Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky

Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kosmodemyansky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Анато́льевич Космодемья́нский; 27 July 1925 – 13 April 1945) was a Soviet military officer and Hero of the Soviet Union, who was bestowed this title posthumously after having been killed in World War II during the capture of the settlement of Vierbrüderkrug, in the Kaporner Heath near Metgethen, just west of Königsberg, East Prussia, Nazi Germany. He was the brother of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky
Kosmodemyansky in 1944
Birth name	Aleksandr Anatolyevich Kosmodemyansky
Born	(1925-07-27)27 July 1925 Osino-Gay, near of Tambov, Soviet Union
Died	13 April 1945(1945-04-13) (aged 19) The Kaporner Heath near Metgethen, East Prussia, Nazi Germany
Buried	Novodevichy Cemetery
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Senior lieutenant
Unit	42nd Guards Heavy Tank Brigade 350th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
Battles / wars	World War II East Prussian offensive Battle of Königsberg
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War (2)
Alma mater	Ulyanovsk Tank School
Relations	Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya (sister)

Legacy

The settlement of imeni Alexandra Kosmodemyanskogo in Kaliningrad Oblast was renamed after him in 1956. The minor planet 1977 Shura was named in his honour,^[1] while 1793 Zoya and 2072 Kosmodemyanskaya were named for his sister and for his mother, Lyubov Kosmodemyanskaya, respectively.^[2][3]

Gallery

• 
  Kosmodemyansky (second from right) with comrades in East Prussia, 4 January 1945.
• 
  Tombstone at Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery
• 
  1969 CPA stamp