When the war started, I was five. Then I found out that the father of three asked to be sent to the front, but every time he was told that such people need here to provide harvest. But here I sit once at the table and see how we are talking to the postman. The father immediately said, “That’s for me.” Exactly, the postman was a subpoena. And the dad’s duffel bag at the ready. With mom and brother Sasha went to see. The village Council was a gathering and a short meeting – and the recruits went to Cherepanovo.
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Viktor Mamatov (right) with his brother. 1940-ies.
the Father was well versed in electronics, so he was sent to signal corps. Know that he fought in the area of Volkhov, the Leningrad front.
for some time he came from the triangles, we were happy that father is still alive. Although he wrote that on the front all the time we have to move on all fours. Then news did not. And we are still waiting… Applied to the Central archive of the Ministry of defence, to the search engines, which work in the area of Volkhov. But to no avail.
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– I Remember very well as a postman delivering letters and funerals in the village. We boys had often seen him first: “And we don’t? And we don’t?” Sometimes, if the letter was the postman handed one of us. Sometimes he brought home. If in the letter the soldier wrote that he was alive and well, the house once sat.
Well, if it was reported that died heroically, there was a wild grief. I remember how the women howled like a wolf. The voice rang out across the village.
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I was in Karasevo two years ago. In the village centre, a stele with the names of those who never returned from war. And this is every second. There is my father’s name.
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He, when he left for the war, said to my mother: “darling, if I will not be long letters, sell all you can". The father went missing in 1942. When it got so bad that mom sold some of his costumes and on this money bought poddelka. In the garden we grew cucumbers, onions and potatoes through the vegetable garden survived.
“cow parsnip is very tender and tasty…”. Siege book about edible wild plants
When winter ends and out of the grass, we have collected all sorts of edible plants. Later on the marshy banks of the river appeared wild onion. Delicious, juicy and in addition useful. Typed it as I could. Girded with that bow – and became similar to the Indians.
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– Developing, working in the gardens, carrying water in large buckets on yokes, playing at war. And rowdy was, of course. For example, when towards the end of the war through the village carrying German prisoners, we threw stones and cows. They sat in the back of cars torn chinesisch, wrapped in some rags… the Guards who were guarding the prisoners, he could and punish the butt of the teeth. And it quickly stopped.
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A. votyakova. The illustration of the story of Victor Astafiev “Vasyutkino lake”
In 1967 we were going to the world championship on biathlon in German Altenberg. Before that, we were given three days off, and we went with Sasha Tikhonov (future four-time Olympic champion in biathlon. – Auth.) in Novosibirsk. The plane landed in Sverdlovsk for refuelling, but it was minus 35 to fly was impossible due to icing. We with Tikhonov spent the night at the station at a time, having spread a newspaper…
Novosibirsk and intoga only had time to see my wife, having dropped in to her place of work. And there met Galina Masyuk, she was a nurse in the Siberian division who fought near Moscow in 1941. Galina said to me: “Victor, you’re in Germany? Show them that you are a real Siberian. When we came near Moscow, have given them, so that then, as soon as the Germans heard about the Siberian, many have fled without looking back.”
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– to Me these words were remembered. When you ran the 20-kilometer race on one of the long climbs was very difficult. Coaches joined in, taking me: “Victor, come on!” The Germans heard it and also said, “Pita! Fit! Dafa! Dafa!” I won then. And after the race answered the questions of the Germans in the German language – had already passed the candidate minimum.
then four times has performed in Germany, and never lost. The Germans later told me all the time: “Victor, you’re the first. And we have to fight for second or third…”
Recorded Artem Lokalov
a PERSONAL MATTER
Photo: RIA Novosti Viktor Mamatov
Born July 21, 1937.
Soviet biathlete, double Olympic champion in the relay (1968, 1972), four-time world champion. The judge of the international category. The candidate of pedagogical Sciences, Professor.
the Honored master of sports of the USSR, honored trainer of the USSR. Was the standard-bearer of the Olympic team of the USSR at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble.
