Sursky defensive line. Research work on the construction of the Sura defensive line Sursky line of defense

I remember when I was very young and walked under the table on foot, my great-grandmother told us (me), with my cousin, how her husband (my great-grandfather) was sent to war in August 1941 (where he died in 1943 on the Belarusian front) , and a few months later, she, along with her three daughters, was sent to Saransk in a freight car (a freight car, a converted passenger approx. Vampiro_r), and from there to the construction of the Sursky border. They were mobilized so quickly that they did not even have time to take warm clothes with them, and their "city" shoes very quickly fell into disrepair and the locals wove them bast shoes and cut footcloths from old clothes. The great-grandmother dug the frozen ground, and the daughters carried out the soil.

Certainly, young age I did not pay much attention to her stories and they would most likely have sunk into oblivion if I had not met the guys from the Navigator 63 team.

These guys have been making forced marches on snowmobiles and ATVs, off-road to the places of military glory of our ancestors, for quite a long time. And as soon as I found out about their plans to visit the Sursky Frontier, I immediately asked to sign me up for the team.

But first things first.

October 15, 1941.
It was the fifth month of the Great Patriotic War, due to the critical situation at the front, the State Defense Committee, headed by Stalin, decides to transfer the capital of the USSR to Kuibyshev.

The State Defense Committee decides on the construction of defensive and strategic lines in the rear, on the Volga. Taking into account the transfer of the main strategic facilities from Moscow to Kuibyshev, the main plans for the rear defensive construction set the task of (strengthening the defense) of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), Kazan, Ulyanovsk and, accordingly, Kuibyshev. In accordance with this plan, 10,000 km of defensive structures, 70,000 bunkers and 27,000 dugouts were to be built. Simultaneously with the implementation of the plan for defensive work, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command planned the creation of 10 reserve armies. In cases of unsuccessful Soviet army development of events, they were supposed to detain the enemy on the outskirts of the "new capital".

On the same day, the Council of People's Commissars of the Chuvash ASSR and the Bureau of the Chuvash Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks signed a decree “Mobilize from October 28, 1941 for the construction of the Sursky defensive line. Mobilization is subject to the population not younger than 17 years.

Now only a barely noticeable ravine remains from the "Sursky Frontier".


Many participants in the labor feat are no longer alive, but I managed to talk with one direct participant in these events.


“The earth was freezing, hard as a stone, from the beginning we made fires to warm at least a little upper layer but that didn't help much. It was very cold, frosts reached -40, but everyone worked. The fear that the nemchura was about to come forced me to give all the best "

For the construction of fortification lines, the government allocated very short time Therefore, huge material and human resources were involved.
Every day, about 85 thousand people were involved in the work, sometimes this number reached 110 thousand. They worked mainly by hand, mechanized tools and equipment were not enough. Work, according to the laws of wartime, went on without days off, and was not interrupted even in the most severe frosts, when the temperature dropped to -40-42 degrees. There was a lack of housing, adapted premises where people could be warmed. Part of the workers had to live in tents or huts, hastily assembled from coniferous paws, straw, brushwood (heated dugouts were built later). Despite all the hardships and difficulties, people tried their best, understood the responsibility to the Motherland. Tasks were always overfulfilled, discipline was exemplary. And the general desire was one - to hand over the object ahead of schedule.

A telegram was sent to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Lavrenty Beria, signed by the head of the 12th Army Department Leonyuk, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Somov, the secretary of the regional committee Charykov: “The GKO task for the construction of the Sursky defensive line has been completed. The volume of excavated land is 3 million cubic meters, 1,600 firing points (bunkers and platforms), 1,500 dugouts and 80 km of trenches with communication lines have been built.

More than 70 years have passed since the construction of the frontier began. And so the Samara team "Navigator 63" on snowmobiles went to the construction site of the Sursky defensive line (for a second, it's 2 days on the road and 526 km off-road). This forced march became a tribute to the memory of its builders, as well as to all those who forged the Victory in the rear during the harsh years of the war, giving all their strength to serving the Motherland. And on February 19, upon arrival, the first stone of the monument to this labor feat was laid.


Alzo, it will also be delivered in a fairly short time, already on May 9, 2015. I will definitely try to get there, but it will be a completely different story.

And finally, a photo of the participants of the run and the host.

Sursky defensive line

The study was carried out by Pavlova E.I.

librarian of the Pokrovskaya rural library.

“Mom, send me linen, bread and potatoes. You won't see me anymore, just like I won't see you. People say that before, while digging trenches, people died. It looks like I won't have to go home.", - wrote in November 1941 to relatives in the village of Shorkasy, Shikhazan (now Kanash) district, 17-year-old collective farmer Stepanova, mobilized for the construction of defensive lines. The girl did not exaggerate her plight: she had to not only dig holes with the rest of the workers, but to fulfill the daily norm - to manually remove 3 cubic meters. m. frozen as a stone of the earth. At first it seemed impossible, and not only to her. But time has proven otherwise.

65 years ago, the last volleys of the Great Patriotic War: the most violent, bloody and destructive in the history of mankind. Time inexorably runs forward. These days go further into history, fewer and fewer living witnesses remain, and the more valuable and dear for us the remaining information of that time: letters, documents that open up more and more new, hitherto unknown, pages. Unfortunately, only a part of the documents of that time has been studied. Researchers and historians have work to do. In the state archive modern history The Chuvash Republic keeps documents that are of great interest. Among them - the construction of defensive structures, which was carried out in the winter of 1941-1942.

Today, on the eve of the approaching 65th anniversary of the Victory, it is necessary to look back again, remember the military and labor feats of the war years, and give a proper assessment of the labor feat of the Chuvash people. We decided to conduct a study to draw a picture of the events of those years.

It was October 1941. The enemy was rapidly advancing towards Moscow, the heart of our capital. Nobody knew what would happen tomorrow. Moscow was preparing for defense. On October 8, at 2:30, Zhukov reported to Stalin about the threat looming over the capital, that almost all roads to Moscow were open. On the same night, in a disturbing and dangerous situation, which did not exclude the possibility of the fall of the capital, the State Defense Committee discussed and adopted a preliminary plan for the construction of defensive and strategic lines in the rear on the Oka and Don. Volga. The experience of the defense of Leningrad and Odessa convincingly proved the necessity of creating strategic footholds in the most important areas, based on large cities.

Therefore, in the main and additional plans for rear defensive construction, the task was to strengthen Gorky, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk, Saratov, Stalingrad and other cities. According to the main and additional plans for defensive construction, 10 thousand km were to be built. defensive lines, 70 thousand bunkers, 27 thousand dugouts. Subsequently, in connection with a change in the strategic situation, the State Defense Committee, by a decision of December 27, 1941, made changes to the plan. The construction of anti-tank obstacles was reduced by 4,000 km, firing structures by 32,000, dugouts by 5,000. Simultaneously with the implementation of the plan for defensive work, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command outlined a plan for the creation of ten reserve armies. In case of failure for Soviet troops development of defensive operations, they had to detain the enemy at new lines.

Construction of a defensive line, later called "Sura frontier", began in 1941, when German troops were already near Moscow. In accordance with the indication State Committee Defense of October 16, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars of the Chuvash ASSR and the bureau of the Chuvash Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks make a decision - "To mobilize from October 28, 1941 for the construction of the Sursky and Kazan defensive lines on the territory of the Chuvash ASSR. The population of the republic is not younger than 17 years old, physically healthy.

The construction of the Sursky and Kazan defensive lines, which were supposed to delay the Nazis on the outskirts of Kazan, began at the end of October 1941. “Not a step back!” - so demanded the order People's Commissar defense number 227, given on July 28. For military builders, it meant that their task was to quickly create reliable defensive lines in difficult conditions in close proximity to the advancing enemy, his impact on the objects being built by artillery fire and air raids. The words of the order that “retreating further means ruining ourselves and at the same time our Motherland” inspired every builder of defensive lines.

On the territory of the Chuvash ASSR, the Sursky line passed along the Sura along the line with. Zasurskoye, Yadrinsky district - the village of Pandikovo, Krasnochetaisky - with. Sursky Maidan of the Alatyrsky districts - Alatyr to the border with the Ulyanovsk region. The Kazan frontier began from the Zvenigovsky Zaton, ran past the villages of Shorkistry and Arabosi of Urmarsky, with. Mozharki, Yantikovsky district, to the border with the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The total length of the frontiers in the republic is about 380 km. Tens of thousands of residents of the republic took part in the construction of the huge structure. The Sursky Frontier was built in 45 days.

The mobilized population was united in work teams of 50 people. A foreman's plot was assigned to each district. The first secretaries of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the chairmen of the executive committees of the district councils of working people's deputies were sent as heads of the foremen's sections. They were instructed to "ensure the normal work of the mobilized in their area": ​​to place in the surrounding villages, barracks, to build dugouts. Collective farms were supposed to organize the supply of food and fodder, medical stations - the necessary medicines. 6 Military field installations (VFS) were organized. Along the Sursky construction line: with centers - Yadrin, Shumerlya, Poretskoye, Alatyr and two - in the Kazan direction: with. Oktyabrskoe and s. Yantikovo.

On the defense lines, 6 Military Field Constructions (VPS) were created with centers in Yadrin, Shumerla, Poretsky, Alatyr, Oktyabrsky and Yantikov. Each district was attached to a specific VPS with the formation of a foreman section. The chairmen of the district executive committees, secretaries of the district committees of the CPSU (b) became the heads of the sections. The technical management was carried out by military engineers of the 11th and 12th Army Directorates of the Main Defense Building of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR. Local personnel were also involved - for example, Eremin, the construction manager of the Cheboksary plant "320" (the current plant named after Chapaev). Before November 15, 1941, it was instructed to the chairman of the State Planning Committee of Chuvashia, the secretary of the OK CPSU for industry and transport, to identify all available reserves of metal, cement and stone, "to organize the production of reinforced concrete, machine-gun caps and the manufacture of brackets and pokov for the bunker at the enterprises of the Chuvash ASSR" .

Commissioner of the People's Commissariat of Communications for Chuvashia Comrade Voronin undertook to ensure uninterrupted telephone and telegraph communication with field construction and construction sites. The departments were staffed mainly by local personnel. So, for the construction of the Sursky boundary, teachers, land surveyors, foresters, senior workers of the Tatar, Chuvash, Mari Republic. In total, 845 people of local specialists were mobilized, another 160 arrived according to the order of the Main Directorate of Defense Construction

By a resolution of a special meeting of the Council of People's Commissars and the Bureau of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated October 28, 1941, it was planned to mobilize "167,550 people on foot and 11,110 horsemen" for the construction. 171,450 workers, 13,660 horsemen were mobilized for work. Each district had to provide its workers with equipment - shovels, picks, crowbars, sledgehammers, saws, wheelbarrows, stretchers, etc. 226 wheeled and 77 caterpillar tractors, 5 excavators were sent for construction. Decisive measures were taken to provide workers with the necessary building materials (construction tools, timber, cement, bricks, etc.).

“Place the population in the surrounding villages, barracks, buildings of forestry and other organizations, and build dugouts on the missing area. Provide food at the expense of collective farms, organize boiler stations ... ”- noted in the document. “In order to improve the uninterrupted power supply of the mobilized, the chairmen of the executive committees of the district councils were obliged to ensure the creation of a rolling stock of food at the work site of the district for at least 10 days and demanded that there be no interruptions in the supply of workers with food”, mobile hospitals-isolations, medical stations were organized , sanitary-epidemic and disinfection units. For this, it was allocated required amount medical workers, medicines, dressings.

However, it soon became clear that it was impossible to attract such a large number of people and horses, to get building materials and tools. I had to urgently organize the production of the necessary on the spot. So, Chuvashstroytrest was given the task to make 500 pieces of reinforced concrete caps for machine-gun bunkers, artels - ax handles, cuttings for shovels, wooden spoons, bowls, bast shoes, mittens. The extraction of rubble stone in the Marposadsky and Cheboksary regions, mass logging began.

At the construction of defensive structures, socialist competition was organized "for the early and high-quality completion of the construction of defensive structures, ... for high quality work, the exchange of work experience and its dissemination among workers is organized. A challenge Red Banner of the Council of People's Commissars and the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was established, which was awarded to the advanced team. A system was introduced to encourage advanced sections, brigades, links and individual workers. On the foremen's plots, trade in essential goods was organized. Many mobilized did not have good clothes and shoes. During work, shoes wore out especially quickly. To solve the problem, at the request of the mobilized, trade in bast and bast shoes was organized. In some areas there were cases of non-fulfillment of the plan for the mobilization of labor force, transportation, lack of certain goods, inventory. However, such shortcomings were quickly corrected.

There was almost no technology. And the work for the villagers is new. How much frozen ground can you dig with a crowbar and a shovel? Things started to work when they began to work compactly, without spraying all over the track, they learned how to break off large pieces of soil with the help of wedges.

The people who built defense weapons understood that the trenches are the saved lives of soldiers. Not all collective farms could provide normal food for workers. According to Ekaterina Potapkina, a construction participant, it is almost impossible to forget those events. The workers ate very little. According to archival documents, the builders were supposed to have 80 grams of meat and 100 grams of cereals per day, but, as Potapkina admits, the locals did not see any products other than their milk and potatoes.

In the documents we read: “The collective farmers of the Pravda collective farm of the Shemurshinsky district ate for 3 days exclusively pumpkin, which they begged from the householders where they were quartered. But even during this time they could not get food and went home. The Iskra collective farm of the Komsomolsky district gave out only 3.5 kg of flour to those leaving ... Collective farmers are on the road for 4-5 days, the products are spent on the way. In December, the frost almost constantly kept below 30 °. In a memorandum on labor discipline according to VPS No. 6, it was said: “By order of the State Defense Committee, work must continue at 30 ° below zero, work for at least 10 hours. In fact, they work less, not to mention the losses during lunch. The payroll number of workers is 27850. Loss for a good reason - 1692 (sick), on vacation - 559. Deserters: in Kanashsky district - 278 people, Krasnoarmeysky - 146, Shikhazansky - 634, Yantikovsky 114, total - 1172. In addition, there were not enough warm clothes. Bast shoes were rescued, which were supplied by the Yanglichinskaya artel of the Kanashsky and Novochurashevskaya Ibresinsky districts.

There were also manifestations of panic. After all, people worked in isolation from their families, in constant anxiety for their relatives and friends. Many received funerals. The NKVD reported that at one of the stations there was a rumor that "all the children will soon be sent to Siberia, and the adults will be left to work here." The women, understandably, were hysterical. The NKVD authorities recorded such facts as "anti-Soviet manifestations, unhealthy moods." For example, such: “Well, life is hard, it doesn’t get worse. Is it a law when only children are left at home, and all adults are sent to construction? (Eremeev, Timirzkasy village, Alikovsky district); “The authorities laugh at us, we work all day long, and they give us one pack of shag for 5 people. This is what we have lived to” (Yakimov, the village of Shorkasy of the same district); “The Soviet Union exhausted all the people with the war, they drove everyone out of the villages to dig holes, and this is to destroy us ourselves, since this event will not give or save anything” (Pavlov, Ishleisky district); “These fortifications should have been built earlier, but now they only torment the people. In addition, the collective farmers on the construction site are not provided with anything and receive nothing” (Ignatiev, Povarkasy village, Tsivilsky district).

There were facts when in the GUBOR system of the NKVD, the leading personnel, out of professional habit, tried to apply GULAG methods of influence to Komsomol members mobilized for defensive work, which, by the way, was immediately suppressed by political bodies.

And yet it was truly a nationwide labor battle. On January 21, 1942, a telegram was sent to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Lavrenty Beria, signed by the head of the 12th Army Department Leonyuk, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Somov, the secretary of the regional committee Charykov: “The GKO task for the construction of the Sursky defensive line has been completed. The volume of excavated land is 3 million cubic meters, 1,600 firing points (bunkers and platforms), 1,500 dugouts and 80 km of trenches with communication lines have been built. At the same time, the construction of the Kazan frontier was completed. Selection committee noted good quality carpentry work on bunkers - "the use of high-quality thick oak and pine wood."

The terrible cold remained in my memory - up to 40 degrees below zero, but everyone worked tirelessly, - the construction participants recall. - The fear that the Germans were about to come made me give all the best. There were also tragic cases. One day, a part of the slope under which people were working collapsed. One girl died. "But the concerns of the collective farmers did not end there. To protect the line of defense on the territory of the ChASSR, 3 commandant's offices were formed. At first, the protection was carried out by horse and bicycle troops, later sections of the route were assigned to village councils and collective farms. In the spring of 1942, over a thousand In June-July, 5,345 people and 255 horses were required to clean up and put in order the forest areas left after felling for the needs of construction. repairs and in 1943

From the memoirs of old-timers: Grishin Ivan Romanovich, a native of the village. Pokrovskoye: “Inhabitants of the village of Pokrovskoye dug trenches near the villages of Vtorye Chekura and Satyshevo. Two brigades worked: the 1st brigade under the leadership of Markelov Grigory Gavrilovich (near the village of Vtorye Chekura) But our villagers were sent towards Kugeevo. They worked near the villages of Vtorye Chekura and Satyshevo. Two teams worked. One under the leadership of Markelov Grigory Gavrilovich. There were 25 people in his team.

1. Markelov Grigory Gavrilovich (foreman)

2.Koksheva Claudia

3. Kokshev Vasily

4. Semenova Claudia Maksimovna

5. Syatrova Pelageya

6. Pozdnyakova Peraskovya

7. Krasilnikova Solomonia

8. Grishin Egor Dmitrievich

9. Krasilnikova Love

10. Alyushina Peraskovya Stepanovna

11. Alyushin Petr Nikolaevich

12. Kudryashov Semyon Ivanovich

13.Antonova Tatyana Antonovna (cook)

14. Vladimirova Anfisa (cook)

15. Stepanova Tatyana Stepanovna

16. Olzhusev Ivan Andreevich (supplyman, carried groceries).

2nd brigade - Grishin Roman Dmitrievich (in the village of Satyshevo near the village of Kugeevo) .. People from the village of Bannovo (entered the city of Novocheboksarsk), residents of the village of Sotnikovo, students from the forest technical school and the land technical school worked near our village. They built trenches of stone. They also built machine-gun points, anti-tank structures. Sanitary structures were dug along the Marposadskoe highway to a depth of 200 meters ... "

“The winter of 1941 was fierce. The temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius ”(according to the memoirs of a participant in the construction of trenches, a resident of the village of Pokrovskoye, Maria Ignatievna Kutarkina, a student at the Poretsk Pedagogical College, who later worked as a Russian language teacher in the village of Pokrovskoye).

Remember the participants in the construction of trenches from the village. Pokrovskoe Grishin Ivan Romanovich and his wife Grishina (nee Markelova) Appolinaria Grigorievna:

“My father, Grishin Roman Dmitrievich, said that his brigade was digging trenches near the village of Satyshevo. The brigade employed 30-35 people from among the inhabitants of the village. Pokrovskoe. One day my father brought a sledgehammer, which he used in the trenches. It remains in our family to this day." “1941. Defensive structures are being erected in Chuvashia. We, young girls and boys, were sent to the village of Vtorye Chekura. It was November, but the ground was not yet frozen. We pulled out large stones from a large ravine called Churash Sermi. They worked from 6 am to 6 pm, until dark. We went to the village of Bolshoe Akkozino for the night. The leaders of the construction were the military. They lived with the villagers of the Osokins and in a nursing home. In turn, I had to go for water for a kilometer at night. Then we were sent to build trenches. They were digging near the village of Vtorye Chekura under the guidance of Markelov Grigory Gavrilovich, my father. It was very cold, the ground was frozen by that time. They dug with wedges, hollowed out the ground with crowbars, used sledgehammers. We were hungry, but the discipline was very strict. In total, 9 people remained in the brigade, the rest got frostbite and fell ill. As a prize, we received silk scarves with a red floral pattern and boots. In 1942, on December 2, I went to the front ... "

Students of the Mariinsko-Posad secondary school, forestry technical school and land technical school built trenches near the village of Aksarino.

Maya Mikhailovna Listeneva (Evgrafova) recalls: “Andrey Yakovlevich Eshpay, a future world-famous composer, studied in our class. During the war years, he was evacuated from Leningrad and lived in the city of Mariinsky Posad. He came to the collection point in light summer boots and a windbreaker, as they would say now, so in the bitter cold he could hardly work earthworks. To avoid frostbite, he was forced to return home. But my classmates remained at the construction of defense lines ... Many became seriously ill and frostbite ... I frostbitten my face. It was very hard work…”

From the memoirs of the home front worker Alekseeva Raisa Efremovna, a resident of the village. The first is Churashevo: “The men went to the front. I was appointed foreman. The whole burden of harvesting fell on the shoulders of the old and the young. What a terrible need it was: there was nothing to eat, but you had to work, plow, sow. 11-year-old boys, hungry and barefoot, plowed on horseback, it was a pity to tears for them: Arsentiev Misha, Makarov Vitya, the Estonian boy Ein. Old people came out to harrow. Plowed, sown, grown crops had to be harvested without losses and in a short time. Sheaves were brought, and so that the rain would not spoil, they were stacked in large shocks. The masters of this business were the old grandfather Pavel Kapitonovich and Elena Yakovleva. They threshed by hand. In the evening, when the mud was frozen, around midnight the foreman called the people to thresh. They stood up in threes against each other and beat the ears with chains, then winnowed with wooden shovels. The straw was immediately stacked into long stacks. Grain in bags was taken to the warehouse. By morning, when the earth was already melting, the threshing was stopped. In winter, collective farmers went to logging in Buinsk and Ibresi. The forest was needed for the construction of defense structures. Closer to spring, they collected ash and bird droppings from home. For this, the owner was charged workdays. They paid in kind, i.e. what was left after the state procurement. The collective farm was given a firm plan for the delivery of grain to the state, nothing less could be done. Sometimes the collective farmers themselves were left without grain. Therefore, it was necessary to fertilize the fields in order to increase the yield. Our parents at that time were building defensive fortifications ... "

From the memoirs of the former teacher of the Mizhul elementary school Stepanova Anisiya Stepanovna: “The frosts were very strong, even the birds fell to the ground from the cold. The children at the lessons sewed pouches for the soldiers, knitted mittens and socks. They wrote letters to the front. Even answers came - soldiers' letters-triangles from front-line soldiers, they thanked the children for their work. Each student had someone close to him who fought at the front. The former foreman of the 1st brigade Semenov Vasily Semenovich often wrote to the school. The Defender of the Motherland was interested not only in the success of his son, but also in the affairs of the collective farm. The children and I answered these letters, spoke in detail about collective farm affairs. They wrote warm letters: “We work here, help adults, and you will quickly return home with a victory.” During the war years, children worked together with collective farmers on weeding grain, potatoes, and vegetables. At the harvest, their teenagers were given half the adult task. In autumn the schoolchildren were busy picking hops. All work was done cleanly and neatly. Brigadier Kuzmin Stepan Kuzmich strictly watched how the children coped with the task. Digging potatoes. It was difficult, but it was necessary to help the adults who were sent to dig trenches and to cut down forests for defense installations. Everyone dreamed of that bright day when victory would come.”

From the memoirs of a home front worker Zinaida Andreevna Egorova, a resident of the village of. The first is Churashevo: “From the first days of the war, my father went to the front. The mother is blind. I was 12 years old, my sister was 7 years old. We studied at school, on holidays and in the summer we helped our own collective farm "The Way of Communism": we took manure to the fields, raked hay, weeded grain, dug potatoes, etc. My sister and I were also given the norm - to reap bread, we were very tired. In our house there was a workshop of the “Trud” promartel, which was led by Mokeev I.T. 15 women from different villages sewed underwear for soldiers, green camouflage robes here. The rent was paid in wood. It must be said that the promartel workshops were quartered in the houses of the Prokopyevs, Arkhipovs, Vasilievs, Zhurkins, Appolonovs, Guryevs. In the house of the Yaroslavlevs there was a bakery and a canteen for artel workers. Estonians lived and worked here together with the natives. After work, the artel workers also went out into the fields to reap bread. It was difficult time. As I remember, tears in my eyes. Father died at the front. The mother is blind. There is no one to intercede for me and my sister. As the eldest, I was sent along with other collective farmers to logging in Ibresi. Sawed oaks for the construction of bridges, crossings. We did not know that the forest was required for defense installations, we found out later. They slept in barracks, cooked food on a fire from food brought from home. There was a need: bad clothes, bast shoes on the feet. So cold and hungry worked. We got back home in freight cars, there was no money. Together with me from our village Karanyaly, Valentina Vasilyeva, Albert Ivanov, Maria Bogolyubova, Vasily Fedorov, Alevtina Vasilyeva, Ivan Italiev, Ivan Guslyarov, Dmitry Sokolov, Elena Arkhipova, Anastasia Dobrova, Olga Bondareva worked in logging.

From the memoirs of the home front worker Potapova Taisiya Leontyevna, from the village of Karanyaly: “In 1941, I turned 17 years old. I remember how in winter we, the collective farmers of the Kommunar collective farm in the Tsivilsky district, had to dig trenches in the Urmarsky district, 2 km from the railway station in the village of Urmary. For a whole month we hollowed out the frozen earth with a crowbar and an ax, throwing it away with shovels. Our group consisted of 20 people. We lived in the village in an apartment for 4 people. Food products: flour, meat, potatoes - gave the collective farm. They worked from 8 am until dark. It was very cold. In the most severe frosts, as the youngest, they left me to bake bread and cook soup. They had breakfast and dinner with soup, and for lunch they took a piece of bread, and they worked, no one got sick, no one grumbled. After graduating from the Tsivilsk vocational school, she was sent to the Trud promartel in the village of Karanyaly. We sewed underwear for soldiers, jerseys. They lived in an apartment. Here, in the village, she met Nikolai Potapovich, demobilized from the front, and got married. She worked on a collective farm, then no one lived without work, everyone worked. It was a difficult time."

From the memoirs of a home front worker Alekseeva Maria Alekseevna, Mizhuli village: “My parents Aleksey Dmitriev Dmitriev and Evgenia Alekseevna raised seven daughters. I was the fourth child in the family. Our hut was "black", the smoke came out through the door. In winter, when the stove was heated, we were children, sitting in the underground so as not to suffocate with smoke. Just before the war, my father built a new house. And then the war began. I am 17 years old. We all worked on the collective farm. In the midst of the harvest, right on the field, they brought a summons to the foreman of our brigade of the Tuytash collective farm, Leontiev E.I. The next day he went to war, he did not return. Many died from our village in this terrible war. It was difficult for us in the rear. In winter, in severe frost, I had to dig trenches. I don't remember the name of the village. They got there on foot. The frozen ground was difficult to give in, we had to hollow centimeter by centimeter. People got colds and got sick. Some, unable to withstand the harsh conditions of life, went home. According to the laws of wartime, they were tried, sent to forced labor. The food was very poor. I got sick and returned home. I had a lot of need to sip. I also had a chance to work at logging in Buinsk. Prepared construction timber for military purposes. Lavrentiev N.L. took us on horseback. We took knapsacks with provisions with us, we must eat something there. Thick oaks were sawn by hand. Very tired. It was cold, and we were in bast shoes. They walked back home. It had already begun to melt, and they were crossing the rivers barefoot on icy water. Legs hurt. Absolutely strangers let them go home to warm up and spend the night. It was hard for everyone then, need, hunger, war. But the war did not harden the souls of people, there were kind, sympathetic people. In addition to us, there lived in our house, there was also a family evacuated from Estonia: Maria Ivanovna with her daughters Klava and Olya. Her husband fought. They worked together with everyone on the collective farm, learned to speak our language. I remember seeing them off. It was a pity to part with them. The girls sang in Chuvash: “Epir kayatper, esir pire kuras suk”, everyone was crying. Then a letter came, they wrote that her husband had returned from the front. In 1978 Klava came to visit us. This is how life goes on year after year. She worked on a pig farm for 25 years. I am already 86 years old. I love reading books and newspapers. Life is good now, no need to cook firewood. And during the war they worked tirelessly. And in free time knitted socks, mittens for soldiers. Everyone worked like that back then.”

Memoirs of a home front worker Baranova Galina Stepanovna. Mizhuli village: “Today I turned 80 years old. Live alone. I love reading books. Only here it was necessary to study only 3 years. I still remember my first school day - September 1, 1938. My older brother Gennady walked me to school, for some reason I was scared to go alone, I was very worried. Arriving at school, all my worries passed: the teacher Stepanova Anisiya Stepanovna greeted us warmly. I liked to study, I was a very diligent student. In the report card there were marks only "Excellent" and "Good". Father died. Mother Matrena Stepanovna was left with three children. Life has become more difficult. Mother had to sell a horse and a cow, bought a goat. And then the war. Need, I didn't have to study anymore. In 1943, Gennady's brother went to war. Missing. Then the turn came to the second brother Stepan. (Fortunately he returned.). We, the children of the war period, did not sit at home, worked in the field, helped on the farm. Adults went to logging and digging trenches, so it was necessary to help them in collective farm affairs. And how hard it was to reap, reap every day, the back got tired. She cut her finger with a sickle. I remember it was after the war. The harvester came and quickly squeezed all our lanes. What progress it was for us then is a miracle. And during the war, all the work was done by hand and on a horse.”

From the memoirs of Xenia Vasilievna Plotnikova, a home front worker: “I was born in the village of Shordaushi, Tsivilsky District. In November 1938 she got married in Mizhuli. My husband Plotnikov Vasily Ivanovich worked as a teacher in Etniskerskaya primary school. After a year of marriage, he took me to the maternity hospital, and without even seeing his newborn daughter, he left to serve in the army, hoping that the separation would not be long. But the war began. Together with other women from our village, they sent us to dig trenches, anti-tank ditches near the village of Ablyazovo, Kozlovsky district. The young daughter was left in the care of an elderly grandfather. It was dark, at 6 in the morning we went to workplace, (the trenches were 2 km from the village) and ended the working day at 6 pm, nothing was visible, but it was not allowed to quit work. During the short winter days, most of the work had to be done at night. But that was the instruction, and no one discussed it. They understood that this was necessary in order to defend their homeland from the German invaders. They took up the crowbar and hollowed out the ground frozen during the night, making every effort. IN summer time we: Anfisa Plotnikova, Claudia Kuzmina, Elena Kornilova were sent to Cheboksary to build an airfield. For days on end they dragged the earth on a stretcher, hands ached unbearably from hard work and the lower back broke. In March 1942, the kolkhoz accountant M. Ovchinnikov went to the front. The case was handed over to me. For almost a year I pulled this difficult, unusual work. Then she switched to crop production: stinging, mowing, threshing - she did all kinds of work along with her. Her husband fought, alarming news came from the front, she was very afraid for her husband. The trouble came from where it was not expected. Having put her 3-year-old daughter to bed, she went to the collective farm field to loosen potatoes. The daughter woke up, climbed out through the window and went to look for her mother, sat on the edge of the bridge and fell into the river, although the depth was shallow, but the girl choked and died. After the death of her father-in-law, she was left alone. She worked on a collective farm. I had to carry grain on horseback to Marposad, I drove potatoes to the distillery. We left very early and returned home at night. IN winter time threshed grain, managed to thresh 1 stack per shift. It was difficult for everyone: both at the front and in the rear. War can't be helped. In 1944, after a serious wound, my husband came for 1 month and again went to war, but for health reasons he was sent to an arms factory, where he met the day of victory. In December 1945 he returned home. We've been together for over seventy years now. We have seven children, 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. The main thing is that the world should exist and never be anyone, so that it does not survive what our generation has experienced - need.

Madeev Vitaly Dmitrievich (b. 1936), village Shubashkarzino (Aksarino):

“In 1942, trenches were being dug near the village. We had people sent here to work along the line from the village of Chermesh (Tinsarino) in the Marposad district. There were about 10 of them. It was cold in our house. There was frost on the windows and in the corners of the house. They slept on the floor…”

Stepanov Ivan Vasilyevich, born in 1931 d.Chikmezino (Aksarino):“...The most difficult situation was created in the country in those days when Nazi German troops rushed to Moscow. By decision of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, measures were taken to defend Moscow. They erected defensive structures on the territory of some regions and republics (anti-tank trenches 3-4 meters deep, 6 meters wide with very well-camouflaged bunkers). Two such lines passed through the territory of Yadrinsky, Krasnochetaysky, Shumerlinsky, Poretsky, Alatyrsky and Kuvakinsky districts. The second line on the territory of Marposadsky, Oktyabrsky, Urmarsky, Yantikovsky districts. It was a harsh winter of 1941, the air temperature reached minus 40-42 degrees, but people dug trenches and built bunkers. Huge material and human reserves of the republic were mobilized to fulfill the task of the State Defense Committee. In the Oktyabrsky district, in the houses of our villages, visitors were accommodated in groups of 5-8 people. People slept on the floor, on straw mats, instead of blankets they covered themselves with straw mats. Furnaces were heated with straw…

Lukin Arsenty Ananievich (03/02/1929) Kuznetsov village: “I remember well how they dug trenches. That's what they called it at the time. In 1941 there was a terribly cold winter. It reached 40-43 degrees. Our rural structures were dug near the village of Kugeevo. The entire adult population participated in this work. I once asked my father to take me to the trenches. He would never have taken me in such a frost, but there were relatives in Kugeevo - my grandmother was from there. I then saw a terrible picture. In a terrible frost, people cleared the snow, then the earth was thawed with fires. The soil, like tin, was torn off in small pieces under crowbars and axes. The trenches were defensive structures in the form of an anti-tank ditch, more than 3 meters deep, 5-6 meters wide. In addition, they built pillboxes, pillboxes. Dugouts lined with logs, covered with logs and earth on top. Such structures were on the road to Oktyabrsk beyond Aksarin. After the war, they survived for a long time. I even fell into the "trench" once on a horse at night. Barely got out of there. It's good that he knew how to handle horses. He unharnessed the horse, brought the sled to the front legs of the horse, she barely threw her front legs onto the sled and thus jumped out onto solid ground .... "

Isaev Gennady Ilyich (b. 1925), Aksarino village, artist-painter: “... In October 1941, January 1942. Participated in the construction of trenches. The site of the Aksara collective farm was near the village of Kozhmara. It was cold. They dug, hollowed out the frozen ground with crowbars and axes. They built anti-tank ditches and bunkers. We were just digging. Bunkers were built by visitors. The timber was taken from the Marposadsky staircase (they also cut down the Bolshoy-Timerchevskaya grove. Apparently, for the construction of stoves in the bunkers, the bell tower of the Intercession Church was broken. N.E.N.) We were fed right there, in the field. Cooked pea soup. Those who came to dig trenches were accommodated in our villages. People from the village of Bannovo, now Novocheboksarsk, lived in our house. We were commanded by our chairman of the collective farm "Krasnaya Etna" Andrey Osipovich Kabachkov. In January 1943 enlisted in the army, participated in the Second World War .... "

Uzhaeva Galina Matveevna, (Nikolaeva), Aksarino: “... In 1941. She did not study, she worked on a collective farm, participated in the construction of the Kazan defensive line. In the summer of 1942 I continued to work on the restoration and repair of the indicated line built in winter ... I have awards, a medal - "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War", a badge - "Excellent Worker of Soviet Trade", a badge - "Honored Worker of Trade of the Chuv.ASSR, Certificates of Honor from the Government of the RSFSR and Chuv .ASSR…”.

From the memoirs of residents, the village of Divletgildino: “Varvara Sergeevna Sergeeva, a participant in trench digging, was born in the village of Divletgildino on November 23, 1919. She also worked near the villages of Vtorye Chekura and Satyshevo. They lived in the same village with an old man. Ivanova Maria Ivanovna was with her from her village. 27 girls also worked together. There were no men. They went to the front."

During the construction period, a huge amount of work was carried out over 380 kilometers: 4897 cubic meters of earth were excavated, 1480 dugouts, 2347 firing points were built, etc. Labor productivity in earthworks was 1.42 cubic meters per person per day. All this, despite the heavy soil, "the absence of explosives and mechanisms, made it possible, when developing the soil manually, to complete the work by the scheduled date." The directive of the State Defense Committee on the construction of the Sursky defensive line and the Kazan bypass within the Chuvash Republic was carried out with high quality and on time. Construction on the Sursky line was completed on January 20, 1942, Kazan - on January 25, 1942, moreover, a number of field constructions (Alatyr, Poretskoye, Shumerlya, Yantikovo) were completed ahead of schedule.

The construction of the frontier was completely completed in 4 months, from October 18, 1941 to February 28, 1942 ... Testifies former boss Department of the Russian State University "State Archive of Modern History" N.F. Grigoriev: “Following the results of the construction, the Bureau of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks filed a petition with the USSR State Defense Committee “On the provision of government awards to the best participants who showed genuine examples of labor heroism on defensive lines,” there were more than 50 people. Here are some of them: Among those presented for the award - Mikhail Ivanovich Bezborodov, born in 1906 - foreman of diggers (Alatyrsky district). “I worked in construction from the first days until the end of the work. The best foreman, organizer of Stakhanov's work. Members of his brigade systematically fulfilled the production rate by 200%. Khozikova Maria Nikiforovna, born in 1918 (Sundyr district). At the construction site, she worked as a digger all the time. “As a deputy of the village council showed personal example workers of his brigade. Systematically fulfilled the daily norm up to 250%. Behind Good work was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Chuvash ASSR. Sharafutdinova Minslu Sharafutdinovna, born in 1910 (Chkalovsky district), a link digger, “involved all members in the socialist competition and achieved mastery of the Stakhanov method of work. All 9 people of her link fulfilled the production rate up to 480%. Kuzmin Matvey Alexandrovich - head of the VPS section No. 2 (Krasno-Chetaisky district). "Correctly calculated labor force, as well as having achieved high labor productivity, he completed the construction of his site 7 days ahead of schedule with a “good” rating. 234 people were awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Chuvash ASSR.

In accordance with the directive of the Military Council of the Volga Military District dated March 5, 1944, further protection and maintenance of rear defensive structures in the territory of the Chuvash ASSR were discontinued. Bunkers, shelters, barracks and dugouts suitable for vegetable stores or field camps were recommended to be transferred to collective farms, the rest to be dismantled, and the material obtained during the analysis to be spent on the needs of the national economy.

But the concerns of the collective farmers did not end there. To protect the line of defense on the territory of the ChASSR, 3 commandant's offices were formed. At first, the protection was carried out by horse and bicycle troops, later sections of the route were assigned to village councils and collective farms. In the spring of 1942, more than a thousand people were involved in clearing and putting in order the forest areas left after felling for construction needs. In June-July, 5345 people and 255 horses were required to repair and restore the defensive structures damaged during the flood. Measures for winter maintenance and spring repairs were also provided for in 1943. In accordance with the directive of the Military Council of the Volga Military District of March 5, 1944, further protection and maintenance of the rear defensive structures on the territory of the Chuvash ASSR were discontinued. Bunkers, shelters, barracks and dugouts suitable for vegetable stores or field camps were recommended to be transferred to collective farms, the rest to be dismantled, and the material obtained during the analysis to be spent on the needs of the national economy.

Thus ended this labor epic. Let them now say that these structures were not useful. Thank God it didn't work! But we know what our people are capable of in difficult times.

Every year we honor veterans of the Great Patriotic War and home front workers. There are very few of them left in the village of Pokrovsky: war veterans - 3: Ignatiy Petrovich Volkov, Appolinaria Grigorievna Grishina and Vasily Romanovich Krasnov, and home front workers: Appolinaria Grigorievna Grishina, Ivan Romanovich Grishin, Alisa Aleksandrovna Grishina, Olimpiada Egorovna Grishina, Feoktista Andreevna Pavlova, Rimma Ivanovna Zhandarova, Akulina Petrovna Alyushina, Maria Timofeevna Kudryashova, Ignatiy Petrovich Volkov, Nikolai Stepanovich Maklashkin, Faina Seprgeevna Osokina, Nina Alexandrovna Alexandrova, Antonina Filippovna Irbitskaya, Vasily Romanovich Krasnov, Maria Ignatievna Kutarkina, Gerasimova Nina Yakovlevna. Many of them gave a lot of strength, erecting the Sursky defensive line.

In the village of Pokrovskoye, Mariinsko-Posadsky district, an alley was laid in honor of those who built defensive fortifications during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In May of this year, in honor of the 65th anniversary of the Victory, a bike ride will take place, in which you can all take part! In the Mariinsko-Posadsky district of Chuvashia, the construction of commemorative signs began in the places where the Kazan and Sursky defensive lines were created in the first months of the Great Patriotic War. Commemorative signs- a reminder to the younger generation of this formidable time. Thank you, dear home front workers, for your heroic work!

Opening of an obelisk in honor of the Kazan-Sura defensive line.

On May 4, 2010, on the border of the Oktyabrsky and Karabashsky rural settlements of the Mariinsky-Posadsky district, the grand opening of the obelisk in honor of the Kazan-Sursky defensive line took place.

65 years have passed since that unforgettable time when the volleys of a thousand guns announced to the world the Great Victory over fascism. These days go further into history, fewer and fewer living witnesses remain, and the more valuable and dear for us the remaining information about that time. It seemed that great feats were accomplished only at the front, but next to us live people who have done so much for the front through peaceful labor. The time has come to give a due assessment to the labor feat of the people who contributed to the Great Victory.

One of the brightest and most revealing pages of history from the life of the rear during the Great Patriotic War was the construction of the Kazan defensive line in the Mariinsky Posad region, where the heroic work of our fellow countrymen helped bring Victory closer in the most difficult conditions of the war. The construction of the defensive line began at the end of October 1941, when the German troops were already near Moscow.

The defensive lines were supposed to delay the Nazis on the outskirts of Kazan. On the territory of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Sursky line passed along the Sura River along the line of the Yadrinsky, Krasnochetaisky, Alatyrsky districts, the city of Alatyr to the border with the Ulyanovsk region. The Kazan line began from the Zvenigovsky Zaton, ran past the Urmarsky and Yantikovsky regions to the border with the Tatar ASSR. In the Mariinsko-Posadsky district, the line of defense passed through the territory of the villages of Karabashi, Kugeevo, the villages of Pokrovskoye and Oktyabrskoye.

The total length of the frontiers in the republic was about 380 km. 167 thousand 550 people on foot and 11 thousand 110 horsemen were mobilized for the construction of the frontiers. Truly it was selfless work. I had to work in the most difficult conditions in the cold, which almost always kept below 30 degrees. Many did not return home. This was a nationwide labor battle.

The Kazan-Sursky border was practically built in 45 days. This labor epic ended on the Sursky line on January 20, on the Kazan line on January 25, 1942. In the Chuvash Republic, the construction of commemorative signs began in the places where the Kazan and Sur defense lines were created during the war years. Commemorative signs are a reminder to the younger generation of that terrible time.

At the rally dedicated to the opening of the obelisk in honor of the Kazan-Sura defensive line, the head of the administration of the Mariinsko-Posadsky district Alexander Ivanovich Dmitriev, Deputy State Council Chuvash Republic Razumov Alexander Valerianovich, head of the Karabash rural settlement Mikhailov Vladislav Ivanovich, head of the Oktyabrsky rural settlement Nazarov Semyon Mikhailovich.

Cadets in the Guard of Honor at the obelisk replaced each other throughout the solemn ceremony. At the rally, songs about the war were performed by participants in the amateur performances of the district and Oktyabrsky rural Houses of Culture.

Funds for the purchase and installation of the obelisk were allocated by the Oktyabrsky RAIPO, headed by Pochemov Radim Vyacheslavovich.

Particular attention in this festive rally was given to speeches-memories of local residents, eyewitnesses of these events - participants in the construction of the Kazan-Sura defensive line.

Those who gathered at the rally honored the memory of all who fell during the Great Patriotic War with a minute of silence. In honor of the blessed memory of the workers of the Kazan-Sura defensive line, flowers were laid at the obelisk, and an alley of tui was laid.

In Mordovia, they were preparing to give battle to the Nazi troops on the banks of the Sura

Almost 65 years ago, the last volleys of the Great Patriotic War were fired. These days go further into history, fewer and fewer living witnesses remain, and the more valuable and dear for us is the surviving information of that time. Today, on the eve of the 65th anniversary of the Victory, it is necessary to look back again, to remember the military and labor exploits of the war years. Among them is the construction of defensive structures of the Volga-Sura defensive line, which was carried out in the winter of 1941-1942 and became the largest campaign to mobilize the population for labor service in Mordovia.

Autumn 1941 fighting approached the Moscow military district. At the beginning of October, there was no continuous front in the Moscow direction. The enemy was just preparing for the last blow. No one could predict the outcome of this battle. Lost in the course offensive operation German troops could hardly catch their breath and tried to gather reserves. No less exhausted, the Red Army tried to at least hold the enemy. The German command was well aware that in the circumstances it was important not so much to capture the Soviet capital as "to deprive the enemy of the military-industrial basis for restoring it." armed forces”- it was at this moment that General Paulus and Colonel Heusinger, who made up the “orientation of the chief of the general staff of the ground forces,” turned their attention. To achieve this goal, even before the full onset of winter, it was planned to reach the Vologda-Gorky-Saratov-Stalingrad-Maikop line. With such a balance of power, Moscow actually turned into a helpless colossus. At the same time, the USSR State Defense Committee was developing a plan to create a new strategic echelon of the armed forces consisting of nine armies. The frontiers were determined almost identical: Vytegra - Rybinsk - Gorky - Saratov - Stalingrad - Astrakhan. Thus, if the plans of Hitler's analysts nevertheless came true, then, perhaps, the bank of the Mordovian Sura River would become the basis of a new defensive line. Work on the construction of the Sursky defensive line began on October 7, 1941. The Council of People's Commissars of the Mordovian ASSR received a letter signed by the commander of the 47th Military Topographic Detachment, Major Mikhailov, in which he asked for assistance in conducting topographic research, which, on an urgent assignment General Staff The Red Army was scheduled to execute on time from October 10 to December 1. The corresponding circular was sent to 12 eastern regions of the republic. While the topographers were fulfilling their task, the decision-making bodies were working out options for the upcoming work, their scope, forms and methods of implementation. If you look at the map of Mordovia, then in its southwestern part you can see that a significant part of the border with neighbors runs along the Sura River. This natural line was taken as the basis of the defensive line. The extreme points are the place where the Barysh river flows into the Sura and the site railway Ruzaevka - Inza. Soon military engineering units appeared in Mordovia. It is unlikely that the curious at that time could notice it. At that time, there were enough military units on the territory of the republic. On November 23, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars and the Bureau of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a joint resolution on the construction of special fortifications passing through the territory of the republic and the neighboring region. It clearly, strictly, almost militarily painted: who, what and when performs. So, the total length of the fortification lines is 80 kilometers. The volume of upcoming work: excavation - 4 million cubic meters, logging and timber removal - 120 thousand cubic meters. It was necessary to spend 2.5 million man-days. According to the plan, 67 thousand people, 50 tractors (including 20 caterpillars), 4700 horses were going to be involved in the construction. To service all labor army workers, 22 doctors, 63 junior medical staff, 22 construction technicians, 44 road workers were allocated. Even the smallest details were not forgotten. For every ten people - 8 iron shovels, 3 crowbars, 3 axes, 2 cleavers, one cross saw and other equipment (up to chisels and planes). The district committees of the party allocated political instructors from their composition for the entire period of work on the basis of: for 300 people mobilized - one political instructor. Senior officials of the Council of People's Commissars of Mordovia were appointed deputy chiefs of field construction and sapper brigades. Most of the second secretaries of district committees and employees of district executive committees are approved by deputy battalion commanders responsible for mobilizing the population and transport, for accommodation, catering, holding educational work and for completing activities on time. Soyuzpechat should have allocated 7,000 copies of the Krasnaya Mordovia newspaper, 2,000 of Mokshen Pravda, and 3,000 of Erzyan Pravda for special construction. Separately, a clause was written on the immediate consideration of cases of violators of the law on labor conscription. The deadlines for implementation were the most stringent. The line of fortifications consisted of an anti-tank ditch, scarps, cut-off ditches, open trenches, rifle squads, trenches for heavy machine guns and cannons, and forest debris. The system of field fortifications included dugouts, dugouts, command posts. The former Deputy Minister of Culture of Mordovia, the first dean of the Faculty of Law Alexandra Ivanovna Guseva (Kosareva) also visited the construction of the Volga-Sura defensive line: - In early November, all young girls and childless women of the village received summons to the labor front. They said that on the 10th we need to come to the village school. Take warm clothes and food with you for 3-4 days. Most were able to grab only boiled potatoes and bread from home. The youth at that time no longer walked in bast shoes. But we were warned that they should be worn to work along with woolen stockings and canvas shoes. We went out in the direction of Chamzinka. From neighboring villages, young girls from other villages joined us along the way. People were streaming. We were led by the military. Where they were taking us, we did not know. While we were walking to the place of work, we stopped for the night in the villages. We were assigned for the night to local residents several people per hut. They slept on straw scattered on the floor without undressing. A few days later we reached Novosursk. I remember that at that time it was a small village with a street going down to the Sura River. We were placed at home. I was settled with relatives and neighbors in my native village. 8-10 people lived in one house. Slept on the floor. Only if someone fell ill, the hostess allowed them to sit on the stove. Our job was to make the sloping bank of the Sura an impregnable wall. So that the tanks could not pass through it. That year there were terrible frosts. The temperature dropped to 45 degrees. If you stand in bast shoes on the ground for a few seconds, then they begin to freeze. The ground was also frozen. In order for it to thaw, we kindled fires and only then hollowed it out with crowbars and shovels. Then the soil on a stretcher was pulled out and taken away. The banks were cut to make them sheer. Trenches were dug in certain places. Our group from the Romodanovsky district was responsible for its own section of the coast. We were fed by the local collective farm. Large loaves of bread were brought on sledges, as well as millet and flour, from which we cooked stew. It was impossible to bring potatoes, as they froze on the way. Working conditions were really difficult. Front rations: flour and bread - 1 kg, cereals - 0.150 kg, meat - 0.100 kg (in theory, of course). To get from the place of temporary stay to work and back, other Labor Army soldiers had to walk 15-20 kilometers. Working norm for men - 2 cubic meters per day, for women, who were the vast majority - 1.75 cubic meters. And this despite the fact that the yard was forty degrees of frost. The very first months showed that the work could hardly be completed within the allotted month. From the cold, hunger and the onset of disease, people fled back to their villages. As of December 10, 199 people came to the Romodanovsky district alone, 93 of whom managed to return back. Of those who fled, 10 deserters were arrested, 4 (all women) were convicted. There were other problems as well. In addition to the fact that some districts “underdelivered” the required amount of manpower (the Ruzaevsky district, for example, instead of 4 thousand people sent only 2170), among those already mobilized, there were teenagers, pregnant women, disabled old women, and terminally ill people. Added to all this was the eternal organizational confusion. Some did not have tools for digging trenches, others worked without technical documentation, and the third did not have time to bring food. The regional committee of the party barely kept up with patching up the holes, but still, by December 16, only 13 percent of the earthworks had been completed. The onset of the new year of 1942 was modestly noted along the entire Surskaya line, which received official name- "Rear defensive line No. 30". The defeat of the Germans near Moscow clarified a lot. But there was no guarantee of an easy victory. The objects of the frontier were accepted by representatives of the commandant's office, and those volumes of work that the Labor Army did not have time to complete were transferred for execution to the People's Commissariat of Public Utilities of the MASSR, along with documentation, estimates, and funds. On January 15, 1942, the builders reported on the completion of the first phase of work. “Everyone seemed to have forgotten about us,” Alexandra Ivanovna continues. - And they stopped feeding, and they didn’t force them to work. Whomever you ask, no one can tell if our help is still needed. We sat, thought, and went home. More precisely, they did not go, but ran. If the road to work took three days, then they got back twice as fast. Still, I really wanted to go home. Only once did we stop in the Tatar village of Lomaty. I remember that they gave us tea there and managed to place everyone on the beds for the first time, as we left the house. When they finally got to their native village, they rested for a whole week. Our legs hurt so much after a long walk that we couldn't even walk. Just rested and got used to being at home, the agenda comes again. They collected three carts from our collective farm - 12 girls (I was appointed a foreman) - and sent to the village of Sabaevo, Kochkurovsky district. Placed at the end of the village, closer to the place of work. Trenches were dug along the Sura, and our task this time was to camouflage them. Axes cut the turf along the river, these trenches were covered with them, then straw was laid on top and covered with snow. After such a disguise, even we ourselves could not show exactly where these traps, made according to the principle of "wolf pits", were located. Many years later, I went to my nephew in Sabaevo in Kid `s camp and noticed that the ditches that we hid under the snow were still there. In early April, before the flood, we were released. There was no snow anymore, the exhausted horses could not pull the carts, they had to harness themselves. We returned home, immediately fell ill - furunculosis, malaria, rheumatism. Treated until the summer. Many workers and collective farmers who built fortifications received well-deserved awards - certificates of honor and cash prizes. The leaders of the work were awarded orders and medals. The sixth sapper army, replenished on the banks of the Sura with residents of Mordovia, Chuvashia and the Penza region, went to the front, which by that time was already near Tula. They had to go there on foot. The erected frontier did not become a place of hot battles. Over time, the collective farmers began to dismantle the fortifications. Attempts by the authorities to somehow resist the theft were unsuccessful, and in April 1944 the command of the Volga Military District allowed the sale of "wooden-earth defensive structures and materials obtained from their development." An end was put in the history of the Sursky frontier. More, incl.

Forgotten front in the rear: fighters of the Sur line in Chuvashia
"Invisible Tears of War". IA REGNUM project about how the Sursky defensive line and the Kazan bypass in Chuvashia were built / The project of IA REGNUM under the coordination of Modest Kolerov "Nothing is forgotten" is dedicated to people and events that left a deep mark on the history, politics and art of Russia and the world. In our time, we see how they determined the face of modernity, asked questions that require reflection and answers / May, 2018

IA REGNUM continues to raise half-forgotten and little-known pages from the history of the Great Patriotic War and tell how the Sursky line and the Kazan bypass were built within the territory of Chuvashia. Related: | | 100th anniversary of Z. Tyurkina

USSR

In the course of preparing materials, it turns out that many in the family had someone involved in large-scale defensive construction. Which is not surprising: “all human and material resources” were mobilized in Chuvashia to fulfill the task of the State Defense Committee, “there was not a single collective farm in the republic that did not send its best representatives” to the construction site, which received the name nationwide. On the basis of archival materials collected by a REGNUM correspondent in the State Archive of Modern History of Chuvashia (BU "GASI"), we continue to talk about the labor heroism of the participants in those events.

2. On the construction of the Sursky defensive line, 1941

"Mom, you won't see me again"

In Chuvashia, the construction of the frontier began in October 1941. Six military field installations (VPS) were organized on the territory of the republic. Along the Sursky construction line - with centers in Yadrin, Shumerla, Poretsky, Alatyr. Two UPUs were in the Kazan direction: in the villages of Oktyabrskoye and Yantikovo. In a report to the head of the department of propaganda and agitation of the CPSU (b) Alexandrov, sent from Chuvashia, it is noted that the length of the borders was 380 km, 4,897,000 cubic meters of earth were excavated, and 5,329,000 man-days were spent on construction.

3. From the report to the head of the propaganda department. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-1. Op. 23. D. 398

In the party archives of the Chuvash regional committee, it was noted that “tens of thousands of workers and food carts” were sent to work, while “columns of the most remote regions had to travel a hundred kilometers.” Residents "at least 17 years old, physically healthy" were mobilized. An average of 85,000 people took part in the construction every day, with some periods reaching 110,000 people. According to archival data, as of October 1, 1941, there were 1,102,200 inhabitants in Chuvashia, of which 511,608 were aged from 17 to 54. In general, over 208 thousand inhabitants were mobilized from the territory of Chuvashia during the war years, of which 106 thousand died.

“The following workers worked at the construction site: collective farmers, individual farmers, workers, employees, housewives and students of higher and secondary educational institutions”, - says, in particular, in the memorandum to the head of the propaganda and agitation department of the military-industrial complex (b) Alexandrov.

“The work was carried out without a single day off for the entire construction period, without interruption even in the most severe frosts, reaching up to 40 degrees on some days. The remoteness of the frontier, its weak population made it difficult to accommodate people and complicated the delivery of food and fodder, ”says, in particular, the decision of the bureau of the Chuvash regional party committee on the results of the construction of the Sursky defensive line and the Kazan bypass.

According to other evidence, in 1941 the cold reached 50 degrees. And this means that it was not only abnormally cold, but the ground also froze, turning into boulders and barely thawing even when making fires. Technique was then a rarity and luxury, so the work was carried out everywhere by hand - shovels, picks, sledgehammers, saws, carts were used. But even these simple tools were chronically lacking.

For example, in the Cheboksary region in the agricultural artel "Sailor" for 38 people there was one scrap, in the agricultural artel named after. Vodopyanova for 45 people - one scrap, in the Marposad district at the work site of the collective farm " Right way"for 159 people - seven crowbars, at the work site of the Zarya collective farm for 46 people - three crowbars. Therefore, “the rest of the collective farmers are waiting for one person to remove the frozen cover of the earth in order to continue working with shovels,” data are given in the collection of documents “Top Secret” by Chuvashsky state institution humanities(compiler Evgeny Kasimov And Dmitry Zakharov).

Construction was complicated by living conditions. People lived in dugouts, barracks, tents, huts, the more fortunate ones settled in houses in nearby settlements. During work, there was always a shortage of rooms where people could be warmed, and warm clothes - mittens and shoes wore out especially quickly, so the trade in bast and bast shoes was organized.

The food was monotonous, while there were always interruptions in delivery. As a result, the workers were left without food for several days. There were facts of importation of rotten food, with worms. Someone could not stand it and deserted.

People froze their limbs, fell into ditches, there were cases of collapse during excavation. For some, this building was the last. For example, a letter from a 17-year-old girl from the Kanash region has been preserved:

“Mom, send me linen, bread and potatoes. You won't see me anymore, just like I won't see you. People say that before, while digging trenches, people died. Apparently, I won't have to go home."

"Fought for high productivity"

The hope of victory and the expectation of peace in their native land helped to endure and endure. But people lived not only in hope. Labor feats were performed daily before their eyes, which inspired and motivated others. Among the builders, who were also called fighters, socialist competition unfolded with the challenge of the Red Banner, many took on increased obligations. "Party-political and propaganda-mass work" was also organized.

“The Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks allocated responsible republican and district party and Soviet workers for this work. In total, 420 people worked at the construction site as political instructors, and 3,200 people worked as agitators. Political instructors and agitators carried out systematic explanatory, mass-political work, daily being among the workers, conducted reports, conversations, readings of newspapers, political information among them, issued combat leaflets, showed samples of Stakhanov's work by personal example, passing on the experience of construction leaders to all brigades and sections. The wide popularization of Stakhanov's methods of work contributed to the expansion of socialist emulation and increased labor productivity. All construction workers were drawn into socialist competition, who literally fought for high labor productivity, for early completion of construction, ”the decision of the bureau of the Chuvash regional party committee says, in particular.

Important factors that also helped to pass the defensive lines ahead of schedule - iron discipline and criminal liability for failure to comply with orders. For example, in order No. 28, issued by the head of military field facility No. 6 Voskanyan, there is a surname list of section chiefs and chief engineers who “do not fulfill their promises on assets, the decisions of these assets” and “instructions on the correct organization of labor, the placement of people ".

“Foremen and foremen of these sections are rarely on the highway, and section chiefs and chief engineers do not eliminate criminal laxity among engineering and technical personnel,” Voskanyan’s order says.

Therefore, all managers were instructed to “be on the track from morning until the end of work”, “absences” were allowed only for 1 hour - “for lunch”. And a warning: in case of non-compliance, the perpetrators "will be held criminally liable, regardless of the persons."

Such facts were not widespread, unlike examples of labor heroism. In particular, evidence of this is stored in the party archive of the Krasnochetaisky district of Chuvashia (in the GASI fund), the characteristics of the leaders have been preserved - in total more than 100 documents, including handwritten ones. Those who distinguished themselves received bonuses, vacations, Thanksgiving letters and other awards.

4. Characteristics of Dimitry Barinov. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

Characteristics as evidence of heroism

Here are some excerpts from the preserved characteristics. Head of one of the military training centers Pavel Gerasimov, whose VUP was recognized as one of the best, received a commendation for having “achieved a strengthening of discipline” and an increase in labor productivity: “daily output per one fighter-worker is 140%”.

5. Characteristics of Pavel Gerasimov. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

“The main condition for success is Bolshevik discipline, based on constant coverage of the issues of the Patriotic War, on socialist competition, its daily summing up on the basis of individual and team assignments,” reads, in particular, in the description.

6. Description of Dmitry Bozrikov. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

Foreman of one of the sections Ivan Ogandeikin was nominated as a candidate for the rally of shock workers and Stakhanovites of the VPS-2, since his brigade fulfilled the production standards of 170–175%, and he proved himself to be a “good political worker”. In addition, under his leadership, "514 rubles were collected for the defense fund among the construction workers and 810 rubles worth of money and clothing lottery tickets were sold."

7. Description of Ivan Ogandeikin. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

In the characteristic for the political instructor Gerasim Kudryaeva it is noted that he "was constantly among the workers of defense installations and correctly combined political mass work with production work." Fighters-workers of the Atnar VUP, where he worked as a commissar, fulfilled the production standards by 170–200%.

8. Characteristics of Gerasim Kudryaev. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

Not far behind men and women. For example, a farmer Elena Yandaikina“Put into practice the words of Comrade Stalin in the report of November 6, 1941”:

9. Characteristics for Elena Yandaikina. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

“From the day the defensive work began, she did not have a single day of absence and daily fulfilled the daily norms for earthwork of 2.5 km at a rate of 1.8 km, which is 139%, for Lately fulfills the daily norm by 150-160%.

Doctor of one of the districts Maria Munina“during her work on the construction site, she showed exceptional sensitivity and concern for the collective farm workers of the construction site.”

10. Characteristics of Maria Munina. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

“I received workers from 5 am to 11 pm, regardless of working hours. On her own initiative, she often went to the workers on the construction site and provided the necessary medical assistance at the place of work. She has done a lot of preventive work. By urgent and energetic measures, she quickly managed to prevent the epidemic incidence of typhus that had arisen, ”the description notes, in particular.

11. From the report of the military department of the Yadrinsky RK of the CPSU (b). From the funds of BU "GASI". P-115. Op. 14. D. 47.

The report of the military department of the Yadrinsky RK of the CPSU (b) states that in the Yadrinsky district, out of those employed in construction, 906 people fulfilled the norm from 100% to 150%, 240 people - from 150% to 200%, 88 people - over 200%. And "in the forefront, as always, were the Communists and Komsomol members."

"In particular, a member of the party Shmelev I. Nick. works as a shift chief of the fire brigade, despite his old age, daily exceeded production standards in the construction of military installations.

12. Characteristics of Grigory Amaroshkin. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

Rewarding

Following the results of the construction, the Bureau of the Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks filed a petition with the State Defense Committee "On the provision of government awards to the best participants who showed genuine examples of labor heroism on defensive lines." There were over 50 of them. Another 234 people were awarded a diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Chuvash ASSR (data from the State Archive of the Modern History of Chuvashia).

Among those presented for the award is the foreman of excavators Mikhail Bezborodov, (Alatyrsky district), who worked on construction from the first days until the end of the completion of work. He was considered one of the best foremen, organizers of Stakhanov's work. Members of "his brigade systematically fulfilled the production rate by 200%."

“I worked as a digger without a break” Maria Khozikova, which "as a deputy of the village council showed a personal example to the workers of her brigade", "systematically fulfilled the daily norm up to 250%". Minslu Sharafutdinova worked as a link link of diggers, "involved all members in the socialist competition and achieved mastery of the Stakhanov method of work": all "9 people of her link fulfilled the production rate up to 480%". Head of UPU Section No. 2 Matvey Kuzmin(Krasnochetaysky district), “having correctly calculated the labor force, as well as achieving high labor productivity, he completed the construction of his site 7 days ahead of schedule with a “good” rating.

The award ceremonies themselves were more than just a celebration.

"Handing certificates of honor it is necessary to organize it in such a way that it mobilizes the masses of the collective farms for better agricultural work, for which it is important to prepare the recipients themselves for speeches when they receive certificates of honor, and also to organize the speeches of the heads of collective farms, Soviet party workers. All speeches must be briefly recorded in the minutes. Send us the protocol of delivery, ”the acting statement says. Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Chuvash ASSR A. Izmailova sent to the secretary of the Krasnochetaisk district committee of the CPSU (b) M. Kuzmin.

13. Order. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434

The presentation protocol, which is also kept at the State Architectural Institute, contains excerpts from the speeches of the awardees. Certificates of honor were presented on May 4, 1942 "at a meeting of the party, Soviet and collective farm activists" of the Krasnochetaisky district with the participation of more than 240 people.

“In the days of the Patriotic War, our valiant soldiers of the Red Army and all Soviet peoples are fighting the brutal German occupiers until complete defeat. Our workers, office workers, men and women work tirelessly in factories. And they give the front more and more tanks, planes, cannons, machine guns, mortars, rifles and ammunition.

14. Protocol for the presentation of certificates of honor. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-101. Op. 1. D. 434.

Our collective farmers, men and women, work tirelessly in the fields and give the front more and more grain, meat and raw materials for industry. We are faced with the task of successfully completing the spring sowing and obtaining a high harvest in 1942, ”is, for example, a fragment of the speech Ivan Zorkov.

Beria's letter

In a telegram sent from Chuvashia to the NKVD Lavrenty Beria , it is said that “during the construction of the border, the local population of Chuvashia showed examples of excellent work. Many collective farms-brigades showed high labor enthusiasm, systematically fulfilling the norms by 2-3 times”:

15. Telegram for Beria. From the funds of BU "GASI". P-1. Op. 23. D. 398

“Engineering and technical personnel were forged at work. Many engineering and technical workers showed themselves as organizers and leaders of production. Having completed the work, the local population and the engineering and technical staff of the 12th Army Directorate are ready to fulfill any new task of the Party and the Government with the same energy.

The Sursky line of defense is a line of defense, a structure near the Sura River, built on the territory of the Chuvash and Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, intended to delay the Nazi troops on the outskirts of Kazan along with the Kazan defensive line.

On the territory of the Chuvash ASSR, the Sursky line passed along the Sura along the line with. Zasurskoye, Yadrinsky district - the village of Pandikovo, Krasnochetaisky - with. Sursky Maidan of the Alatyrsky districts - Alatyr to the border with the Ulyanovsk region. Tens of thousands of residents of the ChASSR took part in the construction of the structure. The Sursky Frontier was built in 45 days.

Construction background: When in October 1941 the Wehrmacht was advancing towards Moscow and Moscow was preparing for defense, the State Defense Committee discussed and adopted a preliminary plan for the construction of defensive and strategic lines in the rear on the Oka, Don, and Volga. In the main and additional plans for rear defensive construction, the task was to strengthen Gorky, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Ulyanovsk, Saratov, Stalingrad and other cities. In the event of an unsuccessful development of defensive operations for the Soviet troops, they had to detain the enemy at new lines.

Start of construction The construction of the Sursky defensive line began at the end of October 1941.

The construction of the defensive line, later called the Sursky Line, began in 1941, when German troops were already near Moscow. In accordance with the instructions of the State Defense Committee of October 16, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars of the Chuvash ASSR and the Bureau of the Chuvash Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decide: “To mobilize from October 28, 1941 for the construction of the Sursky and Kazan defensive lines on the territory of the Chuvash ASSR. Mobilization is subject to the population of the republic not younger than 17 years old, physically healthy.

Construction progress: The mobilized population was united in work teams of 50 people. A foreman's plot was assigned to each district. The first secretaries of the Chuvash Republican Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the chairmen of the executive committees of the district councils of workers' deputies were sent as chiefs of the foremen's sections. They were instructed to "ensure the normal work of the mobilized in their area": ​​to place in the surrounding villages, barracks, build dugouts. Collective farms were supposed to organize the supply of food and fodder, medical stations - the necessary medicines. Military field installations (VPS) were organized with centers - Yadrin, Shumerlya, Poretskoye, Alatyr.

Completion of construction: On January 21, 1942, a telegram was sent to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs L.P. Beria, signed by the head of the 12th Army Department, Leonyuk, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Somov, and the secretary of the regional committee, Charykov: “The task of the State Defense Committee for the construction of the Sursky defensive line has been completed. The volume of excavated land is 3 million cubic meters, 1,600 firing points (bunkers and sites), 1,500 dugouts and 80 km of trenches with communication lines have been built.