Soviet border guards with a service dog observe enemy territory near the Danube Delta in the last peaceful days before Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR. Both soldiers would later serve in the NKVD Internal Troops during the war.
The Last Peaceful Days
Vilkovo, Danube Delta, June 20, 1941.
Just two days before Operation Barbarossa shattered the peace, two Soviet border guards kneel in cover beside a quiet marsh. With them is a watchful service dog. The scene appears calm, but history would soon transform it into the final moments before one of the largest invasions ever launched.
The men in the photograph are Lieutenant Alexander Ivanovich Kashkakha and Junior Sergeant Konstantin Sergeyevich Gusev, both recognized for their excellent combat and political training while serving at a Soviet border outpost in southwestern Ukraine. Within forty-eight hours, they would find themselves at war.
After the German invasion began on June 22, both men continued their service in the 34th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Sukhumi Rifle Division, part of the NKVD Internal Troops.
Lieutenant Kashkakha later became a battalion adjutant and was awarded the Medal "For Courage" in April 1943.
Junior Sergeant Gusev was promoted to deputy company commander for political affairs (komsorg) within his battalion. He also received the Medal "For Courage" in 1943 but was killed in action on July 23, 1944, near Krichilsk in Rivne Oblast. He was only 24 years old.
First published in the June 22, 1941 issue of Izvestia, this photograph has become a powerful reminder of the Soviet border guards who stood watch on the eve of war. It preserves a quiet moment before history changed their lives forever.
Technical Photo Data
📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Georgy Zelma
📰 Sources:
1. Izvestia, No. 146 (7522), June 22, 1941
2. pamyat-naroda.ru
📅 Date: June 20, 1941
📍 Location: Vilkovo, Odessa Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
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