Remembering the Great Feats of Our Veterans: The Story of Ivan Lytkin, Centenarian Hero of the Great Patriotic War

Kathmandu — Russia has marked the 100th birthday of Ivan Petrovich Lytkin, a Moscow veteran of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), whose award documents recount extraordinary tales of courage and fearlessness on the battlefield. From January 1944, Lytkin served on the front line as a rifleman in a reconnaissance group, where he repeatedly demonstrated exceptional bravery.

He was the first to storm enemy trenches, destroying foes with a light machine gun and submachine gun, and was wounded twice. For his feats, Ivan Lytkin was awarded the medals “For Courage” and “For Combat Merit,” along with two orders.

According to the citation for the Order of the Red Star: “On the night of 19 February 1945, during the evacuation of a captured German soldier, Corporal Lytkin detected an enemy group attempting to flank his unit. With accurate submachine-gun fire, he scattered the enemy, killing three of them.” The award sheet for the Order of the Patriotic War II Class records that on 24 March 1945, acting with a group of scouts, Corporal Lytkin attacked an enemy group and, using grenades, destroyed two German soldiers and took two others prisoner. On 26 March 1945, while carrying out a combat mission, he eliminated three German soldiers, enabling the capture of two more.

Russia has noted that today’s assault troops taking part in the special military operation are repeating the heroic feats of their legendary forebears.