Borovichi - city labor valor

on the day of voting on amendments to the Constitution in a week, that is July 1, Russia will take the decision on conferring the title of “City of labor valor”. It’s industrial centers during the great Patriotic war provided the front with military equipment and food. Today the story of the city of Borovichi, where years of war have placed 20 hospitals.

the City hospital — the so-called Borovichi in the Great Patriotic war. To 41-year district center in the Leningrad region there are about 40 thousand people. Being close to the front line, became almost the center of medicine of the Volkhov front.

“the surgeon Wisniewski operated here in the hospital and wrote in his diary: here I have a wounded heart. Tomorrow I’m going to Borovichi. Genuine Borovichi city hospital. 22 them here,” says Irina Stolbova, head of Borovichi branch of the Novgorod Museum-reserve.

During the war here has cured 70 thousand soldiers — that is, in fact, the population of the two Borovichi. “The hospital every step of the way” — so said about this city. The chief surgeon of the red Army Nikolai Burdenko, who came for an inspection and saw the dedication of the doctors, ordered to render thanks surgeons. By the way, most of the hospitals here was a surgical — specialized in the treatment of the wounded in the head, in the thigh, in large joints, in the chest, in the stomach. However, for the red workers of the hospitals became not just doctors, but friends, those who supported, raised morale and, as one would say now “motivated” to life. Here are letters from the front were not uncommon.

“I remember today as the day I brought to you and the first meeting with you. I assure you, comrade doctor, remember your concern. I will mercilessly beat the German occupiers. Yet not one person in our country will not be free,” — reads the letter the veteran Irina Stolbova, head of Borovichi branch of the Novgorod Museum-reserve.

But notonly hospitals Borovichi became famous during the war. All of the city’s industry shifted to the production of defense products. Derivational made butts for weapons, rollers for airfields, sleigh. Artel “Zvetmet” — housing mines and hand grenades artel “Metalist” — fuses for mines, distillery incendiary mixture. The largest company — refractories plant “Red ceramics”, which is first evacuated to the Urals, but then returned — only in the 43rd produced 95 thousand tons of refractories.

“first, stood for the machines to women, and secondly children. Years of commercials with 14. The story is that of refractory production — this thing is heavy and women on many jobs before the war took reluctantly. One of the most difficult jobs is “satchita”. What is a cage — there is a great temperature, it’s the people who throw tons of refractory for change. And at huge temperatures,” explains Eugene Dronnikova, Director of the Museum of Borovickova refractories plant.

So in the next few days Borovichi will compete for the title of “City of labor valor” along with such giants as Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod. And he has something to say about yourself — at least that on one inhabitant of this small district had saved several soldiers ‘ lives — the city has done everything in his power to keep the Red Army made the feat.