Message about a cat. Sailor Cat: the main hero of the Crimean War

Domestic history has preserved the names of many heroes of the defense of Sevastopol who distinguished themselves during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. However, among the officers and admirals, a special place is occupied by the simple Russian sailor Pyotr Markovich Koshka, whose image appears in many works of art telling about this glorious epic.

Navy guy from a Ukrainian village

The future hero of Sevastopol was born on January 10, 1828 in the village of Ometintsy, located in the territory of what is now the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine. His parents were serfs. As for the nationality of Sailor Koshka, historians do not have a consensus on this issue, but many of them believe that he was Russian.

Upon reaching statutory age, Peter was appointed a recruit and, while serving his military service, served as a sailor in the Black Sea Fleet. As part of the crew of the battleship "Yagudiil", he took part in hostilities from the first days of the Crimean War. When the almost two-year blockade of Sevastopol began in 1854, the sailor Koshka, along with other crew members, was sent ashore, where he joined the defenders of the fortress.

Fighting on the battery, commanded by Lieutenant A.M. Perekomsky, Pyotr Markovich was distinguished by his extraordinary courage and resourcefulness. He showed these qualities especially clearly in reconnaissance and during the capture of prisoners. It is known that as a volunteer he participated 18 times in forays into territory captured by the enemy, and more than once carried out assigned tasks alone. His heroism, bordering on recklessness, was legendary.

Nightmare of the occupiers

Sailor Pyotr Koshka often had to carry out various sabotage missions in enemy-occupied territory. No one could compare with him in the ability to silently “remove” a sentry or obtain a “tongue”. They said, for example, that once during military operations, he managed to capture three enemy soldiers with only a knife in his hands. Another time, getting close to the enemy trenches, he dug out of the ground, and under heavy fire, dragged away the body of a Russian sapper killed by the enemy, and blasphemously buried waist-deep in the ground.

And the story of how one day the sailor Cat entered the French camp and, having stolen a beef leg from their kitchen pot, delivered it to his hungry comrades, seems completely incredible. There was also a case when he stole an enemy horse, and did this only in order to sell it and donate the proceeds to a monument to another hero of Sevastopol - sailor Ignatius Shevchenko.

Well-deserved glory

The command appreciated the heroism of Pyotr Markovich and, at the beginning of 1855, he was awarded the “Insignia of the Military Order” - an award established for lower ranks and corresponding to the Order of St. George, that is, the St. George Cross. At the same time, the sailor Koshka was promoted to non-commissioned officer and became a quartermaster. During 1855, he was wounded twice, but both times he returned to duty thanks to the art of the famous Russian surgeon N.I. Pirogov, who was also among the defenders of Sevastopol.

Even during the war, the courage shown during combat missions made the simple Russian sailor Pyotr Markovich Koshka famous throughout the country. As a holder of the highest award given to lower ranks, he was presented to the Grand Dukes Mikhail Nikolaevich and Nikolai Nikolaevich in February 1855.

Together with them, the artist V.F. arrived at the position. Timm, who created a gallery of portraits of heroes of Sevastopol, including Pyotr Markovich. Lithographs with his image quickly spread throughout Russia, and all the major newspapers published a biography of the national hero and stories about his exploits. Later, his image was presented on the pages of the works of Leo Tolstoy, and in Soviet times, the writer S. Sergeev-Tsensky.

Soon, the famous sailor was awarded a golden pectoral cross by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself, the wife of Emperor Nicholas I. Despite the fact that it was just a gift and, moreover, of a purely religious nature, Koshka wore it on his chest over his uniform as a reward.

Short peaceful life

In 1856, when the war was over, a decree was issued by the new Emperor Alexander II, according to which every month spent by the defenders in the besieged city was counted as a year of service. As a result, Pyotr Markovich received the right to be transferred to the reserve, which he did not fail to take advantage of. At the end of the year, he left the army and went to live in his native village, but according to the law, Koshka had to remain in the reserves for another 15 years.

Having returned to peaceful life, yesterday's sailor took up ordinary village work and soon married a local peasant woman, who after a while bore him a son. Local authorities, having heard about the heroic past of their villager, often entrusted him with guarding convoys heading to Nikolaev and Kherson. This was a very responsible task, since the dashing people on the Russian highways were never transferred.

In the Baltic Fleet

However, in 1863, fate destined to once again send the Cavalier of St. George to a warship. This time the reason was the uprising that engulfed the Kingdom of Poland, which was under the jurisdiction of the Russian emperor. Since by that time Pyotr Markovich was still in the reserves, he was again called up to the fleet, but not the Black Sea, but the Baltic.

Being near the capital, he repeatedly took part in parades of the Knights of St. George and receptions organized for them in the Winter Palace. When the deadline for retirement approached in 1869 (this time “outright”), Koshka refused this opportunity and remained as part of the naval crew for another 4 years, after which he finally returned to his village.

Return to civilian life

It should be noted that in those days, veterans were honored not only with pompous speeches, but also provided (even to the lower ranks) with a decent life after leaving the army. Those of them who were awarded orders and medals during their service received additional allowances. Thus, Pyotr Markovich, who, in addition to the St. George Cross, which was described above, received several other awards established for lower ranks, but which at the same time had a very high dignity, after retiring, received a pension that was twice as large as his previous salary as a non-commissioned officer.

However, despite his material wealth, the former sailor Koshka did not want to sit idly by. Soon after returning to his native village, he secured a government position as a ranger in the local forestry department. In this regard, his official salary was added to his pension, which was already considerable, and for the duration of his service he received at his disposal a house built at public expense with an adjoining plot.

The end of life, which became the beginning of immortality

Pyotr Markovich passed away early, when he was barely 54 years old, but he did it exactly as befits a hero. In the winter of 1882, he rushed into the wormwood, saving two girls who had fallen into it. As a result, the children’s lives were out of danger, and he himself fell ill from hypothermia and, after lying unconscious for several days, died. He was buried in a village cemetery, which was subsequently liquidated. The hero's grave has not survived.

Having passed away, the famous Knight of St. George became a symbol of selfless service to the fatherland. The monument to the sailor Koshka was erected in Sevastopol, during the defense of which he covered himself with unfading glory. Also, a street adjacent to Mamayev Kurgan was named after him. In addition, busts of the hero adorn the Walk of Fame and museum complexes in various cities of the country.

As mentioned above, the image of the hero inspired many famous Russian writers, who dedicated both short stories and major literary works to him. Perhaps it is most fully presented in the book “Sailor Cat”, written by historian and writer K.K. Golokhvostov and went out of print in 1895, but republished in our time.

About a kind word

In conclusion, I would like to cite one story, once again illustrating the self-control and resourcefulness inherent in P. M. Koshka, and at the same time, revealing the true meaning of one well-known popular expression. They say that once during a visit by Admiral V.A. Kornilov's combat positions, an enemy grenade fell at his feet. Pyotr Markovich, who was nearby, was not taken aback and, picking it up, threw it into a cauldron of boiling porridge, causing the wick to go out and there was no explosion. The admiral warmly thanked the resourceful sailor, after which he answered him with a phrase that became popular: “A kind word makes the Cat happy.”

He stood out for his fearlessness even against the backdrop of mass heroism displayed by the defenders of the besieged city. The capital's newspapers wrote about him, and the Grand Dukes came to meet him. Pyotr Markovich was surprised at his popularity. He did not understand what caused such attention to his person, because he, like every patriot of the Motherland, was only fulfilling his duty.

...In 1828 in Ukraine, in the village of Ometintsy, Kamenets-Podolsk province, a child was born into the family of a serf peasant, who was destined to become famous far beyond the borders of his native village. As a boy, the future hero of Sevastopol herded cows, as a young man he traveled around the country with the Chumaks, and at the age of 21, for his free-thinking and love of freedom, he was recruited by the landowner Dokedukhina.

Without wanting it, the landowner, who decided to teach the troublemaker a lesson, performed an invaluable service for the Fatherland. Thanks to the dissatisfaction of the landowner, Sevastopol, besieged by the interventionists, received a defender, whose name throughout the siege of the city brought panic to the French, Turks and British.

Sailor becomes soldier

The sailor of the sailing ship "Silistria" Peter Koshka was cheerful and restless. Wiry and hardy, he easily coped with any work assigned to him. He spoke, mixing Ukrainian and Russian words, and had the gift of an unsurpassed storyteller. He was the life of the party and was always at the epicenter of all events.

Such energy sometimes caused dissatisfaction among officers, but after the participation of “Silistria” in the Battle of Sinop in 1853, when Russian ships under the leadership of Nakhimov destroyed the Turkish squadron, and the sailor Koshka showed complete contempt for death, his essentially harmless antics began to be shut down eyes.

In 1854, the Silistria was transferred to Sevastopol, and part of its crew, including Pyotr Koshka, moved to the more modern ship Yagudiel.

But the sailor Koshka became famous not in the navy, but in the ground forces. It was not possible to serve for a long time on Yagudiel. In September 1854, English, French and Turkish ships approached Sevastopol. On September 13, the city was declared under siege.

The interventionist fleet was more than three times larger than the Russian one. Moreover, there were 9 times more steam ships in the enemy armada than in the Russian fleet, so it was not possible to defeat the enemy at sea. It was decided to lock the Sevastopol Bay, sinking seven old sailing ships at its entrance, and transport the crews and guns from the remaining ships to the shore, strengthening the city’s land defense with them.

So Peter Koshka became the defender of the third bastion of the Bombor Heights.

The situation in Sevastopol was desperate. The enemy's firepower was many times greater than the power of the batteries protecting the city. The combined enemy squadron fired intensely at the city. From only one side the enemy could fire at the city with 1,340 guns, while the defenders had the opportunity to respond with only 115 guns. On the very first day, more than 50 thousand cannonballs fell on Sevastopol.

But the interventionists failed to win from the sea. In the very first hours of the battle, the French flagship "Paris" caught fire, the Turkish battleship sank, the ships "Charlemagne", "Albion", "London", "Jupiter" were severely damaged. Soon the squadron suffered such losses that it was forced to withdraw from anchors and move further out to sea.

A 349-day land siege of the city began. The enemy outnumbered and outgunned the defenders. The besieged suffered from a lack of food, medicine and ammunition. The supply of the army was so poor that soon the batteries were ordered to respond to 50 shells fired by the enemy with only 5 shots. Attempts to lift the siege of the city did not yield any results, and Sevastopol rested solely on the fantastic mass heroism of the soldiers.

While touring the troops, Vice Admiral Kornilov greeted the soldiers with these words: “Great, guys! You have to die, guys, will you die?” - and the troops shouted: “We will die!!!”

Kornilov himself had to die. He died at the very beginning of the siege. He was replaced by the hero of Sinop, Vice Admiral Nakhimov, who enjoyed enormous authority among soldiers and sailors. While the defenders' affairs were getting worse every day, the enemy was increasing their strength.

On March 28, a second intensified bombardment was launched, followed by an assault. It continued for ten days, but did not produce the expected effect. At night, the defenders restored the fortifications destroyed during the day.

The assault was postponed. Meanwhile, Sardinia entered the war on the side of the interventionists. In January 1855, the number of allied troops near Sevastopol was already 175,000, while the Russian army had 85,000 on the entire peninsula and 43,000 in the Sevastopol area.

Bombings and assaults on the city continued one after another. The enemy showered the city with shells from more than 800 guns. But the city held out, held out against logic and all the canons of military art. He relied on such soldiers and sailors as Pyotr Koshka.

“Night Hunter” - economic in Ukrainian

The fighting for the city did not stop day or night. At night, hundreds of volunteers made forays into enemy trenches, bringing “tongues”, obtaining valuable information, and recapturing weapons and food from the enemy.

The cat became the most famous “night hunter” of Sevastopol. He took part in 18 night attacks and made solo forays into the enemy camp almost every night. During one of the night campaigns, he brought three captured French officers, whom, armed with one knife (Koshka did not take any other weapons with him on a night hunt), he led straight from the campfire.

No one bothered to count how many “languages” Koshka brought for the entire company. Ukrainian economy did not allow Pyotr Markovich to return empty-handed. He brought with him rifled English rifles, which shot further and more accurately than Russian smooth-bore guns, tools, provisions, and once brought a boiled, still hot leg of beef to the battery. The Cat pulled this leg right out of the enemy cauldron. It happened like this: the French were cooking soup and did not notice how the Cat got close to them. There were too many enemies to attack them with a cleaver, but the troublemaker could not resist mocking his enemy. He jumped up and yelled “Hurray!!! Attack!!!" The French fled, and Peter took the meat from the cauldron, turned the cauldron over onto the fire and disappeared into the clouds of steam.

“In the first ranks of our famous daredevils is the famous sailor Koshka, an extraordinary person not only for his lion’s courage, but also, most importantly, for his always witty resourcefulness in everything and imperturbable composure. With a gun in his hands, he goes to the enemy, as if to his fellow countryman; but meanwhile, at that very moment he is ready to dodge the enemy’s blow and his own bold and true blow. The cat took part in almost all known forays, and was always ahead, always in a more dangerous place,” this is what the capital’s newspapers wrote about Pyotr Markovich Koshka.

There is a well-known case of how Koshka saved the body of his comrade, sapper Stepan Trofimov, from desecration. The French, mockingly, put his half-naked corpse on the parapet of the trench and guarded him day and night. Russian soldiers became disheartened. There was practically no ammunition, and it was not possible to recapture the body of a comrade.

The Cat volunteered to do this. Stealthily creeping up to the dead man, he threw the body on his back and, in front of the amazed eyes of the English, ran back. The enemy opened hurricane fire on the daring sailor, but Koshka safely reached his trenches. Several enemy bullets hit the body he was carrying. For this feat, Rear Admiral Panfilov nominated the sailor of the second class for promotion in rank and the Order of St. George.

How does national fame come?

The newspaper “Russian Invalid” wrote about this new feat of the legendary sailor. The article was a success. Letters, declarations of love and money transfers poured in “in favor of the famous daredevil.” Koshka took the money, but spent it on buying food, feeding starving colleagues and children of destroyed Sevastopol.

The Grand Dukes also heard about the amazing warrior, who, having arrived in Sevastopol, certainly wanted to see the hero with their own eyes.

The cat was a born artist and greatly amused the princes by telling them in person how he was fighting the French.

“How funny he is,” the youngest of the princes said then.

To which the elder objected: “He is not as simple as you think.”

The Order of St. George began to be given in 1807 at the behest of Emperor Alexander 1 for undaunted courage, and Koshka received it completely deservedly.

The Adventure Continues

There was plenty of evidence of his courage.

One day, Pyotr Koshka saved Admiral Kornilov by grabbing a bomb that fell under the commander’s feet and throwing it into a cauldron of porridge. The bomb's fuse went out and there was no explosion.

Kornilov then thanked the Cat, and the sailor answered him with a phrase that later became popular: “A kind word is also pleasant for the Cat.”

Another feat of the sailor, which had no direct military significance, but which significantly raised the spirits of the troops, also went down in history. In broad daylight, he stole a beautiful horse from under the noses of the British.

The horse broke free from its leash and entered neutral territory between the Russian and British positions. The space between the trenches was well covered, and the idea of going after the horse was pure madness, but the sailor Koshka still decided to take the risk. He imitated a deserter trying to run over to the enemy.

When Peter jumped out of the trench and ran towards the enemy positions, and several blank shots rang out in his back, the British decided that the Russian was running towards them to surrender and even began to cover him with fire. Thus. Pyotr Markovich ran to his horse, jumped on it and galloped back to his people.

He sold the horse at the market for 50 rubles, and gave the money to build a monument to his heroically deceased comrade, Ignatius Shevchenko.

For comparison: the two Grand Dukes donated 25 rubles for the monument to Ignatius Shevchenko.

What did Ignatius Shevchenko do that Koshka was ready to risk his life to erect a monument to him? Maybe he saved the Cat's life? No. Shevchenko saved the soldier’s favorite, Lieutenant Biryulev, from death. Mass heroism and self-sacrifice were common, everyday things in besieged Sevastopol.

The fight, in which Biryulev, Koshka and Shevchenko took part, is worthy of mention. At dawn on January 17, 1855, a detachment under the command of Lieutenant Biryulev, who was successful in such events, took advantage of the fog and came close to the French positions. The detachment was faced with the task of recapturing the enemy’s advanced positions and holding them until the workers rebuilt the fortifications, turning their front to the enemy.

The French tried to recapture the redoubt. Having shot all the ammunition, the defenders of Sevastopol rushed into a bayonet attack. There were five such attacks in total. During one of them, Shevchenko. and shielded Biryulev from the French officer’s pistol. The cat also did not come out of this battle unscathed. A detachment of African Zouaves came to help the French and tried to recapture the fortification. In a skirmish with one of the Africans, Koshka was stabbed in the chest with a bayonet. Despite the wound, he managed to defeat his opponent and until the end of the battle he fought equally with everyone else, not paying any attention to the wound.

After the battle, the exhausted Koshka was taken to the building of the Noble Assembly, where at that time the infirmary was located. During the battle, the sailor lost so much blood that he found himself on the verge of life and death. He was saved by the outstanding Russian surgeon Pirogov, who also participated in the defense of Sevastopol, fighting for the life of every wounded soldier.

In those years, the flower of the Russian Empire came to defend Sevastopol. Together with Pirogov, nurses P. Grafova, the sister of the author of “Woe from Wit” Griboyedov, and sister Bakunin worked in the infirmary. The writer Count Leo Tolstoy fought on the bastions, whose life the Cat once saved.

Remembering the battle that almost became fatal for him, when 5,000 volunteers attacked the positions of the 175,000-strong enemy army, broke through two lines of defense and destroyed the enemy battery, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy said: “War is madness.”

The cat was getting better. And the capital’s newspapers again wrote about him: “... he was wounded with a bayonet in the left side of his chest, but so fortunately that the bayonet passed under the skin without touching the bone. This first, but harmless, wound cost the life of the Frenchman who wounded him, and the bayonet and rifle became the prey of the intrepid warrior. At present, Pyotr Koshka’s health is apparently improving, and there is hope that the enemy will soon see him as a guest again.”

Death of Sevastopol

From May 25, 1855, enemy guns began to fire even more intensively, day and night, at the positions of the defenders of Sevastopol. On June 28, P.S. was mortally wounded on Malakhov Kurgan. Nakhimov.

On August 5, 1855, the density of bombardment became incredible. Until August 24, more than 200 thousand shells were fired from enemy guns. The city was completely destroyed. On August 24, the Allies launched a general offensive, directing the main attack on Malakhov Kurgan. The defenders repelled the attack.

On August 27, the 60,000-strong interventionist army launched an assault again. The defenders ran out of all ammunition, and the soldiers, helped by local residents, including women and children, fought the superiorly armed enemy with improvised means, using stones and working tools.

The enemy was repelled along the entire front, but at the cost of huge losses the enemy managed to capture Malakhov Kurgan.

Further defense of Sevastopol was no longer possible. Prince Gorchakov decided to leave Sevastopol and during the night transferred his troops to the northern side. The city was set on fire, the powder magazines were blown up, and the military ships stationed in the bay were sunk.

Count Tolstoy, who met Koshka, who was wounded in the arm, at the crossing, recalled that, leaving the city, Pyotr Markovich cried and repeated: “How can this be? Pavel Stepanovich ordered everyone to stand until death... What will he think about us, there in heaven? What will people on earth say about us?”

Pyotr Koshka did not know that people would still say a lot of kind words about him. That the heroism of the defenders of the city, on which more than one and a half million cannonballs fell during the campaign, will become an example for the defenders of Sevastopol during the Great Patriotic War. What, finally, will English newspapers write after the war: “We came here for an easy victory, but we met resistance, examples of which have no examples in history...”

Man with a capital letter

Monument to Peter Koshka in Sevastopol

After the end of the battles for Sevastopol, Koshka was sent home on a long vacation for treatment. By that time, his mother had already died, the farm had collapsed, and the house was rickety. The cat again had to be hired as a Chumakov. Pyotr Markovich married a widow who already had a small daughter. A year later, his son Timofey was born.

On August 9, 1863, Koshka was again drafted into the navy. Despite the fact that a month in besieged Sevastopol was counted as a year of military service, Koshka’s service life had not yet expired.

Pyotr Markovich was enrolled in the honorary 8th naval crew, located in the Kryukov barracks in St. Petersburg. It was easy to serve here, but boring. Every year, a parade of the Knights of St. George was held in the Winter Palace, in which Koshka, who had earned the title of quartermaster and was awarded the Article IV by George, was supposed to participate. In addition to him, the sailor also received Article George III, but lost it during the battles. He was also nominated for a gold George II article and several medals, but did not receive them due to confusion in the War Department.

During one of the parades, Pyotr Koshka saw Lieutenant General Khrulev, with whom he fought together in Sevastopol. Khrulev took an active part in the fate of the Cat, and the sailor received all the awards due to him.

At the end of his service he was entitled to a pension of 60 rubles a year.

After serving, Pyotr Markovich returned to his native village, but did not live to see old age. What the enemies could not do, the cold did.

One autumn, returning home, the Cat saw that two girls had fallen under thin ice on a pond. Without hesitation, he rushed to the aid of the children and saved them. Since then, he began to suffer from frequent colds and on February 1, 1882, he died of a fever.

Pyotr Markovich Koshka was a Man with a capital M, a true patriot of his homeland. He, a serf peasant, had reason to be offended by the empire in which he was born and lived. There were rumors that in his youth he even took part in one of the peasant uprisings that broke out near his native village, but as soon as the country began to be threatened by external danger, he managed to forget all the grievances and became a heroic defender of the Motherland.

Descendants appreciated his courage and patriotism. In Sevastopol, near the Street of Heroes of Sevastopol, not far from the third bastion, there is a monument to Peter Koshka. The street at the foot of the Malakhov Kurgan is named after him.

The monument also stands in the native village of the legendary sailor. We remember.

The history of the Russian state is the history of wars, and in each of them there were heroes in the ranks of its army, the memory of whose exploits remained for centuries.
In the works of Russian writers dedicated to the Crimean War, the name of the sailor Koshka invariably appears. It is repeated so often, and its feats seem so incredible, that over time many began to believe that we are talking about some kind of collective image.
But in fact, Pyotr Markovich Koshka is an absolutely real person.

Garry lad

The future hero of the Crimean War was born on January 10, 1828 in the village of Ometintsy, Podolsk province, in the family of a serf.
Petya Koshka’s childhood and youth were spent, like those of his parents, in hard agricultural work. And at the age of 21, the young lad was appointed a recruit.
According to the then laws of the Russian Empire, the army was formed through recruitment, which was carried out among young peasants by lot.
But often those who did not please the master or the community in some way were given up as “soldiers.” The recruit had to spend 25 years in military service - unless, of course, he first had to lay down his head for the glory of the Fatherland.
In modern Ukrainian articles and books about Pyotr Koshka, you can read that the young guy was sent to the army for disobedience and freethinking. They say that the 21-year-old guy didn’t like how Ukrainians were treated in the empire. Such speeches allegedly did not please the landowner Dokedukhina, who hastened to get rid of the troublemaker.
It must be said that the subsequent life of Pyotr Koshka did not demonstrate in any way that he was a fighter for “independent Ukraine.” Rather, on the contrary, Koshka never separated Ukrainians and Russians.

But the fact that he was a cheerful and desperate guy is pure truth. Having served in the Black Sea Fleet, he very quickly won the sympathy of his comrades, acting as an excellent storyteller and joker.
However, with the beginning of the Crimean War, naval officers, who until that moment had not always favored the sailor Koshka for his cheerful disposition, admitted that he could not only grind his tongue.
The sailor acted skillfully and decisively, did not bow to bullets, was ready to risk himself, but always did it wisely.

The Crimean War, as we know, was an extremely unsuccessful military campaign for Russia. The Anglo-French fleet was more modern and more powerful than the Russian one, and by September 1854 Sevastopol was in a state of siege.

In this situation, the command decided to lock the Sevastopol Bay, sinking seven old sailing ships at its entrance, and transport the crews and guns from the remaining ships to the shore, strengthening the city’s land defense with them.
There is no greater loss for a sailor than the loss of his own ship. But there was simply no other way out under the circumstances. Together with his comrades, Pyotr Koshka also went ashore, becoming a fighter of the third bastion, fighting on the 15th battery of Lieutenant Perekomsky.
The allied forces failed to take Sevastopol right away, and a months-long siege began.

"Night Hunter"

In order to counteract the enemy, Russian troops carried out periodic counterattacks and forays in which volunteers participated. Among these volunteers was Pyotr Koshka.
People like him were called “night hunters.” Having reached enemy trenches under cover of darkness, they captured prisoners, weapons, ammunition and food.
Pyotr Koshka became the most famous “night hunter” of Sevastopol. Fully living up to his surname, he knew how to get close to the enemy completely silently, appearing in front of him suddenly.
In one of his solo forays, he reached an enemy fire and, having only a knife in his hands, captured and delivered three French officers to the Russian camp. The French were completely discouraged by such insolence.
Pyotr Koshka took part in 18 night attacks, but individual attacks remained his strong point. From them he not only brought prisoners, but also brought the latest English guns and whole bags of provisions.

But a real sensation among the city’s defenders was caused by the appearance of the Cat with... a boiled leg of beef.
It was like this. During one of the forays, the sailor approached the French, who were making soup at that moment. There was nothing special to profit from in this place, and there were quite a lot of enemy soldiers. But then his cheerful disposition leaped into the Cat.
The French were swallowing saliva while waiting for soup, when suddenly an ominous figure with a cleaver emerged from the darkness, shouting: “Hurray! Attack!
The French soldiers, who did not understand how many people were in front of them, were blown away by the wind. And the Cat took a leg of beef out of the cauldron, turned it over onto the fire and disappeared into the darkness.

European cynicism and Russian courage

Another feat of Pyotr Koshka had nothing to do with laughter.
Somehow it turns out that representatives of enlightened Europe, who love to boast of their progressiveness, often demonstrate examples of extreme cynicism and cruelty.
During the siege of Sevastopol, the French and British had a very strange habit of mocking the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers.
They dug the body of the killed sapper Stepan Trofimov into the ground, standing not far from their parapet. This was, in fact, a provocation - anyone who tried to take the body of a comrade would find themselves in the enemy’s fire zone and risk sharing his fate.
Pyotr Koshka decided on a desperate attack. In some incredible way, he managed to get there undetected, dug up the body and rushed back to the Russian positions. The stunned enemy opened heavy fire on him. But the bullets intended for Koshka were taken by the body of his murdered comrade.

The deceased soldier was buried with honors, and Pyotr Koshka was nominated by Rear Admiral Panfilov to be awarded the Insignia of the Military Order.

How the Cat made the British look like idiots

After this story, Russian newspapers wrote about Pyotr Koshka, and, in modern terms, he became a real “star.”
There are a lot of stories about Peter Koshka, and sometimes historians themselves are not entirely sure which episode really took place and which is just a story.
One day a bomb fell at the feet of Admiral Kornilov. The Cat who was nearby reacted instantly, grabbing her and throwing her into the pot of porridge. The fuse went out and there was no explosion.
The admiral thanked the soldier, and he responded with a phrase that turned into a saying: “A kind word is also pleasant for a cat.”
One day, a thoroughbred horse got loose from an English hitching post and ran out into the no-man's land. The graceful animal was doomed to death; anyone who tried to grab it would inevitably come under fire from both sides. However, the Cat came up with an extraordinary move here too.
He portrayed a defector who is trying to escape to the British. Several blank shots were fired after him from Russian positions. The British immediately began to cover the “who chose freedom” with fire. And Koshka, having reached the horse, saddled it and galloped back to the Russians, making the English soldiers feel like complete idiots.

“What will people say about us?”

Koshka sold his luxurious trophy for 50 rubles, a very large sum for that time, and donated the money for the construction of a monument to the soldier Ignatius Shevchenko, who died in battle, covering the officer.
In the same battle in January 1855, Pyotr Koshka himself was stabbed in the chest with a bayonet, but survived and after treatment returned to duty.
In August 1855, Anglo-French troops captured Malakhov Kurgan at the cost of heavy losses. Further defense of Sevastopol became impossible. Russian troops left the city.
The famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, who participated in the defense of Sevastopol and met with Pyotr Koshka more than once, saw him at the moment of retreat. This time the fearless sailor cried without hiding his tears. He recalled the words of the deceased Admiral Nakhimov, who called to stand at the walls of Sevastopol to the death, and said: “How can that be? Pavel Stepanovich ordered everyone to stand until death... How will he think about us there, in heaven? What will people on earth say about us?”
For soldiers and sailors who fought in Sevastopol, one month of service in the besieged city was counted as one year, and one day as twelve. For Quartermaster Koshka, this meant that he could go on indefinite leave, which is similar to the modern transfer to the reserve.

Honorary service in St. Petersburg

At the end of 1856, Pyotr Markovich returned to his native village. The mother was no longer alive, the farm fell into disrepair, and Sevastopol took up the task of restoring it.
In August 1863, due to the uprising in Poland, it was decided to carry out a partial call-up of reserve soldiers. Quartermaster Pyotr Koshka was among those called up.
But this time he did not have the chance to participate in battles. The legendary hero was enlisted in the honorary 8th naval crew and served in the Baltic.
He took part in parades of the Knights of St. George, visited the Winter Palace, and the generals considered it an honor to meet him. Lieutenant General Khrulev, who fought with Koshka in Sevastopol and met him at one of the parades, helped Pyotr Markovich receive all the awards to which he was nominated for the Crimean campaign, but which he never received due to confusion in the military department.
Koshka himself said that his service in St. Petersburg was easy, but boring.

Monument to Kornilov. Nearby is the sailor Cat throwing out a bomb

A hero remains a hero

Having finally retired, he returned to Ometintsy. Sometimes the Motherland does not appreciate its heroes, but it showed care and attention to Pyotr Koshka.
As a recipient of the Military Decoration, he received a very handsome pension. In addition, he was accepted into the forest guard service as a patrolman. In addition to the monetary allowance, in this position he received free use of a plot of land and a small estate built at public expense.

Alas, Pyotr Koshka was not destined to live to an old age. But until his last days he remained a hero.
One day in late autumn, returning home, he saw how two girls, carelessly stepping out onto the newly formed and still very thin ice, fell through and ended up in icy water.
Without hesitation, he rushed to the rescue and saved them. But swimming in icy water cost Peter Koshka dearly. His health turned out to be undermined, illness followed illness, and on February 13, 1882, Pyotr Markovich Koshka died of fever at the age of 54.

All of us, while studying at school, studied the Crimean War of 1853-1856 in history lessons. In those years, Russia was forced to defend itself from the attackers of England, France and Turkey. Using their technical superiority and the indecisiveness of the Russian command, the aggressors managed to land in the Evpatoria area and begin an attack on Sevastopol. It was then that a sailor from the Silistria, Koshka Petr Markovich, appeared on the battle arena. Petr Koshka was originally from the village of Ometintsy, which is located in Ukraine. For his freethinking and love of freedom, he was recruited by the landowner Dokedukhina. This man's fearlessness is simply unique.

During the Battle of Sinop, when Russian ships, under the control of Nakhimov, destroyed the Turkish squadron, Koshka showed himself as a person absolutely indifferent to death. He got involved in skirmishes, from which there was a one in a thousand chance of getting out of it alive. And he took full advantage of this chance.

When the siege of Sevastopol began in September 1854, Pyotr Koshka, along with other sailors, went ashore and became the defender of the third bastion of Bombor Heights.
The enemy bombarded the city with more than 850 shells. But the city held out, held out against logic and all the canons of military art.

The fighting for the city did not stop around the clock. During the day, the sailor, together with his comrades and Lieutenant A. M. Perekomsky, repelled the attacks of the aggressors, and at night he turned into the formidable “Night Hunter,” whose name plunged the enemy into panic.

The cat penetrated trenches occupied by the enemy and obtained not only secret information, but also languages. One day, he managed to single-handedly neutralize three Frenchmen and deliver them to the bastion. History also includes cases when the Cat stole a boiled leg of beef straight from a French cauldron at night, and once in broad daylight he stole an enemy horse. He later sold the horse and donated the money to a monument to his fallen comrade - sailor Ignatius Shevchenko

Cat At the beginning of 1855, Pyotr Koshka committed an act that made him famous. During his next visit to the British, Koshka noticed that the British were using the body of one of the dead defenders of the battalion as a target for riflemen. To do this, it was buried halfway into the ground. In order to prevent such desecration of the body of the deceased, the Cat quietly reached him, dug up the body and, throwing it on his shoulders, crawled back. For this, Pyotr Koshka was awarded the Order of St. George and also received a promotion. He was promoted to sailor of the first class, and then to quartermaster.

During one of the shellings, when Admiral Kornilov was on the bastion, one of the bombs fell at the admiral’s feet. And this would have been Kornilov’s last day if Pyotr Koshka had not been nearby. The hero grabbed the bomb and threw it into the porridge pot. The fuse went out and there was no explosion. When the admiral thanked the daredevil, he replied, “The Cat is pleased with the kind word!”

During the Crimean War, Pyotr Koshka was awarded the St. George Cross of the fourth degree, two medals - a silver one “For the defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855.” and bronze - “In memory of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.” In addition, Koshka was also nominated for “George” II and III degrees, but the awards did not reach the recipient.

In October 1855, after another injury, Pyotr Koshka received a long leave, after which he was again called up to the navy. This time to the Baltic. Here Koshka found the famous defender of Sevastopol, General S.A. Khrulev and asked him to find out the fate of his Sevastopol awards. As a result, on the hero’s chest, next to the other awards, a gold “George” of the 2nd degree shone.

After Koshka retired, he was given a pension of 60 rubles a year. He returned to his homeland and married a widow who already had a young daughter. A year later, a joyful event happened in the family of Peter Koshka. A son was born - Timofey.

10 Monument to sailor Koshka Pyotr Markovich - hero of the defense of Sevastopol

Pyotr Koshka died on February 25, 1882, at the age of 54. While rescuing two girls who had fallen through the ice, he lost his health and died of a fever. But the memory of him is still alive. In Sevastopol, not far from the Lazarevsky barracks, there is a monument on which there is a bust of the Cat and the inscription “Sailor Cat Peter Markovich - hero of the defense of Sevastopol.”

Main events

Crimean War:

Defense of Sevastopol (1854-1855)
Battle of Sinop

Top career

Quartermaster

Pyotr Markovich Koshka(January 10, 1828 - February 25, 1882) - Russian sailor of the Black Sea Fleet, hero of the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855, participated in the Battle of Sinop. Probably only those who have never heard of the heroic defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855 have not heard of the sailor Koshka.

Biography

Peter Koshka. Engraved portrait (engraver Lavrentiy Seryakov) from the 3rd volume of “Manuscripts on the Sevastopol Defense ...”, 1873

I. K. Aivazovsky “Review of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849” (“The Twelve Apostles”, “Rostislav”, “Svyatoslav”, “Yagudiil”)

Beginning of life

Alas, not much is known about the life of Pyotr Koshka before he was called up for service. He was born in the village of Ometintsy in the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine, in the family of a serf peasant. In his youth, he stood out for his peasant intelligence, physical strength, sharp tongue and freedom-loving disposition. He was insolent to the landowner Dokedukhina, and she gave him up as a recruit. Although there is a version that Koshka participated in peasant unrest and came to the attention of the police.

Fate in the Navy

In 1849 he was called up for conscription service and had no right to refuse it. He ended up in Sevastopol in the 30th naval crew of the Black Sea Fleet. I sailed on the battleship Yagudiel.

In 1853-1856 he took part in the Crimean War, it was during these events that he earned fame. Along with many other sailors of the crew, “Yagudiil” was sent to the shore to reinforce the defenders of Sevastopol. Participated in battles on the 15th battery of A.M. Perekomsky. Here he immediately showed himself to be a skillful and brave warrior, especially during night forays into the enemy camp.

Peter Koshka took part in eighteen forays, and also went into the enemy camp alone. In one of the forays, having only a knife with him, he captured three Frenchmen; in another, under enemy fire, he dug out the blasphemously buried body of a Russian sapper from the ground and took it to the 3rd bastion. At the same time, five bullets entered the sapper’s body. It was for this feat that the sailor was awarded the insignia of the Order of St. George and received a promotion.

There is also a legend that Peter stole a boiled leg of beef from an enemy cauldron at night, and once in broad daylight he stole an enemy horse. Subsequently, with the money received from the sale of the horse, he erected a monument to his deceased friend - sailor Ignatius Shevchenko, who at one time saved the life of Lieutenant N. A. Birilev, the immediate commander of both.

In a sortie on January 17 (according to other sources - on the night of January 20), 1855, Peter was wounded with a bayonet in the stomach, but according to the testimony of the surgeon N.I. Pirogov, the blow did not affect the internal organs, but rather went under the skin. Peter received a second wound in August 1855, this time his hand was hit, but not seriously and he soon recovered.

For his heroic deeds he was awarded the Insignia of the Military Order.
In January 1855, he was promoted to the rank of sailor 1st article, and then to the rank of quartermaster.

Peter Koshka became famous during the Crimean War, and not only in Sevastopol - throughout the country. Among the lower ranks awarded the Insignia of the Military Order, he was presented by the command to the Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov and Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov, who arrived from St. Petersburg to serve in Sevastopol. The head of the Sevastopol garrison presented Koshka with the pectoral cross of “The Highest Favor” sent by the Empress, made of gold on a blue ribbon (which he wore as a reward at graduation). The artist Timm V.F., who arrived with the Grand Dukes, painted portraits of the Sevastopol heroes, including a portrait of the Cat. A lithograph based on a drawing by Timm with a portrait of Quartermaster Koshka was published in the printed collection “Russian Art List”, published in St. Petersburg. Stories about the cat's exploits were published in the capital's newspapers. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Sergeev-Tsensky wrote about the Cat Pyotr Makovich.

Since the defenders of Sevastopol one day of service in a besieged city was counted as twelve, Pyotr Koshka rose to the right to go into the reserve, and left to live in his native village at the end of 1856. He remained in the reserves for another fifteen years. During this time, he married a local peasant woman, and a year later they had a son. He was assigned to guard convoy convoys to the port cities of Nikolaev, Kherson, and Odessa. And also engaged in peasant labor.

On August 9, 1863, due to the aggravation of the situation in connection with the Polish uprising, Koshka Peter Makovich was drafted into the navy. He was enlisted in the 8th naval crew of the Baltic Fleet in St. Petersburg, annually took part in parades of the Knights of St. George, and visited the Winter Palace. In 1869 he refused to resign and served for another four years.

Death

Immediately after his dismissal he returned to his native village. As a recipient of the Insignia of the Military Order of the 2nd degree, Peter was entitled to a good pension in the amount of double the salary of a naval non-commissioned officer, which was about 60 rubles per year. He entered the service of the local forest ranger corps as a ranger. In addition to the salary during his service, he received a small estate and a plot of land at his free disposal.

Awards

St. George's Cross 1-4 degrees

In November 1854, P. M. Koshka was one of the first among the defenders of the fortress to be awarded the Insignia of the Military Order, which at that time had no degrees. In 1855, for repeated exploits and in accordance with the Statute of the Military Order, he was twice awarded bonuses to his salary, which, with the establishment in March 1856 of the degree insignia of the Military Order, was equivalent to the awarding of crosses of the 3rd and 2nd degree, and a degreeless cross - to 4th degree. At the same time, it was not necessary to issue the recipients again with non-degree insignia of the Military Order, as well as with degree insignia for feats performed before March 1856.

As an exception, Koshka Pyotr Makovich, during his service in St. Petersburg, with the assistance of General S. A. Khrulev, who also took part in the defense of Sevastopol, was given the Insignia of the Military Order of the 2nd degree (golden cross) and an accompanying written certificate allowing him to wear this award and with it - a gradeless silver cross for previous distinctions.

For participation in the Crimean War and in the defense of Sevastopol, Koshka was awarded a silver medal “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and a light bronze medal on the St. George Ribbon. Subsequently, he was awarded two more medals: because of his refusal to resign in 1869, a silver medal “For zeal” on the Anninsky ribbon to be worn on the chest, and in 1877, for participation in the suppression of the rebellion, a light bronze medal “For the pacification of the Polish rebellion.” .

The bust-monuments to the sailor Koshka installed in Ometintsy and Sevastopol depict the awards that Pyotr Markovich Koshka was awarded throughout his life - three insignia of the Military Order and four medals.

Memory

Monument to the sailor Cat in Sevastopol

A monument to Sailor Cat was erected in Sevastopol
A street at the foot of the Malakhov Kurgan is named after Peter Koshka
The monument to Kornilov depicts a Cat throwing a fallen bomb into a trench.
The bust of Petr Makovich the Cat is installed in a niche of the facade of the panorama building “Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855.”
Cat P. M. is depicted in the panorama “Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855.”
Among the exhibits of the Museum of the History of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
A bust-monument to the sailor Koshka was installed in the city of Dnepropetrovsk on the Alley of Heroes of the Sevastopol Memorial Park
In 1955, military sailors of the Black Sea Fleet erected a monument to Koshka Pyotr Markovich in his small homeland, in the village of Ometintsy, Vinnitsa region (Ukraine).
Streets in Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Vinnitsa, Makeevka, Gorlovka are named in honor of the sailor Koshka
A memorial plaque was installed on the building of the former Lazarevsky barracks, at the place of residence of Koshka P.M. in Sevastopol during the years of his service in the Black Sea Fleet.
The name "Sailor Peter Koshka" in 1902-1907. worn by a submarine of the Black Sea Fleet; The name “Sailor Cat” was worn in 1964-1995. Soviet refrigerator.
Shavshin V. G. Bastions of Sevastopol. - Sevastopol: Tavria-Plus, 2000.
Slobodyanyuk B. Y. Thought about the sailor Kishka. Historical story. - K.: Molod, 1981.
Mixon I. L. Sailor Cat (a story for primary school age). L., Det. lit., 1985.

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