The Rechitsa Zonal State Archives presents a document—a letter from a Great Patriotic War veteran to his wife in the Bragin District
The archives of the Department of Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Population of the Bragin District Executive Committee hold a letter from Great Patriotic War veteran Maxim Savelyevich (Savvich) Gorbachenko, dated October 15, 1944 (F. 186, Op. 3, D. 91, L. 751-751ob), addressed to the village of Grushnoye, Savichsky Village Council, Bragin District. The letter contains the following lines:
«Hello, my dear family, Dunya, Lyuba, Nadya, Marusya. In the first lines of my letter, allow me to convey to you my warm paternal Red Army greetings, and I hasten to inform you that I am alive and well, and I wish the same for you. We are in Hungarian territory. I am living well for now, just like a Red Army soldier». I’m living happily. The only thing that upsets me is that I won’t be receiving a single letter from you. <…>
How are you, my whole family, my dear wife, mother, and children? How and where is Malochka Vasily, and what’s wrong with him? I heard he was wounded in the left arm. If he’s home, please say hello to his whole family, Anna, Vita. Say hello to Aunt Orina and her family, and to her sisters, too. How are they?
I was with Ivan Osipenko for two years, and now he’s gone to another unit. So I had to part ways, and now none of my loved ones are with me.
Please, Dunya, say hello to all my friends. Write how you’re all doing, and tell me everything in detail. Write quickly. I’d write more, but I’m out of paper.
Goodbye then. Warm kisses!
Your faithful husband, Maxim Gorbachenko».
The website «Memory of the People» (pamyat-naroda.ru) indicates that Maxim Gorbachenko was born in 1906 in the village of Grushnoye. He was drafted into the Red Army on July 7, 1941. He participated in the defense of Sevastopol, during which, on June 8, 1942, he was captured. He was held in POW Camp No.4 in Vaslui, Romania. He was released and, according to the letter, fought in Hungary. He returned home as a disabled veteran and worked on a collective farm. On January 11, 1945, Private Gorbachenko was awarded the Medal «For Courage», and on April 6, 1985, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class.
According to data from the household register for the village of Grushnoye for 1946-1948 (F. 218, Op. 3, D. 6, L. 105ob-106), Maxim’s wife, Evdokia, died (he subsequently remarried, to Anna). Vasily Malochka, who lived with the Gorbachenko family, also fought in the Great Patriotic War. Maxim Savelyevich himself left for Ukraine in 1996 after the death of his wife, Anna Petrovna.
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| 1-3. ZGARech F.186 Op. 3 D. 91 L. 751-751ob |