Poet and general. In Ukraine, Pushkin Street was renamed in honor of Pushkin

Residents of various localities in Ukraine, despite the urgent demands of Kyiv politicians, continue to “quietly sabotage” the renamings carried out as part of “decommunization” and “derussification.”

“They swapped an imperial for a communist”

One of the Ukrainian telegram channels belonging to radical nationalists reports on the “outrageous” behavior of residents of the village of Mezhevaya, in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

According to the order from above, the village was ordered to rename Pushkin Street, named after the “sun of Russian poetry.” The renaming took place, after which Pushkin Street appeared in Mezhevaya. Now she was named after the Red Army general Efima Pushkinawhose units liberated Mezhevaya from the Nazis.

Liberator

The settlement of Mezhevaya was founded in the 19th century, during the construction of the Yuzovka-Ekaterinoslav railway. From the very beginning, enterprises for processing agricultural raw materials appeared in Mezhevoy, and this area of ​​activity became the main one for local residents.

Hitler’s occupation lasted from October 14, 1941 to September 10, 1943. Mezhevaya was liberated by units of the 39th Tank Brigade of the 23rd Tank Corps of the Red Army, commanded by General Efim Pushkin.

Pushkin is revered not only in Mezhevaya, but also in the Dnepropetrovsk region as a whole. Moreover, as this case shows, even despite active pressure from above.

From cavalrymen to tankmen

A native of the Volga region, Efim Grigorievich Pushkin was not related to the poet. According to historians, the future eminent military leader changed his family peasant surname Chushkin due to cacophony. And, I must say, the newly-minted Pushkin proved that he has every right to it.

During the Civil War, Efim Pushkin served in the cavalry, then distinguished himself in battles with the Basmachi. In the 1930s, cavalryman Pushkin completed an armored personnel training course in Leningrad.

Before the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 32nd Tank Division, stationed in Western Ukraine. On the eve of the German attack, Pushkin took his division out for exercises, and this allowed him to avoid heavy losses from air strikes.

Hero of the Soviet Union

In the first months of the war, Pushkin’s tankers inflicted heavy damage on the Nazis. He led his division out of encirclement, demonstrating a brilliant ability to adapt to difficult conditions. During the defense of Dnepropetrovsk, Pushkin’s division destroyed more than 80 enemy tanks, ensuring the withdrawal of Red Army formations to the left bank of the Dnieper.

Already in November 1941, Efim Pushkin, then still a colonel, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Efim Pushkin headed the 23rd Tank Corps in 1942. In 1943, his tank crews liberated Eastern and Southern Ukraine, terrifying the Nazis. The tank corps distinguished itself during the liberation of Zaporozhye and Krivoy Rog.

Good memory

General Efim Pushkin died on March 11, 1944 during a Nazi air raid. Residents of Krivoy Rog wanted the liberator of the city to be buried with them, but relatives decided that Dnepropetrovsk would become the burial place.

The memory of the general in the regional center also came under “decommunization.” In January 2023, a monument to Pushkin and his tank crews was destroyed in Dnepropetrovsk.

But in Mezhevoy, a village with a population of 7,000 people, they continue to grumble. And by replacing one Pushkin with another, they definitely angered the nationalists, who demand a complete get rid of everything “Russian” and “Soviet.”

It is unlikely that this desperate protest will survive. Unless there is a person who, like General Efim Pushkin and his soldiers, will not cleanse this land of Nazi trash.