Mark Yevtyukhin

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Mark Yevtyukhin
Battle for Height 776.0
AwardsHero of the Russian Federation

Mark Nikolayevich Yevtyukhin (Russian: Марк Никола́евич Евтю́хин, 1 May 1964 – 1 March 2000) was a Russian

posthumously honoured as a Hero of the Russian Federation
.

Biography

Yevtyukhin was born in 1964 in

Kuban Cossack, and was the first of the couple's two children.[2]

While still an infant his family moved to

skydiving.[2]

In 1985 Yevtyukhin graduated from the

Bosnia, and the First Chechen War.[2][3]

His younger brother Igor, an officer in the Russian Naval Infantry, also fought in the first Chechen War and was presumed killed in action, leading to his father having a heart attack, yet it was discovered three days later he had only been wounded.[2]

At the time of his death in 2000, he was married with one daughter, Olya.[2]

Service and death in Chechnya

Main article: Battle for Height 776

Yevtyukhin arrived with his battalion in Chechnya on 31 January 2000 for a tour of duty during the Second Chechen War. On 9 February, Yetyukhin and his battalion took part in an operation which killed thirty Chechen insurgents and destroyed two of their motor vehicles.

On the evening of 29 February, 6th Company Commander Major

Argun Gorge. Because Molodov had only joined the unit the previous day, he had not yet familiarised himself with his men, and Yevtyukhin took charge of the company.[1] Upon arrival at Istykort, the paratroopers found some Chechen insurgents on the hill, whose numbers grew and began to attack the company.[4]

According to one of the survivors of the battle, in a report published by

battery officer, Captain Viktor Romanov, to call for artillery to shell their position. Romanov, who had also lost both legs to a mortar round and was on the verge of losing consciousness, obeyed the order and shells began to hit their position, killing both men.[5]

According to Obshchaya Gazeta, some 30 paratroopers were still alive before the shelling of their position began, however it is not known how many of them were killed by friendly fire.[5]

Awards and memorials

The bodies of Yevtyukhin and his fallen

ukaz No. 484, conferring upon Yevtyukhin the status of Hero of the Russian Federation
. The highest title a Russian citizen can receive was bestowed upon Yevtyukhin for:

"...courage and valour shown during the liquidation of the illegal armed formations in the North Caucasus region..."[3]

At his funeral, Yevtyukhin was eulogised as a hero for pushing his comrades who were still alive to flee, before directing fire of artillery upon his position.[6]

The No. 7 School in Severomorsk, the school which Yevtyukhin attended as a child, is now named in his honour.

memorial plaque was placed on the house in which the Hero once lived at 16 Gagarin Prospect.[3]

Yevtyukhin is buried in Orletsovsky cemetery in Pskov.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-903584-78-7. Archived from the original
    on 17 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Pavlyutkina, Irina (2003). Знаете, каким он парнем был?!. Uchitelskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Евтюхин Марк Николаевич (in Russian). Warheroes.ru. Retrieved 6 January 2009. English translation[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c d Cockburn, Patrick (15 March 2000). "Colonel Yevtukhin's lonely last stand". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d Paddock, Richard C. (11 March 2000). "Russia Admits to Major Loss in Chechnya". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  6. ^ Montgomery, Dave (15 March 2000). "Russians mourn their soldiers killed in Chechen fighting". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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