Born on January 23, 1909 in Surgut, he graduated from school here. On September 25, 1931, he was called up for military service in the ranks of the Red Army, where he served as part of the 56th artillery regiment until 1933. He was called to defend the Motherland on July 31, 1941. He began his combat path in the Moscow region, liberated Kiev from the Nazi invaders and other cities of Ukraine, Poland, participated in the storming of Berlin. On May 1, 1945, in a street battle in Berlin, an attacking assault group, which included Menshchikov, was blocked by a German tank. He fired from a cannon and a machine gun. Pavel Vasilyevich received the task: to advance with a gun from a wait-and-see position to an open firing position and destroy the tank. Under heavy machine-gun fire, the sergeant quickly complied with the order and set the tank on fire with two well-aimed shots. An enemy heavy machine gun opened fire on the cannon from a nearby house. Menshchikov received a bullet wound through the tissues of his right thigh, but did not leave the gun, and with three shots destroyed the machine-gun point along with the servants. In the subsequent period, Pavel Vasilyevich destroyed one gun, two machine-gun points and up to 30 enemy men. After the battle he was sent to the medical unit of military unit 18620 and was treated until May 29, 1945. Awards: Order of Glory, II and III degrees; medals "For Courage", "For the Liberation of Warsaw", "For the Capture of Berlin", "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War." After demobilization on September 25, 1945, Pavel Vasilyevich returned to his native Surgut. For many years he worked as a fisherman, skipper. He loved fishing and hunting, and sang with pleasure in the family circle. With his wife Fyokla Yakovlevna Nedozrelova, they raised four children. Passed away on January 30, 1979.
