Biography of Leni Golikov
Leonid Alexandrovich Golikov was born on June 17, 1926 in the village of Lukino, Novgorod Region, into a working class family. His school biography "fit" in only seven classes, after which he went to work at the plywood factory №2 in the village of Parfino.
In the summer of 1941, the village was occupied by the Nazis. The boy saw with his own eyes all the horrors of German rule and therefore, when in 1942 (after the liberation) partisan detachments began to form, the guy without hesitation decided to join them.
However, this desire was denied to him, citing his young age - Lena Golikov at that time was 15 years old. It is not known how his biography would have developed further, unexpected help came in the person of the boy's school teacher, who at that time was already in the partisans. Leni's teacher said that this "student will not let you down" and later turned out to be right.
So, in March 1942 L. Golikov became a scout of the 67th detachment of the Leningrad partisan brigade. Later he joined the Komsomol there. In total, on the combat account of his biography, there are 27 military operations, during which the young partisan destroyed 78 enemy officers and soldiers, as well as 14 undermining bridges and 9 enemy vehicles.
A feat perfect by Lenya Golikov
The most significant feat in his military biography was accomplished on August 13, 1942, not far from the village of Varnitsa, on the Luga-Pskov highway. While in reconnaissance with his partner Alexander Petrov, Golikov blew up an enemy car. Monument to Leni Golikov As it turned out, there was Major General of the German Engineering Troops Richard Wirtz, the briefcase found with him with documents was taken to the headquarters. Among them were minefield diagrams, Wirtz's important inspection reports to higher authorities, detailed outlines of several samples of German mines and other documents very necessary for the partisan movement.
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For his accomplished feat, Lenya Golikov was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded the Gold Star medal. Unfortunately, he did not have time to get them.
In December 1942, the Germans began a large-scale operation, and the detachment in which the hero fought was also pursued. On January 24, 1943, he and more than 20 people, exhausted by the chase, went to the village of Ostraya Luka. Having made sure that there were no Germans in it, we stopped for the night in three outer houses. The enemy garrison was not so far away, it was decided not to send sentries so as not to attract unnecessary attention. Among the villagers, a traitor was found who informed the village headman exactly in which houses the partisans were hiding.
Some time later, Ostraya Luka was surrounded by 150 punitive forces, which included local residents who collaborated with the Nazis and Lithuanian nationalists.
Taken by surprise, the partisans heroically entered the battle, only six of them managed to escape alive from the encirclement. Only on January 31, exhausted and frostbitten (plus two seriously wounded), were they able to reach the regular Soviet troops. They reported about the heroes who died, including the young partisan Lenya Golikov. For his courage and repeated feats, on April 2, 1944, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At first, it was believed that Lenya Golikov did not have a genuine photograph. Therefore, for the image of the hero (for example, for the portrait created by Viktor Fomin in 1958), his own sister, Lida, was used. And although later the partisan photo was found, it was the image of his sister that began to adorn his biography and symbolize Lyonya Golikov and his exploits for millions of Soviet pioneers.