That’s me, senior lieutenant on the day I was conferred the military rank. The photograph was taken for my personal record, on 21st May 1944 in Minsk.

In January 1943 the fascist troops were forced to retreat from Stalingrad. The Stalingrad battle was crucial for the course of the war. After Stalingrad our division went for replenishments to Romania. I was a senior lieutenant at that time. Cernavoda was the first city that was liberated by us in Romania right after crossing the USSR state border.

After Romania, we liberated Bulgaria, then Hungary. I finished the war in the Austrian city of Baden near Vienna.