| Alexei Berest | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 1921 Goryastovka, Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | November 4, 1970 (aged 49) Rostov-on-Don, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Buried at | Alexandrovskoye Cemetery, Rostov-on-Don[1] |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union (1939–1948) |
| Years of service | 1939-1948 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | Soviet-Finnish War World War II |
| Awards | Order of the Red Banner Order of the Patriotic War 1st class Order of the Red Star Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 Hero of Ukraine (posthumous)[2] |
Oleksi Prokopovich Berest (Ukrainian: Олексій Прокопович Берест. Russified: Алексей Прокопьевич Берест [Alexei Prokopievich Berest]; 9 March 1921, Goryaistovka, Sumy Oblast, Soviet Union - 4 November 1970, Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union) was a Soviet political officer and one of the three Red Army soldiers who hoisted the Victory Banner.
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Born to an impoverished family, seven of Berest's fifteen siblings died prematurely. He was orphaned when eleven years old and raised by his older sisters. From the age of sixteen, he worked as a tractor driver. Berest volunteered into the Red Army at October 1939 and took part in the Soviet-Finnish War as a signaller. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, he was sent to the front once more. On March 1943, while stationed in the Volkhov Front, Corporal Berest joined the Communist Party. On December, he was sent to the Leningrad Military-Political School (Which at the time was located at Shuya, after being evacuated) and trained as a commissar. After graduation at September 1944, Lieutenant Berest was assigned as Captain Stepan Neustroev's deputy for political affairs (Zampolit) in the 1st Battalion of the 150th Rifle Division's 756th Regiment.[3]
On 30 April 1945, after long days of street combat in Berlin, the 150th Division attacked the Reichstag. On 1 May, at about 03:00, Berest and two scouts - Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov - hoisted one of nine Soviet flags given to the division's commanders[4] on the building's dome, fastening it to Wilhelm I's statue.[5][6] Although not the first to be placed, the flag was eventually proclaimed as the Victory Banner. Later, impostering as a Colonel, he negotiated with the German garrison of the Reichstag on the terms of their surrender. He received the Order of Lenin for his actions.[7]
On May 1946, Neustroev, Kantaria and many others who were involved in the Reichatag assault were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. For unknown reasons,[a 1] Berest did not attain the award and his part in the operation was silenced.[8][9] At 1948, he was discharged from the army and began working in the regional cinema department of Rostov-on-Don. On 1953, he was convicted of embezzlement and sent to ten years in prison, of which he served five.[10] After being released, he was employed in the local Rostselmash factory as a common laborer. At 3 November 1970, Berest was run over by a train as he saved a child who strayed on the railway. He died of his injuries on the early hours of the following day.[2]
He was posthumously granted the title Hero of Ukraine at 2005.[11]