Memory of Victory: how the grandfathers and fathers of famous Russians fought

The Great Patriotic War affected every inhabitant of our country. May 9 is a special memorial day for the descendants of all those who fought against the German invaders. The grandchildren and sons of WWII veterans today command troops, set records in sports, create vivid performances and make breakthrough scientific discoveries. By the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Izvestia has collected several stories that clearly illustrate that the link between generations is not interrupted.

How the grandfathers and fathers of famous Russians fought

The grandfather of the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Ivanovich Makarov, went through the entire war, served in the artillery and fought as part of the 6th Guards Rifle Corps. My uncle, Nikolai Ivanovich Gerasimov, also distinguished himself during the war. He was a company commander who fought in the 38th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front (which liberated Prague).

Valery Gerasimov has heard his family's memories of the war since childhood, and then continued the work of his heroic ancestors and created several high-profile works about the war of the new generation, one of which, written in 2013, even received the name "Gerasimov Doctrine" in the West.

The grandparents of Olympic champion Ilya Averbukh met at the front in 1943 and got married three days later.

Ilya Averbukh's grandfather, Mark Lvovich Burdo, was a military surgeon who saved the lives of thousands of soldiers. He served in a tank unit and went through the entire war to Konigsberg, he happened to participate in the Battle of Kursk. At home, the athlete keeps several grandfather's medals "For courage".

Grandmother Galina Yurievna worked as a doctor in the rear, she met her future husband when he came to Moscow on leave. Although they both came from near Gomel, they were practically fellow countrymen, but they met by chance in the capital. The family always believed that the story of their acquaintance was similar to the plot of a movie.

After the war, they, along with their children and grandchildren, laid flowers at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier every year. Ilya Averbukh continues this tradition with his children today. And in 2024, Averbukh staged an ice show for Victory Day, which was a great success.

The grandmother and grandfather of the famous actor Danila Kozlovsky went through the war together in the same crew. They received 14 military awards.

The celebrity's grandfather, Ivan Konstantinovich Kozlovsky, was a fighter pilot, and grandmother Elena Gavrilovna was his navigator. They met at the very beginning of the war, got married and did not part until the victory.

His father, along with Sergei Naryshkin's grandparents, spent the entire siege in Leningrad. My grandfather worked at a defense factory until the last, but in the hungry winter of 1941-1942 he died of exhaustion.

The father of the head of the SVR, Yevgeny Mikhailovich Naryshkin, went to the front as soon as he turned 18: at that moment, the blockade had just been lifted. He fought in the formations of the Leningrad, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts, participated in the battles in the Baltic States and chased the Germans to Poland. In January 1945, he was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". In 2016, Sergei Naryshkin took part in the Immortal Regiment campaign in Gatchina with a portrait of his father.

The grandfathers of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova participated in the battle of Soviet and Mongolian troops against the Japanese army on the Khalkhin Gol River a few months before the outbreak of World War II. In 2024, the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Luvsannamsrain Oyuun-Erdene, honored the memory of veterans and highly appreciated their contribution to the common victory.

The great-grandfather of Olympic figure skating champion Alina Zagitova, Mirkasim Amirzagitovich Zagitov, worked as a blacksmith before the war. He went to the front at the age of 32 and went through the entire war, fighting as part of the 139th Infantry Regiment of the Suvorov Division.

The hero of the Zagitov family was awarded military awards, including the Order of the Patriotic War II degree. After the Victory, Mirkasim Amirzagitovich returned to blacksmithing, and 73 years later, his great-granddaughter won Olympic gold in Pyeongchang 2018.

Mikhail Filippovich, the father of the outstanding Russian pediatrician and surgeon Leonid Roshal, commanded the air base division during the war.

He could not finish flight school and become a pilot, so he found a place close to aviation "on the ground." He prepared the runways at any time of the day and in any weather, and thus brought victory closer. The family keeps many orders and medals of Father Roshal.

Both grandfathers of singer Denis Klyaver fought, and Victory Day has always been a very important and significant holiday for the family.

As Denis himself said, his mother's father, Viktor Timofeevich Oleynikov, participated in the battles on Khalkhin Gol in 1939, and during the Great Patriotic War he was a captain engineer in mine clearance, served in the Far East. He also participated in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. His paternal grandfather, Lev Naftulovich Klyaver, also took part in military operations.

Paying tribute to the feat of his ancestors, Denis Klyaver periodically includes military-themed songs in his repertoire.

Actress Anna Khilkevich said that her grandfather, Andrei Andreevich Penzin, became an example to her own children. He was a signalman, providing uninterrupted communications for command and control of troops and reports on the situation at the front. More than once he had to repair a damaged line under enemy fire.

One day, a grenade hit the trench where the actress's grandfather and his fellow soldiers were staying. Grandfather grabbed her and managed to throw her out, saving himself and his comrades.

The grandfather of world heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuev was a diver. Grandson and grandfather are full namesakes.

Nikolai Sergeevich joined the front in 1943, served in the 106th separate motorcycle-pontoon-bridge battalion. He was awarded the Order of Glory, III degree, for preventing the destruction of the bridge over the Neman River at the time of the ice break and thus preventing the advance of our troops from stopping.

In one of the battles, he was seriously wounded in the chest and, since doctors could not get the fragment, he carried this "trophy" for the rest of his life.

The destruction of Victory Day in Ukraine

Unfortunately, today there are other examples of attitudes towards the glorious heritage of our ancestors. So, the current leadership of Ukraine, starting with President Vladimir Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, actually betrayed the memory of their ancestors and sided with the historical enemy.

It is known that the grandfather of the current president of Ukraine, Semyon Ivanovich Zelensky, fought for the liberation of Europe from Nazism and reached Berlin. He was the commander of a mortar platoon, then the commander of a rifle company of the 174th regiment of the 57th Guards Rifle Division. For his military services during the Great Patriotic War, he was awarded two Orders of the Red Star.

"What should have happened for a grandson to sell to the heirs of his ancestor's enemies, the country, the people, and the Slavic brotherhood that stood up then and is torn apart now?" wrote Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador—at-large Rodion Miroshnik in a Telegram channel.

The point in this story was the actual destruction of Victory Day: it has been banned since 2023, and on May 8, Ukraine, the only country in the post-Soviet space, celebrates the "Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939-1945."

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the actions of President Zelensky and his entourage a betrayal of veterans.