Ivan Kulbertinov
Ivan Kulbertinov | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Иван Николаевич Кульбертинов |
| Nicknames | Siberian Midnight Siberian Owl Kulbert |
| Born | 7 November 1917 |
| Died | 13 February 1993 (aged 75) |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Service years | 1942–1946 |
Rank | Sergeant Major |
Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | Order of the Red Banner |
Ivan Nikolaevich Kulbertinov (Russian: Иван Николаевич Кульбертинов; Yakut: Ньукулай уола Уйбаан Кульбертинов, romanized: Ņukulay uola Uybaan Kulbertinov; 7 November 1917 — 13 February 1993) was a Soviet sniper of World War II with a tally of 487 kills.[a] [1] [2]
Early life
[edit ]Kulbertinov was born on 7 November, 1917 in Tyanya in the present-day Sakha Republic to an Evenk family of reindeer herders.[3] His father Nikolai Romanovich Kulbertinov died shortly after his birth while his mother Anna Vasilievna was often sick due to chronic illness.[4]
Kulbertinov did not attend school, but since age ten, he distinguished himself as a particularly successful hunter in the taiga of Olyokminsky District, tutored by his older brother.[4] His skill earned Kulbertinov the nicknames "Pumpee" (Evenki: Пумпээ, lit. 'elusive, round, puffed up like a balloon') by his mother, in reference to his small stature and nimble speed, and "Buskhaa" (Бусхаа, 'mighty one') by his peers, for his strength, reportedly for his ability to kill reindeer with a single punch and split wooden logs in half.[3]
For most of his teenage years, Kulbertinov worked on the Novaya Zhizn collective farm in Tsivilsky District, Chuvash Republic, for which he was recognised as a Stakhanovite. His older brother Nikolai was killed while serving on the Eastern Front in 1939.
World War II
[edit ]Kulbertinov was drafted into the Red Army on 12 June 1942, reportedly telling the conscription officer, "I can strike beasts in the eye, now I want to strike fascists"[4] Measured as 153 cm and 53 kg, he underwent training in the Ural Mountains and initially deployed as part of a reconnaissance unit. However, when his superiors took notice of his gun skills, he was allowed entry into the 23rd Separate Ski Brigade in the 2nd Guards Airborne Division on 27 February 1943, being assigned to Staraya Russa, where he made his first confirmed kill. Between 1942 and 1945, Kulbertinov served outside of Moscow, Oryol, and Kursk in western Russia, in Kiev and Vinnitsa in western and eastern Ukraine, as well as in Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. In his journal, Kulbertinov wrote that, after spending two days lying in wait, he killed over a dozen Wehrmach soldiers by firing an armor-piercing round at a pile of ammunition boxes they were unloading from a truck.[3] His high-ranking kills included a Sturmbannführer and two Waffen-SS Obersturmbannführer. During the war, Kulbertinov trained around 35 junior snipers.
Wehrmacht troops in Mukachevo nicknamed him "Kulbert" while those in the Eastern Carpathians referred to Kulbertinov by the epithets "Siberian Midnight" (German: Sibirische Mitternacht) or "Siberian Owl" (German: Sibirische Eule).[3]
Post-war
[edit ]A popular legend states that in 1947, shortly after being demobilized, Kulbertinov was accused of being a military impostor at either a railway cafe in Prague or a restaurant in Irkutsk, by fellow Red Army officers, one to four depending on the version, while wearing his uniform and medals. Kulbertinov then drew a personalized handgun in response and non-fatally shot those involved. However, Yakutia Daily noted that similar stories are attributed to several Soviet World War II veterans, also conflicting with the fact that Kulbertinov had no criminal record.[3]
Kulbertinov was returned to Tyanya and from 1948 to 1969, he worked as a hunter for the state-run silver fox farm while also setting up traps to deter wolves from a deer husbandry site.
Kulbertinov was the recipient of 12 medals, as well as a personalized Mosin–Nagant rifle from the Military Council of the Red Army. He was also twice considered for Hero of the Soviet Union, but ultimately did not receive the award. In the first instance, the nomination was lost in 1945 as Kulbertinov's unit was being disbanded. Residents of Sakha Republic have repeatedly launched petitions for the Russian government to again consider Kulbertinov for Hero of the Soviet Union.[3]
A school in his home village Tyana and a street in Olyokminsk are named after Kulbertinov.[5] In November 2020, a statue of Kulbertinov was finished in Yakutsk.[6]
In 2017, the Kalashnikov Concern produced 100 limited-edition Dragunov Tigr rifles, eache engraved "To the 100th Anniversary of the Great Sniper I.N. Kulbertinov Pumpee".[3] [5]
In January 2021, the Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha subsidiary of Rosneft named a gas field in Sakha Republic after Kulbertinov.[7] [8]
Footnotes
[edit ]- ^ Some modern sources indicate a tally as high of 487 kills, although his award documents indicate a tally of 252
References
[edit ]- ^ "Иван Николаевич Кульбертинов". Национальный архив Республики Саха (Якутия) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Кульбертинов Иван Николаевич". soviet-aces-1936-53.ru. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Будаев, Аламжи (20 November 2024). "Иван Кульбертинов – жизнь как легенда". Якутия (in Russian).
- ^ a b c "Якутяне собирают подписи за восстановление звания Героя Советского Союза Ивану Кульбертинову". Якутия (in Russian). 6 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Концерн «Калашников» в честь Ивана Кульбертинова выпустил ограниченную серию усовершенствованных карабинов «Тигр»". Газета Илкэн (in Russian). 18 August 2017.
- ^ "В Якутске открыли памятник народному герою Ивану Кульбертинову". Кэскил (in Russian).
- ^ "Rosneft discovers field in Yakutia with reserves of more than 75 bcm gas". Interfax. 12 January 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Joseph (9 July 2021). "Rosneft strikes gas in Russian Far East". Natural Gas World.