#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Any resident of the city can share the story of their relatives who served in the Red Army or worked in the rear during the Great Patriotic War. We publish short stories about veterans, along with an overview of the published stories. Each month, we feature an in-depth report on one of the heroes from these stories.
Natalia and Yegor Zorin shared memories of their grandfather and great-grandfather.
“For Yegor and me, the memory of our hero is precious because we had the chance to meet a direct participant in those great and tragic events. This is my grandmother and Yegor’s great-grandmother, Zorina Pelageya Ivanovna”, says Natalia Zorina.
“Talking with my great-grandmother is very important to me. I’m curious to learn about life during the war, how people coped with hardships, how they rebuilt their lives afterward, and how my great-grandmother met my great-grandfather”, adds seventh-grader Yegor.
One of the photographs was taken shortly after their wedding in 1946, and their touching love story blossomed almost amidst the ruins.
“In 1946, my grandfather was mobilized. He went through the entire war, which began for him in 1940 and ended near Königsberg. When the train carrying him back home stopped at the Gavrilovka station, where my grandmother Pelageya lived, soldiers would throw notes with their names out of their boxcars, and local girls would gather them. One note fluttered down and landed right at my grandmother’s feet. Her friend Shurka tried to grab it, but my grandmother snatched it up with her crutch and said: “You already have so many; this one is mine”. She unfolded it and read: “Zorin Ivan Dmitrievich”, recalls the granddaughter.
Childhood under occupation
That fateful note came after a tragic event in 14-year-old Pelageya’s life. While she was digging trenches, a German shell exploded nearby, and she lost her leg. A classmate named Mykola carried the injured girl to a hut where Germans were quartered, while Pelageya’s grandmother and mother were hiding in the barn.
“In their house lived a German surgeon who said that Pavla (as the Germans called Pelageya) needed an immediate amputation or she would face blood poisoning. My grandmother was in tears; she didn’t want them to amputate her leg, but the doctor convinced her. He operated on her and promised that after the war, he would return, take Pavla to Germany, where she would get a prosthetic leg and would be able to run just like before. To help Pelageya recover quickly from the severe blood loss, Mykola, who was in love with her, somehow managed to get a jar of honey. And it worked! Pelageya moved around on crutches nimbly, just as well as her healthy friends”, says Natalia.
“My grandmother was very pretty and quite spirited. She often admitted that she didn’t know where she found the courage to stand up to the Germans. She would tell how they made her cook for them and then wash their pots. And she would bargain: “If you give me some bread, I’ll wash the pot”. The Germans laughed and gave her bread, sometimes even a chocolate. One of the Germans often approached her, patted her on the head, and said: “I have a daughter just like you”. When an adult, she admitted that her courage came from desperation. There were many children in the village, and everyone wanted to eat”, recalls Natalia.
That war year was fruitful for corn, and the women of the village made flatbreads from it. One night, they found two partisans hiding in the cornfields, and Pelageya secretly brought them food, including corn flatbreads.
“My grandmother also told how she and her mother managed to hide a cow from the Germans who came to their village in the cellar. It’s important to note that Pelageya’s father was drafted to the front lines from the very first days of the war, and she was the only child in the family, while other village families had many children. The Germans occupying the village took all the livestock and food. Many children were fed with the milk from the rescued cow”, adds Natalia Zorina.
Long-awaited meeting and quick separation
“Pelageya wrote a letter to soldier Ivan Zorin but hid the fact that she had lost a leg. He replied, and in one of his letters, he wrote: “I will come. I like you”. My grandmother was a beauty. And he actually came from his Oryol region to her Ukrainian village of Gavrilovka. At that time, my grandmother had just turned 18, and she was very worried about how the handsome sergeant would react to her disability. But when the tall, stately Ivan entered the house and saw Pelageya… everything fell into place. It was a love that would last a lifetime. My grandfather didn’t live long. He died in 1951 from tuberculosis. His body couldn’t withstand the trials and hunger. The grandmother’s childhood friend Mykola loved her for his whole life. After my grandfather’s death, he made a proposal to her, but she refused and never remarried”, explains the veterans’ granddaughter.
Grandmother’s stories inspired her granddaughter and great-grandson to learn more about their grandfathers and great-grandfather’s military paths.
Heroes’ story
One of the family photographs captures Ivan with his comrade Vitaly. Natalia Zorina says that her grandfather vowed that if he had a son, he would name him Vitaly. And that’s exactly what happened. Natalia’s father’s name is Vitaly. Unfortunately, the granddaughter doesn’t have any other information about her grandfather’s comrade.
Another photograph is particularly valuable to the family. It shows Ivan Zorin with his brother Nikolay, and on the back, it reads: “Greetings with Victory. 1946”.
“Two brothers returned from the War, Ivan and Nikolay, and my grandmother wrote on the back of the photograph in her own hand: “1946. Two brothers. Photographed in the city of Oryol after a family reunion, in a drunken state”. Apparently, they celebrated both the reunion and the Victory. The memory of my grandfather is an honorary letter of gratitude awarded to him by the commander of his unit, major General Pashkov. It states: “Dear comrade. The time of fierce battles for our happiness and the independence of our country has ended. With the name of our beloved Stalin, you went into battle, sparing neither strength nor blood, and he, our brilliant commander, noted your successes in his letters of gratitude more than once”. Our hero received three orders: the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Patriotic War II class, and the Order of Glory III class. I believe that an order signifies a heroic act, as this award was not given for nothing”, says Natalia.
A reserve sergeant, he was called to serve in the ranks of the Red Army by the Oryol city military commissariat on October 26, 1940. From October 1941 to December 1942, he fought as the commander of a gun in the 2532nd corps artillery regiment. From December 1942 to August 1943, he served as the commander of a gun in the 138th corps artillery regiment. From August 1943 to May 1946, he was the commander and loader of a mortar gun in the 471st rifle regiment of the 73rd rifle division of the 48th army of the 3rd Belorussian front.
Yegor, his great-grandson, proudly recounts one of his great-grandfather’s heroic deeds, as if reliving every moment of his hero’s military journey.
From the description of the feat: “On January 20, 1944, despite the heavy fire from two enemy mortar batteries, risking his life, and thanks to the skilled targeting of comrade Zorin, fire from the mortar destroyed four enemy firing points, suppressed the fire of two enemy mortar batteries, and eliminated 30 German soldiers. This allowed our infantry to advance through the enemy trenches and occupy the village of Molcha”.
“My great-grandfather liberated Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Poland. He took Königsberg. He went through the entire war. Throughout all the battles, he only sustained one minor injury”, says Yegor Zorin.
It’s a pity he didn’t live long after the War. He likely caught tuberculosis during the War. If it weren’t for his illness, he would have accomplished so much.
“In his short after-war life, Ivan Zorin worked at a tractor factory and, together with Pelageya, built a house. My grandmother also worked at the factory; despite her missing leg and crutch, she learned the profession of a locksmith”, says Natalia. “My grandfather played the harmonica well and sang, while Pelageya danced. The talents of our heroes have passed down to my three children. They all play musical instruments, and Yegor sings as well.
Pelageya also worked as a guard, protecting an important construction site. By the way, it was not easy to get a job in security. By that time, she already had a prosthetic leg, but she didn’t tell her supervisors, or they wouldn’t have hired her.
She managed well with the prosthetic leg. She could even run. Later, her boss learned that my grandmother had one leg, but since she performed her job excellently, he didn’t laid her off. My grandmother received the title of Labor Veteran and the status of Rear Worker”, Natalia adds.
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Text: Natalia Cherkashina, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
