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Children of the Great Patriotic War
On the 9th of May 2020 was marked the 75th anniversary of Victory in the great Patriotic war. A large amount of information about the war comes from the stories of veterans, who were children at the time. There were evacuations, relocations in their childhood, someone lost their family and lived in orphanages, others went to war as teenagers.

One of the evidences of the horror experienced by these children is their diaries, thanks to which people of the 21st century are able to imagine for a moment how much they had to go through. For example, the diary of Tanya Savicheva, in which she tells how people lived and survived in the besieged Leningrad. These records are an indication of suffering that fell on Tanya, all children and adults who were trapped on all sides by the German invaders in a city where was a huge shortage of supplies, and which was subjected to artillery fire from the ground and air.

Son or daughter of the regiment - this was the name of children who joined the red Army detachments and remained there to serve. In regular units, replenishment in the ranks of young warriors appeared in three ways. Firstly, the soldiers picked up children left without parental care during the war. They could be orphans or just lost children. Secondly, there were cases when parents who held command positions brought their children to the front line, believing that it would be safer for the child than in the rear. Thirdly, the replenishment took place at the expense of children who escaped from the rear to the front.

Young partisans, sons of regiments, cabin boys bravely endured all difficulties, steadfastly fought in battles. Youthful workers and collective farmers worked selflessly in the rear... Some of them were awarded orders and medals for military merit. Five underage soldiers of the great Patriotic war were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union: Marat Kazei, Kotyk Valya, Lenya Golikov, Sasha Chekalin, Zina Portnova.