Why the princes considered it an honor to dine with a Podolsk peasant: 9 lives of a sailor Koshka

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In artistic descriptions of the Crimean War, you can often find the name of Peter Koshka. This character with his military exploits is presented so brightly that it gives the impression of a fictional character. In fact, the sailor Koshka is an absolutely real person, a legendary participant in the defense of Sevastopol, who went through all the circles of front-line hell and in his declining years sacrificed his life to save drowning children.

Into the army - for freethinking

The future hero of the Crimean battles grew up in a Podolsk family of serfs in conditions of hard peasant labor. According to Russian laws of that time, the army was formed from recruits by random lot. But it happened that those who did not please the master also fell into the "soldiers". In this case, the recruit, on the "recommendation" of the owner, was sent to the service of the fatherland for 25 years.

In some historical sources, there is a version that Peter Koshka got into the army in exactly this way, censured for restiveness and free-thinking. Allegedly, his democratic speeches did not like the landowner Dokedukhina, who got rid of the troublemaker. Without realizing it, in her aspirations to teach the rebellious slave a lesson, she served an invaluable service to her homeland. Tortured by the interventionists, Sevastopol found a desperate and loyal defender, one whose name almost every French, Turk and Englishman knew during the city siege.

Gallant start to the service

The sailor of the ship "Silistria" Koshka immediately became known as cheerful and restless. Physically hardy, he easily coped with any task. Balagur and an unsurpassed storyteller, he everywhere became the soul of the company. At first, his splashing energy irritated the officers, but after he showed himself to be a fearless and desperate warrior in the Battle of Sinop in 1853, they began to turn a blind eye to his theatrical antics.

For the first time the Cat became famous in the ground forces. In the fall of 1854, Sevastopol was in a state of siege. The invaders' fleet was several times larger than the Russian one, so there was no reason to count on victory. The command decided to sink some old ships at the entrance to the Sevastopol Bay, and transfer the remaining team with guns to the shore, strengthening the city's defenses by land. So Koshka moved to the defenders of the 3rd bastion of Bombor Heights.

Sevastopol was in a desperate situation. The power of the enemy was many times greater than the potential of the city's defenders. Only from one side the city was fired upon from a thousand guns, while the Russians responded with only a hundred barrels. At the same time, the invaders not only failed to win from the sea, they were even forced to withdraw, having suffered serious losses. During the 349-day land siege of Sevastopol, in conditions of complete enemy superiority, the supply of the Russian army was insignificant. Contrary to reality and logic, the city was based on the fantastic heroism of such enthusiasts as Petr Koshka.

Night outings and daring throws

During the defense of Sevastopol, Koshka became famous as a "night hunter". He managed to take part in dozens of group crossings of the front line. The scouts stole "tongues", eliminated the sentries, and committed countless sabotage behind enemy lines. But especially the Cat became famous for his independent night outings with only one knife, without returning empty-handed. It was said about the successful sailor that it was not in vain that he had his last name, seeing in the dark and moving silently like a cat. One day, the Cat captured three enemy officers in one fell swoop, tying them up at a campfire. In the form of loot, he brought the latest foreign weapons, provisions and ammunition. And somehow he amused his colleagues with an unusual trophy - a beef leg stolen from under French noses in a cunning way.

Once, after one of the battles, the French captured the body of the Russian sapper Trofimov with the intention of mocking. A corpse buried to the waist at the borders of the interventionists drove his Russian colleagues into despair, but no one could do anything. Nobody except the Cat. He crawled up to the dead man, dug him out of the ground and openly rushed back with the corpse on his back. The bullets aimed at the daredevil hit the already lifeless comrade, thanks to which the Cat returned unharmed. For this act, the Cat was awarded the Order of St. George.

Peter Koshka also saved Admiral Kornilov himself, who was in charge of the Sevastopol defense. Noticing the cannonball that fell at the feet of the commander, the Cat threw it into the cauldron of liquid food, extinguishing the wick and earning another gratitude. Another noble deed by Peter Koshka is also known. Once a thoroughbred horse escaped from the British, starting absentmindedly to rush across neutral territory between the trenches. Despite the fact that this line was completely shot through, the sailor played out the action, betraying himself as a surrendering deserter. Believing in the scam, the British believed the "defector", who quickly jumped on the enemy's horse and, in front of the astonished British, returned to their positions in no time. For a horse, Cat in the market bargained for 50 rubles, and the money went to a monument to the killed comrade Ignat Shevchenko, who covered the officer with himself in battle.

Memories of Tolstoy and the last feat

Petr Koshka was extremely hard on the retreat of the Russian army from Sevastopol. It was pointless to stay in the city after the enemy had captured Malakhov's mound. Leo Tolstoy, who was personally acquainted with the Cat and was next to the legendary scout during the retreat, later described those events in the "Sevastopol Tales". Never discouraged fearless Cat did not even try to hold back bitter tears. He endlessly repeated the parting words of the deceased commander Nakhimov to stand in Sevastopol to the end, immediately asking the question: “How so? What will Pavel Stepanovich think of us now?"

Later, the Cat was surrounded by glory. The largest newspapers wrote about him, the materials of which were immediately picked up by provincial printers. The grand dukes came to get acquainted with the legendary Podolsk peasant, and the empress herself bestowed upon him a personal insignia. Portraits of the brave sailor were decorated with snuff boxes, tapestries and pocket watches.

In 1856, the honored hero Pyotr Markovich decided to return to his native village, started a family and began to raise children. But already in 1863 he was drafted into service after the uprising in Poland. He visited the Winter Palace, took part in the parades of the Knights of St. George, eminent generals considered it an honor to meet him. Lieutenant General Khrulev, who fought with the Cat in Sevastopol, tried to get a number of awards deserved for the Crimean campaign.

After the final resignation, Petr Koshka received a decent pension. He was invited to a decent service as a buster in the forest guard. In addition to the prestigious allowance, he received a small estate with a land plot for free use. To live and live, but the heroic spirit of the Cat did not leave him until the last earthly feat. Returning home in the cold autumn, Pyotr Koshka saw how two girls fell into thin years. Out of habit, without hesitation, he rushed to save them. But diving into icy water was soon followed by an illness that ended the life of Pyotr Markovich at the age of 54.

Much later, there was another Russian hero who saved thousands of concentration camp prisoners from certain death.