Alexei Dolgikh - Expat in Kaliningrad, Russia

Alexei Dolgikh (1910-1987) MVD Kaliningrad

Published: 10 May 2020

My wife shared the memory of her grandfather, Alexei Dolgikh (1910-1987), on the 75^th Anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, via social media, Facebook.

“With Victory Day approaching, I decided to share the following information about my grandfather, Alexei Dolgikh, Immortal Regiment.

“My grandfather Alexei Dolgikh (1910-1987) was born in Perm, where, before WWII, he worked as Secretary of the Komsomol District Committee. When the war began, he was transferred to an Officer’s College in the Far East (Nakhodka). After graduation, he was sent to the front. He took part in the Belorussian Front Military Offensive and was awarded the Medal for Bravery.

A young Alexei Dolgikh

“When taking part in the East Prussian Offensive, he was wounded in the Battle of Königsberg on the Kurshskaya Spit. He finished the war with the rank of Captain. When discharged from hospital after the war, he was asked to stay in Königsberg to serve in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). He studied law and graduated from the Central Committee Party School in Moscow. He worked as Head of the Police Training College, retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Deputy Chief of the Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Kaliningrad Region.

Thought to be taken around the time of the Russian Revolution: Alexei Dolgikh centre

“In spite of the fact that my grandfather was subjected to Stalin’s repressions and lost his health whilst imprisoned in one of the Gulags, until the end of his life his favourite toast was “For Motherland, For Stalin!’’

With colleagues of the MVD. Alexei Dolgikh third from left

“He believed that Soviet power was power for the people, a liberating power that gave him and other ordinary people the opportunity to realize their dream of free education, access to free health care and free housing.

“And he had it all, an ordinary boy from a peasant family in the Ural Mountains. Before the revolution this would have been impossible for people like him.

Alexei Dolgikh Immortal Regiment

“Throughout his life he loved poetry and music. His favourite poet was Sergei Esenin and his favourite music Russian folk songs. He wrote poetry himself and sang in the local choir until the age of 75, even when he became blind as a result of the torture he suffered whilst imprisoned in the Gulag.

“I will always remember him as the most loving and compassionate person I have ever met in my life. He was an example for me to follow — a man who loved life regardless of the hardships he endured.”