Avakyan, Hrant Arsenovich

Born in Baku in a working class family. Armenian.

• 1941 - graduated from 10 classes of the 177th Baku school ^[1] .

Years of War

• Since November 1941 - in the Red Army
• 1942 - graduated from the Baku Naval School (ahead of schedule, in connection with sending to the front)
• From 1942 to 1945 - participation in the Great Patriotic War, gunner of an anti-tank rifle ( North Caucasian Front ), battalion commissar ( 1st Belorussian Front )
• Since 1945 - member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU

Feat

In the battles for the Verbig railway station, located northeast of the city of Zelov ^[2] ( Germany ), on April 16, 1945, the Komsomol of the 1st Battalion of the 1054th Rifle Regiment ( 301st Rifle Division , 5th Strike Army , 1st Belorussian front ) Lieutenant Hrant Avakyan, noticing the concentration of the Nazis in the house, threw three grenades out the window. Then he destroyed a large number of enemy soldiers and officers. He was seriously injured ^[1] .

From the archive of the USSR Ministry of Defense:

“... The troops of the 9th Rifle Corps, advancing on the left flank of the [5th shock] army, also advanced 6 km by the end of the day [April 16, 1945]. At the same time, the units of the 301st Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel V. S. Antonov, took an important stronghold in the enemy defense system - Verbig. In the battles at the Verbig railway station, the soldiers of the 1054th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel N.N. Radaev, showed a massive feat. At the same time, the Komsomol of the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant G. A. Avakyan, was especially distinguished in battle. In the vicinity of the Werbig railway station, near a detached house, a group of Nazis made for a counterattack. Lieutenant Avakyan, taking a submachine gun with him, went to this house to throw grenades at the enemy and break into the building. Stealthily approaching the house, Avakyan threw three grenades out the window. The Nazis, panicked, ran out of the house, but well-aimed bullets of machine gunners of the battalion overtook them. During the battle, Lieutenant Avakyan, together with his comrades, killed 56 Nazis and captured 14, capturing 2 armored personnel carriers. Abakyan hoisted the Red Banner of the battalion over the house. For the heroism shown in this battle, Lieutenant Grant Arsenovich Avakyan was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. ”

- Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, f. 33, he. 793756, d.1, l. 55., see - Vorobyov F.D., Parotkin I.V., Shimansky A.N. The Last Assault (Berlin Operation 1945). - M.: Military Publishing House, 1970, pp. 134-135

^[1] .

For courage and heroism in the battles with the Nazi invaders, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of May 15, 1946, Lieutenant Avakyan Hrant Arsenovich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal.

In a battle on April 24, 1945, he was seriously wounded when capturing and holding a bridgehead across the Spree River in the streets of Berlin ^[1] .

After the war

• from 1945 to 1949 - Secretary of the Komsomol Bureau of the Guards Rifle Regiment of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany .
• 1947 - graduated from political courses.
• 1953 - graduated from the Military-Political Academy .
• from 1953 to 1959 - deputy regiment commander for political affairs in the Transcaucasian and North Caucasian military districts.
• from 1959 to 1968 - deputy chief, head of the political department of the rifle division of the North Caucasus Military District .
• from 1968 to 1973 - 1st deputy chief of the political department of the tank army of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany .
• 1973 - graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Moscow Military-Political Academy
• from 1973 to 1985 - head of the political department of the Odessa United Military School, head of the political department of the Baku Higher Combined Arms Command School , was transferred to the reserve with the rank of colonel. He lived in Baku.

During ethnic conflicts in January 1990, he was forced to leave the city with his family, fleeing from the reprisals of the nationalists. He moved to live in Grozny , but very soon the second time he was among the refugees, this time from Dudayev's Chechnya. He lived in the city of Korenovsk, Krasnodar Territory, in recent years he lived in Krasnodar . Being on a well-deserved rest, he conducted an active social activity ^[1] .

Member of the Commission for the Promotion of the Military Commissariat of the Prikubansky District of the City of Krasnodar. Member of the Krasnodar Territory Association of Heroes of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and full Knights of the Order of Glory.

He died on February 28, 2017 at the 93rd year of his life ^[1] . He was buried at the Slavic cemetery in Krasnodar.

• For courage and heroism in battles with the Nazi invaders, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 15, 1946, Lieutenant Avakyan Hrant Arsenovich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union
  • with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and
  • Gold Star medals (No. 6777) ^[3]
• Knight of the Order of Lenin ^[3]
• Order of the Red Banner ^[4]
• Order of the Patriotic War 1st and 2nd degree ^{[5] [6]}
• three orders of the Red Star - (09/20/1944, 12/30/1956, 10/31/1967), ^[7]
• Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree
• title "Honorary resident of the village of Mayramadag " ( North Ossetia )
• 21 medals including “For Courage” (05/01/1943), “For Military Merit” (06/13/1952), “For the Capture of Berlin” (1945).

• List of Heroes of the Soviet Union

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Heroes and exploits. Book 6. M: Military Publishing, 1978
• Documents on the site “Feat of the people”
• Ghazaryan A.V. War, people, fate. Book 2. Yerevan, 1977

• Avakyan, Hrant Arsenovich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ". (Retrieved December 23, 2009)
• Award sheet to the title Hero of the Soviet Union
• Mashtots
• Administration of the Krasnodar Territory
• Avakyan Hrant Arsenovich
• Avakyan G.A.