News of the story
"Victory Parade: Stories and Faces"
Reading the memoirs of Belarusian Nikolai Kutovsky about the 1945 Moscow Victory Parade is like being transported back 80 years and finding yourself on Red Square. “I was riding in the third row from the Mausoleum,” the veteran wrote. “Near St. Basil's Cathedral, our column split into two parts, which merged back into a single whole beyond the boundaries of the square. It was an unforgettable spectacle!”
To the front - as a volunteer
Nikolai Kutovsky has been gone for over 30 years, but at the Radusha secondary school in Zhlobin District, where the veteran worked for almost his entire life, he is still remembered and held up as an example to both students and teachers. It was thanks to the help of the school administration that we managed to find the granddaughter of this legendary man. She lives with her family in the town of Khoiniki. Upon learning about the project, Tatiana Kutovskaya not only agreed to share her family's story but also provided the editorial office with a copy of a handwritten letter in which her grandfather described in detail the preparation and the 1945 Victory Parade itself.
Nikolai Kutovsky has been gone for over 30 years, but at the Radusha secondary school in Zhlobin District, where the veteran worked for almost his entire life, he is still remembered and held up as an example to both students and teachers. It was thanks to the help of the school administration that we managed to find the granddaughter of this legendary man. She lives with her family in the town of Khoiniki. Upon learning about the project, Tatiana Kutovskaya not only agreed to share her family's story but also provided the editorial office with a copy of a handwritten letter in which her grandfather described in detail the preparation and the 1945 Victory Parade itself.
Nikolai Kutovsky was born on 17 December 1920, in the village of Radusha, Zhlobin District. The Kutovsky family was not wealthy; his parents were farmers. Their son, however, was drawn to science from childhood. He excelled particularly in physics and mathematics. After finishing school, he enrolled in six-month teaching courses in the town of Rogachev and then went to work in the village of Skepnya, Streshin District [now part of Zhlobin District, Gomel Oblast]. It was here that the war found him.
The German troops advanced rapidly, with the Nazis entering Zhlobin as early as the beginning of July 1941. Nikolai Kutovsky wasn't even drafted into the army in time. So he decided: “I'll go myself!” On 9 July, along with several comrades, he set out on foot towards Gomel to catch up with the Soviet troops.
“My grandfather and his comrades joined a Red Army unit near Oryol. Almost immediately, they were encircled alongside it but managed to break out only with heavy losses. But my grandfather survived and continued to fight the enemy,” the veteran's granddaughter recounted. “The Red Army soldiers were transferred to the city of Troitsk in Chelyabinsk Oblast.”
The German troops advanced rapidly, with the Nazis entering Zhlobin as early as the beginning of July 1941. Nikolai Kutovsky wasn't even drafted into the army in time. So he decided: “I'll go myself!” On 9 July, along with several comrades, he set out on foot towards Gomel to catch up with the Soviet troops.
“My grandfather and his comrades joined a Red Army unit near Oryol. Almost immediately, they were encircled alongside it but managed to break out only with heavy losses. But my grandfather survived and continued to fight the enemy,” the veteran's granddaughter recounted. “The Red Army soldiers were transferred to the city of Troitsk in Chelyabinsk Oblast.”
“He was brave and fearless”
Soon after, several capable soldiers from the unit were selected and sent to the city of Miass in Chelyabinsk Oblast to study at an artillery school.
“The training was accelerated, and just one year later, after graduating with honors and receiving the rank of junior lieutenant, my grandfather was sent to the Karelian Front with the 46th Guards Red Banner Mortar Regiment of the 7th Army,” his granddaughter recounted. “There, he served first as a fire platoon commander, then as a battery commander, and finally as a depot battery commander.”
As part of the 46th Mortar Regiment, Nikolai Kutovsky participated in defensive battles on the Kola Peninsula and near Murmansk. From June to August 1944, he was also involved in the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation, liberating Karelia. For his role in capturing a key settlement, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
One of his official award citations, personally signed by the regiment commander, states: “From 21 to 28 June 1944, Comrade Kutovsky demonstrated exemplary courage and fearlessness. Under intense enemy artillery, mortar, machine gun, and automatic rifle fire, he aimed his platoon’s gun quickly and accurately. When reloading the guns, his personal example of courage inspired the platoon’s soldiers. Ignoring the shelling, his platoon was always the first to prepare for battle. During 27 and 28 June, the firing position was systematically bombarded with artillery, mortar, machine gun, and automatic rifle fire, but Comrade Kutovsky, with his own example of courage and composure, inspired the personnel to complete the assigned mission. This ensured timely and accurate fire.”
To the Parade!
In February 1945, Nikolai Kutovsky was dispatched to Moscow to receive new equipment and accept personnel reinforcements for the Katyusha battery he commanded. It was here that he celebrated Victory Day on 9 May! Soon, his regiment was selected to participate in the Victory Parade. After receiving new trucks and rocket launchers, the soldiers began their preparations.
“Recalling that event, my grandfather said they received the news of their participation in the Victory Parade with immense joy,” says the veteran’s granddaughter. “Although the soldiers were disappointed that they would have to drive across Red Square not with their famous Katyushas, but with truck-mounted barrel mortars. But there was nothing they could do about it. The rehearsals were also held on the Garden Ring, where they would arrive at night. During the day, they parked the vehicles near the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman sculpture at VDNKh. My grandfather was in the reserves, but it so happened that his comrade fell ill, and he had to replace him in the main lineup.”
“Before the start of the Victory Parade, we took our position with our vehicles on Manezhnaya Square,” the veteran wrote. “That’s where Marshal Zhukov rode up to us on a white horse. After checking our readiness, he headed to Red Square. I was in the third row from the Mausoleum. Near St. Basil’s Cathedral, our column split into two parts, which merged back into a single whole just beyond the square. It was an unforgettable sight.”
The Victory Parade in which he participated as part of the 5th Battalion of the Karelian Front's Composite Regiment took place on 24 June 1945. On 26 June along with his 46th Guards Mortar Regiment, the Red Army soldier was already heading east to the Transbaikal Front for the war with Japan. He finished his military service in December 1946 in the city of Port Arthur, part of the Primorsky Military District, with the rank of Captain.
Throughout the war, he never lost his love for teaching, so almost immediately after returning to civilian life, he enrolled in the Gomel Teacher's Institute. He spent most of his life working at the Radushskaya Secondary School. In 2020, his name was added to the Alley of Memory located on the school grounds, dedicated to teachers-war veterans. On the 80th anniversary of the Victory Parade, 24 June 2025, a memorial plaque with information about him was unveiled near the cemetery where the veteran is buried.
“We carefully preserve the memory of our famous compatriot, who went through the entire war, and we always tell our students about him. The students are always eager to meet with Nikolai Vasilyevich’s relatives and ask them about the Red Army soldier’s feats,” said the school’s director, Yelena Drozdova.
If you are a relative or friend of a frontline soldier who took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square, Moscow, in June 1945 and you are willing to share your family story and photos with us, please call +375 17 311-33-17 or send an e-mail to ygavrilenko@belta.by. Let's tell the story of our Victors together!
Yulia GAVRILENKO,
7 Days newspaper
Photos courtesy of Nikolai Kutovsky's family
Follow us on:
