Pustelnikov, Semen

Born Feb. 10, 1921, in the settlement of Svistelki, now in Orsha Raion, Vitebsk Oblast; died Feb. 5, 1945; buried in the village of Potorit-sa, Sokal’ Raion, L’vov Oblast. Private first class at a frontier post of the Ukrainian Frontier District. Hero of the Soviet Union (Mar. 31, 1945). Candidate member of the Communist Party from 1943.

Pustel’nikov served in the frontier troops from 1940. In the Great Patriotic War (1941–45) he fought in the ground forces and participated in the defense of Leningrad. In 1944 he was transferred to the frontier troops in Transcarpathia. On Feb. 5, 1945, Pustel’nikov attempted to arrest an armed gang and was wounded. Exploding his last grenade, he killed himself and two bandits. A group of frontier soldiers who subsequently arrived on the scene liquidated the gang. The frontier post was named in honor of Pustel’nikov. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, and a medal.