Putin Presents Toqayev with Declassified Wartime Award Sheet for His Father

Vladimir Putin presented Qasym-Jomart Toqayev with an award sheet belonging to his father, Guard Sergeant Kemel Toqayev, reports Orda.kz, citing Aqorda.

The recently declassified document reveals that Kemel Toqayev had been nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Although he never received that title, archival records show that he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, for courage and heroism during battles in Poland in January 1945.

I am very touched by this initiative. Today is a very important day. I would like to congratulate you and all the people of Russia on this holiday. As you rightly noted today, this is a common holiday. Frontline soldiers always honored this day, because Victory Day was the most important day of the year and of their entire lives. They always remembered their fallen comrades, and for them, of course, this was an unforgettable memory. This was a generation of steel — people who, in fact, raised high the banner of the victorious and liberating people, in fact, a single people. In any case, at that time. My uncle is buried not far from here — in Rzhev, in the Rzhevsky district. I found his grave in 2009 — he is buried in a mass grave,
 noted Qasym-Jomart Toqayev, accepting the award sheet.

The Telegram channel Bort No. 1 also reported that during an informal conversation, the Russian President presented Toqayev with a copy of the book The Combat Path of Kemel Toqayev and Kasym Boltayev. The publication chronicles the wartime experiences of the President’s father and uncle and includes archival materials.

The ceremony took place as part of the May 9 Victory Day commemorations.

As previously reported, during World War II, Kemel Toqayev showed exceptional bravery in combat, killing five enemy soldiers and capturing one. He was later seriously wounded by an explosive bullet.

Doctors initially planned to amputate his leg, but he was saved by young surgeon Gavriil Ilizarov, who used an early prototype of his bone-repair apparatus.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov