Description
Order of the Red Banner #26518
Awarded to Partisan Commander Yuri Pavlovich Shurygin (Юрий Павлович Шурыгин)
Shurygin formed the partisan detachment “For the Motherland” and became its commander in 1941 and later headed the 5th partisan brigade. Thanks to the skillful leadership hundreds of fascists were destroyed, 64 carts with food, ammunition and other cargo were captured and several vehicles with manpower and enemy ammunition were blown up. His successes were reported by the Soviet Information Bureau and central newspapers
Rare piece!
Made of silver and enamels. It measures 39.91 mm in height, 35.71 mm in width and weighs 24.0 grams without its screwplate. The serial number and mint mark are located at the 6 o’clock position of its reverse.
In superb condition for such an early Red Banner! The details are perfectly crisp and even the higher laying parts like the center wreath show light wear only. Both the red and white enamels are stunning and without repairs with some small superficial chipping only; much less than average on a screwback! A good amount of the gold plating is still present and its screwpost has not been shortened. It comes with its time period and well fitted silver screwplate and the order has never been (re)converted.
This order has it all. Great research to a partisan and in outstanding condition. Very hard to find!
Brief, concrete description of his feat of arms or achievements:
“Since July 1941, he has been participating in the partisan war in the rear of the German invaders, showing exceptional courage and boundless devotion to the party of Lenin-Stalin.
As a true hero and patriot of the socialist homeland, he skillfully leads troops which, in repeated battles with the German invaders, showed examples of real courage. Since 02/19/1942, he has been commander of the 5th partisan brigade. During this time, thanks to the skillful leadership, the brigade destroyed: in the area of the village of Vikhrishche, during the defeat of a punitive detachment, bandits in Radchinskaya and Sokolovskaya, 95 fascists were destroyed. In the Chernevo-Dolzhino sector, the punitive detachment of Pan Shpitsky, numbering over 300 people, was defeated, while 250 people were killed and wounded, a convoy of 64 carts with food, ammunition and other cargo was captured, several vehicles with manpower and enemy ammunition were blown up. By personal examples, fearlessness and heroism, comrade SHURYGIN inspires everyone to exploits in the fight against the insolent enemy.”
Some information on Shurygin in the book ‘В Квадрате‘
Yuri Pavlovich SHURYGIN was also a purely civil person, and his profession was the most peaceful – a teacher of geography. Before the war, he headed the Soshikha district department of public education. He was born in 1906 in the Roslavl district of the Smolensk province into a peasant family. He worked as a coal miner in the Donbass, served in the army, studied at the Vitebsk and Minsk workers’ schools, an institute at the Leningrad Regional Department of Public Education. Then he worked as a teacher and director of the Kozinsky incomplete secondary school in the Gdovsky district, from where he was transferred in March 1940 to a promotion in the Soshikhinsky district.
At the beginning of July 1941, SHURYGIN was appointed by the Leningrad Communist Party Office as a special envoy to organise partisan and undercover political work on the occupied territory of the Leningrad region. In this capacity, he proved himself as a capable organiser and a true patriot. Together with the secretary of the Ashev district Communist Party Committee M.A.KUPRIYANOV, he formed the partisan detachment “For the Motherland” and became its commander. The detachment carried out several successful combat operations, and then, together with other regional formations, was incorporated into the 2nd Leningrad partisan brigade.
SHURYGIN was known to the Leningrad partisans under a different surname – VORONOV (i.e. his pseudonym). SHURYGIN participated in such major operations as the defeat of enemy garrisons in Yassky and Kholm, and always acted successfully. In mid-February 1942, SHURYGIN was appointed commander of the 5th partisan brigade (of the first formation), which arrived in the Partisan region from the Soviet rear area. It was formed from several district partisan detachments of the Leningrad region with a total number of 240 people, and the Dno reconnaissance and sabotage detachment “Druzhny” was also included in it.
One of the major and successful combat operations of the SHURYGIN’s (or VORONOV’s) brigade was the defeat of German punishers in the village of Tyurikovo on the night of 23 February 1942, which was reported by the Soviet Information Bureau and central newspapers.
The brigade operated independently until July 1942, suffered heavy losses during the German punitive expedition and was incorporated into the 2nd partisan brigade as its fifth regiment with SHURYGIN as the commander.
Little is known about SHURYGIN’s post-war fate. Only that, he lived and worked in Leningrad in the 1950s, died early.
More information on Shurygin can be found here
Also included in the picture gallery are:
- a picture of the cover of the book mentioned above
- a German map of Tyurikovo
- information on operation Pan Shpitsky on 22 February 1942
- two scans of images of Shurygin wearing his Red Banner
Please contact us with questions
