13-year-old Leonid Fedorov and I.V. Grishin, an elderly collective farm worker, stand guard as members of a Soviet partisan detachment in the Soshikhinsky District, Leningrad Region, July 1943.
This photograph, titled "Partisans on Watch", depicts 13-year-old Leonid Fedorov together with I.V. Grishin, an elderly collective farm worker serving in a Soviet partisan detachment in the Soshikhinsky District of the Leningrad Region in July 1943. The image illustrates the participation of people of different generations in partisan activities behind the front lines during the German occupation.
Soviet partisan units operated in occupied territories, conducting reconnaissance, sabotage, attacks on enemy communications, and support for Red Army operations. Their members included former soldiers, local civilians, and volunteers who joined resistance groups under a wide variety of circumstances.
Taken by Mikhail Trakhman, the photograph documents two members of the same partisan detachment standing watch during the summer of 1943. Their ages highlight the diverse composition of many partisan formations operating in occupied Soviet territory.
Technical Photo Data
- 📍 Location: Soshikhinsky District, Leningrad Region, USSR.
- 📅 Date: July 1943.
- 👦 Identified persons: Leonid Fedorov (13 years old) and I.V. Grishin.
- 📷 Photographer: Mikhail Trakhman.
Recommended literature
- Kenneth Slepyan — Stalin's Guerrillas: Soviet Partisans in World War II.
- John Armstrong — Soviet Partisans in World War II.
- Ben Shepherd — War in the Wild East.
- "Soviet partisans"
- "Leonid Fedorov partisan"
- "Mikhail Trakhman"
- "Leningrad Region partisans"
- "Soviet resistance WWII"