Today is the 75th anniversary of the feat of Panfilov division heroes. On November 16, 1941, 316 division of General Ivan Panfilov, formed in Almaty and Frunze, fought against German divisions, advancing along Volokolamsk highway towards Moscow. Thanks to war correspondents this battle went down in history as the feat of Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen. And while there are a lot of debates around this battle today, it is obvious that at the time this feat became a symbol of unbending courage of the Soviet people, just like the feat of defenders of Brest Fortress.
Yesterday, the Russian State University for the Humanities hosted scientific conference, dedicated to the Battle of Moscow. Presentation of the book of doctor of historical sciences, Laila Akhmetova - '1941. Brest Fortress. Kazakhstan', written on the basis of new materials, which became available only in the 21st centure, was held during this conference. Daughter Sergeant Seysembek Akhmetov, participant in the Battle of Moscow, has emphasized that Kazakhstanis participated in those events, saying that she found new names of defenders. Lists with names of over five hundred Kazakhstanis - participants in the defense of Brest Fortress, were published. She spent 7 years researching all necessary materials. She described actions of different regiments and divisions of the Red Army in June 22, 1941, based on information from survivors, archive materials and other documents.
In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza she said that this is the third book, designed to remind people about the events of those years and to keep the connection between generations. Before that she wrote two books in collaboration with professor Grigoriev - 'Raging 1941. Reflections of Historians', and 'Panfilov's Division: 60 Days Feat That Became Legend'.
According to her, the latest book was written for 48 years: "Veterans were still alive in Soviet times, you could interview them. Right now I read old interviews, not always published, work with the archives, with German sources, and I see big differences. There are a lot of debates among those who search for such information, work in this area, pretty violent debates - who is right and who is wrong."
Laila Akhmetova was glad that the presentation of her book was attended by Soviet and Russian historian, chairman of the board of 'Moscow Club of Naval History', teacher, researcher, active participant of military-exploratory movements, author of military-historical publications - Konstantin Strelbitsky. "At first he was pretty skeptical about my research, and then he said: I will send you any materials about Kazakhstanis I can find. Every seventh defender of Brest Fortress was from Kazakhstan. I found many materials about them and discussed them with those who work in this area for months - is it true or false, where is the evidence base, why is it possible and why it is not. Sometimes there were such harsh conflicts that I was really offended, made long pauses, and then I started all over again."
