3

Alexander Matrosov is a Hero of the Soviet Union who perished on the 27th of February in 1943 during the Battles of Rzhev (8th of January, 1942 - 31rd of March, 1943) when he blocked the fascist embrasure with his own body.

I want to see Alexander Matrosov's service record. Is such a document publicly available? If so, where can I find it?

Improve this question
4
  • It's not quite clear what you mean. Are you looking for his service number? An image of an identity document? Something else?
    – John Dallman
    Commented Mar 28, 2021 at 13:32
  • @JohnDallman as far as I understand, “military ID” is the proper translation of “учётно-воинский билет” from Russian into English. It is a document which features main points of one’s military duty (currently named “военный билет.”) Thus, I refer to the ID as a “document” in the last extract. For contrast, Alexander Matrosov’s Komsomol ID is publicly available and is displayed in the Central Museum of Armed Forces of Russia.
    – Zhiltsoff Igor
    Commented Mar 28, 2021 at 13:45
  • 3
    If that is a description of the units he served in, where they were, and so on, then the usual English term is "service record".
    – John Dallman
    Commented Mar 28, 2021 at 13:54
  • @JohnDallman thank you, I didn't know that. I'll edit the question.
    – Zhiltsoff Igor
    Commented Mar 28, 2021 at 14:51

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

In 1943, the document containing Red Army serviceman's service record was called "книжка красноармейца" (lit. "Red Army man's book"). It was introduced by the order №330 of People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union.

According to the article 9 of that document, documents of soldiers leaving service were to be transferred to the unit's command for disposal. Soldiers were to receive "военный билет" at that point (the "military ID" from the OP's comment, but at that point it was more of a reservist's ID).

As Matrosov died, his book would be sent to the 91st rifleman brigade's command, where relevant information would be included in unit's irrecoverable casualty statement, and then the document would be disposed of as per order №330.

Thus, no, the document you are looking for isn't available, as it was destroyed back in 1943.

Improve this answer
2
  • Thank you for your answer! A quick follow-up: if this document was disposed of, is there any other place where one could look up the day Alexander Matrosov was conscripted? I know it was in September of 1942, yet I'm looking for an exact date.
    – Zhiltsoff Igor
    Commented Mar 29, 2021 at 10:03
  • 2
    @ZhiltsoffIgor Well, conscription records are among the documents being declassified right now (as in, I did find these at pamyat-naroda.ru for some individuals), and they should have the exact date. But right now I couldn't find one for Matrosov (or for several other conscripts from Bashkiria), so I can only assume these particular records were not released yet.
    – Danila Smirnov
    Commented Mar 29, 2021 at 10:28

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.