Valery Volkov is one of the youngest defenders of Sevastopol. He believed in Victory with all his heart, and to support the spirit of other fighters he independently published a handwritten newspaper "Okopnaya Pravda".
Biography
In 1929, Valery Volkov was born in the small town of Chernivtsi. The boy's mother died shortly before the start of the war. My father worked in a shoe factory, although he was disabled. He took part in the Finnish war, where he received a severe chest wound. His left shoulder was shattered, which made it impossible to use his arm to the fullest.
Valera studied at the local city school, there were never any problems with academic performance. He especially liked literature. Valery wrote several stories and poems. Teachers noted his artistic writing style and believed that he would continue his education along this path.
However, the Great Patriotic War began, which disrupted all plans. Valery and his father were unable to evacuate, so they decided to move to Crimea, believing that there would be no hostilities there. The boy and his father got to Bakhchisarai - Valery's uncle lived here.
A relative was not there, according to some sources, he and his wife went to the front. The Volkovs decided to live a little in his house. But soon I had to leave the refuge and move to Chorgun (now Chernorechye).
Life under occupation
Father Valery's expectations did not come true - the territory was soon captured by the Germans. According to the recollections of contemporaries, Volkov's father actively participated in the Resistance - he provided any help that he could provide. Of course, the Germans did not leave this unpunished, he was shot, and Valery miraculously managed to escape.
After several weeks of wandering, Valery finds himself among the scouts from the Marine Corps. At first he was sent to one of the adits, where children of different ages gathered. Something like a school was organized for them - classes were taught there by the surviving teachers.
But the school did not last long. In the next raid by German soldiers, many of Valery's classmates and teachers were killed. The boy again went to his rescuers from the 7th Marine Brigade. Since now there was nowhere to send the teenager, the soldiers decided to take him to them, and he becomes the "son of the regiment".
City defense
Valery Volkov, along with adults, performed all combat missions. He ensured the timely delivery of cartridges, sometimes participated in reconnaissance operations, and had to repulse attacks with weapons in hand. Even in such difficult conditions, he did not forget about his love for literature: he read poetry during a lull (he especially loved Mayakovsky), published a handwritten newspaper-leaflet "Okopnaya Pravda".
During the lull, Valery managed to collect ammunition and various necessary things on the no-man's land. Sometimes it was possible to carry a pot of water - a difficult task, when you had to crawl most of the way.
Of all the issues of his newspaper, only one number survived, which turned out to be the last, eleventh. Now it is stored in one of the archives of Sevastopol. The boy wrote all the articles himself, and he himself chose the heroes for the reports. A five-pointed star and a flag were drawn on each sheet, and the texts were always permeated with patriotism, love for their native places and hatred for the Nazis.
The last battle of the young hero
By the beginning of the summer of 1942, fighting in Sevastopol and its environs became especially fierce. They fought for every meter, every house or building was turned into an impregnable fortress and held to the last fighter.
The unit where Valery Volkov fought occupied the premises of the former school. There were only ten of them, all of them are listed in the last issue of Okopnaya Pravda. It was an international "division" or, as Valery wrote, "a powerful fist."
During his last battle, Valery was in the area of the Ushakova gully, and, together with a cover group, performed a combat mission. The defense sector was located on a steep slope, and it was Valery who was closest to the road when enemy tanks appeared on it. Volkov appreciated the situation instantly, like a seasoned soldier. And he made the only decision. He threw a bunch of grenades with all his might at one of the enemy tanks with his left hand, he could no longer lift his right - a bullet hit it. So that the ammunition was not wasted, he almost crawled close to the German car, and his grenades fell under the tracks. The boy himself died from the explosion, but he was able to save his brigade. He died in the arms of I. Daurova - she became so attached to the boy that she was going to adopt him after the war.
Reward
The story of the young hero remained unknown for a long time, about twenty years. Only in the 1960s, his colleagues Ilita Daurova (pilot) and Ivan Petrunenko (artilleryman, it was he who kept the last piece of the newspaper) told about the events that happened then. Part of the text was published by the famous newspaper Pionerskaya Pravda. Historians and schoolchildren from all over the Union began to reconstruct the facts. Later, the remains of Valery Volkov were found in the courtyard of the boarding school, where his comrades were buried. After some time, the grave was transferred to the city cemetery.
In December 1963, the leadership of the Soviet Union appreciated the contribution of the young pioneer to the common Victory and V. Volkov was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.
The boarding school, where the soldiers held the defense, organized a museum in memory of Volkov. It opened on the anniversary of the Victory in 1964.
In Sevastopol itself there is a street named after the young editor of Okopnaya Pravda.
