Judging by the memories of the front-line soldiers and the artifacts found at the battlefield, many, a couple of the most unexpected objects became such a "guarantor" of preserving the life of a Russian soldier in the war.
Death passports were thrown away
The exposition of the museum "The Third Military Field" in the famous Prokhorovka presents, among other things, items found on the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War next to the remains of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army. These are coins, keys to locks - just the same talismans that Soviet servicemen carried with them from the moment they were called to the front. It was believed that the money (debt) borrowed from a neighbor would protect the warrior, because they must be returned. The key to the gate or door of the house (apartment) served as the guarantor of the return of the front-line soldier to his native land.
The military-historical portal "Oboznik" reports that as talismans (amulets and amulets are something else, and they are often confused, combined into one concept), a cartridge from the first clip was also used (this tradition went back to the First World War; the talisman was supposed to be shot after returning home), letters from relatives, a photo of the wife (bride) - it was believed that if the card is with you, the girl or wife will definitely wait for her beloved. The sheets with the poem by Konstantin Simonov "Wait for me" were considered an inherent talisman - these poems were very popular among the servicemen of the Red Army, because in themselves they inspired hope of returning from the war. They were copied and the sheets were kept in breast pockets near the heart.
But plastic soldier medallions, the so-called "death passports", in which notes with the data of a soldier were inserted for his identification in case of death, were thrown away by many - they were considered "anti-talisman": superstitious soldiers and officers of the Red Army were sure that the owner of the medallion would certainly be killed soon …
Losing a talisman is a very bad omen
WWII veteran Mansur Abdulin in his book "160 pages from a soldier's diary" recalled that many soldiers in the war were very superstitious and suspicious in everything related to talismans. Most of the soldiers had some similar thing, which they constantly carried with them and took care of them like the apple of their eye. The loss of the talisman was regarded as a bad sign. One tanker, who changed several vehicles during the battles (tanks were knocked out), before the next battle told everyone that now he was definitely the end, because he had lost his talisman. And in fact, in the attack, his tank was not touched by a single enemy shell, but the tracked vehicle's own ammunition detonated and none of their crew survived.
For Abdulin himself, a smoking mouthpiece served as a talisman. For some reason, his appearance inspired confidence that everything would be fine, the fighter would not be killed.
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Violin, "lucky" tunic and … "black cat"
Judging by the memoirs of the military pilot Nikolai Purgin, "I fought in the Il-2," not only rank and file, but also Heroes of the Soviet Union sought to have their own talismans. Purgin had a "happy" tunic, washed out and already half-rotted, in which he went on combat missions every time. Other air aces took lighters, tobacco pouches, cigarette cases with them as talismans … Navigator of the 392nd Night Bomber Regiment Boris Makarov put a violin in the cockpit as a talisman (he received a musical education before the war). As Makarov himself recalled, when he did not take a tool on a mission, their bomber was either shot down, or the crew had to make an emergency landing.
Hero of the Soviet Union Leonid Galchenko chose the image of a black cat chasing mice as a lucky charm; he painted it on the fuselage of his fighter jet. This was one of the few examples when the mascot was actively working for its owner - Hitler's pilots, seeing Galchenko's LaGG-3, tried to quickly retreat, warning by radio: “Attention! In the sky "Black cat!" According to various sources, Leonid Galchenko personally shot down 13 to 24 enemy aircraft and, as part of a group, from 10 to 12.
Nikolay Syromyatnikov