Soviet Officers of the 2nd Guards Taman Division After the Defeat of Nazi Germany, 1945

November 14, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Soviet officers of the 2nd Guards Taman Division in Germany after the defeat of Nazi Germany, 1945.

This photograph presents a group portrait of Soviet officers from the 2nd Guards Taman Division of the Red Army, taken in Germany in 1945, shortly after the final collapse of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. These are men who fought their way across the Caucasus, Crimea, Poland, and into the heart of the Third Reich — and survived.

Two of the officers in the picture are identified by name:
– Junior Lieutenant Sergey Maksimovich Artyukhov, standing first from the left in the second row.
– Major Pavel Georgievich Razumov, seated in the center of the first row.

The Taman Division was one of the Red Army’s best-known Guards formations, celebrated for its role in liberating the Taman Peninsula in 1943 — an achievement that earned it the honorary title “Taman.” From those battles onward, the division fought in key operations that shaped the Soviet advance toward Berlin, acting as both a striking and stabilizing force on multiple fronts.

In this photograph, the officers pose in full uniform, bearing the decorations awarded to them for their service. Their expressions vary — some smiling, others reserved — but all reflect the collective exhaustion and relief that came with victory after nearly four years of unbroken warfare. The backdrop of postwar Germany underscores the magnitude of the Red Army’s achievement and the destructive path that brought them here.

Portraits like this preserve not only the faces of individual officers but also the legacy of Soviet frontline leadership — the commanders who oversaw artillery barrages, infantry advances, logistics, political work, and the daily survival of their units during one of the most brutal conflicts in history.

This image stands as a testament to the discipline, endurance, and sacrifice of the Taman Division’s officer corps at the moment when the war that defined their lives had finally come to an end.

Technical Photo Data:
📍 Location: Germany
📅 Date: 1945
📝 Subject: Officers of the 2nd Guards Taman Division after victory in Europe; includes Lt. Artyukhov and Maj. Razumov
📷 Photographer: Unknown

• Soviet officer corps 1945
• Red Army occupation forces Germany
• Taman Division wartime history
• Postwar group portraits WWII
• Soviet victory photographs