Wassilij Saitsew


On December 15, 1991, the "Hero of the Soviet Union" Wassiliy Saitsew died in Kiev.



Saitsew was born on March 23, 1915 in the small village of Jeleninskoje (Chelyabinsk Oblast) and grew up as the son of a shepherd in the Urals. There he learned how to use the rifle in his early years while hunting. After the start of the German attack on the Soviet Union, Saitsew was drafted into the Soviet Navy, where he worked in the administration. In the following picture, which was taken in Stalingrad, he is still clearly wearing his naval belt...:



In the late summer of 1942 Saitsev volunteered for service at the front, whereupon he was transferred to the 1047th Rifle Regiment of the 284th Rifle Division. This unit was used as part of the 62nd Army in Stalingrad.

According to official Soviet sources, Saitsev is said to have killed a total of 225 German soldiers as a sniper between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the fighting for Stalingrad. According to Saitsew's own statements, 27 more should have been added by January 1943.

In addition, Saitsew set up a "sniper academy" in the ruins of the "Lazur" chemical plant, where he trained 28 soldiers, who in turn allegedly killed 3,000 German soldiers...:



In early February 1943, Saitsev was seriously wounded by a mine. For his achievements he was awarded the honorary title "Heroes of the Soviet Union" on February 22, 1943.

After his recovery, Saitsev continued to serve on the front lines. He reached the rank of captain by the end of the war and was also awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War (1st class), the "Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad" and the "For Victory Over Germany" medal...:

After the war, Saitsev leaded a factory at Kiev (todays capital of the independent State of Ukraine).



He died in this city on December 15, 1991 at the age of 76.

Saitsew's fight at Stalingrad was recently filmed with the actor Jude Law in the lead role in the film "Duel - Enemy at the Gates"...



... although not entirely historically correct - and there is now a 200 mm bust of Alexandros depicting him should, however, shows the actor Law.





The bust has the - unfortunately difficult to remediate - error that the ear flaps of the "Schapka Ushanka" fur hat are not shown quite correctly (much too long and wrong shape)...





... and you - if it is to be absolutely historically correct - either rebuild or take the version with the “Pilotka” cap.


Cheers

I like the story...yes, the snipers were taken as political propaganda but they were real deal. This guy transcends any propaganda..the sort I might ask if I’d ever have his gutS in his duty

No, they are just normal people.

It has been customary in the Soviet Union (and in today's successor states) to have photos of deceased people affixed to gravestones.

And in the photos they mostly wear their war decorations. The fight against Germany is extremely important for every former Soviet citizen to this day - and one is proud of it.

Special heroes are buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery (such as Khrushchev, who fought in Stalingrad as the political deputy of the commander of the 62nd Army).

And even more important heroes are buried directly on the Kremlin wall, such as Jurij Gagarin, the first person in space ...


Cheers

That’s another story. Gagarin was outspoken in condemning premature unsafe launches that were essentially murder in his eyes. His status kept him going but alcohol, outbursts..his death is now suspicious

Interesting post again Martin. The movie with Law was pretty poor and there were many technical errors. I owned and shot two Mosin-Nagant 91/30 sniper rifles in various competitions against many of the other allied and axis rifles. IMO, based on experience, the 91/30 with the early PE-3 'scope (as 2nd photo above) was the best of the lot. I also owned a Mauser K98k with a Hensoldt-Wetzlar scope, and an Enfield No 4(T) with No 32 scope, both capable but not a patch on the Mosin. That's only my opinion. I've shot (but not owned) most of the rest of the WW1/WW2 sniper rifles plus later ones.

Phil

Wow: you know your stuff!

Thanks my friend. I started competitive shooting in 1970. I now only shoot antique rifles and pistols (black powder, muzzle loaders) which is more fun and less frenetic. Although saying that, running three hobbies side by side (modelling, Shooting and Living History re-enactment) takes some juggling in the season

Phil

I can imagine..is there a period for your re enacting? Not something I quite understand, but for what might be termed experimental archaeology: those who essentially test equipment and dispel myth, develop hypotheses thru enactment..the gentleman who turned his fortune towards horses and medieval combat- Modern History Tv is his channel..being one..but than am in North America and re enacting tends towards some very disconcerting “lost Cause” crazies, and such..looks very odd to see fat guys plodding around pretending to be confederates and proclaiming it was all about states rights and not slavery

The black powder stuff is interesting...and please don’t misunderstand me..my hang up with re-enacting is coloured by those who are involved as quasi political thing..and perhaps because the re-enacting in my family was probably pre wwii grandfather and great uncle who were cavalry officers...many in at least Canadian military of that time were pretend soldiers and had to smarten up really fast when things got real..the Territorials of Peterloo...

Re-enactment season here runs from Easter through October. I cover WW2 "home front" ie. what was going on in the UK during wartime. I don't get involved in battle re-enactment (cowboys n' indians), just dress in authentic clothing and engage with the paying public about life here during the last war. Why? I like dressing up!

Phil

We'll come back to Gagarin's death in a plane crash in this series, on the day in question.

There is only one thing I can say now: his end rusulted by downright criminal negligence of other people involved.


Cheers

Who of those guys are you?

Interesting as always, Martin

As someone who lives in country which is not a successor state of the Soviet Union, but nevertheless many of it's citizens are of Russian and other previously Soviet origin, I can share few anecdotes, well known to every Israeli, and were touched upon in the original post or the comments:
1. Even here, in Israel, you would see every May 9th, the old veterans wearing their medals, and occasionally their full uniforms. Sadly, they become fewer and fewer each year
2. In every Israeli (Jewish or non-affiliated) cemetery you would be able to see the gravestone of former Russians who immigrated to Israel, as described by Martin: Usually a black marble stone with the portrait of the deceased either carved on, or affixed to the stone
3. In the 90's and early 2000's the typical IDF infantry sniper would be a soldier who immigrated from the former Soviet Union as a kid. That was definitely the case in my infantry battalion (of the Golani brigade) back in the mid 2000's. I always assumed it got to do with their typical mentality from home: very disciplined, tough, no-nonsense guys. Definitely not the typical Israeli born kids of those (and today's) times

Cheers,

Benny