Nikolay Shchors
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Nikolay Aleksandrovich Shchors (Николай Александрович Щорс) (6 June [O.S. 25 May] 1895 – 30 August 1919) was a talented Ukrainian military commander, renowned for his personal courage during the Russian Civil War. In 1918-1919 he fought against the German invaders and later commanded the Bogunsky regiment, brigade, 1st Ukrainian Soviet division and 44th rifle division against Petlyura and Polish invaders. Shchors died in a battle.
Nikolaj Shchors was born in the Snovsk village (now Shchors city, Ukraine) in the family of a locomotive engineer. He graduated from a military medical school in Kiev (1914) and from a short training program at Vilensky military school in Poltava (1916).
Shchors fought in World War I, initially as a military medical assistant, then as a junior officer on the South-West front, in 1917 he was promoted to second lieutenant. After the October revolution of 1917 he returned home and in February, 1918 he formed a partisan detachment in Snovsk. In March-April, 1918 he commanded the joint detachment of Novozybkovsky district that fought against German invaders as a part of the 1st Revolutionary Army. In September 1918 he formed the 1st Ukraininan Soviet Bogun division and lead it against German forces and hetman's army. In November 1918 he took command of the 2nd brigade of the 1st Ukraininan Soviet division (Bogun and Tarascchan regiments) and took Chernihiv, Kiev and Fastov from the Ukrainian Directory. On February 5, 1918 Shchors was appointed Kiev mayor.
Between March 6 and August 15, 1919 Shchors again lead the 1st Ukraininan Soviet division in its impetuous offensive and liberated Zhitomir, Vinnitsa, and Zhmerinka from Petlyura. Then he smashed the main forces of Petlyura near Sarny - Rovno - Brody - Proskurov.
In summer 1919 the Polish army started a major offensive. Shchors attempted to hold the line near Sarny - Novograd-Volynsky - Shepetovka, but was forced to retreat East by the superior numbers of the enemy. The 1st Ukraininan Soviet division was merged with the 44th rifle division and Shchors was appointed its new commander. Under his command the division defended the Korostensky railroad junction allowing the evacuation of Kiev and the escape of the South group of the 12th army from encirclement.
While fighting in the front lines of Bogun regiment, Shchors was killed in very obscure circumstances near the Beloshitsa village (now Shchorsovka village, Zhitomirsky region, Ukraine) on August 30, 1919. Shchors was buried in Samara, far from the battlefield, for unclear reasons.
In 1939 Aleksandr Dovzhenko made a film "Shchors", which was awarded the State prize of the Soviet Union in 1941. Yevgeny Samoylov played Shchors in the movie. A famous patriotic song "Song about Shchors" was composed by Matvey Blanter, author of Katyusha_(Song), and the poet Mikhail Golodny.
