Materials of the collection of Soviet Union Heroes (the Central State Archives of Moscow): L.A. Butkov, the participant of the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

The work introduces into scientific circulation the documents (autobiography  and  memoirs)  from  the  personal  file  of  L.A.  Butkov,  the Soviet  Union  Hero;  his  dossier  being  deposited  inside  the  collection  of Soviet Union Heroes (the Central State Archives of Moscow, F. P-8682). If the autobiography is an extremely formalized text, the memoirs mentioning the author’s hatred towards the Nazi invaders are written in easy language, reflecting  the  impressions  of  those  ordinary  fighters  who,  to  a  large  extent, won the Great Patriotic War. The title of the Soviet Union Hero was awarded to the company commander of the 164^th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 55^th Guards Rifle Division of the 56^th Guards Army senior lieutenant L.A. Butkov on May 16, 1944, for his distinction in the Kerch-Eltigen military operation. The company was the first to land on the shore occupied by the enemy and managed to hold the bridgehead, ensuring the  successful  landing  of  the  entire  division.  During  the  battle,  the  company commander  personally  destroyed  the  machine  gun  with  the  gunners  and 11 more enemy soldiers. The documentary collection, which holds L.A. Butkov’s file, was collected after the war by the Institute of Party History of the MC and MGK VKP(b), headed by the director of the Institute G.D. Kostomarov.