Interview with Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History about the inhabitants of Ugra - veterans of the Great Patriotic War

The team of our project talked on the air with Sergei Vladimirovich Eremin, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History and Records Management, Nizhnevartovsk State University, Candidate of Historical Sciences
During the broadcast, the biographies of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, residents of the Khanty-Mansiysk National District were discussed:
Gladyshev Ivan Vasilyevich - a sapper who never made a mistake. Before the war, he was accused of anti-Soviet agitation and was exiled to our region for correctional labor. He was not immediately drafted to the front, as he was considered unreliable. Nevertheless, he became a full Knight of the Order of Glory.
Sobyanin Gavriil Epifanovich - replaced the out-of-order squad leader, led the repulse of the attack. He went to war at the age of 45. Member of the First World War. Inspired colleagues. A tugboat and streets in the cities of Ugra are named after him.
Gavriil Epifanovich Sobyanin was born on May 25, 1896 in the village of Shaitanka (Komi Republic).
From the age of 12 he began to master the art of hunting. Member of the First World War. In 1918, he moved to the Berezovsky district of the Tyumen region and began to work as a hunter-hunter.
At the age of 45, Gabriel Epifanovich volunteered for the front from the first days of the war. At first he was enrolled in the economic unit and only in August 1942 - in the 301st Infantry Regiment. There, having got to the divisional school of snipers, on the 8th day he received a sniper rifle.
On February 25, 1944, he distinguished himself in the battle for the village of Saakada in Estonia. A private soldier destroyed 3 German snipers and up to 10 soldiers with rifle fire. Wounded, he left the battlefield only on the orders of the commander.
On October 7, 1944, in the battle for the village of Suntazhi, he was among the first to cross the Maza-Yugpa River, destroyed 2 snipers and a machine-gun crew with well-aimed shots, which contributed to the success of the company's offensive.
On November 2 and 3, 1944, south-west of Lake Lizlauces-Ezere, he killed 11 soldiers with a rifle. On November 4, when the enemy defenses were broken through, he was the first to attack and drag the company along with him. Bursting into the trench, he entered hand-to-hand combat with 2 German soldiers and destroyed them. Then he blew up 2 machine guns with grenades, which hindered the advance of Soviet soldiers. The first to break into the enemy's trench, Sobyanin was surrounded by 6 enemy soldiers. The sniper emerged victorious from this battle: he shot 5, took one prisoner. In the course of the ensuing counterattack of the enemy, Sobyanin replaced the squad leader who was out of action, led the repulse of the attack and destroyed 7 fascists with sniper fire.
Pursuing the retreating German troops in the territory of Latvia, the 301st Infantry Regiment approached the heavily fortified point of Garakas. On December 21, 1944, the 1st rifle company, where Gavriil Epifanovich served, was ordered to take the fortified hill. The heroic actions of Sobyanin so strengthened the stamina and
faith in the victory of his comrades in arms that the taken height was held by small forces, although the Germans rushed into a counterattack 6 times.
He died on December 23, 1944 in the battle for Garozas in the Libavsky district of the Latvian SSR. On June 29, 1945 Sobyanin Gavriil Epifanovich was posthumously awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
In Moscow, in the Victory Hall of the Museum of the Armed Forces, on the walls in gold are written the names of those who remained forever in the combat formation. Among them are Gabriel Epifanovich Sobyanin.
A tugboat and streets in the cities of Ugra are named after him. In the village of Igrim, Berezovsky district, a monument to the Hero was unveiled. In Khanty-Mansiysk, in Victory Park, on the Walk of Fame, a bronze bust of the Hero is installed.
He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (12/01/1944), medals "For Courage" (10/10/1944) and "For Military Merit" (10/23/1944). By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR No. 255 of December 21, 1958, he was forever enlisted in the lists of the 1st company of the 333rd motorized rifle regiment.