Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev (Kazakh: Рақымжан Қошқарбаев, Raqymjan Qoşqarbaev; Russian: Рахимжан Кошкарбаев, romanized Rakhimzhan Koshkarbaev; 19 October 1924 – 10 August 1988) was the first soldier to raise the Soviet Flag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, having placed the flag by a staircase in the opera hall after sneaking into the building. After nightfall Qoshqarbaev and several of his comrades raised the flag on the roof. However, because they had raised the flag in the night when it was too dark to take a photo, none of them were part of the iconic photo of Soviet soldiers raising the flag on 2 May. After the raising of the flag on 30 April it was shot down by German snipers shortly before the Wehrmacht briefly retook control of the building. However, by 2 May the Soviets retook control of the building and raised the flag again, bringing photographer Yevgeny Khaldei with them to capture a reenactment of the historic moment.[1][2]
Rakhimzhan Qoshqarbaev
Native name
Рақымжан Қошқарбаев Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev
Born
(1924-10-19)19 October 1924 Taytobe, Akmola Oblast, Kirghiz ASSR
Qoshqarbaev was born on 19 October 1924 to an ethnic Kazakh family in the village of Akmolinsk within the Kirghiz ASSR (later Kazakh SSR), currently located within the present-day city of Astana. His mother died in 1928 and he was eventually sent to an orphanage at the age of 13 after his father was repressed and declared an "enemy of the people" during the Great Purge in 1937. After completing seven years of secondary school he worked in a factory until he was allowed to join the Red Army.[3]
World War IIedit
Immediately after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 Qoshqarbaev attempted to join the Red Army but was initially rejected because he was only sixteen years old at the time. He reapplied shortly before his eighteenth birthday in 1942 and was sent for training in the city of Kokshetau, which he completed in 1943. He was then sent for officer training at the Tambov All-Commander Infantry School, which he graduated from with honors before being sent to the Eastern Front as a junior lieutenant in October 1944.[4]
In 1945 Qoshqarbaev distinguished himself while leading a platoon on an assault on enemy defenses, located on the Western bank of the Oder River; on April 17, one day after breaking through the enemy bridgehead, he led his unit towards a river channel to establish a new bridgehead and continued the advance despite heavy resistance from Axis forces. After Soviet forces opened fire on approaching enemy forces Qoshqarbaev entered the water, led his unit in the perilous crossing, and proceeded to storm a German trench after reaching the western bank of the canal. During the heavy fighting of that engagement over 40 German soldiers were killed after the platoon seized three machine guns in hand-to-hand combat and opened fire on the remaining German soldiers in the trench. After taking over the trench they established a firing point and gunned down the remaining enemy combatants in the area. After Qoshqarbaev's success in the Oder offensive, his platoon became the first unit to cross the Spree river, doing so under heavy enemy fire. From the time of Oder crossing to when he raised the flag over the Reichstag in Berlin, his platoon killed over 200 German soldiers and held 184 of them hostage, took 27 high-caliber machine-guns, and obtained many other weapons that were once in the hands of enemy soldiers. When the war ended Qoshqarbaev was a had the rank lieutenant and the commander of a reconnaissance platoon belonging the 674th Infantry Regiment in the 150th Infantry Division.[5]
Raising the flag over the Reichstagedit
Qoshqarbaev initially placed the flag of the Soviet Union atop the staircase in front of the main entrance to the building on 30 April 1945 at 14:25 after sneaking into the building with another soldier, Grigory Bulatov. The flag was presented to the group of soldiers assigned to raising the flag over the building by a regimental commander; the meeting where the flag was given to them was held in Himmler's house. After Qoshqarbaev originally placed the flag in the entrance by the staircase under the watch of Ivan Klochkov they went on to place it atop the building; the soldiers then jumped out of a window and ran across the roof, but after coming under heavy fire they laid low on the roof for several hours and waited for the artillery fire to cease. While waiting for the opportunity to hoist up the flag Qoshqarbaev and Bulatov wrote their names and regiment numbers on the flag. After nightfall the artillery fire eventually died down and under the cover of darkness Mikhail Minin along with Aleksey Bobrov, Bulatov, and Qoshqarbaev raised the flag over the Reichstag. However, the flag was later shot down by German snipers. All participants in the event were nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union, but were instead awarded the Order of the Red Banner;[6][7] none of them were present during the re-creation of the event in the photo Raising a Flag over the Reichstag taken on 2 May by Yevgeny Khaldei.[8][9]
Later lifeedit
After the war, Qoshqarbaev worked for the Ministry of Public Utilities until being appointed director of the Alma-Ata Hotel, remaining in the position for almost 20 years.[10] Unlike another Kazakh hero of the war, Baurzhan Momyshuly, Qoshqarbaev was never awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, despite several petitions to Brezhnev from high-profile veterans of the war and other Kazakhs awarded the title of hero asking that Qoshqarbaev be declared a Hero of the Soviet Union. Many suspected the reason for his not receiving the award was the fact his father had been declared an enemy of the people, which was later proven by the release of the Republic of Kazakhstan President's Archives in 1994.[10] Qoshqarbaev passed away in August 1988. Over a decade after his death he was posthumously declared a Hero of Kazakhstan on 7 May 1999 by decree of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev.[5][11][a]
^Most sources indicate Qoshqarbayev was declared a Hero of Kazakhstan on 7 May 1999, although one source indicates he was awarded the title in 2001
Referencesedit
^"Рахимжану Кошкарбаеву, водрузившему Знамя Победы на Рейхстаге, хотят присвоить звание Героя России". Tengrinews.kz (in Russian). 9 May 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
^"30 апреля 1945 года над рейхстагом в Берлине было водружено знамя победы". fakty.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-01-07.
^"Егоров и Кантария были не первыми". www.aif.ru. 2003-05-07. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
^"Ерлігі 62 жылдан соң ғана мойындалған Рақымжан Қошқарбаев". www.inform.kz (in Russian). 25 September 2009. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
^Klochkov, Ivan (1986). Мы штурмовали рейхстаг (in Russian). Лениздат. pp. 137–190.
^ ab"Victory soldier". Qazaqstab Tarihy. 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
^Grigorjeva, Tamara. Сердцем подвиг пережить (in Russian). Lulu.com. ISBN9781326165352.
December 15, 2023
raqymjan, qoshqarbaev, kazakh, Рақымжан, Қошқарбаев, raqymjan, qoşqarbaev, russian, Рахимжан, Кошкарбаев, romanized, rakhimzhan, koshkarbaev, october, 1924, august, 1988, first, soldier, raise, soviet, flag, reichstag, building, berlin, having, placed, flag, s. Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev Kazakh Rakymzhan Қoshkarbaev Raqymjan Qosqarbaev Russian Rahimzhan Koshkarbaev romanized Rakhimzhan Koshkarbaev 19 October 1924 10 August 1988 was the first soldier to raise the Soviet Flag at the Reichstag building in Berlin having placed the flag by a staircase in the opera hall after sneaking into the building After nightfall Qoshqarbaev and several of his comrades raised the flag on the roof However because they had raised the flag in the night when it was too dark to take a photo none of them were part of the iconic photo of Soviet soldiers raising the flag on 2 May After the raising of the flag on 30 April it was shot down by German snipers shortly before the Wehrmacht briefly retook control of the building However by 2 May the Soviets retook control of the building and raised the flag again bringing photographer Yevgeny Khaldei with them to capture a reenactment of the historic moment 1 2 Rakhimzhan QoshqarbaevNative nameRakymzhan ҚoshkarbaevRaqymjan QoshqarbaevBorn 1924 10 19 19 October 1924Taytobe Akmola Oblast Kirghiz ASSRDied10 August 1988 1988 08 10 aged 63 Alma Ata Kazakh SSR Soviet UnionAllegiance Soviet UnionService wbr branchRed ArmyRankLieutenantUnit674th Infantry RegimentAwardsHero of KazakhstanOrder of the Red Banner Contents 1 Early life 2 World War II 2 1 Raising the flag over the Reichstag 3 Later life 4 See also 5 Footnotes 6 ReferencesEarly life editQoshqarbaev was born on 19 October 1924 to an ethnic Kazakh family in the village of Akmolinsk within the Kirghiz ASSR later Kazakh SSR currently located within the present day city of Astana His mother died in 1928 and he was eventually sent to an orphanage at the age of 13 after his father was repressed and declared an enemy of the people during the Great Purge in 1937 After completing seven years of secondary school he worked in a factory until he was allowed to join the Red Army 3 World War II editImmediately after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 Qoshqarbaev attempted to join the Red Army but was initially rejected because he was only sixteen years old at the time He reapplied shortly before his eighteenth birthday in 1942 and was sent for training in the city of Kokshetau which he completed in 1943 He was then sent for officer training at the Tambov All Commander Infantry School which he graduated from with honors before being sent to the Eastern Front as a junior lieutenant in October 1944 4 In 1945 Qoshqarbaev distinguished himself while leading a platoon on an assault on enemy defenses located on the Western bank of the Oder River on April 17 one day after breaking through the enemy bridgehead he led his unit towards a river channel to establish a new bridgehead and continued the advance despite heavy resistance from Axis forces After Soviet forces opened fire on approaching enemy forces Qoshqarbaev entered the water led his unit in the perilous crossing and proceeded to storm a German trench after reaching the western bank of the canal During the heavy fighting of that engagement over 40 German soldiers were killed after the platoon seized three machine guns in hand to hand combat and opened fire on the remaining German soldiers in the trench After taking over the trench they established a firing point and gunned down the remaining enemy combatants in the area After Qoshqarbaev s success in the Oder offensive his platoon became the first unit to cross the Spree river doing so under heavy enemy fire From the time of Oder crossing to when he raised the flag over the Reichstag in Berlin his platoon killed over 200 German soldiers and held 184 of them hostage took 27 high caliber machine guns and obtained many other weapons that were once in the hands of enemy soldiers When the war ended Qoshqarbaev was a had the rank lieutenant and the commander of a reconnaissance platoon belonging the 674th Infantry Regiment in the 150th Infantry Division 5 Raising the flag over the Reichstag edit Qoshqarbaev initially placed the flag of the Soviet Union atop the staircase in front of the main entrance to the building on 30 April 1945 at 14 25 after sneaking into the building with another soldier Grigory Bulatov The flag was presented to the group of soldiers assigned to raising the flag over the building by a regimental commander the meeting where the flag was given to them was held in Himmler s house After Qoshqarbaev originally placed the flag in the entrance by the staircase under the watch of Ivan Klochkov they went on to place it atop the building the soldiers then jumped out of a window and ran across the roof but after coming under heavy fire they laid low on the roof for several hours and waited for the artillery fire to cease While waiting for the opportunity to hoist up the flag Qoshqarbaev and Bulatov wrote their names and regiment numbers on the flag After nightfall the artillery fire eventually died down and under the cover of darkness Mikhail Minin along with Aleksey Bobrov Bulatov and Qoshqarbaev raised the flag over the Reichstag However the flag was later shot down by German snipers All participants in the event were nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union but were instead awarded the Order of the Red Banner 6 7 none of them were present during the re creation of the event in the photo Raising a Flag over the Reichstag taken on 2 May by Yevgeny Khaldei 8 9 Later life editAfter the war Qoshqarbaev worked for the Ministry of Public Utilities until being appointed director of the Alma Ata Hotel remaining in the position for almost 20 years 10 Unlike another Kazakh hero of the war Baurzhan Momyshuly Qoshqarbaev was never awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union despite several petitions to Brezhnev from high profile veterans of the war and other Kazakhs awarded the title of hero asking that Qoshqarbaev be declared a Hero of the Soviet Union Many suspected the reason for his not receiving the award was the fact his father had been declared an enemy of the people which was later proven by the release of the Republic of Kazakhstan President s Archives in 1994 10 Qoshqarbaev passed away in August 1988 Over a decade after his death he was posthumously declared a Hero of Kazakhstan on 7 May 1999 by decree of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev 5 11 a See also edit nbsp Soviet Union portal nbsp World War II portalKhiuaz Dospanova Bauyrzhan Momyshuly Raising a Flag over the ReichstagFootnotes edit Most sources indicate Qoshqarbayev was declared a Hero of Kazakhstan on 7 May 1999 although one source indicates he was awarded the title in 2001References edit Rahimzhanu Koshkarbaevu vodruzivshemu Znamya Pobedy na Rejhstage hotyat prisvoit zvanie Geroya Rossii Tengrinews kz in Russian 9 May 2016 Retrieved 2018 05 23 Beevor Antony 2003 Berlin The Downfall 1945 London Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 14 028696 0 Na istoricheskuyu rekonstrukciyu shturma Rejhstaga priedet doch Rahmzhana Koshkarbaeva news ivest kz in Russian Retrieved 2018 05 23 Nabatnikova Marina 15 May 2015 Neprobivaemyj Kto pervym vodruzil krasnoe znamya nad Rejhstagom www aif ru Retrieved 2018 05 23 a b Argumenty i fakty in Russian Litres 2017 04 29 ISBN 9785457781092 30 aprelya 1945 goda nad rejhstagom v Berline bylo vodruzheno znamya pobedy fakty ua in Russian Retrieved 2019 01 07 Egorov i Kantariya byli ne pervymi www aif ru 2003 05 07 Retrieved 2019 01 07 Erligi 62 zhyldan son gana mojyndalgan Rakymzhan Қoshkarbaev www inform kz in Russian 25 September 2009 Retrieved 2018 05 23 Klochkov Ivan 1986 My shturmovali rejhstag in Russian Lenizdat pp 137 190 a b Victory soldier Qazaqstab Tarihy 19 October 2016 Archived from the original on 5 April 2019 Retrieved 4 April 2019 Grigorjeva Tamara Serdcem podvig perezhit in Russian Lulu com ISBN 9781326165352 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev amp oldid 1180311103, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
