich, learning about the arrest of his comrades, tried to help them out, but was captured by the police. Unknowingly, the Nazis fell right into the heart of the Young Guard.

The remaining members of the headquarters ordered all the underground members to leave Krasnodon immediately, but many did not comply with this order (only ten underground members managed to escape). Having learned about the failure, Gennady Pocheptsov from the May Day group confessed and told the fascists about the existence of the Young Guard. Mass arrests swept.

From the memoirs of the mother of Valeria Borts, it is known that the Nazis paid special attention to Zemnukhov Ivan and Tretyakevich Victor: they beat him daily with lashes, hung them on their hind legs, took them out to the cold, where the beatings continued. During one of the interrogations, the brutal fascist henchman Solikovsky broke the young man’s glasses, the fragments pierced his eyes.

On the night of January 15-16, 1943, the first group of the Young Guard was executed. Among them was the blind Ivan Zemnukhov. The whole group was thrown by the executioners into the abandoned pit of mine No. 5.

Eternal glory

Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov is buried in the center of Krasnodon in a mass grave. The young comrades fighting comrades rest in it.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Zemnukhov was awarded posthumously. In memory of the heroism of the Komsomol and that terrible day, the memorial "Unconquered" was erected.

In the courtyard of the Municipal Budget Institution "Serpomolotskaya Secondary School" an obelisk to Zemnukhov Ivan was installed.

Here is the museum of the hero of the Young Guard, which presents his things, awards, biography. Ivan Alexandrovich Zemnukhov is immortalized in the memory of people, his short but vibrant life became an example for the young patriots of our country, despite the efforts of individual "researchers" to belittle the merits of him and his comrades.

In conclusion about the "curved mirrors"

As time has shown, the executioners of the Young Guard were not only the Nazis, they were some of our contemporaries who continue the dirty work, now mocking the memory of the heroes of the Komsomol. The "researchers" question even the existence of the "Young Guard", although this is evidenced by the documented evidence of the Nazis themselves.

An example of such “research” could be the article “Young Guard: The True Story, or Criminal Case No. 20056” by Eric Schur. The "research" of Schur is full of inaccuracies that contradict his own statements. The purpose of this article is clearly visible: to denigrate the glory of the Krasnodon underground, to debunk the Fadeev’s novel “The Young Guard”, created on genuine materials.

About all such insinuations indignantly says brother of Ivan Zemnukhov - Alexander.

The Russian editions of Izvestia, Ogonyok, Chimes, New World, and, of course, Top Secret, gave “attention” to the case of the Young Guard. Each of them did not fail to “smear” with mud according to the glory of the Komsomol members of Krasnodon.

But the memory of the people of the underground will still be eternal.