Sergey Levashov Member of the underground organization 'Young Guard'. Date of Birth: 16.12.1924 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Sergei Levashov

Sergei Levashov was born on December 16, 1924, in the village of Kuteynikovo, Donetsk Oblast. In the autumn of 1930, his family moved to the Krasnodon district. The following school year, Sergei started attending the preparatory class at Secondary School No. 1 named after A. M. Gorky. He continued his education in various village schools, excelling academically and receiving commendations for his achievements. Sergei had a remarkable musical talent and played multiple instruments. In the 6th grade, he developed an interest in automotive engineering and later joined an aeromodelling club. The club members engaged in serious radio and aviation activities and even corresponded with aircraft designer A. S. Yakovlev, who offered advice on building models.

In 1939, Sergei Levashov was accepted into the Leninist Young Communist League by the Komsomol organization of Secondary School No. 29 in Shaft No. 12 settlement. He completed nine grades of schooling before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. His family then moved to the city of Krasnodon, and after an unsuccessful attempt to join the front, Sergei continued his studies at School No. 1 named after A. M. Gorky. In April 1942, due to his active involvement in the Komsomol, he was sent by the district Komsomol committee to a school for partisan and underground operatives in Voroshilovgrad. After completing the theoretical course, Sergei, along with his brothers, successfully underwent parachute training and was later airdropped behind enemy lines in August to carry out sabotage missions and gather intelligence on the enemy. The group became surrounded, suffered losses, and the remaining survivors had to evade pursuers individually.

In September 1942, Sergei returned to occupied Krasnodon, where he joined the underground Komsomol organization "Young Guard." He immediately became actively involved in the fight against the invaders. As instructed by the organization, he secured a job at the management's garage, disabled three vehicles, and supplied the underground fighters with explosives. He also joined a group that destroyed enemy vehicles carrying fuel on the road between Krasnodon and Sverdlovsk. With a solid understanding of radio engineering, Sergei quickly assembled a radio receiver. He and his fellow comrades listened to their first broadcast from Moscow on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution. Sergei's sister, V.M. Levashova, recalls, "The real celebration for all of us was the evening when we heard a faint voice of the announcer in a single earphone connected to the telephone: 'This is Moscow speaking!' We took turns listening, pressing it tightly to our ears. The sound was not always clear, and some words were difficult to make out. But from what we heard, we could judge the true situation on the front."

On January 5, 1943, Sergei was arrested at his workplace. From prison, he managed to pass several notes to his family, reassuring them and asking them not to worry. On January 15, after horrific torture, he was thrown into the pit of Shaft No. 5. Sergei Mikhailovich Levashov was buried in a mass grave of heroes in the center of Krasnodon. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class and the "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st Class medal.