October,19 marks the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev, a recipient of Kazakhstan’s highest honorary title, Khalyk Kakharmany (People’s Hero). During the storming of Berlin, he and Grigory Bulatov were among the first to hoist the red banner on the Reichstag building, El.kz reports.
Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev was born in 1924 in the Akmola Region. During the Great Patriotic War, he graduated from a military academy and was deployed to the front. By the spring of 1945, the young lieutenant was commanding a rifle platoon and taking part in the Soviet offensive against Berlin.
Even before the famous assault on the Reichstag, Koshkarbayev had distinguished himself in combat along the Oder River. On April, 16 his platoon took part in breaching German defensive positions near Groß Neuendorf. The fighting was so intense that it escalated into hand-to-hand combat in the trenches.
During the engagement, a grenade fragment damaged Koshkarbayev’s submachine gun. The officer managed to seize a German machine gun and continued firing using the captured weapon.
His citation for a military award stated: “Thanks to Koshkarbayev’s exceptionally courageous and daring actions, he accomplished the mission assigned to him.”
For his actions in this engagement, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, First Class.
The Kazakh officer’s most renowned act of heroism took place on April,30 1945. During the storming of Berlin, Koshkarbayev and Red Army soldier Grigory Bulatov were tasked with raising a red flag over the Reichstag.
Under enemy fire, the two soldiers crossed the open ground in front of the building and secured an assault banner to its facade. They became among the first Soviet servicemen to raise a red flag on the Reichstag.
This episode became one of the best-known accounts of Kazakhstanis’ participation in the final battles of the Great Patriotic War. In recognition of his military service, Koshkarbayev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
After the war, he worked in the administrative bodies of the Akmola region and subsequently in the administrative office of the Ministry of Municipal Services of the Kazakh SSR.
In 1967, Koshkarbayev became the first director of the Alma-Ata Hotel, a position he held for more than twenty years. He was also involved in representative activities and the veterans’ movement.
He documented his wartime experiences in his books The Banner of Victory and The Assault: Day 1410, recounting his military service and the battles for Berlin.
Rakhymzhan Koshkarbayev passed away in 1988. In independent Kazakhstan, his heroic deeds received the country’s highest state recognition. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the title of Khalyk Kaharmany (People’s Hero of Kazakhstan).
Subsequently, the third-class Aibyn Order was named in Koshkarbayev’s honour. Today, streets and educational institutions across Kazakhstan bear his name, monuments have been erected in his memory, and schools hold lessons on courage dedicated to his life and military service.
