Vasiliy Kononov Partisans during WWII Date of Birth: 01.01.1922 Country: Latvia

Biography of Vasily Kononov

Vasily Makarovich Kononov was born on January 1, 1922, in the Latvian village of Staruya. In 1940, after the arrival of the Red Army in Latvia, Vasily joined the Komsomol and became the leader of the local organization. During World War II, Kononov fought in partisan units and became the top saboteur of the 1st Latvian Partisan Brigade. He was responsible for destroying numerous German trains and equipment. For his military achievements, Kononov was awarded the Order of Lenin.

During the war, Vasily Kononov was wounded multiple times and underwent three surgeries after the war. However, in his later years, he found himself in a defendant's role. In 1998, the Latvian court began a trial against Kononov, accusing him of war crimes committed during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of Latvia.

One particular event, which is now used against Kononov, took place on February 29, 1944. A partisan group consisting of twelve scouts, including the one-year-old son of the partisan commander Chugunov, stopped for a short rest in the village of Malye Baty in Latgale. The partisans were betrayed, surrounded, and killed in a battle, including the child. The surviving partisans sought revenge, which they managed to accomplish three months later.

On May 27, 1944, Kononov's unit launched a surprise attack on Malye Baty. During the battle, a group of local police officers was eliminated. In one of the burning houses, they trapped a local resident, as the partisans had information that she personally finished off the wounded scouts in the February battle.

After the war, Vasily Kononov worked in the militia and rose to the rank of colonel. He spent his entire life in Latvia and, in his old age, found himself as a defendant in a lengthy legal process that lasted for five years. In 2001, due to his health condition, the Supreme Court released him from custody and sent his criminal case for further investigation.

On September 9 of this year, the Latgale Regional Court in Latvia reinitiated the trial, with the prosecutor demanding a 12-year prison sentence for Kononov. However, on Friday, the court requalified the charges against the 80-year-old former Soviet partisan Vasily Kononov from war crimes to banditry and, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, released him from punishment.