Mezentsev, Georgy Afanasevich

After graduating from the Odessa Naval College, he sailed as a senior officer on the Tovarishch training ship, and as a captain on the Timiryazev ship. In 1933 he graduated from the Kherson State Maritime Institute ^[2] . Since 1936, the captain of the ship "Komsomol".

During the civil war in Spain, he made several flights with cargoes, including with weapons (tanks) for the Republicans. Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov, Nikolai Gerasimovich , recalled that Komsomol was the first Soviet ship to break through the fascist blockade and deliver tanks, cars and a small number of guns to Cartagena’s harbor ^[3] . On December 14, 1936, the Komsomol motor ship was sunk by the Canarias francist cruiser ^[4] , and the crew was captured and held in Puerto de Santa Maria Prison. Alexei Tolstoy , Mikhail Bulgakov , Lev Kassil , Ilya Erenburg , Alexander Bezymensky , Mikhail Golodny and others wrote about the death of transport ^[5] . Newspaper bands were allotted to materials on protest rallies that took place in many cities of the USSR. In Spain, a rally of many thousands was opened by Foreign Minister Alvarez del Vayo . He read out a telegram from Prime Minister Largo Caballero. ^[6] The Soviet writer Gaydenko, Ivan Petrovich was a member of the crew of the shot ship and more than once described this tragic story in his works. Under pressure from the USSR and other countries, the team returned to their homeland.

After being released from captivity, he headed the Black Sea Shipping Company . In 1938, he directed the unique for that time ferry of a large floating dock from Odessa to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky , where later allied ships carrying out military supplies were repaired ^[7] . The load carrying capacity of the all-welded dock was 5,000 tons. During its transportation, the Chkalov and Belyakov boats, as well as two lighter barges, remained on it ^[8] .

During the Great Patriotic War he took part in the defense of Odessa , Sevastopol , Novorossiysk and the Caucasus . Since 1944, the head of the Far Eastern Shipping Company ^[9] , led the transportation of goods from the United States. After the war, he headed the Main Directorate of the Ministry of the Navy of the USSR, worked as Deputy Minister of the Navy.

He was buried at the Golovinsky cemetery .

He was awarded three orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, World War 1 degree, the Red Banner of Labor, medals "For the Defense of Odessa", "For the Defense of Sevastopol", "For the Defense of the Caucasus", "For the Victory over Germany", "For Valiant Labor", “For the victory over Japan” and others.

Son - Mezentsev, Vladimir Georgievich (1953-2008) - Russian journalist, teacher of journalism at Moscow State University , founder of the School of TV Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations at the Central House of Journalists (now - the Vladimir Mezentsev School of Journalism in Domjure).

• Lev Kassil in the stories Disco, The Widow of the Ship, Match in Valencia, Governor Passenger and others described several stories related to his trip to Spain on the ship Komsomol ^[10] . The ship itself in the works of Lev Abramovich bore the name "Kimovets", and his captain can be found in the hero Grisha Afanasyev. Having met in 1936, Georgy Mezentsev and Lev Kassil were friends for many years.
• In 1937, Leonid Utesov in memory of the feat of Soviet sailors "Komsomol" sang the song "Motor ship" Komsomol "" ^[11] (Music: V. Solovyov-Sedoy Lyrics: V. Belov).
• The participant of the "fiery voyages" ^[12] , the head of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, Georgy Afanasevich Mezentsev, became the prototype of the captain in the monument to the sailors of the merchant fleet who died during the Great Patriotic War ^[13] (sculptors O. Ikonnikov , V. Zverev, architects Yu. Vdovin, B Thor ). The memorial ensemble was erected in the city of Vladivostok on November 6, 1967 ^[14] .

• In 1979, the Ro-Ro type vessel of project 1609 of the Black Sea Shipping Company received the name "Captain Mezentsev".
• On December 14, 2016, exactly 80 years after the sinking of the Komsomol motor ship, a memorial plaque to Captain G. A. Mezentsev was installed on Pototsky’s house ( Primorsky Boulevard , Building 1) in Odessa ^[15] . The decision to install in July 2015 was supported by the historical and toponymic commission of the city ^[16] , and the order to install the memorial plaque to Georgy Afanasevich Mezentsev was signed by the head of the city of Odessa Trukhanov, Gennady Leonidovich, on February 15, 2016. ^[17] .
• In 2010, veteran organizations of the Black Sea Shipping Company and the Radial Drilling Machine Plant sent a petition to the historical and toponymic commission to rename one of the streets of Odessa in honor of the Mezentsev brothers ^[18] . On February 17, 2011, the historical and toponymic commission included the name of Georgy Mezentsev in the register of reserve names for renaming the streets of the city ^[19] . On the basis of the law on the decommunization of Ukraine, the Historical and Toponymic Commission of the city proposed to rename Chapaev Street in honor of the Mezentsev brothers ^[20] .

• "Brothers Mezentsev. Publication in the newspaper" Evening Odessa ".
• “VO” “Fascism will not pass!”.
• Flashes of the XX century. All-Ukrainian Union of Writers-Marinists Author - Alexander Kalinichenko, President of the Odessa United (city and region) organization of writers-marinists named after I.P. Gaidaenko.
• To the 70th anniversary of Georgy Afanasevich. Publication about the captain.
• Mezentsev George Afanasevich. Category: Idols of Odessa.