Lieutenant Colonel Makarov had seen combat. He had joined the Red
Army in 1925, but previously had participated in ‘partisan’ acts against the
White Russian forces during the Civil War. Fourteen years into his career, he
was once again in combat against the Finns in 1939 and 1940.
Even though he was trained as infantry and considered an ‘excellent
rifleman’ by his superiors and peers alike, he specialized in communications
and rose to become the Commander of the Communication Department, Headquarters
Leningrad Army area.
Colonel Makarov battled against the
Germans during the 900-day siege of Leningrad. During this time though, he was
not idle. He constantly ensured regular communications between the Army units in
the area, and organized the communications for the Air Defense of the city. By
constantly being out on the front, he was able to manage his communications
carefully and took the initiative in developing new means of communication to
meet the requirements of troop operations.
He was awarded the Order of the
Red Star with the following citation:
"He is devoted to the Lenin-Stalin Party and the Socialist Motherland. He is
politically and morally aware. He can keep secret military information. He is a
decisive, energetic officer with a strong will. He is disciplined, but
occasionally impulsive.
"He is tactically and specially trained. He is an excellent rifleman. He
skillfully manages his subordinates and demonstrates the right way to carry out
given tasks. He is an example of discipline and high morality. He makes
thoughtful decisions and shows reasonable initiative. He has a well-deserved
military and political reputation.
"His hard work and discipline provided regular communication between the units
and subdivisions of the army. It gave the headquarters reliable management of
the units in the Air Defense of Leningrad. He visits the units and helps to
install a means of communication that meets with the current requirements of
troop operations.
According to the Act of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR from
14 June 1944, he deserves to be awarded with "Order of the Red Star.""
Additional
photos of Makarov's Group
