Major General V.E. Kuznetsov

The history of the return of Crimea to Russia, "Crimean Spring", still awaits its detailed description. And it did not begin in 2014, but back in the now distant 1992. Even then, in the spring of 1992, Crimea could have returned to Russia, a historical mistake could have been corrected, which turned into a tragedy of a divided people, which almost became the cause of a big war later. And the worthy son of the Fatherland, the Russian General Valery Evgenievich Kuznetsov, whose feat is still practically unknown, made an invaluable contribution to correcting this mistake.

General Kuznetsov, photo from the 90s

V.E. Kuznetsov was born on March 8, 1946 in Veliky Ustyug, Vologda Oblast. In 1969 he graduated with a gold medal from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School. M.V. Frunze, in 1977 - the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze, in 1990 - the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. K.E.Voroshilova.

In the Armed Forces of the USSR since August 1965.
In July - September 1969 - at the disposal of the commander of the Siberian Military District.
In 1969-1971. - commander of a platoon of cadets of the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School. M.V. Frunze.

In 1971-1973. - commander of a motorized rifle company;
In 1973-1974. - commander motorized rifle battalion 620 motorized rifle regiment of the 13th motorized rifle division.
In June - August 1977 - Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the 289th Guards Regiment motorized rifle regiment of the 97th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
In 1977-1979 - Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of Regiment 310 motorized rifle regiment of the 24th motorized rifle division.
In 1979-1981. - commander of the 203rd Guards motorized rifle regiment of the 70th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
In 1981-1982. - Commander of the 149th Guards motorized rifle regiment of the 201st motorized rifle division.
In 1982-1984. - Commander of the 298th Guards motorized rifle regiment of the 37th Guards Tank Division.
In 1984-1985. - Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the 193rd Panzer Division.
In 1985-1988 - Commander of the 37th Guards Tank Division.
In 1990-1992. - the last commander of the 32 Army Crimean Corps of the USSR Armed Forces.
Veteran of the war in Afghanistan.

General Kuznetsov stood at the origins of the process of reunification of the Crimea with Russia. In April 1992, Kuznetsov, called to Kyiv, responded with a categorical refusal to the demand of the Ministry of Defense of the newly independent Ukraine to be ready for a possible war between Ukraine and Russia (!). Otherwise, he was threatened with immediate dismissal from the service (as the Ukrainian leadership then did with other honest military leaders, who also rejected the very idea of ​​a war with Russia). “I won’t fight with Russia, I don’t hand over the corps,” Kuznetsov made such a decision.

Being, in fact, the main security official in the Crimea, General Kuznetsov did not allow an escalation of tension on the territory of the peninsula and the outbreak of an armed conflict here back in May 1992, provoked in this peaceful territory by the authorities of the rapidly becoming anti-Russian state of Ukraine. Thanks to his firmness and selfless loyalty to the officer's Duty, the Republic of Crimea was then able to defend real autonomy for itself as part of an increasingly hostile Ukraine. And Valery Evgenievich Kuznetsov all the time, while the Republic managed to defend its independence at the cost of heroic efforts (later still defeated by the Kyiv authorities in 1995), continued to faithfully and devotedly serve multinational the people of Crimea. Now as a people's deputy of the Supreme Council, later - assistant to the President of Crimea on military issues, and since April 1994 - in the then difficult and dangerous position of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea.

The Armavir Cossacks also had a chance to take part in those memorable events of the Crimean spring of 1992. A group of four Cossacks of the Commandant's Hundred of the Armavir Cossack Society, who at that time was in Simferopol on a friendly visit with their Cossack brothers of the Crimean Cossack Circle (later the Crimean Cossack Union), took part in the defense of the headquarters of the 32nd Army Corps in Simferopol, in providing personal protection of the rebellious commander Kuznetsov and his family. Led the Armavir group Kuban Cossacks Ivan Maksimovich Korobeinik, then still a corporal. Upon his return from Kiev, the commander of the Crimean army corps, General Kuznetsov, at a press conference officially announced his refusal to fight with Russia, his decision not to surrender command of the corps, and turned to the Crimeans with a request for support.

General V.E. Kuznetsov

Many Simferopol residents and residents of other regions of Crimea immediately stood up for him, taking the building of the headquarters of the corps into a human ring and forming a round-the-clock picket, not allowing the arrest of the hero general. The backbone of the national defense headquarters was made up of the Cossacks, and it was I. Korobeinik and his people who were engaged in the most responsible part of the defense organization. Such an “elevation” of the Armavir people was facilitated by the unconditional organizational skills and courage of Ivan Korobeinik, the cohesion of his group, as well as the hope with which the Crimeans looked at the brothers from Russia who came to help them in a difficult hour. "Russia is with us" - such was the general mood of the Crimeans - the defenders of the headquarters of the army corps.

The group of Ivan Korobeinik, in addition to the author of this article, included 2 more young Cossacks - Alexei and Yuri, and the youngest, Alexei, was only 17 years old at that time. However, neither the small number nor the young age of the majority of the members of the group prevented the Armavir people from fulfilling their tasks.

And the danger of an attempt to resolve the issue by force due to the fact that negotiations on the surrender of the recalcitrant general had reached a dead end was real on the part of the Kyiv authorities. Special forces were pulled to the headquarters, in particular, special forces from Stary Krym, whose fighters were correct and apparently friendly to the defenders of the headquarters, but it was clear that everything would depend on what order the Ukrainian military personnel from Kiev would receive. The assault on the headquarters could be carried out at any time. But then Ukraine was not yet ready to start killing its people.

And yet, Major General Kuznetsov completed perhaps the most important work of his life, which he began back in 1992. In March-April 2014, Kuznetsov, as Minister of Defense of the Crimea, carried out his return home to Russia.

General Kuznetsov always warmly remembers the Kuban Cossacks who came to the aid of him and the people of Crimea at that difficult time. He is our comrade in the movement in support of the Serbian hero Ratko Mladic, is an honorary member of the Society of Friends of General Mladic.

Valery Evgenievich is a member of the Writers' Union of Russia and writes wonderful poems. Some of them we offer readers to familiarize themselves with:

Rus

Above you endlessly either snow or rain,
Now winter, then spring, then riots, then leaders,
Whatever century - over you for war war,
It can be seen that such a share is given to us from above.

Round dance of domes of golden-domed churches,
The vast expanse of both forests and fields -
This Ancient Rus' with a burning soul
In silver lakes and blue skies.

And lilac color, and rowan fire,
My village, where the accordion yearns, -
This is ancient Rus' with a troubled fate,
And his shrine - majestic Moscow.

Moscow, June 1997

I am here again…

I am here again, in the land where I was born...
Here is my city, here is my street,
An old house ... How often did I dream about you
And warmed my soul without fire.

Memories of times gone by
Lived again. Opened over the hill
Dragonfly swarm over the sleeping stream
And frog singing over the pond.

Overgrown pond, road under the mountain,
Churches crosses over the northern river.
My ancient city I'm always with you
My fate has merged with yours.

Memory

Fields of war, military whirlwind,
Today there is feather-grass rustling,
Moments of battle, feat, immortality
Through the centuries, our memory will keep.

Young faces frozen in stone
Heavy granite and eternity peace.
And in the film you are still alive,
In that old front-line film.

And I see on the screen, through the gaps,
Distant years of my soul is an idol,
Going to eternity, young, beautiful,
The first to attack was the commander.

Moscow, July 1997

Quiet Don

What a sky, clouds in the sky,
Like white birds, they float across the sky,
A quiet river glitters in the sun,
And it seems that the sky has fallen into the water.

Once upon a time here Civil War,
Like a black bird, blue-eyed above the sky,
Passed by misfortune and took away happiness
In dashing attacks and in fierce battles.

My Quiet Don, hello to you, hello,
After years, I finally returned to you,
You're like a saber blood trail
Stretched among the steppes of Donetsk.

Roads of Afghanistan

Roads of Afghanistan - land mines and mines,
Serpentines in the mountains, ambushes on the way,
And the dust is knee-deep, and the heat is an avalanche
It flows from heaven, and you can't go back.

The column wearily crawls in a serpentine,
Hidden in the mountains of snow-white Salang,
An armored personnel carrier froze over a steep cliff,
A flag flickers on the mast with an antenna.

Dushman bullets plowed the road,
The nalivnik burns, the earth blazes,
Animated armored personnel carrier, machine gun jets
They sweep away the enemy, the clouds move.

Moscow, 1997

In fatal moments

When I am sad in fatal moments,
When I'm alone, away from home,
I suddenly hear thunder,
I see the glare of a formidable fire.

Thunderstorm - peace of mind for my soul,
Balm for my mortal wounds,
I'm doomed to eternal languor
And on the fire raging in the blood.

What I want, I don't know about
Where I'm going, I don't know myself
God is in control of my destiny
I am subdued to heavenly sails.

Darkness thickens, clouds darken in the darkness,
Everywhere you can hear a loud splash of rain,
Mighty ones scattered from under the sky
Thunder rolls, lightning is visible black.

The darkness is thicker and the glare is brighter than lightning,
Terrible storms terrible, wild roar ...
In pitch darkness, the saints see faces,
From heaven I hear an eternal call.

Alexey Yurievich Petrik,
coordinator of the interregional social movement
Society of Friends of General Mladic
Armavir, Krasnodar Territory, Russia.

KUZNETSOV Nikolai Anatolyevich - Hero Soviet Union. Born on June 29, 1962 in the village of Teterka, Morshansky district, Tambov region, in a peasant family. With a four-year-old sister, after the death of their parents, they remained in the upbringing of their grandmother. Kolya has been accustomed to work since childhood. He sawed firewood, cleaned the yard, and when he grew up, he mowed hay, worked in the garden. At the age of fifteen, Nikolai entered the Leningrad Suvorov military school. Studying in an unusual military school fascinated him, he liked everything here. After graduation Suvorov School in 1979 he entered the Leningrad Higher Combined Arms Command School and graduated with a Gold Medal in 1983. After graduating from college, Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov was sent to the airborne division in the city of Pskov as commander of a special forces group. He repeatedly asked to be sent to a limited contingent Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Finally, his request was granted. At home, neither grandmother Daria nor sister Nina have yet been told anything about leaving for Afghanistan. I didn't want to disturb them. In a letter to his sister, he said: “I am now near Tashkent. It is warm, there are many flowers. I received a new platoon. There are still many worries. I miss you, Nina, and my grandmother. knowledge, fighting spirit ... "This was the last news of Nikolai to his sister. That gloomy April day now, apparently, will never leave the heart and memory of Darya Dmitrievna Kuznetsova. A seventy-year-old woman, not accustomed to sitting idle, helped sort out seed potatoes at the state farm. By lunchtime, a military registration and enlistment office UAZ suddenly appeared. The military asked where the Kuznetsovs' house was. Darya Dmitrievna shuddered and dropped the bucket from her hands. Since the war, since those long, cruel four years, when she was tormented by the soul for the fate of her husband Vasily, a simple infantryman who fought from Moscow to Berlin, a woman was afraid of such official meetings. Always anxiously picked up a soldier's triangle - in fear of impending disaster. Then, fortunately, she was lucky. Although wounded, without a leg, the front-line soldier Vasily Kuznetsov returned home. And now a terrible presentiment did not deceive her. She listened in silence, entering the hut: "Your grandson, Darya Dmitrievna, Lieutenant Nikolai Anatolyevich Kuznetsov, died a hero's death on the soil of Afghanistan on April 21, 1985. He fulfilled his military and international duty to the end ..." She went to the table, took a photo of her Koli in a brand new lieutenant's uniform, pressed to her chest. She looked around with a sad look at the photographs of the Red Army soldier Vasily Mikhailovich Kuznetsov, yellowed from time to time, hanging on the wall, the parents of Nikolai who had died early, whom she, the grandmother, had replaced for him with all the spiritual generosity of a simple Russian woman. She sat the guests at the table, asked them to tell everything they knew about her grandson. The platoon commanded by Nikolai Kuznetsov received the task of assisting the Afghan units in reconnaissance of the location and destruction of the gang of dushmans, who settled in the high-mountainous village of Kunar province - one of the main granaries republic bordering Pakistan. Bandits have long violated peaceful life provinces, attacked convoys, burned schools, mosques, killed activists, fired at posts of Soviet troops. Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov walked with his platoon at the forefront of the company. That is why the main power of the fire of dushmans from an ambush fell on this platoon. Enemy machine guns fired unexpectedly and almost point-blank. Large-caliber bullets struck sparks from the rocks, ricocheted off with a piercing screech. They fired harder and harder. Soon Nikolai realized that the platoon was cut off from the company. It is necessary to occupy all-round defense, to restrain the fierce onslaught of dushmans. Moreover, he learned on the radio that the small units of Lieutenant Kisten and Senior Lieutenant Taran found themselves in the same difficult situation. It now largely depends on him, Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov, on his competent, quick, courageous decisions, whether his comrades will get out from under the fire. The brutal dushmans sought to break the resistance of brave warriors at any cost. There were wounded. Next to Kuznetsov, warrant officer Bakmutov dropped his machine gun from his hands - the lieutenant transferred him to a shelter behind a rock. By this time, the main forces of the company managed to get closer to the battlefield. Nikolai Kuznetsov ordered the platoon to withdraw, while he himself, with three soldiers, remained to cover their retreat. And then a dull pain burned his leg, blood came out on his trousers. Wounded ... Nikolai, gritting his teeth, continued to shoot from the machine gun. Soon I realized that the bandits decided to take his group prisoner. Then the lieutenant sent the soldiers to join the platoon, and he continued to strike the enemy, feeling that because of the wound he could no longer break through to his own. Out of ammo. Empty magazines lay at the officer's feet. But there were also grenades. Whole six. “No, bastards, I won’t let you through,” whispered Kuznetsov, bleeding, and with aimed throws forced the dushmans to lie down. In the hand is the sixth grenade. Last. The lieutenant got up and pulled out the pin. Seeing the officer alone, without a machine gun, the bandits rushed to him in a crowd. Almost half-delirious, Nikolai could distinguish their grinning faces, heard guttural cries. When the dushmans surrounded him in a dense ring, he hit a grenade on a stone at his feet. This happened at 7:15 am on April 21, 1985. Dushmans paid dearly for death Soviet officer. At the place of the last battle of N. Kuznetsov, the soldiers came to the rescue and found dozens of corpses of bandits. Daria Dmitrievna does not believe that her grandson Kolya died. She lives in the dream that he is still alive. Every day she goes out on the road, to the place where she always met him when he came on vacation, waiting for him to come anyway. But there is no grandson ... For courage and heroism in the performance of military duty, Lieutenant Nikolai Anatolyevich Kuznetsov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on November 21, 1985 (posthumously). He was buried at home. A team at the school where he studied was named after him, a museum was created in Sokolnicheskaya high school Morshansky district of the Tambov region. He was born in the village of Piterka, Morshansky district, Tambov region. At the age of five, he was left an orphan. Together with his younger sister, he was brought up by his grandmother Daria Dmitrievna Kuznetsova. From childhood he worked hard and conscientiously. And not at all urged on by need (the collective farm and the school provided everything for him and his sister), but because both father and mother, and grandmother, and all fellow villagers have always been hardworking people. And Nikolai grew up like them. He decided to become a military man in the fifth grade. Major E. Klokov, officer-mentor of the Leningrad Suvorov Military School, says: - Kuznetsov at first, like most of the guys from rural schools, experienced difficulty in mastering our educational program. And in military subjects - he always did well. Here I did not know grief with him. Nicholas was stubborn and hardworking. Once, - it was winter, - we returned from training center. All froze. The Suvorovites ran into the sleeping quarters and the first thing to do was to take off their boots and run to the batteries. I saw that Kuznetsov had dropped several newspapers from behind his bootleg. I raise: one "Humanite" and two "Moscow News" in French. This means that he studied the language at the training ground. For some reason, it was more difficult for him than all other disciplines. But when graduating, Nikolai received an A in French. Says the head of the Leningrad Suvorov Military School, Major General V. Shumaev: - Over the long years of service in this position, I have led thousands of pupils to the officer corps. As much as I want to, I can't remember everyone. But Kuznetsov remained in the memory. A young man of average height, thin, fair-haired. And I remember him because very often I had to give him diplomas, prizes for sports success. There was no such competition at the school that Kuznetsov remained below the line of winners. In 1979, Suvorovets Nikolai Anatolyevich Kuznetsov was enlisted as a cadet of the Leningrad Higher Combined Arms command school named after S.M. Kirov. I will not now describe his cadet years, although I could do it - I spoke with commanders, teachers. I'll tell you about the main thing - Kuznetsov graduated from college with a gold medal. And even people far from the army will understand that this is not so easy to achieve. As an excellent student, Kuznetsov had the right to choose the place of his future service at his own discretion. Nikolai came out with a request to send him to a limited contingent of Soviet troops located on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Tells former commander Major S. Kazachenok of the cadet company: - Kuznetsov was highly respected by all the cadets. He was calm and thoughtful. For several years, the Komsomol members elected him as their leader. In the winter of 1982, we unanimously accepted him as a member of the CPSU. The battalion commander, Colonel Epishkin, wrote in a party recommendation that Kuznetsov was a real military man. ... A platoon under the command of Lieutenant N. Kuznetsov as part of a company assisted Afghan soldiers in eliminating the gang. The forces turned out to be unequal, and the bandits managed to separate the Soviet and Afghan units. Soon there was a threat of encirclement of the company. The commander decided to withdraw. Kuznetsov and his subordinates ensured this withdrawal. Dushmans attacked continuously. At the most critical moment of the battle, Kuznetsov gave the order for everyone to withdraw. He himself, seriously wounded in the leg, fired back to the last bullet. For the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty to provide international assistance to the Afghan people, Lieutenant Nikolai Kuznetsov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously)

July 12, 2012 10:48 am, Sobinform

One of the most memorable commanders of the Ozersk military unit 3273 was Major General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov. Under his command, the division served to protect our closed city for 13 years - from 1984 to 1997, and was repeatedly awarded high awards for success in combat and political training, including the Order of the Red Star. For your attention - a short story about his life, which is similar only to a heroic story.

Nikolai Alexandrovich was born in a harsh war time, December 3, 1941, in the village of Kalistovo, Kalinin Region, which, like many others, was occupied by the Germans.

Outside the window 1941, December. In the house - enemy soldiers and officers. The time is not the best for the birth of little Kolya, especially since his mother, Tatyana Vasilievna, has already raised two children. One night, the newborn cried heavily, one of the Germans approached him to stab him with a bayonet from a gun - he did not like the noise in the house. The poor mother had to tearfully beg the German not to kill the innocent baby. In exchange for life, I had to immediately pack my things and go to live in a cold bath with three children. No food, no firewood, no protection.

IN primary school with a small, but even then heroic behavior Kolya happened next story. At recess, all the children left the classroom to rest and sat on the old school bench. But there were so many disciples, and the bench was so dilapidated that it broke through. Yes, unsuccessfully - Kolya strongly pressed his leg. It's getting dark outside, it's winter, all the students have long gone home, but Kolya is still gone. Parents panicked, and they went to Kolya's friends, who had been warming themselves at home for a long time. It turned out that the small, careless Kolya did not turn to his friends for help, he decided to get home himself. When they found him, he was crying and actually crawling, his leg was broken, but he did not call for help.

After school - agricultural college. There he met his love, Margarita Ivanovna, one and for life. He took care of her every minute and even at a distance, because Nikolai Alexandrovich traveled around dozens of cities. They always supported each other in everything and lived in perfect harmony until February 13, 2005, the day of the death of Nikolai Alexandrovich.

A young cadet of the Saratov Military School Nikolai Kuznetsov.

Love of all life - Margarita.

At the technical school, he began to lead a squad that helped the work of the police. And then I realized that I wanted to be useful for the country, so after the technical school I went to work not as an agronomist, but in the police. After a year of service, he was sent to the Saratov Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze in Moscow.

With the rank of senior lieutenant.

The son of Nikolai Kuznetsov - Oleg - followed in the footsteps of his father and achieved great success in the service of the Fatherland.

Seeing the Saratov military school.

In total, his service to the country is no less than 36 years (from 1961 to 1997), and in fact he served all his life, because he tried to keep abreast of events, even after resigning. For conscientious performance of military duty and special services to the Fatherland, Alexander Nikolayevich was awarded the title of "Honorary Officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." In addition, he was awarded the orders "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 2nd and 3rd degree.

With grandson Alexei in her arms.

Honest, decent, sympathetic and very kind. He achieved everything with his own work, because a simple village guy did not have any connections, he achieved everything himself. Demanding discipline and order, he treated the soldiers not haughtily, but like a human being, respecting everyone as a person. Can see in people and good qualities and bad ones. Setting priorities, he did not make friends just like that and with just anyone. He said that he received shoulder straps not in order to be afraid.

Evgenia Kuznetsova, photo from the family archive

Born on December 13 (26), 1916 in Petrograd (now the city of St. Petersburg) in a working class family. After graduating from 7 classes and a factory apprenticeship school, he worked as a turner at the Leningrad plant named after M.I. Kalinin. Since 1935 in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1937 he graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians.

Member of the Soviet - Finnish War of 1939 - 1940. Awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In 1941 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School.

Since June 1941, Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov has been in the army. Until September 1941, he served in the 191st IAP, flew the I-16 and the Hurricane. Then, until May 1945, in the 436th IAP (67th Guards IAP), he flew the Kittyhawk and Aerocobra.

By February 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment (239th Fighter Aviation Division, 6th Air Army, North - Western Front) Senior Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov made 213 sorties, personally shot down 17 enemy planes and 12 as part of a group in air battles.

On May 1, 1943, for courage and military prowess shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In total, he made 252 sorties, in 150 air battles he shot down 25 enemy aircraft personally and 12 in a group with comrades.

After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the MV Frunze Military Academy. Participant armed conflict on the territory of Korea 1950-1953.

In 1956 he graduated military academy General Staff. In 1963 - 1972 he headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. Since 1978, Major General of Aviation N.F. Kuznetsov has been retired. In December 1999 he was awarded the second medal " Golden Star"Geroya. Author of the books: "Front Above the Earth" and "Years of Trials." He died on March 5, 2000.

Awarded with orders: Lenin (twice), Red Banner (four times), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree, Red Star (three times); medals.

* * *

The fate of this combat pilot personifies the continuity of generations in Soviet aviation. Starting his service as a cadet of the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians in 1935, he went through 3 wars, commanded large aviation formations, and headed the Cosmonaut Training Center.

Nikolai Kuznetsov was born in December 1916 in Petrograd, into a working-class family. After graduating from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians in 1937, he participated in the Soviet-Finnish War in the winter of 1939-1940 as part of the 68th Fighter Aviation Regiment, ensured the trouble-free operation of all aircraft of the link in prolonged 40-degree frosts and was awarded the Order of the Red Star. Then, at his own request, he was sent to the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School, which he successfully graduated in 1941.

From June 1941 - on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Member of the defense of Leningrad. At first he fought in the 191st Air Regiment, flying I-16 and Hurricane. Lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov won his first victory in July 1941 in the Petrokrepost area, when 2 Me-110 multi-purpose aircraft were destroyed by a volley of rockets fired in unison by an I-16 flight ... After retraining on the Hurricane, Kuznetsov was part of the same regiment fought on the Kalinin front.

In the autumn of 1941, the remarkable Soviet artist Yar-Kravchenko worked in the regiment. From early morning until late at night, he was at the aircraft stands, on the runway, looked at the command post, in the dugouts, the pilots' hostel and painted, painted tirelessly.

Yar-Kravchenko refused all privileges. He lived in a dugout at the airport, ate the same as the pilots - often just breadcrumbs. He shared with them the bitterness of failure and the joy of victory. Maybe that's why his work was so expressive and realistic.

When the artist completed a series of aviation drawings and portraits in combat regiments, the journalist M. Zhestev wrote a warm correspondence about him in one of the Leningrad newspapers:

"The names of our fighter pilots are covered with glory, they are loved by the people, and this love led the artist Yar-Kravchenko to folk heroes. With the masterful hand of a portrait painter, he created this wonderful front-line album.

When you look at this album, every stroke takes on an extraordinary meaning. There are no battles in the air. The heroism of the pilots is given through the portrait. You feel it in the look of the eyes, the turn of the head, in every line of the face ... "

We are flipping through the album. Here is the Hero of the Soviet Union, Junior Lieutenant Kharitonov. He is in the cockpit. The artist sketched his strong-willed face before flying into battle. Here are Kuznetsov, Grachev, Plavsky standing at the airfield. These 3 winged heroes shot down 48 German aircraft in air battles. Here is the master of attack captain Gorokhov, here are the pilots - nightlights Appolonin, Matsievich, Grigoriev - people of keen eyes, fearlessly following the enemy on the trail of anti-aircraft explosions. And here is the pilot Murga. Under the portrait are laconic lines: "In air battles, he destroyed 11 fascist aircraft ..."

The album was published by the editors of the newspaper "Attack" in November 1941. You leaf through it from beginning to end, from the first to the last portrait, and you do not want to part with people close and dear to you. Their vivacity, courage and courage make your heart beat hard. You are deeply disturbed by the image of the hero of the pilot, the glorious defender of the city of Lenin. It has many faces, this image, it is in the heart of every Soviet patriot.

I-16 type 17 N. F. Kuznetsova. 191st IAP, 1941.

Soon, having rearmed again, now with the American P-40 Kittyhawk, Kuznetsov was transferred to the 436th IAP (later becoming the 67th Guards IAP), where he fought until the end of the war.

Nikolai's combat score grew quite quickly: on December 26, 1942, on the day of his 26th birthday, he already won the 26th victory - an interesting coincidence of dates! And soon, on January 6, 1943, he fought his most difficult battle for the entire period of the war.

On that day, a group of fighters of the 436th air regiment, flying out to escort attack aircraft, was suddenly attacked by enemy aircraft. The Kuznetsov couple rushed to the nearest Messer. Going with their wingman Goldobin to the Germans from the direction of the sun, they started a fight.

The fight was fierce - the whole sky was covered with smoke. Below, too, there was a fight. In one of the attacks, a Messer hit Kuznetsov's car, damaging the oil pipeline with a burst. Splashed oil flooded the entire lantern, for several minutes nothing was visible at all, only a small unstained space remained behind. Then the oil panned a little to the side, a gap formed in the glass of the lantern, and Kuznetsov involuntarily began to look in the air for a follower: where is he?

But Goldobin was gone. A minute later he saw that his wingman was on fire, somersaulting with a long tail of smoke to the ground (Goldobin managed to jump out of the burning plane with a parachute, got to the partisans, remained alive and subsequently successfully continued to fight).

Friends congratulate N. F. Kuznetsov on another victory.

In general, Nikolai was alone against 5 Messers. They attacked him competently: at first Kuznetsov was attacked by a couple, then by a troika, then again by a couple and again by a troika, and so on, the Germans succeeded each other, which, in fact, Kuznetsov needed: he fettered the German fighters, did not allow them to reach our attack aircraft - he diverted 5 planes at once.

At some point, Kuznetsov noticed that one German aircraft had disappeared - one pair of Messers was in front, the second pair was behind, and there was no fifth aircraft, it disappeared, although it should not have disappeared. He had to be found by all means. But Senior Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov did not find the 5th German, did not have time to find him, as if he disappeared without a trace in the bottomless blue sky, in the huge whitish sun.

At this time, the command of General F.P. Polynin sounded from the ground:

The stormtroopers have done their work, the stormtroopers go home, the hawks can also return. Hawks, hawks - home! Hawks, you can come back!

"Well, that's it, it's time for me to go to the airfield," - this was the last thought that flashed through Kuznetsov before a sharp blow, literally throwing the plane to the side. This disappeared "Messer" suddenly fell out of the luxurious winter sun, striking in its size, and attacked Kuznetsov. Metal slapped against his shoulder. Like a sledgehammer hit. Kuznetsov's left hand immediately ceased to function, it was interrupted, the lantern, spattered with oil, this time spattered with blood ... The engine stopped pulling.

But there was no pain, no red turbidity before the eyes. Kuznetsov turned around and on a burning plane dragged himself to the front line, to his own. The Kittyhawk's motor didn't work. There were 15 kilometers to the front line, no less. The altitude reserve allowed us to pull even more - the instruments showed 3500 meters. While the flames are unlikely to be brought down by mere gliding, this requires good speed. The front line was clearly visible - it passed along the railway line far ahead, the thread dissolved in a faint frosty haze, leaving in an arc to the left and along the same arc to the right.

Kuznetsov was drawn to this railway, as to his only life goal, which was very important to achieve. For the Messers, his plane now represented easy money, they began to shoot the Kittyhawk, as if at the training ground, it is indicative that the Germans seemed to be training in air exercises: at first, a deuce entered the plane, hit Kuznetsov from all trunks, having shot back, turned away , and a troika took its place. And also whipped from all trunks.

And still, the Germans could not finish off the plane: Kuznetsov was on fire, losing altitude, but leaving the Germans first in one direction, then in the other, gliding through the air, and stubbornly pulled towards his own. When there was nothing left to the front line, the Messer trio turned aside and left, and the deuce decided to attack the Russian from above, hit the cockpit in order to surely finish him off.

Then Kuznetsov lifted the nose of the plane up and responded to the attack with all 6 machine guns with which the Kittyhawk was armed, and he hit and landed exactly on the German - then, working with the rudders, dived sharply down.

Kuznetsov worked masterfully - with his screw he chopped off, or rather, broke off the tail of the enemy. The German fell to the ground like a stone, whipping up a tall plume of snow, and at the same moment exploded. Solar space turned pink from a strong flame.

And Kuznetsov continued to pull on the wrecked car to his own, he felt that the fire would soon make its way into the cabin. Because of this, he did not open the lantern, he was afraid that the flame would penetrate into the cockpit - it would penetrate even through a very small gap, and then that's it - the pilot would turn into a torch.

Kuznetsov literally crawled through the air, across the railway line, descended behind uneven, battered by shells fishing line, looked at the altimeter, noticing how much was left to the ground, and was surprised: he was already at an altitude of 100 meters below the level of the airfield. It was impossible to extend the landing gear - the Kittyhawk would have turned upside down in an instant, so Kuznetsov continued to plan. And the land is already very close, close to the snowdrifts. Kuznetsov opened the canopy and the next moment a sharp blow threw him out of the cab.

He flew several meters through the air and burrowed into the snow. From the blow, Kuznetsov lost consciousness for a few moments, although he did not record this moment - he woke up pretty quickly. It was dark. But just, just a few minutes ago, he saw bright light, the sun, the haze rising from the snow, the snow pink from the flame of a burning German, and suddenly - darkness, night. A doomed thought flashed through my head: "Did your eyes really gouge out? Or were they burned out?"

Fighter P-40K "Kittyhawk" senior lieutenant N. F. Kuznetsov. 436th IAP, winter 1943.

He moved his legs, both legs worked, he moved his right hand - the right hand works, but the left hand, pressed to the body, does not, it is like a rag, someone else's. Either she was killed, or something else happened to her - I don’t understand. There was no pain. A piece of snow fell on his face, singed with cold. Kuznetsov began digging the snow above him with his good hand and soon got to the surface, into the light. He breathed a sigh of relief - his eyes saw.

Somehow I got to the plane - there was a walkie-talkie, from the cockpit you could contact your own, although communication with the ground from the ground is not like with the ground from the air. The radio was broken, there was no hope that anyone would try to help him. The plane continued to burn, the flame was not extinguished even by a highly whipped column of snow. The nose of the Kittyhawk dug into a high snowdrift. Kuznetsov took out shortened Finnish skis from the fuselage - not skis, but skis, almost childish in appearance, very light. Kuznetsov always took them with him on flights: what if they come in handy. And here they come in handy.

I heard something squelching in the fur boots. I thought that I had landed in a swamp, scooped up a black, fetid liquid, it turned out - no. Blood sloshed in the fur boots, flowed there from under the tunic. He turned away the side of the raglan, and there - it's scary to look - a mess, half of the chest - a continuous wound, open. The blood has already thickened, turned into black jelly. Kuznetsov flew on missions without unscrewing the orders - he had old orders, on screws - Lenin, the Red Star - and when a line slashed at him, he turned the orders into crumbs, drove the metal into the body.

Friends congratulate Nikolai Kuznetsov on another victory.

Kuznetsov calmly, as if he had not been wounded, estimated the size of the wound - about 20 centimeters by 12. He did not yet know that his ribs were broken. But the main thing is that the pain has not yet been felt, there was numbness, there was nausea, rolling up to the throat, there was something else, but not pain. It should be noted that the 30-degree frost was also not felt. Kuznetsov removed the bloody mess from the wound, tore off a piece of sweater, wiped the wound, put the pieces of iron left from the orders on the surface of the wound into his pocket. Then he tore off a large tuft from his undershirt and plugged the wound with it.

He got on his skis and moved towards the so-called rock road, which fed the front - he knew the area well, the map, remembered where everything was - he saw all this more than once from the air, memorized it - cars constantly walked along the road, they drove shells, cartridges, food, the wounded, Kuznetsov from the cars will definitely be seen and picked up.

I walked about 7 kilometers, and walking in the snow, on virgin soil, on short, constantly failing ski tracks, is difficult even for a healthy, lead-free person, not to mention a wounded person who has lost a lot of blood. When Kuznetsov became completely unbearable, he began to throw off the extra things that prevented him from walking. I dropped the tablet, then the scarf, then something else. The only thing that I did not throw away was the TT pistol - a weapon can always come in handy. He did not think about the fact that he had to answer for weapons.

The day quickly faded, the sun set below the horizon, and soon it became dark. Exhausted, Nikolai sat down on the snow to rest a bit and lost consciousness. He woke up from the fact that a large winter moon hung over his head, Christmas bright, magical, she blinded like the sun, made her eyes water. Digging into his pocket, Kuznetsov took out a watch taken from his hand and peered at it. There was already a lot of time, half past ten at night.

“Lord, have I lost consciousness again?” he thought doomedly. “Don’t let me die, don’t let me…” A few minutes later, somewhere far away, perhaps even beyond the borders of the earth, voices were heard, they seemed to have melted away from some unkind dream, from stupefaction, not from reality, and Kuznetsov again wearily thought: "A hallucination. That's it, I'm freezing ... This is the end!"

But it was not a hallucination, it was reality. People went to Kuznetsov - the commander of the Air Army F.P. Polynin, in front of whom the senior lieutenant rammed - the general saw everything from his command post - sent a group in search of the pilot: maybe he survived?

The group found the plane, realized that the pilot was alive, and followed Kuznetsov in the footsteps. She found him, lying in the snow, already freezing. The paramedic Leleko was in the group. He gave him an injection, brought him to his senses, the soldiers put the pilot on skis, grabbed him from both sides under his arms and so, on skis, dragged him through the snow. In such an unusual way - standing on skis - we managed to overcome as much as 10 kilometers. Kuznetsov could not see anything for the last kilometers: his eyes were swollen, shrunken into tiny slits. And yes, it started to turn off.

He woke up warm, in a dugout. Some time later, at the same night, a car came for him - a lorry with an open body, the body was covered with spruce branches - spruce branches, and in the morning Kuznetsov was taken to the hospital. On the way we met a car coming from an aviation regiment; in the cockpit next to the driver were a doctor and a regimental navigator, the regimental commander sent them to support Kuznetsov, what if help is needed?

Kuznetsov, lying in the back, kept trying to break through the heavy stupor and inform people that he was still alive, there was no need to keep him in a coffin - the pilots in their unit were buried in coffins lined with spruce paws, this became a tradition in the aviation regiment, and Kuznetsov it seemed that he was being taken to the cemetery. But they took him to the hospital. And it's good that the regiment's doctor was with him.

In the hospital, a surgeon examined Kuznetsov and made an inexorable conclusion:

You can't operate!

Why? - the doctor of the aviation regiment jumped up, turning badly white. - How so, it is impossible?

Unfortunately, it's too late.

No, it's not too late. He was wounded only yesterday, there are no gangrene processes yet.

The surgeon yielded: Kuznetsov was taken to operating table. The operation took a long time. Without anesthesia. The surgeon straightened his ribs with wire cutters, bit off the bones, removed the enamel from the orders from the muscles. Kuznetsov heard through the pain how the fragments fell with a clang into an enameled basin. A plate from the Order of the Red Star, which depicts a soldier with a rifle - those who are familiar with this order know a silver plate attached to ruby ​​​​enamel - he put it in the pocket of his dressing gown, said to Kuznetsov, wincing in pain:

This is me, old man, I'll take it for myself. As a memento of the operation, if you don't mind.

When the operation was over, the doctor gave Kuznetsov half a glass of alcohol:

Drink up! Will take the pain away.

Indeed, after alcohol, the pain became deaf, distant ...

* * *

While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, the command prepared and sent to the authorities the idea of ​​conferring on him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By February 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Senior Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov, made 213 sorties, personally shot down 17 enemy aircraft and 12 more as part of a group.

For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, courage, courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 1, 1943, Captain Kuznetsov Nikolai Fedorovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal "(No. 966).

After treatment, Nikolai returned to the regiment and, having retrained for a new aircraft - the American Airacobra, continued to fight. He fought on the Kursk Bulge, participated in the liberation of Belarus, Poland. Finished the war in Berlin, Guards Major, Deputy Commander of the 67th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment for Air Rifle Service.

In total, he completed 252 successful sorties, in 150 air battles he shot down 37 enemy aircraft - 25 personally and 12 in a group with comrades.

Then, in the victorious May 1945 of the year, or rather, on the 13th, he was introduced to the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, which the division commander announced before the ranks. On August 17, 1945, this submission was signed by S. I. Rudenko - the commander of the 16th Air Army, the future Air Marshal, followed by a member of the Military Council of the Front, Lieutenant General K. Telegin and Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov. It must be assumed that this idea was discussed more than once: this title is too high - twice a Hero. But he received this award only 54 years later ...

In the front row in the center, the commander of the 67th Guards IAP, Lieutenant Colonel A. B. Panov,
to his right - Hero of the Soviet Union N. F. Kuznetsov. Autumn 1943.

The documents went to Moscow and... got stuck. Even though they were signed tall people, that's how. Zhukov himself! Kuznetsov did not become interested in how the papers were moving forward - it was inconvenient. It's none of his business. And Marshal Zhukov, by this time, became inconvenient to Stalin, those who sat in the Kremlin and intrigued in government corridors. This was instantly truncated by various court shamblers, they began to stop all cases signed by the legendary Marshal. Including the papers for awarding Kuznetsov the title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union were also stopped. Kuznetsov's award case was written off and sent to the archive in the city of Podolsk. As if there were no 37 German planes shot down by him (M. Yu. Bykov in his research indicates 21 personal and 12 group victories) and many other destroyed equipment: cars, armored cars, locomotives...

Meanwhile, life went on as usual. After the war, Nikolai Fedorovich continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the MV Frunze Military Academy. Then he had to fight a little more - from the beginning of 1952, the Guards Colonel Kuznetsov commanded the 16th IAP, fighting in the skies of North Korea. There, the regiment under his command shot down 26 enemy aircraft, losing 4 pilots. Kuznetsov himself made 27 sorties on the MiG-15bis fighter.

Returning to the Soviet Union, Nikolai Kuznetsov commanded an aviation division. In 1956 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, became a general, an honored military pilot of the country, a doctor of military sciences. From 1963 to 1972 he headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. With his active participation, dozens of the most important expeditions of manned cosmonautics were carried out. By the way, he built Star City - from the very first brick. Yuri Gagarin was his deputy...

In 1978, Major General of Aviation N. F. Kuznetsov retired and settled in the Moscow region (in the Star City of the Shchelkovsky district of the Moscow region).

In 1986, his award documents were found in the Podolsky archive - the very ones signed by Zhukov. The general designer who replaced S. Korolev, academician V. Glushko, sent a letter on deputy letterhead to the then Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A. Gromyko with a request to return to the consideration of the old award case. After some time, Gromyko called Glushko and said: "You can congratulate Kuznetsov. The submission was supported. Although the Decree has not yet been signed."

The academician was not slow to congratulate General N. F. Kuznetsov, but it turned out that he did it early: he did not receive the second "Gold Star" at that time.

The case again, as in the post-war years, got stuck. There were appeals of cosmonauts to the President, appeals of scientists, war veterans - all in vain. But nevertheless, they say correctly: water does not flow under a lying stone. I should have been knocking on that door all the time. Not for the general himself, of course, to knock, but for his friends.

In the late 1990s, the Semya newspaper published an article about 5 failed female cosmonauts. Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov was one of the consultants for this article - after all, all the cosmonauts, successful and failed, passed through his hands. After this article, as well as after an essay on the death of Yuri Gagarin, petitions were renewed to award Nikolai Fedorovich the title of twice Hero. And again rejections. from various officials. Both the Semya newspaper and the Moscow Press Club of the Central House of Arts joined these petitions. As a result, as they say in such cases, "took place": at the end of 1999, the news came that Major General of Aviation N.F. Kuznetsov had finally been awarded this long-awaited title.

Oh, how Nikolai Fyodorovich rejoiced at this! In December 1999, he was awarded the second "Gold Star" of the Hero, and he happily attached it to his jacket lapel. But, unfortunately, he did not last long with the award - in January 2000 he became ill, and he was admitted to the hospital. And wounds, and illnesses, and age took their toll ... March 5, no matter how bitter it is to report, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov died. But justice nevertheless triumphed: in our memory, General N.F. Kuznetsov will forever remain twice a Hero ...

The famous Soviet ace is buried at the Preobrazhensky cemetery in Moscow (section 4).

* * *

List of all known victories of the Guard Major N. F. Kuznetsov:
(From the book by M. Yu. Bykov - "Victory of Stalin's falcons". Publishing house "YAUZA - EKSMO", 2008.)

№ n / n	Date	Downed aircraft	Place of air combat (winning)	Their aircraft
1	08/27/1941	1 Ju-87	Tosno	I-16, "Hurricane", "Kittyhawk", "Aircobra".
2		1 Me-109 (paired - 1/2)	Art. Hats
3	08/29/1941	1 Ju-87	Mga - Pogorelushka
4	09/06/1941	1 Ju-88 (paired - 1/2)	"set fire"
5	09/11/1941	2 Ju-87	Nikolaevskoe
6	09/12/1941	1 Hs-126	air. Siverskaya
7	09/16/1941	1 Me-109	sowing - app. Krasny Bor
8	09/21/1941	1 Ju-87	Gorelovo
9	09/22/1941	1 FW-200 (paired - 1/2)	Kronstadt
10	09/24/1941	1 Ju-88 (in the group - 1/3)	south env. Shlisselburg
11	09/27/1941	1 Me-109	Shlisselburg
12	06/27/1942	1 Me-110	Volokonovka
13		1 Me-109	Lentsovo
14	06/28/1942	1 Me-109	Bogdanovka
15	07/01/1942	1 Me-109	Volokonovka
16	December 6, 1942	1 FW-189	Paula
17	December 30, 1942	1 Me-109	south Sosnino
18	01/06/1943	1 Me-109 (in the group - 1/6)	Olkhovets
19		1 Me-109 (shot down by a ram) *	Kuzminskoye
20		1 Me-109 (in the group - 1/6)	Olkhovets
21	09/12/1944	1 FW-190	Belolenka - Terchomin
22	10/15/1944	1 Me-109	south Dzebanice
23	03/27/1945	1 FW-190	app. Hoen
24	04/19/1945	1 FW-190	Danenberg
Total downed aircraft - 21 + 12 [ 19 + 6 ]; sorties - 252; air battles - 99.

[ * The information is taken from the open press, it is not confirmed by archival documents. ]

KUZNETSOV NIKOLAY FYODOROVYCH

HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION

major general

Born December 26, 1916 in Petrograd in a working-class family. After graduating from the 7th grade and the FZU school, he worked as a turner at the Leningrad plant named after M.I. Kalinin.

In 1935 he was drafted into the Red Army on a special recruitment basis and in 1937 he graduated from the Leningrad School of Aviation Technicians. From November 1939 to March 1940, as part of the 68th Fighter Aviation Regiment, he took part in the Soviet-Finnish War, after which he entered the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School.

From the very first days of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Lieutenant N.F. Kuznetsov took part in the battles on the Leningrad Front as part of the 191st air regiment. Already in July 1941, in the Petrokrepost area, he won his first air victory: two Messerschmitt-110s were destroyed by a salvo of I-16 rockets.

I had to fly not only on Soviet aircraft. After some time, the regiment was re-equipped with British Hurricanes and continued to fight on the Kalinin Front.

Soon, having again undergone retraining for the American Kittyhawk fighters, Senior Lieutenant Kuznetsov was transferred to the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which in November 1942 became part of the 239th Fighter Aviation Division. The number of victories in the combat account of N.F. Kuznetsov grew quite quickly: on December 26, 1942, on the day of his 26th birthday, he destroyed the 26th enemy aircraft! And just 10 days later, Kuznetsov faced the most difficult and dangerous battle for the entire period of hostilities at the front ...

On January 6, 1943, Kuznetsov's P-40 Kittyhawk was shot down in a dogfight. On a burning fighter Soviet pilot, fighting off the demonstration attacks of five German vultures, went to the front line. However, the Germans were not able to finish off the plane: Kuznetsov was on fire, losing altitude, but leaving the Germans first in one direction, then in the other, gliding through the air, and stubbornly pulled towards his own. When there was nothing left to the front line, the three "Messers" turned aside and left, and the remaining couple decided to attack the Russian from above, hit the cockpit in order to surely finish him off. Then Kuznetsov lifted the nose of the plane up and responded to the attack with all six machine guns with which his Kittyhawk was armed. And he hit! And hit exactly the German! Then, working with the rudders, he dived sharply down. Kuznetsov worked masterfully - with his screw he chopped off, or rather, broke off the tail of the fascist. The German fell to the ground like a stone and exploded at the same moment.

And Kuznetsov continued to pull on the wrecked car to his own, felt that the fire was about to make its way into the cabin - because of this, he did not open the lantern, he was afraid that if he just opened it a little, the flame would penetrate into the cabin, it would even make its way through a very small gap, and then everything - the pilot will turn into a torch. Kuznetsov could not reach the airfield. His plane crashed right behind the front line...

And then the wounded pilot managed to walk about seven kilometers across virgin snow, lost consciousness from fatigue and loss of blood, but at the last moment was found by a group sent to search for him. Next - the hospital, the hardest operation and return to duty.

While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, the command prepared and sent to the authorities a proposal to award him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: by February 1943, the deputy squadron commander of the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 239th Fighter Aviation Division of the 6th Air Army of the North-Western Front Captain Kuznetsov Nikolai Fedorovich made 213 sorties, personally shot down 17 enemy aircraft and 12 more as part of a group. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 1, 1943, for these distinctions, Captain Kuznetsov N.F. was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 966).

While Kuznetsov was in the hospital, another important event occurred for him and the personnel of the regiment - by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 128 of March 18, 1943, the 436th Fighter Aviation Regiment was transformed into the 67th Guards.

After returning to the regiment and another retraining for a new American Airacobra, the pilot continued to fight with the enemy. He fought on the Kursk Bulge, participated in the liberation of Belarus and Poland. He ended the war in Berlin, as deputy commander of the 67th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment for air rifle service (in November 1943, the regiment became part of the 273rd Fighter Aviation Division). Several military orders on his chest testified to his skill and courage. The Order of Alexander Nevsky became one of these military distinctions. In the presentation to the order, the command indicated the following merits:

“On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. He made 233 sorties, participated in 94 air battles, in which he personally shot down 21 and in a group of 12 enemy aircraft.

From August 6, 1944 to January 19, 1945, he made 33 sorties, participated in one air battle, in which he shot down an enemy aircraft Me-109: October 15, 1944, performing a combat mission in the Bultusk area, Serotsk conducted an air battle at an altitude of 3000 meters , as a result of which one enemy aircraft was shot down.

During the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, he made 6 sorties for "free hunting", attacking enemy troops and equipment. On January 17, 1945, the regiment's flight personnel destroyed up to 60 vehicles, 5 fuel tanks and shot down one enemy plane.

For the exemplary performance of the command’s combat missions, the valor and courage shown at the same time, the infliction of significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment during the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, by order of the commander of the 16th Air Army No. of the 1st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 273rd Fighter Aviation Division of the Guard, Major Kuznetsov N.F. was awarded Order of Alexander Nevsky No. 23572.

In total, by the time the war ended, Nikolai Fedorovich Kuznetsov made 252 sorties, personally shot down 25 and 12 more enemy aircraft in the group. Took part in the Victory Parade.

After the war, Nikolai Fedorovich continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1949 he graduated from the MV Frunze Military Academy. Then he had to fight a little more - from the beginning of 1952, Colonel Kuznetsov commanded the 16th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which fought in the sky North Korea. There, his regiment shot down 26 enemy aircraft, losing four of their pilots. Kuznetsov himself made 27 sorties on the MiG-15 fighter.

Returning to the Soviet Union, Nikolai Kuznetsov commanded an aviation division, in 1956 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff, became a general. In 1957 he was appointed head of the Chernihiv Military Aviation School for Pilots. The school, under the command of Major General Kuznetsov, over the next six years gave the country thousands of highly qualified fighter pilots.

From 1963 to 1972, N.F. Kuznetsov headed the Cosmonaut Training Center. With his active participation, dozens of the most important expeditions of manned cosmonautics were carried out. Yuri Gagarin was his deputy...

In 1978, the honored military pilot, Doctor of Military Sciences, Major General of Aviation N.F. Kuznetsov retired and settled in the Moscow region. He wrote several books: memoirs of the Great Patriotic War "Front Above the Earth", books about S.P. Korolev and Yu.A. Gagarin.

March 5, 2000 Nikolai Fedorovich died in star city and was buried in the cemetery of the village of Leonikha near Moscow.

Major General Kuznetsov N.F. - Cavalier of two Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Alexander Nevsky and World War I degree, three Orders of the Red Star. He was also awarded many medals, including the Medal for Military Merit and the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sources:

1. Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, inventory 686196, file 4113, sheet 216.

2. "Chevaliers of the Order of Alexander Nevsky of Moscow and the Moscow Region." Volume 1. M .: Alteks, 2000. - pp. 298-299;

3. Materials of the site "Aviators of the Second World War".

4. Biography of the Hero on the sites "Red Falcons" and "Heroes of the Country".

5. "Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary". Volume 1. M .: Military Publishing House, 1988.

6. Library of the magazine "Order book". Heroes of the Soviet Union. Directory: Dates. Rooms. Decrees. Comp.: N.Efimov. I.Pak.