Lazar Papernik Sniper, Hero of the Soviet Union Date of Birth: 01.09.1918 Country: Ukraine

1. Biography of Lazar Papernik
2. Early Life and Career
3. Service in the Red Army
4. Heroic Actions and Sacrifice
5. Legacy

Biography of Lazar Papernik

Lazar Khaimovich Papernik was a Soviet sniper and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was posthumously awarded this title by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on July 21, 1942, for his exemplary execution of combat missions and the courage and heroism he displayed in battles against the German-Fascist invaders. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin.

Early Life and Career

Lazar Papernik was born on September 1, 1918, in the city of Slavuta, which is now part of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in Ukraine. He came from a family of railroad workers. After completing seven years of school, he worked at the 1st Moscow Clock Factory named after S.M. Kirov, where he held various positions such as lathe operator, miller, machine tool adjuster, dispatcher, and workshop manager.

Service in the Red Army

Lazar Papernik joined the Red Army on July 17, 1941, and soon found himself on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War. He served as a sniper in the 2nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Special Purpose Motorized Rifle Brigade of the NKVD troops. In the night of January 23, 1942, he was part of a ski squad consisting of 25 members that was assigned a combat mission behind enemy lines in the village of Khludnevo, near the city of Sukhinichi in the Duminichsky District of the Kaluga Oblast.

Heroic Actions and Sacrifice

The squad's mission was to drive the enemy out of Khludnevo. In the attack, led by Senior Lieutenant K.Z. Lazniuk, the fighters managed to eliminate numerous entrenched fascists in the village, causing panic among the German soldiers. However, the Germans quickly regrouped and intensified their fire. Papernik was severely wounded and carried off the battlefield by the squad's commander. The command was then taken over by Political Commissar V.T. Yegortsev, who, together with the remaining fighters, established a defensive perimeter on the outskirts of the village.

The battle lasted until dawn, when the squad was subjected to mortar fire. The Germans launched an attack, leaving only the deputy political commissar, Papernik, alive. Facing certain capture by the enemy, Papernik chose to detonate himself along with the surrounding German soldiers using an anti-tank grenade, declaring, "Better death than fascist captivity!"

Legacy

A newspaper article from February 14, 1942, stated, "Years will pass, the village destroyed by the Germans will heal its wounds, the bloody traces of the German invaders will be erased, but the memory of the heroic skiers will be preserved forever!" Papernik was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Order of Lenin.

Memorial plaques commemorating this brave soldier have been installed at the entrance of the 1st Moscow Clock Factory and in the city of Slavuta. Streets in Moscow and Slavuta have been named after him, and monuments in his honor have been erected in the village of Khludnevo, where he is buried, and in the Southeastern Administrative District of Moscow, near 6 Papernika Street.