Khusen Borezhevich Andrukhaev

Khusen Borezhevich Andrukhaev – an Adyghe poet, journalist and Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born on March 2, 1920, in the village of Khakurinohabl, Adygea, into a peasant family. In 1935 he entered the Adyghe Pedagogical College and took part in a conference of young writers in Rostov-on-Don. After graduating from the college he worked for the newspaper 'Socialist Adygea'. In 1939 Andrukhaev was conscripted into the Red Army. In 1941, after graduating from the Stalingrad Military-Political School, he was appointed as a company political officer.

On November 8, 1941, during a fierce battle near Dyakovo, Andrukhaev took command of the company after the commander was killed. Despite the enemy's numerical superiority and the threat of encirclement, he organized the retreat of his men and remained to cover the unit's forced withdrawal. When his ammunition ran out, he detonated grenades, killing himself and the surrounding enemies, shouting 'Russians do not surrender!'. Andrukhaev was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He is buried in a mass grave in the village of Dyakovo.