On 18 April, VSU students had a meeting with a participant of the Great Patriotic War Nikolay Borisov, Distinguished Citizen of Voronezh and the Voronezh Region, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Veterans of the Central District of Voronezh. The meeting was organised within the framework of the federal project “We know our heroes” with the support from the youth department of VSU.
Nikolay Borisov is a retired colonel and a tank operator. He was awarded with the Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd class, Order for Serving the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class, and other awards. He took part in 15 Victory Parades on the Red Square in Moscow, including the first one in 1945, where he operated a tank. Nikolay Borisov told students about this as well as about the brightest moments of his military service.
Last year Nikolay Borisov celebrated his 98th birthday. Here is what he says about himself.
“I’m kind of lucky. This is what somebody once called me. I think it’s true. If my tank had been blown up, we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
Twice his fellow soldiers saved him from a burning tank. Three more times he saved himself.
“I’m still lucky. Everything’s fine. I have grandchildren. Even great-grandchildren. As you can see, I can walk and have a good memory. I still remember a lot of things.”
Thus, Nikolay Borisov remembered his fellow soldier Nikolay Khloponin, who was awarded with the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1945.
“I was the commander of his squadron and it was me who recommended him as deserving the title.”
Nikolay Borisov could be Hero of the Soviet Union himself. He was not awarded the title simply because the morale officer had to choose between two people – Lieutenant Borisov and Lieutenant Semenov – and he chose the latter because he had served longer.
“You’ve just arrived, you’ll have plenty of opportunities”, he said.
The participants of the meeting also watched a documentary “Eternal Prison” about the war crimes of the Nazis in the Voronezh Region during the Great Patriotic War. The film was shot as part of the project “Crimes which cannot be forgotten” run in 2022–2023 by the public organization “Immortal Act of Heroism” with the support by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
After that one of the authors of the documentary, Alexander Nikitin, head of the project “Crimes Which Cannot be Forgotten”, and Sergey Afanasiev, Head of the Department of Youth Policy of the Voronezh Region, talked about making the film.