Alekseyev, Vasily b. January 7, 1942 d. November 25, 2011 Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Weightlifter. A super heavyweight, he achieved absolute dominance of his sport during the 1970s. Born and raised in the village of Pokrovo-Shishkino, he was to credit his early work as a lumberjack with developing his immense strength. Alekseyev lived in Shakhty from the mid 1960s on and began competitive weightlifting in 1968. Essentially self trained, he reached a 'fighting weight' of about 350# and in 1970 set the first of what would eventually be 80 world records...[Read More] (Bio by: Bob Hufford) City Cemetery, Shakhty, Rostovskaya Oblast', Russian Federation
Pechersky, Alexander b. February 22, 1909 d. January, 1990 Military Figure, Holocaust Survivor. Soviet Army lieutenant who was captured by the Nazis during World War II. After discovering he was Jewish, they sent him to the Sobibor Concentration Camp, where he organized an escape that freed 300 Jews from certain death. It was the largest escape from any concentration camp. Pechersky was portrayed by actor Rutger Hauer in the TV movie "Escape from Sobibor." (Bio by: Erik Lander) Severnoe (Northern) Cemetery, Rostov-on-Don, Rostovskaya Oblast', Russian Federation
Petrov, Yevgeny b. December 13, 1903 d. July 2, 1942 Humorist. Real name Yevgeny Petrovich Kataev. The younger brother of novelist Valentin Kataev, he formed a literary partnership with Ilya Ilf in 1926. Together they wrote the famous satirical novels "The Twelve Chairs" (1928) and "The Golden Calf" (1931), and dozens of short stories poking fun at the absurdities of Soviet life. After Ilf's death in 1937, Petrov became editor of the humor magazine "Little Light" but his solo efforts did not achieve the success of his earlier work. He...[Read More] (Bio by: Robert Edwards) Mankovo-Kalitvenskaya Village Cemetery, Rostovskaya Oblast', Russian Federation
b. January 7, 1942 d. November 25, 2011