Full Cavalier of the Order of Glory Mstislav Borisovich Ivanov

Ivanov Mstislav Borisovich

Born on January 3, 1924, in the city of Kostroma, now the regional center of Russia, in the family of a civil servant. Russian. His father worked as a physics teacher at a vocational school, was arrested in 1930, and sentenced to 5 years as a former sub-lieutenant of the tsarist army. He was released after three and a half years and began working as the deputy head of the Kuznetsk Basin power station.

The family moved to Uzbekistan, to the city of Katta-Kurgan in the Samarkand region. Here, Mstislav completed 10 grades of school.

On September 20, 1942, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the Tashkent Machine Gun and Mortar School.

From memories: “The head of the school was Colonel Meshchkin, who had come from the front after being wounded in the abdomen. Classes lasted 12 hours... All outdoors, regardless of the weather! Winter in Tashkent is not sweet either - slush, rain, and snow. Topography should be taught in class, but we were outside. The instructor stood shivering, we all shivered, he told us various coordinates. I was studying to be a platoon commander of the 'Maxim' machine guns. The machine gun has 22 types of jams. The hardest part is loading the fabric belt. There were no machines. No limiters - all by eye. If you tilted it a bit, it jammed. And it was heavy as hell. Marching... I was physically strong. Our company had to send a platoon to a competition - with full gear for 20 kilometers. We took first place! We were well fed afterward. Still, it was not enough - such a terrible physical load. When they assigned a shift to the kitchen, we had to pull and drag. I would eat a pot of soup and a pot of porridge at once. There was bread.

There was some meat. Once we were sent to unload a train with pig carcasses. Each had a knife, and everyone cut something from the pig. One time we were sent to the cellar to unload barrels of melted fat. We were hungry, craving to eat. In the cellar, there was cabbage and these barrels. We pried one open. How much can you eat without bread?! Let's eat it with cabbage! Everyone ended up in the hospital except me; my stomach turned out to be stronger than all. But I still can't eat butter.

The mood at the school was normal - faster to the front!”

He did not finish his studies; the entire course was urgently sent to the front, near Stalingrad. Here, Mstislav Ivanov, who by this time held the rank of sergeant, was assigned to the 252nd Rifle Division, regimental reconnaissance.

From August 1943, he participated in combat operations. He fought on the Steppe and 2nd Ukrainian fronts.

From memories: “We got to the Kursk Bulge. In the thick of it. After three days of fighting, in companies of 100-120 people, only 5-10 remained.”

In his first battle, he was wounded and sent for treatment to a hospital in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region. After a few weeks, he returned to the front and was wounded again while crossing the Dnieper.

From memories: “From the sanitary company, I was sent to the hospital in Borisoglebsk. I didn’t stay there long, and I was transferred to a recovery team at the station Khrenovaya. I had shortness of breath, and they had already discharged me! I said, 'I can't even breathe properly. Where are you sending me?!' - 'It's okay, if you get wounded again, you’ll come back and finish your treatment. And if you get killed - what's the point of treating you?' - I got a humorous doctor.

We gathered a whole platoon of such recovering soldiers and were taken to a reserve regiment. Not a regiment, but some kind of camp.

The territory was fenced with barbed wire. Long tables in the open air for meals. No bowls, no spoons. They brought a barrel of the first course for 20 people and two barrels of the second, porridge. You had to eat in a certain time.

Then came the command: 'Get in line!' The next ones come. They gather tin cans from the dump, make pots out of them. Some pour directly into their caps - they are hungry. I met a scout named Yasha after being wounded.

We decided this was not for us. We dug under the wire and went through the gardens. Where we could dig up potatoes, where beets. We boiled them in pots made from large tin cans. Buyers would come: 'Pilots! Tankers! Artillerymen!' - Everyone steps forward, just to get out of there, then we’ll sort it out. Yasha and I were selected for infantry and to cross the Dnieper... I was appointed as the assistant platoon commander, as a battle-hardened soldier. The platoon commander, a lieutenant, said: 'I'll remember your face, and you remember the faces of all the squad leaders, and let them remember theirs too, otherwise we won’t find each other.' Rifles were distributed; I had a submachine gun, and the platoon commander had one too. All the weapons were rusty. They were collected from the battlefield and given to us. My submachine gun fired single shots. The lieutenant’s fired in short bursts. One of the older soldiers said: 'Come here, I don’t know how to shoot from a rifle.' - 'You’ve lived to this age and don’t know?' I took the rifle, pulled the bolt once, twice - it wouldn’t open! I tried with my foot - it didn’t work... With such weapons, we crossed the Dnieper.”

After the medical battalion, he was assigned to the platoon of foot reconnaissance of the 365th separate reconnaissance company of the 303rd rifle division, with which he fought until Victory. After the end of the Dnieper battle, the division was sent to the station Verkhovtsevo for rest. However, due to the complicated situation in the area of the city of Kryvyi Rih, it was alarmingly sent to the area of the village of Petrovo in the Kirovohrad region.

From January 5, 1944, the division's units, in cooperation with the units of the 29th Tank Corps and other formations of the Second Ukrainian Front, launched a rapid offensive. On January 8, 1944, the city of Kirovograd was liberated. For the liberation of Kirovograd, all personnel of the 303rd division were commended by the Supreme Commander.

From battle to battle, from search to search, the skills of front-line scout Ivanov grew. Soon he became an experienced “searcher,” became a squad commander, and then an assistant platoon commander. After the Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya operation, he participated in the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine, Moldova, and defeated the enemy on the territory of Hungary.

From memories: “At first, I was a squad commander, then assistant platoon commander, platoon commander, and assistant commander of the reconnaissance company. At one time, I was even a company commander when the previous one was wounded. I had senior lieutenants and captains under my command. In reconnaissance, ranks were not respected at all - only experience and knowledge mattered. Sometimes they would send a young lieutenant from school. He knows everything theoretically but can do nothing practically. Such a person is appointed as the head of the search. We crawl into the no-man's land, one of ours crawls up to him and says: 'You know, lieutenant, today that sergeant over there will be in command of the mission. You can crawl wherever you want. When you return, report to the commanders about the mission completion, but we don’t want to die for nothing.' Those who understood were our guys. And those who started to act up were brought back dead. The laws were harsh.”

On April 20, 1944, assistant platoon commander Sergeant Ivanov, near the settlement of Grasen (3 km north of the village of Tyrlytsia, Moldova), with a group of soldiers, penetrated the enemy's rear, reconnoitered their firing positions, and destroyed several infantrymen.

During the battles in Hungary near the city of Mezotur, Ivanov, leading a group, was the first to break through the enemy's defense, identified firing positions, and mapped them. On the way back, the group was surrounded by the enemy. During the ensuing battle, the group destroyed a heavy machine gun and 8 Germans. Ivanov personally eliminated three Germans.

On October 24, 1944, leading a group, he penetrated 10 kilometers into enemy territory, reconnoitered their retreat routes, weak points in their defense, and reported this to his commander. Upon returning, he destroyed an enemy motorcycle with a mounted machine gun using grenades.

By the order of the 303rd rifle division dated November 21, 1944, Sergeant Ivanov Mstislav Borisovich was awarded the Order of Glory 3rd class (No. 131378).

On December 16, 1944, while conducting reconnaissance in the village of Sechanka, Ivanov organized an ambush. After 2 hours, up to 10 Germans appeared on the path. Allowing the enemy to come within 5-10 meters, the group opened fire. In this battle, Ivanov personally eliminated 6 fascists and captured two. For this, by the order of the 303rd rifle division dated December 28, Ivanov was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Three days later, on December 31, Ivanov distinguished himself again. He skillfully organized the crossing of the platoon across the river Gron.

Acting boldly and decisively, Ivanov was the first to burst into the village of Sudov and led the scouts behind him. An enemy machine gun, set up in the attic of one of the houses, blocked their way. Ivanov then approached the house and destroyed the crew with grenades. Then, using the captured machine gun, he opened fire on the Germans, eliminating 9 of them. Thanks to Ivanov's confident actions, the platoon was able to hold the position until the main forces arrived. On February 8, 1945, by the order of the commander of the 27th Guards Rifle Corps, Sergeant Ivanov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class.

The order for the battle in the village of Sudov had not yet been signed, and Ivanov distinguished himself again. On January 18, 1945, while conducting reconnaissance in the area of the settlements of Leand and Chata (18 km north of the city of Esztergom, Hungary), he threw grenades at a machine gun, then eliminated 3 Germans with his submachine gun. Capturing documents and a machine gun, he returned to his unit. He was recommended for the Order of the Red Star. By the order of the troops of the 8th Guards Army dated February 27, 1945, Sergeant Ivanov Mstislav Borisovich was awarded the Order of Glory 2nd class (No. 6019).

From memories: “A good scout must first of all possess psychological stability. The main thing is not to panic in very difficult and responsible moments. I have such an abnormal mindset - the more dangerous it is, the calmer I am, the better my brain works. The inexperienced are often killed first because they panic earlier; they are noticed first and killed. And then you need to get used to the thought that at any moment you can be killed. Get accustomed to it. If you think about how to survive, you are already unreliable. That will be a 'mediocre scout.' He is not a coward, but you won’t take him for responsible tasks.”

On April 4, 1945, platoon commander Sergeant Ivanov, with a group of scouts north of the city of Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), suddenly attacked a vehicle with Germans, resulting in several soldiers being killed, while the others were captured. For this feat, he was recommended for the Order of Glory 1st class.

But while the recommendation was going through the channels, Ivanov distinguished himself again. On April 16, the reconnaissance platoon under his command destroyed two machine gun nests and up to 12 SS soldiers, capturing valuable documents that were delivered to the command. By the order of the 303rd rifle division dated May 15, 1945, Sergeant Ivanov was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

However, Ivanov did not learn about the award, as he was in the hospital at that time. On May 11, the guard unit he was with fell into an ambush. Fortunately, the enemies opened fire too early. Under Ivanov, a horse was killed, which broke his leg when it fell.

In 1945, Senior Sergeant Ivanov was demobilized. He returned to Uzbekistan.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 15, 1946, for exceptional courage, bravery, and fearlessness displayed in battles against the German invaders, Sergeant Ivanov Mstislav Borisovich was awarded the Order of Glory 1st class (No. 1434). He became a full knight of the Order of Glory.

From memories: “The transition to peaceful life was very difficult. Many criminal groups wanted to recruit me because I knew how to steal and kill. Just what they needed. They strongly agitated me into the criminal world.

But I did not go down that slippery path. What held me back? I didn’t want to kill and rob my own. I got used to a real enemy who could resist. And then I wanted to learn.”

In 1950, he graduated from the geological faculty of Samarkand University. He lived and worked in Kyrgyzstan. In the geology department, he rose from a regular searcher-geologist to the head of a geological party.

He lived in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the city of Bishkek.

In 1965, the hero was awarded the Order of the Red Star, which he had received in 1945, and in 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class.

Mstislav Borisovich led an active lifestyle and participated in patriotic work. In 2000, “for military feats displayed during the Great Patriotic War and active participation in educating youth in the spirit of patriotism of glorious combat and labor traditions,” he was awarded the Order of Manas 3rd class by the decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. The only full knight of the Order of Glory in the republic, Mstislav Borisovich Ivanov participated in the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of Victory in the hero city of Moscow.

He died on April 20, 2014.

During the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, the name of Ivanov M.B. was inscribed on memorial plaques placed on the Glory Monument in the Peace Square in Kostroma.

Kyrgyzstanis – Full Knights of the Order of Glory