For many years after the death of Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov, his comrades searched tirelessly for the place where their friend and fellow intelligence agent had fallen. It was not until fifteen years later that his grave was finally discovered — thanks to the relentless efforts of Nikolai Vladimirovich Strutinsky, Boris Sukhenko, Pyotr Mamonets, Georgy Strutinsky, and others. They retraced every guerrilla trail, visited remote villages and farmsteads, and interviewed hundreds of witnesses before the trail led them to the village of Boratin.

After the war, Nikolai Strutinsky served in the state security organs of the Lvov region, rising from the rank of sergeant to colonel. He devoted immense energy and time to uncovering the truth about Kuznetsov’s final days and burial site, eventually forming and leading a dedicated operational group for this purpose. Bit by bit, they gathered materials that shed light on the last chapter of Nikolai Kuznetsov’s life. The team interrogated former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), local residents, captured German officers, and combed through hundreds of archival documents. Step by step, they advanced — despite facing direct and indirect resistance from followers of Stepan Bandera, local party officials, and even, at times, fellow intelligence officers.

At one point, Strutinsky’s adversaries went so far as to fabricate a letter from Nikolai Kuznetsov himself: they addressed it to Valentina Dovger and sent it to her prewar address. In it, he allegedly claimed to be alive in a foreign camp and expressed hope of soon reuniting with her. The intent was clear: to discredit Kuznetsov’s heroic legacy and pressure Strutinsky’s team into abandoning their search.

Only through Nikolai Strutinsky’s titanic perseverance was the multi-year investigation brought to a successful conclusion. On July 27, 1960, Kuznetsov’s remains were solemnly reburied on the Hill of Glory in Lvov. Ordinary citizens expressed their deep gratitude to Nikolai Strutinsky for this act of historical and moral justice.

Strutinsky was deeply troubled, as he often said, by what he called “the total falsification of historical events in Ukraine” and by persistent attempts to tarnish the name of his friend and comrade. He wrote as follows:

Throughout his postwar life, Nikolai Strutinsky kept the memory of his fallen comrades alive. He authored numerous documentary accounts of events from the Great Patriotic War, confronting historical revisionism with irrefutable facts. He frequently met with schoolchildren and students, sharing firsthand stories about the courage of Soviet intelligence officers and the significance of the Soviet people’s victory over fascism.

As a symbolic tribute to the legendary scout, participants of the Yekaterinburg–Lviv commemorative relay — organized in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kuznetsov’s birth — presented the Nikolai Kuznetsov Museum with a flask of earth taken from his grave in Lvov. This humble yet profound gift stands as a lasting homage to a hero whose legacy continues to inspire many today.