Mine, Spiridon Romanovich

Spiridon Romanovich Rudnik was born in 1914 in the village of Medovataya , Lipovetsky district, Kiev province (now Zhashkovsky district , Cherkasy region ), Ukrainian.

Drafted to the Red Army in 1936, the Monastery of the RVK, Vinnitsa region . On the fronts of World War II from July 1941 on the South-West, South, Stepnoy, 2 Ukrainian, 3 Ukrainian and 1 Ukrainian fronts. The war began with the rank of lieutenant.

In 1941-1945 he held the following positions:

• Assistant Chief of Staff of the 43rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division ;
• chief of staff of the 43rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division ;
• Assistant Chief of the 1st Division Headquarters of the 14th Guards Rifle Division;
• commander of the 38th Guards Rifle Regiment, 14th Guards Division ^[1] ;
• Chief of Staff of the 58th Guards Rifle Division .

Spiridon Romanovich Rudnik is one of the participants in the meeting on the Elbe of Soviet and American soldiers on April 25, 1945. Here is how Alexander Timofeevich Gordeev, commander of the 175th Guards Rifle Regiment, 58th Guards Rifle Division, whose story is published in the collection of memoirs “Meeting on the Elbe” ^[2], recalls these events:

By the middle of the day on April 24th there was complete silence. This is always alarming in the war, and I reported my concern to the division commander. He ordered me to send reconnaissance for the Elbe on the morning of April 25, but with the condition: open fire only in case of emergency and move no further than 10 kilometers from the river. In intelligence, I sent a 6 rifle company under the command of senior lieutenant Grigory Goloborodko. On the morning of April 25, 1945, she crossed the Elbe and without any resistance advanced to a height of 129.7 near the village of Lekwitz, a kilometer north of Strela. At 11.30 Goloborodko reported to me by walkie-talkie that they had met with American servicemen. The company completed its mission, and I ordered her to return to the regiment’s location, inviting our American allies to visit. After some time, the company Goloborodko returned to Kraynits. Following her, an American patrol arrived here. It was at 13.30. I reported the meeting to the division commander. He ordered me to receive American guests. The chief of staff, Lt. Col. Spiridon Rudnik, Major Anatoly Ivanov, and other representatives arrived from the division commander. Me and my deputies Yakov Kozlov, Tosoltan Bitarov, Vladimir Lysov approached the ferry crossing, where the Americans were already. It was a patrol of the 69th Infantry Division of the US Army from the 273rd Infantry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue. Soon many of our soldiers and officers approached us.

After the war, S.R. Rudnik continued to serve in the Soviet army. In 1970, on the initiative of the former chief of staff of the 58th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Spiridon Rudnik, a council of veterans of the 58th Guards Rifle Division was created. ^[3] .

• Order of the Red Banner (Order of the 3rd Ukrainian Front No. 055 / n of 05/27/1944);
• Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd degree (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR dated 04/06/1945);
• Order of Alexander Nevsky (Order of the South-Western Front No. 032 / n of 01/17/1943);
• Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree (Order of the 3rd Ukrainian Front No. 028 / n of 03.20.1944);
• Medal "For Courage" (Order of the Southern Front No. 088 / n of 02/01/1942);
• Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" ;
• Medal "For the capture of Berlin" ;
• Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" ;
• Legion of Honor Order Officer Degree ^[2]