Evgeny Rodionov is a Russian soldier and martyr, a holy young man who laid down his head for the Russian people and for his country. Today his grave, which is located near Podolsk, does not remain abandoned. Brides with grooms, warriors crippled in battles, and desperate people come to her. Here they grow stronger in spirit, are comforted, and are also healed of ailments and longings.
Once Evgeny Rodionov was an ordinary Russian guy. And now, artists write his icons, poets compose poems about him. His images are myrrh-streaming.
Childhood
Rodionov Evgeny Aleksandrovich was born on 05.23.1977. The place of his birth was the village of Siberians, which is located in the Kuznetsk district of the Penza region.
Eugene's father, Alexander Konstantinovich, was a carpenter, carpenter, and furniture maker by profession. He died shortly after his son was buried. For several days, father literally did not leave the grave of Eugene. After these tests, his heart could not stand it.
Mother - Lyubov Vasilievna, was a furniture technologist by profession.
The biography of Yevgeny Rodionov is short and nothing special. From the native village of Chibirly, the Zhenya family moved to the suburbs. There, in the village of Kurilovo, the guy unlearned at school, having graduated from nine classes.
The Rodionovs, like most people in the perestroika 90s, lived quite modestly. Lyubov Vasilievna even had to be torn between three works. That is why after nine classes the guy left school and began to work in a furniture factory. The young man quickly mastered his specialty and began to bring good money home. In parallel with his work, Eugene studied as a driver.
The Omen
In the family, Eugene was a welcome child. With his birth, he became a huge joy in the house. Only the mother’s heart contracted for some time from an alarming sense of danger and fear. Indeed, right after the birth of Zhenya, and it happened at half past one in the night, she accidentally looked out the window. There, in the dark sky, large and bright stars shone. And suddenly one of them suddenly began to fall, leaving a bright mark. Nurses and doctors began to convince Lyubov Vasilievna that this is a good sign that he portends joy and a wonderful future for the child. However, the intense expectation did not leave the woman for a long time. Only with time everything was gradually forgotten and remembered only after 19 years.
Epiphany
Zhenya grew up a calm and affectionate child. He rarely got sick, ate well and hardly bothered his parents with his scream at night. However, they were worried that the baby did not go for a very long time. And then the parents, on the advice of the boy’s grandfather and grandmothers, christened him in a nearby temple. Soon after, a boy who was one year and two months old began to walk.
Cross
In the difficult 90s, when Evgeni Rodionov’s mother was at work for a long time, Zhenya showed independence over the years. He learned how to cook his own food. Without the help of adults, he did homework. One visited the temple. Most often, he visited the Trinity Cathedral, located in Podolsk. And already at the age of 14, the boy not only comprehended, but also accepted the very essence of the Trinity, bringing his understanding to the heart of his mother, who in those years was still far from faith. In the summer of 1989, Eugene came to church with his grandmothers. They, according to the old Orthodox tradition, brought their grandson here to take communion and confess before the school year. And only then it became clear that the guy does not wear a pectoral cross. In the temple, Eugene was given on a chain. Only after some time the guy hung the cross on a thick rope.
Nobody knows what Father Zhenya said at his first confession in his life. It is possible that he told the boy the parable that the cross for Christians is like a bell that is hung on the neck of a sheep to notify the Shepherd of trouble. Maybe the conversation was about something else. But since then the boy has not taken off the cross from his neck. Lyubov Vasilievna was embarrassed. She was afraid that her son would be laughed at school. However, Eugene did not change his intention. Nobody laughed at him, and soon his friends even began to cast crucifixes themselves using special molds.
Military service
Evgeny Rodionov did not want to leave his mother. Military service did not appeal to him. However, the guy had no legal reasons for deferments, and he went to fulfill his duty. Evgeny Alexandrovich Rodionov was drafted into the army on 06/25/1995
Initially, he was sent to the training unit of military unit No. 2631 in Ozersk, Kaliningrad Region. To date, this training unit of the border troops of the Russian Federation has been disbanded. Maybe that's why very little is known about how the future hero Evgeny Rodionov served here. However, a legend remained about this young man. She says that where the guy served, there was no hazing. Many believe that this is the first miracle of the warrior Eugene.
Eugene took the military oath on July 10, 1995. His service took place in the Kaliningrad Region, where he was a grenade launcher as part of the 3rd border outpost. 01/13/1996, the guy along with other young fighters sent on a business trip. It was then that he got to the border of Chechnya and Ingushetia in the Nazran border detachment.
Meeting with mother
Before Yevgeny Rodionov was sent to the North Caucasus, he again managed to meet with Lyubov Vasilievna. According to the story of her mother, who came to visit her son, the colonel of the unit met at first unfriendly. He decided that she would demand that Eugene not be sent to a hot spot. However, he soon changed his attitude. After all, Lyubov Vasilievna told him that everything will be as her son decided. In the end, the boss even gave Zhenya eight days of vacation.
The guy was very proud that he had become a border guard and would be engaged in the work necessary for the Homeland. It was in this last meeting that the son told his mother that he wrote a report on the transfer to a hot spot. He, as he could, reassured Lyubov Vasilievna, arguing that it was impossible to leave fate. They also spoke about captivity. “It's like luck ...” said the son.
Captivity
The guy’s words were prophetic. Private border guard Yevgeny Rodionov was captured a month after the start of his business trip on the Chechen-Ingush border.
On this day (02/13/1996) a detachment consisting of four people took up the next duty. In addition to Evgeny Rodionov, Igor Yakovlev, Andrey Trusov and Alexander Zheleznov were in it. The guys carried out dangerous service without an officer or warrant officer, as well as without setting a task that would have been caused by military operations.
Young soldiers were on duty at the check-in point located on the border between Ingushetia and Chechnya. It was through this PKK that the only road in this mountainous area passed, often used by militants to transport stolen people, as well as to deliver ammunition and weapons. However, such an important and responsible post was more like a bus stop, devoid of even electricity. Our guys stood almost unprotected in the middle of a road teeming with bandits.
Of course, this could not continue for a long time. But it was precisely on that night, when Evgeny's outfit was on duty here, a minibus passed by the PKP, on which was written "Ambulance." It contained Chechen bandits led by one of his field commanders, Ruslan Khaikhoroyev. This car was carrying weapons. According to the charter, young border guards made an attempt to inspect the cargo. But here a struggle ensued. Armed bandits jumped out of the minibus. The border guards resisted as best they could. The fact that they did not give up without a fight was evidenced by traces of blood remaining on the pavement. However, the young guys did not have a chance to defeat the battle-hardened armed terrorists. Border guards were captured.
Mother's notice
Yevgeny’s colleagues, who were relatively close, only two hundred meters from the PKK, should have heard our guys scream for help. However, at three in the morning, many of them were asleep. But even after that no alarm was announced. In pursuit, too, no one set off. The guys were not looking at all! Although this is not entirely true. Active searches were conducted far beyond Chechnya, in the peaceful suburbs of Moscow. Already on February 16, a telegram came to Eugene’s mother, informing her that her son had voluntarily left the unit. And then the police began searching for the deserter, searching not only the apartment, but also the nearby cellars.
Lyubov Vasilievna knew the character of her son and was convinced that her Zhenya could not do this. She began to write to the military unit, trying to convince commanders that her son could not become a deserter. However, they did not believe her.
Searches for the son
Mother's heart felt trouble. She decided to go to the Chechen-Ingush border, where her son was transferred. Only there did the unit commander tell her that an error had occurred. Her son is not a deserter. He was captured.
Then Lyubov Vasilievna went to Sergey Kovalev, who collaborates with the “Committee of Mothers”. However, this public organization, which was located in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, for some reason turned out to consist of only one Chechen woman who received humanitarian aid from Kovalev. Explicitly painting in front of them, this public figure accused Lyubov Vasilievna of raising a murderer.
Then the mother decided to look for her son on her own. She went around almost the whole of Chechnya. Lyubov Rodionova visited Gelayev, Maskhadov and Khattab. In her own words, she prayed to God and by some miracle remained alive. Although by name he can name those mothers whom the Chechens brutally killed.
In search of her son, she, along with the father of one of the contract soldiers, even went to Basayev. In front of cameras and in public, this "Robin Hood" tried to keep a good hero. However, after the parents of the soldiers left the village, they were surrounded by a detachment led by Basayev’s brother, Shirvani. It was he who threw Lyubov Vasilievna to the ground and beat with his butt and legs. As a result, she miraculously survived. I barely crawled to the tent where my people were, but for another three days because of severe pain I could not roll over on my back and even less walk. Somewhat later, Basayev’s father, the contractor, who visited with her, she saw in Rostov among the corpses.
Execution
After the abduction, young border guards were taken to the village of Bamut. There the bandits kept our children in the basement of the house. For three months, the captives suffered bullying and torture, but during all this time the guys did not leave the hope that they would be saved.
More than any other Chechens beat Yevgeny Rodionov. The reason for this was his cross, which hung on his neck. The militants presented the guy with an ultimatum. They proposed a choice between accepting Islam, which meant joining their ranks, and death. However, Eugene refused to do this categorically. For this, he was brutally beaten, constantly repeating that he removed the cross. However, the young man did not do this. One can only guess what this young guy was thinking, who at that time was not yet nineteen years old. But, most likely, the Guardian Angel strengthened Eugene in that terrible darkness of the basement in the same way as it was with the first Christians who became martyrs.
The mothers of the young border guard fighters constantly insisted that her son was still alive, but was held captive. After that, they always took a meaningful pause, as if asking the price of what could be taken from an unhappy woman. But, most likely, realizing that you will not especially get hold of it, they came to their terrible decision.
On the birthday of Zhenya, May 23, 1996, there was a bloody denouement. Together with the rest of the soldiers, the guy was taken to the forest, which was located near Bamut. At first they killed the friends of Eugene, who were with him on the last duty at the PKK. After this, the last time the guy was asked to remove the cross. However, Eugene did not do this. After he was executed, it was just as scary as in the most ancient sacrificial ritual of the pagans - they cut off a living head. However, even after death, the bandits did not dare to remove the cross from the guy’s body. It was from him that the mother recognized her son. Subsequently, the bandits gave the mother a videotape, on which the execution of Eugene was photographed. Then she found out that on this day she was only seven kilometers from the village of Bamut, which our troops had already taken on May 24.
Ruslan Khaikhoroyev himself killed Yevgeny Rodionov. He admitted this himself in the presence of an OSCE representative, pointing out that the young border guard had a choice, and he could survive.
08/23/1999, Khaikhoroyev, along with his bodyguards, were killed during a gang intrachechen showdown. It happened exactly 3 years and 3 months after the death of Eugene.
Scary ransom
Lyubov Vasilievna still managed to find her child. But this happened already after nine months and when her son was dead. However, the bandits demanded a ransom from a lonely and unhappy woman. For 4 million rubles, which at that time amounted to approximately 4 thousand dollars, they agreed to indicate the place where the remains of Eugene.
To collect the necessary amount, Lyubov Vasilievna had to sell almost everything - an apartment, things and part of her clothes.
However, Lyubov Vasilievna’s circulation in the Chechen hell has not ended yet. At the time when she was transporting the body of her son in Rostov, he dreamed about her every night and asked for help. And then the woman decided to go back to Chechnya to pick up Zhenya’s head from there. And she found her, after which she safely returned to Rostov. November 20, 1996 Lyubov Vasilievna was able to bring her son’s body home, and then buried him. And that very night Eugene dreamed of a mother shining and joyful.
Occurrence of a miracle
Immediately after the death of Yevgeny Rodionov, the most incredible things began to happen in different parts of Russia. So, one of the vagabond girls who fell into the newly created rehabilitation Orthodox children's shelter in 1997 told of a tall soldier who wore a red raincoat. He called himself Eugene, took the girl by the hand and took her to church. There are no red tents in life. It was a martyr's cloak.
But miracles did not stop there. In many churches, stories began to be heard telling of a divine warrior dressed in a fire cloak that helps young soldiers who were captured in Chechnya. He shows them the path to freedom, bypassing all stretch marks and mines.
Since 1999, they began talking about him in the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, claiming that there is such a martyr - warrior Eugene. He helps the guys in captivity. Mothers began to pray for the warrior Eugene before the Lord in the hope of seeing their sons alive.
But that is not all. The wounded soldiers who were being treated at the Burdenko hospital claimed that they knew the warrior Eugene, who was helping them at a time when severe pain was approaching. Many fighters claim to have seen this soldier on the icon while visiting the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In addition, the warrior, dressed in a red raincoat, is a sign and a prisoner. They say that this soldier helps the weakest and raises the spirit of the broken.
In 1997, a book was published about Evgeny Rodionov. It is called "The New Martyr for Christ the Warrior Eugene." The book was ordered by the Church of St. Nicholas, located in Pyzhi. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia blessed her. Soon a report came from a priest from Dnepropetrovsk Vadim Shklyarenko stating that the photograph posted on the cover of the book was streaming. Miro has a light color and a slight smell of needles.
There is no official decision of the ROC Synod on the canonization of a new martyr. Yevgeny Rodionov canonized by the Serbian Patriarch. In the Serbian Orthodox Church, the young man is revered as a new martyr. In this country, an Orthodox fighter is called Eugene Russian. However, the Russian Orthodox Church does not preclude a young border guard from being a venerated saint. But the official decision will have to wait. According to the rules, the canonization of the laity should occur only in the fiftieth year after their death. Exceptions are possible only for those who have shown their holiness during their lifetime.
However, the icons of the warrior Eugene have already appeared. Only today throughout Russia there are already a little more than one and a half hundred, but they are not yet official. The iconography of Eugene the warrior is great and extensive. More than a dozen different icons with the image of a martyr are known.
The icons of St. Eugene Rodionov depicted, as expected, with a halo over his head. And it doesn’t matter at all that the canonization of a warrior has not yet been officially approved. Eugene became a people's saint, which, quite possibly, is much more important.
Honoring the grave
The martyr Yevgeny Rodionov was buried in the Moscow region at a village cemetery with. Satino-Russian, which is located in the Podolsky district. Thousands of people come to the grave every year on the day of his birth and at the same time death on May 23. These are residents not only of Russia, but also of many foreign countries.
On this day, dozens of priests conduct memorial services near the grave of Yevgeny Rodionov. Moreover, church services are held on May 23 from the earliest morning until late at night.
People come to this rural cemetery to honor the feat of Evgeny Rodionov. This Russian soldier who did not betray either his homeland or Vera. As a sign of respect, some of the Chechen veterans even leave their medals here.
People come to this rural cemetery on ordinary days. Anyone who is in trouble asks the warrior Eugene for intercession, leaving notes on the grave between the pebbles.
A cross rises above the burial place of a young guy. The inscription on it reads as follows: "Here lies Yevgeny Rodionov, a Russian soldier who stood on the defense of the Fatherland and did not renounce Christ, executed on 23.05.1996 near Bamut."
Monument
The memory of Yevgeny Rodionov, who heroically died in Chechnya and in his homeland in the Penza region, is immortalized. There, in the city of Kuznetsk, September 25, 2010, the opening of the monument took place. The monument to the warrior Eugene looks like a bronze candle, the flame of which seems to embrace a soldier holding a cross in his hands. The author of the monument is a sculptor-artist Sergey Mardar.
The monument to the warrior Eugene is located on the territory of school number 4, where he studied Rodionov, and which is now named after him. At its opening, a solemn meeting was held, which brought together residents of the city of different ages. Guests of Kuznetsk also attended this event.
In the speeches of all the speakers, words of gratitude sounded to the mother of the hero, who was able to adequately raise her son, and then she performed the maternal feat.
A monument called the “Candle of Remembrance” was unveiled:
- V.T., head of the department of the Office for Educational Work at the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation Borzov;
- Colonel of the Alpha group S.A. Polyakov;
- Chairman of the Board of the regional veteran organization “Combat Brotherhood” Yu.V. Krasnov;
- Chairman of the Council of Veterans of Local Armed Conflicts and Wars of Kuznetsk P.V. Ildeykin.