Major Aleksandr Mateevich Nekrasov was a staunch believer in the Communist way of life, and in supporting the Motherland through training the next generation of fighting troops. When the War started, he was forty years old, too old to go directly to the front, so he remained at his teaching post as an artillery instructor at the 1st Leningradskii Artillery, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner School named after Red October, where he had been for the previous ten years.
Did he know how to fight? Yes, and very well. He had joined the Red Army as a young eighteen year old farmer in October 1919, and participated in the Warsaw offensive of 1920. Yes, he had seen his share of combat. As the years progressed, he rose through the ranks of an enlisted artilleryman, and was finally commissioned in the mid 1930’s.
As an instructor at the Artillery school, he trained literally hundreds of young officers in both artillery tactics, as well as loyalty to the ‘Rodina’ and the will to fight.
The Germans encircled Leningrad for over 900 days. During this time, he continued to bravely teach at the school, training up the next generation of artillery officers, who would be the ones that would force the Germans back onto their own soil, and after the War, be responsible for the ‘Soviet threat’ of the Cold War.
He was awarded the Order of Lenin with the following citation:
"He is politically well prepared. Having worked at school for 13 years, he managed to train hundreds of artillery officers devoted to our party and Motherland. He has much experience in party political work in the Red Army and he skilfully shares his experience with the officers and students. He is disciplined and demanding and at the same time caring to subordinates. His military training is good. He always works on self-improvement and it is noticeable. He is a Deputy Commander Division by political work and currently he is working as a Commander Students’ Division 2. For the last two months the division has achieved great success in study and in all other spheres of activity. For great success in cavalry preparation, Major Nekrasov has been awarded with a watch. He is exceptionally industrious.
"He is devoted to the Lenin-Stalin Party and the Socialist Motherland. For long and fruitful service in the Red Army, comrade Nekrasov deserves to be awarded with the governmental award, the Order of Lenin ."
