Boris Gubanov. Drawing from the book "Life of a Soldier"

Boris Gubanov (1921–1942), a student at the School of Art and Finishing Works at the Leningrad Institute of Civil Engineering (now SPbGASU), could become a famous decorator and make a great contribution to the development of Leningrad. But he died as a junior political instructor of the 884th anti-tank regiment of the GHQ reserve of the 8th Army of the Volkhov Front in battles for his native city, never seeing it liberated. His notebooks have been preserved, which he kept daily from 22 December, 1941, when he arrived at the training artillery division in Vologda, and until 6 September, 1942 - two days before he died. The military correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda of the Volkhov Front, Nikolai Markevich, who personally knew the junior political instructor, handed them over to the editor, and soon died himself. So the 21-year-old Komsomol member Boris Gubanov stepped into immortality, leaving to his descendants a front-line chronicle.

In 1968, the book "The Life of a Soldier" was published, in which all Boris Gubanov's notes were published. It was prepared for publication and commented on by Yury Zhukov and Toviy Karelstein. The information in this article is taken from this book.

On 31 March, 1940, for good academic performance and social work at the School of Art and Finishing Works at the Leningrad Institute of Civil Engineering, the strike student Boris Gubanov was presented with the album “Architecture of Russian Classicism”. And here are Boris’s marks: general history of art - 5, composition - 5, history of applied art - 5, practice - 5. Perhaps his uncle, an architect, a builder, who adopted the boy after the death of his mother, instilled an interest in architecture. It was uncle's family who went Boris off to the front.

Boris made his first entry in his notebook on 22-23 December, 1941 in Vologda: “For two weeks now I have been a deputy political instructor in the training division. I like the work. But how different it is from the front! <...> From our training battery there are nine commanders and sixteen cadets left, and even those are waiting to be sent to the front from minute to minute. Even the entire command staff is on guard.” Every day Boris described in his diary what was happening in the regiment, his work, reports from the front, significant orders from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the content of letters from relatives. The notes contain a detailed description of the way to the front and bloody battles.

“26 February, 1942 We came to the Kirov railway. We began to come across the skeletons of charred wagons, and in some places even charred buildings."

“27 February, 1942. Everything around was burned. Just yesterday a train was smashed with bombs here.”

“On 10 March, 1942, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to three brave partisans, including Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. <...> What spiritual power she must have had to accomplish her feat! <...> She died, but immortalized her name. And what a time to be alive when you are eighteen! <...> My report about sending to the active army was refused".

“15 March, 1942 Days fly by like in a kaleidoscope. Today is eight months since I left home, and we are still not at the front. At night, front-line soldiers from the Murmansk and Karelian sectors began to arrive to us. They are all gunners."

“23 March, 1942. We assume that we will be sent to Smolensk via Moscow. We live on a real road, but for now we are issuing battle sheets. At night I read The History of the Middle Ages endlessly. I don’t understand how I wasn't interested in such a fascinating thing before!”

“On 2 April, 1942, I talked with one of the front-line soldiers. He says that in battle, friendship and mutual assistance, ingenuity, and resourcefulness are especially important. And the most important thing, of course, is a good commander.”

“22 April, 1942. The replenishment of the command staff arrived, very youngsters! I talked with the adjutant of the regiment commander, lieutenant born in 1922. He said that, finally, his wish came true, and he got to the front."

“8 May, 1942. The commander of the regiment, lieutenant colonel Kazak, is sharply establishing discipline - many people forget about the proximity of the front. They think that the war is going on for distant lands in a distant kingdom, and it is some 10-12 kilometers from us.”

“22 May, 1942. My note was placed in the Frontovaya Pravda newspaper - “We are preparing super-accurate shooters.” The commissar and the commander were very pleased.”

“28 May, 1942. Received the first baptism of fire. To be honest, I can’t say that under fire you experience joyful feelings, especially under mines ... At ten o’clock, I went together with an officer to the 4th battery. I took the machine gun, and he took binoculars and a compass. Suddenly German planes were flying. I counted 40 of them! They lit something by the lake <...> For about forty minutes the shells were exploding ... ".

“8 July, 1942” And again in the morning shells were whizzing, and the ground took off nearby. Apparently, the Germans discovered our location.

“30 July, 1942 We received Stalin's order. Not a step back without the order of the Supreme Commander - so says this severe order. A lot of work lies ahead for the entire command staff, and especially for us, political workers, for the fulfillment of the order, we are responsible with our lives.”

“10 August, 1942 <...> I had not yet finished writing the last line, when a shell exploded with a screech and fragments drummed fractionally on the roof of the hut. The next ones broke on the road. <...> The driver died at his post - at the wheel. It turns out that the song was right to say that "there are four steps to death!" <...> I must admit that as I was a boy, I remained so ... ”.

Meanwhile, the co-author of the book, Toviy Karelstein, holding manuscripts in his hands, would say: “You don’t need to be a graphologist to see how a pencil and pen followed a clear thought, they were held by a firm hand. Only a man of calm courage could keep his diaries after a day spent in the cold and wind, or on the way to the front in a train car under the clatter of wheels, or at a broken station, under exploding shells."

“27 August, 1942 It has begun! Exactly at 6:00, all the guns rumbled. The artillery attack lasted more than three hours. I was with the command at the forefront. <...> The Katyushas worked wonderfully, they ground the Nazi front line so much that smoke stood like a column, and the earth hummed. <…> Aviation is active”.

“29 August, 1942 <...> In the first two days of fighting, four thousand Nazis were killed, 220 bunkers and dugouts were destroyed, 12 tanks, 35 guns and mortars, 58 machine guns were captured.”

“3 September, 1942. Finally, the stronghold of the enemy’s resistance, Voronovo, was taken, battles are underway for Sinyavino. The advanced units are approaching Mga.

“5 September, 1942. The shelling and bombing from the air are becoming more and more fierce. There is evidence that the Germans in our direction received reinforcements: 108 aircraft - 88 bombers and 26 fighters. In addition, a division from the Crimea arrived to help them."

“6 September, 1942. Alexander Mikhailovich Bystrov, our military commissar, died, military technician Akulov died, battery commander Pomyalaiko died. The pain from these losses is so heavy that there are not enough words to express it ... "

And two days later, on 8 September, 1942, Boris Gubanov also died in battle during the Sinyavino operation.

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