"The Commissar" – Soviet Infantry Counterattack Near Stalingrad, 1942

June 22, 2025 - Reading time: 3 minutes

Soviet infantry launches a counterattack near Stalingrad during heavy German artillery fire. Central figure wields a PPSh-41. Photo known as “The Commissar.”

Stalingrad, 1942.
Mud, blood, and fire. A Soviet counterattack begins under a curtain of German artillery shells. From the smog and smoke of war emerges a scene that would come to symbolize the iron will of the Soviet soldier during one of history’s most savage battles.

This iconic image, known by its author as “The Commissar”, was taken by Arkady Shaikhet, one of the USSR’s most celebrated war photographers. The photo captures a Soviet infantry unit — armed with Mosin-Nagant rifles and a DP-27 light machine gun — launching an assault near the outskirts of Stalingrad. In the center: a commanding figure in motion, gripping a PPSh-41 submachine gun, spurring his men forward with unshakable resolve.

Shaikhet’s work was never about glamorizing war. It was about documenting its raw truth — the courage, the fear, the sacrifice. This photo freezes a heartbeat of resistance, taken during the brutal months when the Red Army fought to repel the Wehrmacht from the Volga River. It is as much a symbol of Soviet endurance as it is a historical document.

Many of the men in the frame remain nameless, but their bravery echoes through this image. For them, there was no retreat — only forward.

📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Arkady Shaikhet
📅 Date: 1942
📍 Location: Stalingrad, USSR