Sotnikov, Alexander Timofeevich

Born on August 10 (23), 1900 in the village of Tsarevo, now the village of Uritskoy, Terbunsky District, Lipetsk Region , in a peasant family. Russian. Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1925. Secondary education.

In the Red Army since 1919. Member of the Civil War . In 1940 he graduated from the Military-Political Academy named after V.I. Lenin .

The senior battalion commissar A.T. Sotnikov has been a participant in the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. The commissar of the 390th Infantry Division participated in the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation in December 1941. Together with the commander Vinogradov, he led the 1st battalion in icy water crossed the Kerch Strait . In the battle for Stalingrad, Sotnikov was deputy political officer of the commander of the 154th Separate Marine Rifle Brigade. By mid-1944, he fought as deputy chief of the political department of the 79th Rifle Corps on the 2nd Baltic Front.

Since September 1944, Lt. Col. Sotnikov A.T. - head of the political department, head of the political department of the 171st Infantry Division. Particularly distinguished himself in the Berlin operation .

On April 21, 1945, units of the division, having cut the district Berlin motorway, entered the suburb of Berlin - Buchholz. Constantly in the battle formations of subunits and units, Lieutenant Colonel A. Sotnikov mobilized soldiers for the fulfillment of assigned tasks. On April 30, 1945, the division captured the Reichstag and hoisted the Victory Banner on it . But Lt. Col. Sotnikov did not participate in this battle - a few hours before the assault he was seriously wounded on the Moltke bridge .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 15, 1946, for the exemplary execution of the combat missions of the command and the heroism and courage shown, Lieutenant Colonel Sotnikov Alexander Timofeevich was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal .

The wound was severe; a leg was amputated in the hospital. Since 1947, Colonel Sotnikov A.T. - retired.

He lived in the capital of the Georgian SSR - the city of Tbilisi, where he died on November 5, 1974. He was buried at the Saburtalinsky cemetery in Tbilisi.

He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin , 2 Orders of the Red Banner , Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky of the 2nd degree, World War II of the 2nd degree, and medals.

A memorial plaque is installed on the house in Tbilisi where the hero lived. In the native village of Hero of Terbuny, Lipetsk region, one of the streets is named after him.

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Guryev M.V. To the walls of the Reichstag. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1973.
• Tskitishvili K.V., Chinchilakashvili T.G. Heroes of the Soviet Union from Georgia. - Tb., 1981.
• Batter A. He was seriously wounded at the camp of the Reichstag. / "A red star". - 2018 .-- December 14th.

• Alexander Timofeevich Sotnikov (Russian) . The site " Heroes of the country ." Date of treatment January 27, 2014.