This year is 70th anniversary of the Victory of the Great Patriotic War. This holiday is special to our family as my grandfather Bulat Akylbayev — veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
I think the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) left the trace in the history of each Kazakhstan family. Not everyone returned back to their home. Many people died fighting for their homeland and some of them got missing. We did not see the war, but we know about terrible time from books and stories of our veterans.
My name is Saniya Bolat. My grandfather Bulat Akylbayev was born in 1921 in the village Kenes of Zhaulinsky district of Zhambyl region. He began to work at the early age. He studied only 3 classes. My grandfather learnt Russian fluently working on Russian economy.
His parents were ordinary rural people. His father was herdsman in collective farm and mother also worked there. My grandfather was first-born child of his parents, he had two younger brothers.
In 1941 before going to the front Syram regional military commissariat calls him to the ranks of military of Shymkent region. He was trained in the city of Lenger and later was accepted in the 102nd Infantry division as the sniper.
There are written data confirming that on April 25, 1942 he took the military oath. From that day he was at war as a part of the 102nd Infantry division.
In July, 1942 my grandfather participated in another battle against German aggressors, as well as many other soldiers of a division, but was captured.
In the military card of my grandfather there is a record that on May 9, 1945 he served in the forces. On May 9, 1945, the Soviet Army released the prisoners who were in concentration camps in the territory of Germany. Among them there were military and ordinary people with children. Soldiers of the Soviet army who were taken prisoner called "penalized".
"Penalized" people were taken across the oceans to the Far East. They faced many difficulties, some of them who injured at the front died on the way.
When on the board of the ship someone died, sharks, knew it by the smell, surrounded the ship. The corpse was wrapped in fabric and thrown overboard to be eating by sharks. Those, who were among "penalized", were sent to the war with Japan. And those who were already on the territory of the Japanese state were captured the laws of that country were applied.
The war already finished before they arrived to the destination, thousand soldiers returned home. But, my grandfather decided to stay in the Far East and started to work in mine. He could not return to the country as he knew people’s attitude towards captured. Certainly, people lived not in best condition after the war. Each family had men who did not return from the front, but those who returned were disabled.
In the employment history of my grandfather was written that he was worked in the mine in 1945. In 1948, continuing his work in a coal mine of the city of Artem (Far East), married to Tatar girl Rakiba, who also worked there. Only in 1953 he had the opportunity to return home. In the country, he returned with three children. He lived 53 years together his wife and had eight children.
After returning home, he worked at the mine "Boralday" of Zhunalinsk district. He worked until 1959 and later in the town of Karatau. There he also worked as miner till his retirement (1989).
He had difficult life, lost many friends and worked hard and a lot. He died in 2014 at the age of 94.
My grandfather — Honored citizen of Talas district, Veteran of Labor and the Great Patriotic War, the owner of medals of Second World War of 1st and 2nd degree. He was awarded the medal of Marshal G. Zhukov, medals of "Liberation of Ukraine", "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)", anniversary medals "60 years of Armed Forces of SSSR" and "70 years of Armed Forces of SSST".
I am very proud to be the granddaughter of such person as my grandfather. Let the war will never repeat again!
Saniya Bolat,
Pupil of 8th grade of high school named after S. Seyfullin
Karatau, Zhambyl region
