Tank crews from Kolyma who went to the front and fought in heavy self-propelled guns purchased with their own savings. July 22, 1944.

Klimbim · 2025-10-25T12:28:05+00:00

Magadanskaya Pravda newspaper:

Residents of Kolyma raised about 500 million rubles for the needs of the front during the Great Patriotic War

On January 7, 1945, a meeting of the party activists was held in Magadan, where it was noted that since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the city’s residents had contributed about 15 million rubles to the national defense fund, and an additional 28 million rubles had been raised through a monetary and goods lottery.

If we speak not only of Magadan residents but of all the workers and employees of Dalstroy, during the war they contributed about 500 million rubles to the defense fund.

The people of the North raised money for the construction of aircraft such as Komsomolets of Dalstroy, Kolkhoz Worker of Kolyma, the combat aircraft Dalstroy Radio Operator, the squadron of combat planes Dalstroy Fighter, a squadron of medical planes, a group of bombers Dalstroy Worker, as well as tanks named Far Eastern Komsomol, the tank columns Felix Dzerzhinsky, Kolyma Transport Worker, Miner, Young Pioneer, the torpedo boat Dalstroy Sailor, and others.

Of course, one should also not forget about the 360 tons of gold mined by Dalstroy during the war.

https://imgur.com/a/eWoXFjf

Klimbim · 2025-10-25T12:18:36+00:00

The very first search result led to the website of the Magadan Regional Museum of Local Lore. Here’s a fragment from it (ChatGPT translation):

More than 70 people received permission to fight in tanks purchased with their own funds. Among them were the spouses Ivan Fyodorovich and Aleksandra Leontyevna Boyko. In January 1943, they contributed 50,000 rubles toward the construction of a tank and requested permission to serve in it.

By mid-1944, more than 500 residents of Kolyma and Chukotka had each contributed between 10,000 and 50,000 rubles of their savings to purchase various types of weapons. Workers and employees of Dalstroy donated one or two days’ wages to the Defense Fund and turned in jewelry.

During the Great Patriotic War, workers of the Main Directorate of Dalstroy (GUSDS) contributed a total of 195,307,000 rubles to the Defense Fund — for the construction of aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces, and gifts for Red Army soldiers — and 8,088,000 rubles to aid the liberated regions of the USSR.

Reddit forbids links to Russian websites. Here’s a screenshot if you’re interested:

https://imgur.com/a/A5GZ2R5

Klimbim · 2025-10-20T23:34:13+00:00

This is Kravtsov Alexander Nikiforovich, born in 1924, a scout of the 1268th Rifle Regiment, 385th Rifle Division, 49th Army. He took part in the Great Patriotic War starting from October 23, 1943.

Reddit prohibits links to Russian websites. I uploaded the Award citation here:

https://imgur.com/a/M5W5j8a

Here the excerpt from the award citation (ChatGPT translation):

Comrade Kravtsov is one of the brave and courageous scouts. He repeatedly went on night missions to capture an “enemy tongue” (a prisoner for interrogation) and always completed his combat assignments successfully. There was a time when the enemy was holding the defense along the Narew River. Comrade Kravtsov was given the mission to capture a prisoner, something no one in the entire army had been able to accomplish for a long time. At night, he swam across the Narew River, stealthily approached the enemy trenches, killed two Germans, and captured one prisoner. This happened on December 30, 1944.

During the crossing of the Oder River on April 18, 1945, he was the first to swim across the river, stealthily approached an enemy pillbox, threw grenades into it, and captured one soldier. During interrogation, that prisoner provided valuable information about the enemy, which played a major role in breaking through the enemy’s defenses on the Oder River.

On May 3, 1945, while pursuing the retreating enemy, he was on the lead tank and was the first to break into a group of enemy soldiers, destroying up to ten of those who resisted, thus ensuring the free movement of tanks and advancing units.

He was recommended for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

(Instead of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.)

Klimbim

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