The latest domestic restructuring of the ice rink was not only on living people. She touched the heroes of the past. Their debunking was simply put on stream. Among these people were members of the Young Guard organization.
“Expositions” of young anti-fascists
The essence of these "disclosures" 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 to the struggle against the invaders was small. Therefore, they are not even worth remembering.
Oleg Koshevoi accounted for more than others. The reason for this was his rank of commissioner of this organization, which was used in the historiography of the Soviet Union. Most likely, this was the main reason for the great hostility of his "whistleblowers" to his personality.
There were even rumors that Oleg Koshevoi, whose feat is known almost all over the world, has nothing to do with the "Red Guard". His mother, a rather wealthy woman in the pre-war period, simply decided to earn extra money on the glory of her son. And for this, she conducted the identification of the corpse of some old man, passing him off as dead Oleg. The same glory did not pass by other people. These include the mother of Zoe and Sasha Kosmodemyanskikh Lyubov Timofeevna.
The people who were involved in these matters have been working in the Russian media to this day. These are candidates and doctors of historical sciences with high academic degrees and a fairly good position in society.
The Young Guard and Oleg Koshevoi
The Young Guards acted in the mining town of Krasnodon. It is located at a distance of approximately 50 kilometers from Lugansk. During the Great Patriotic War he was called Voroshilovgrad.
In the years 1930-1940 in this city there were a large number of working youth. 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 regarded the struggle 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 acted independently of each other. Red Army soldiers who escaped from captivity also joined these communities.
Among these Red Army soldiers was Ivan Turkevich. He was a lieutenant who was elected commander of the Young Guard. This was the organization that young antifascists created in Krasnodon in the early fall of 1942. Among the representatives of the headquarters of this association was Oleg Kosheva, whose feat does not leave indifferent our contemporaries.
Key biographical facts
The future hero of the Soviet Union was born on June 8, 1926. Its 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, Oleg Koshevoi, whose feat was waiting for him ahead, was forced to move with his father to the city of Anthracite of the Luhansk region. The change of residence and place of study was associated with the divorce of his parents.
Since 1940 his mother, Elena Nikolaevna , lived in Krasnodon . Soon, Oleg Kosheva also moved to her, the truth about the achievement of which to this day worries the world. Here he continues to study at a local school and gets acquainted with future young guardsmen. They talk about him as a brave, curious and well-read boy.
In school, he was the editor of the newspaper, a member of amateur art. Oleg Koshevoi, whose feat will remain in people's memory for long times, was also the author of poems and short stories. They were printed in the Krasnodon almanac "Youth". The main influence on the formation of his worldview was the work of N. Ostrovsky, M. Gorky, E. Voynich, T. Shevchenko.
The beginning of Oleg’s underground activity
Oleg Koshev in the summer of 1942 was 16 years old. At that time he was not supposed to be in the city. Before the occupation of Krasnodon, he was evacuated along with the rest.
But due to the rapid advance of the enemy, they were not able to retreat to a considerable distance. Therefore, he was forced to return to the city. When his mother talked about the feat Oleg Kosheva performed, his mother 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. What was happening around him was no longer a shock. It only aroused in the soul of the future hero an irrepressible feeling of anger.
But after the first shock was experienced, the young man begins to look for like-minded people among his friends who agree to become members of the anti-fascist group. In the early fall of the same year, Koshevoy's group became part of the Young Guard. Here he planned the operations of the Young Guard, took part in various actions, maintained contact with representatives of other underground groups that operated in and around the city of Krasnodon.
Oath of the Young Guard
Young Krasnodon guys in the autumn of 1942 took an oath. They promised to avenge the enemy for everything. Then the oldest of them was 19 years old, and the youngest - 14. Oleg Koshev, 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, incidentally, 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 the arrest. From January 15 to January 30, 1943, 71 representatives of the Malodoy Guard were dropped into the pit of a local mine. Some of them were still alive at that time. Others were shot before this.
After several days in the city of Rovenki, Oleg Koshevoy, Lyubov Shevtsova, Semyon Ostapenko, Dmitry Ogurtsov and Victor Subbotin were shot. Four more young people were executed in other areas. Before they die, they all suffered inhuman torture and torture. They were not destined to survive until the liberation of Krasnodon. The Red Army came to the city on February 14, 1943, just a few days after their death.
Koshevoy's activity in an underground organization
The most desperate and courageous participant of the Young Guard was Oleg Koshevoi. The feat briefly and sufficiently vividly testifies to this. Almost no combat operation took place without his attention. The hero was engaged in distribution of leaflets, supervised operations related to the defeat of Nazi machines and the collection of weapons necessary for the full-fledged activities of the Young Guard. But this is far from all the clandestine cases that Oleg Koshevoi conducted. The feat briefly speaks of the hero's vigorous activity:
- he and his like-minded people set fire to the harvest of bread that they were supposed to send to Germany;
- on his account many released prisoners of war.
He was also the coordinator of the actions of all underground groups located in the area of the city of Krasnodon. The young Komsomol members that were part of the "Young Guard" were inspired by the victorious glory of our army, which drove away the enemy and was to liberate the city from the enemy in the near future. This served as a pretext for intensifying the actions of the Young Guard. They became bolder and bolder. Because of their youth, they felt invulnerable.
Activities of the Young Guard
Young people who were part of an underground organization were not familiar with the laws of the underground. But this did not stop them for some time from violating the numerous plans of the enemy authorities and raising the inhabitants of the city and towns to fight them.
Tasks and activities performed by Oleg Kosheva (feats were helped by his like-minded people, members of the “Young Guard”):
- active distribution of campaign leaflets;
- installation of 4 radios and informing the city population about all bulletins of the Information Bureau;
- the admission of new people to the Komsomol ranks;
- issuance of temporary certificates to those who have arrived;
- acceptance of membership fees;
- preparation of an armed uprising, weapons;
- carrying out various acts of sabotage (releasing fighters from a concentration camp, killing enemy officers, undermining their vehicles, etc.).
Betrayal, arrests and executions
Over time, a very wide circle of young people was involved in the organization. Among them were those who turned out to be less persistent and hardy. This was the main reason that it was disclosed by the police.
In January 1943, mass arrests of the Young Guard began. They received an order from the headquarters to urgently leave the city. Small groups of young underground workers were supposed to make an inconspicuous movement to the front line. Oleg Koshevoi, whose feat speaks of him as a rather brave man, in a group with some of his like-minded people 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 weak and tired state. Despite this, the next day Oleg Kosheva (feat, a photo of him can be found in historical reports) is sent to Bokovo. On the way to him, not far from the city of Rovenki, he was detained by a field gendarmerie. The hero was first taken to the local police station, and then to the district gendarmerie department.
Under him were several blank temporary Komsomol certificates and the stamp of an underground organization, as well as his Komsomol ticket, which could not be left even at that time. Oleg Vasilyevich Kosheva could not hide these evidence in the forest. The feat briefly and vividly testifies of him as a dedicated person.
Terrible interrogations and execution of Oleg Koshevoy
The future Hero of the Soviet Union during the interrogations held heroically. He never bowed his head, stubbornly and heroically endured all the torture. And in this situation Oleg Koshevoy performed a feat. Its summary is that unshakable will and stamina did not fall under the pressure of red-hot iron, wickers, and other sophisticated tortures of the enemy.
During the next torture, he loudly prophesied defeat for the enemies. After all, our troops were already so close. From the kind of torture and abuse the sixteen-year-old commissar suffered in prison dungeons, he became completely gray-haired. But until the last breath he was proud and rebellious, not betraying his comrades-in-arms and the holy work to which he devoted his whole life. So Oleg Koshevoy performed a feat. Its summary cannot convey all the strength and influence of this historical person.
February 9, 1943 his heart was stopped by a bullet flying out of the arms of a Nazi executioner. This happened in the Rattlesnake. At that time, almost all of his associates and like-minded people were executed. And 3 days later, on February 14, 1943, troops of the Red Army entered the city.
Postwar 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. A little time will pass, and the names of those who devoted their lives to underground activities in the occupation will be named streets and organizations. Writers will write their works about them. Directors will make films.
They fulfilled their oath to the end. And their names shine in eternal glory to this day.