Vasiliy Tkachev Member of the underground organization 'Young Guard'. Date of Birth: 17.09.1922 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Vasily Tkachev

Vasily Tkachev was born on September 17, 1922, in the village of Fominke, Millerovsky District of the Rostov Region. He attended the first grade in his hometown before his family moved to the village of Vodyanaya in the Krasnodon District. Vasily completed his primary school education in Vodyanaya and then continued his studies at the Krasnodon School named after S.M. Kirov.

During his school years, Vasily developed a passion for reading and music. He excelled at playing the mandolin and participated in the rehearsals of the school string orchestra. He also enjoyed woodworking and spent hours working with a saw and plane. Vasily was a curious and responsive young man who earned the respect of his classmates and teachers. He formed close friendships with Pavel Palaguta and Nikolai Mironov.

In 1938, Vasily's family moved to the village of Semeykino in the Novosvetlovsky District. After completing his seven-year education, Vasily worked at a state farm and later found employment at a railway depot. In the same year, he joined the Komsomol (Young Communist League). Vasily's diligent work at the depot led to his enrollment in courses in the city of Debalcevo, where he obtained a specialization as a locksmith-mechanic before returning to the depot in early 1940.

When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Vasily and his two brothers joined the fight to defend their homeland. Vasily was assigned to a naval school and sent to Novorossiysk, where he was later transported with the airborne troops to defend Sevastopol. During the defense, he sustained serious injuries and was transferred to a hospital in the city of Yaroslavl. On his way to the hospital, Vasily visited his family. After his recovery, he participated in the defense of the approaches to Novorossiysk. In the autumn, he was wounded again, captured, and eventually managed to escape from the camp.

Returning to Semeykino, Vasily reunited with his childhood friends Nikolai Mironov and Pavel Palaguta. Through them, he established contact with an underground Komsomol group operating in the town of Krasnodon and part of the "Young Guard" movement. Despite constant police interrogations about his activities and refusal to work for the occupiers, Vasily continued his involvement in the resistance. He often claimed to be visiting the hospital in Krasnodon, but in reality, he and other young underground fighters from Semeykino were writing and distributing leaflets, cutting telephone wires, collecting weapons from battle sites in the steppe, and conducting sabotage operations at the railway station. To reach a wider audience in Semeykino, the town was divided into sections, with Vasily responsible for the Semaphore and its surrounding streets. Joint meetings of the Semeykino and Krasnodon "Young Guard" members were held at the water pump in the village of Krasnoye.

On January 18, 1943, Vasily Tkachev was arrested. Police officers apprehended him near his home, put him in a sleigh, and took him to the local police station for interrogation. Along with Pavel Palaguta, Vasily was first sent to the village of Krasnoye and then to Novosvetlovka. He was executed in the Krasnodon District, but the exact location of his death and burial remains unknown. Vasily Ivanovich Tkachev was posthumously awarded the "Partisan of the Great Patriotic War" Medal of the 1st degree.