The pictured are Ivan and Maria Ryazantsev, World War II veterans and residents of Anzhero-Sudzhensk.
Ivan Ryazantsev was born in 1918, in the village of Svyatoslavka, Izhmorsky District, the Kemerovo Region. In September 1938, he was enlisted in the Red Army. Ryazantsev served in the Far East as the commander of the Grodekovsky section of the Red Banner Border Guard Detachment.
In 1942, Ivan Ryazantsev graduated from the Leningrad Border Guard School. He was appointed the commander of a firing platoon in the 20th division of the NKVD and sent to the Stalingrad Front. There, Ryazantsev received his first wound. After hospital he finished artillery courses, and since 1943, he fought on the 1st Ukrainian front as a battery commander of 1664th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the 4th Tank Army Reserve of the Main Command.
For his courage and bravery at the front line, Ivan Ryazantsev was awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd degrees. In March 1944, he took part in breakthrough of the enemy defensive line near Kolodezny. Under heavy enemy fire, Ryazantsev destroyed one enemy gun equipment, two armored fighting vehicles, four vehicles and 15 soldiers and officers. In the battles for the town of Skala, in Poland, Ryazantsev’s battery did not let the enemy machine guns gain a foothold, and thus, helped the Soviet troops to occupy the town.
In June 1944, Ryazantsev was seriously wounded in the leg. After the hospital he returned to his unit, but did not take part in fights any more: because of health problems, he was appointed the UAF regiment’s head. Ivan Ryazantsev served in that position until June 1946, and met the news of the victory in Prague with the rank of guards senior lieutenant.
After the war, Ivan Ryazantsev served in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1960, he moved with his family to Anzhero-Sudzhensk and got a job at the central power plant as a senior foreman. A year later he moved to the mine #2, where he worked for more than 10 years until his retirement. He received the title of ‘Shock Worker of Communist Labor’ and the medal ‘Veteran of Labor’, as well as the award ‘For the Development of the Virgin Lands’ for his success at work.
Ivan Ryazantsev’s wife Maria was born in the Voronezh Region. During the war, she was a sanitary instructor — she watched over the hygiene and health of the soldiers. She received medals “For Valor” and “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945”, as well as jubilee awards for military service.
Ivan Ryazantsev was born in 1918, in the village of Svyatoslavka, Izhmorsky District, the Kemerovo Region. In September 1938, he was enlisted in the Red Army. Ryazantsev served in the Far East as the commander of the Grodekovsky section of the Red Banner Border Guard Detachment.
In 1942, Ivan Ryazantsev graduated from the Leningrad Border Guard School. He was appointed the commander of a firing platoon in the 20th division of the NKVD and sent to the Stalingrad Front. There, Ryazantsev received his first wound. After hospital he finished artillery courses, and since 1943, he fought on the 1st Ukrainian front as a battery commander of 1664th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the 4th Tank Army Reserve of the Main Command.
For his courage and bravery at the front line, Ivan Ryazantsev was awarded the Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st and 2nd degrees. In March 1944, he took part in breakthrough of the enemy defensive line near Kolodezny. Under heavy enemy fire, Ryazantsev destroyed one enemy gun equipment, two armored fighting vehicles, four vehicles and 15 soldiers and officers. In the battles for the town of Skala, in Poland, Ryazantsev’s battery did not let the enemy machine guns gain a foothold, and thus, helped the Soviet troops to occupy the town.
In June 1944, Ryazantsev was seriously wounded in the leg. After the hospital he returned to his unit, but did not take part in fights any more: because of health problems, he was appointed the UAF regiment’s head. Ivan Ryazantsev served in that position until June 1946, and met the news of the victory in Prague with the rank of guards senior lieutenant.
After the war, Ivan Ryazantsev served in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1960, he moved with his family to Anzhero-Sudzhensk and got a job at the central power plant as a senior foreman. A year later he moved to the mine #2, where he worked for more than 10 years until his retirement. He received the title of ‘Shock Worker of Communist Labor’ and the medal ‘Veteran of Labor’, as well as the award ‘For the Development of the Virgin Lands’ for his success at work.
Ivan Ryazantsev’s wife Maria was born in the Voronezh Region. During the war, she was a sanitary instructor — she watched over the hygiene and health of the soldiers. She received medals “For Valor” and “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945”, as well as jubilee awards for military service.
