Andrei Dmitriyevich Ryzhevsky

Andrei Dmitriyevich Ryzhevsky

Order of the Badge of Honor nr. 34741 was awarded by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of January 27, 1944 to 31- or 32-year-old Andrei Dmitriyevich Ryzhevsky, shipper at a workshop of Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8 in Kazan, Tatar Autonomous SSR.

Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8 started life as Armored Vehicle Repair Depot in Kiev. The depot was one of the largest repair facilities of the Red Army's Armored Forces Directorate. Following the start of the war the depot was evacuated from Kiev to Kazan, 1400 kilometers east. In 1943 the depot was formally upgraded to a plant.

From the spring of 1942 the depot specialized in repairing captured German tanks, soon becoming the Soviet Union's top provider of repaired enemy tanks. In 1943, 356 captured tanks (mostly PzKpfw II, III, IV, and formerly Czech Pz.38(t) models, in addition to a small number of other types) were dispatched to the plant, of which 349 (98 percent) ended up being repaired.

In the first half of 1944 the plant repaired 124 German medium tanks and 39 captured light tanks, after which the plant ceased repairing captured German equipment and refocused on Soviet-made armor. During the Kazan years, Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8 had repaired no less than 600 captured German tanks of various types. Not all of them were sent to the front, however; many ended up at training units, schools for mortarmen and tank crews, and in reserve units.

In April-May 1944 the plant returned to Kiev following the city's liberation in November 1943. In 1944 Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8 repaired an impressive 620 T-70, 204 T-34, and 138 T-30/T60 tanks and 507 SU-76 self-propelled guns. After the war the plant became a motorcycle factory, which is operating up until this day.

Award citation

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Last name, first name, and patronymic: Ryzhevsky, Andrei Dmitriyevich
Military rank:
Position and unit: Shipper at a workshop of Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8

Nominated for: Order of the Badge of Honor

1. Year of birth: 1912
2. Nationality: Ukrainian
3. Since when in the Red Army: Since 1941
4. Party affiliation: Not a member
5. Combat service (where and when): No
6. Wounds and contusions received: No
7. Previous awards (for which achievements): None
8. Drafted by which military commissariat: Military Commissariat of Molotov District, city of Kiev
12. Permanent home address (of the prospective awardee or his family): _______________

Brief, concrete description of his feat of arms or achievements:

Comrade A.D. Ryzhevsky is an exceptionally conscientious and disciplined worker with an honorable attitude toward his duties. Day and night he toils to provide his workshop with the necessary spare parts. Through his diligence and his painstaking efforts, he ensures that the production targets are reached.

For his excellent efforts he was repeatedly rewarded with valuable gifts and he has received commendations from plant management.

Comrade Ryzhevsky is the plant's best shipper. He constantly works on himself to improve his knowledge.

He is dedicated to the cause of the Party of Lenin and Stalin and the Socialist Motherland.

He deserves to be awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.

Director of Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8
Colonel [signed] /Klochkov/

Order of the Badge of Honor nr. 34741, reverse

Order of the Badge of Honor nr. 34741, obverse and reverse

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the image.

A T-80 tank leaving Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8, Kiev, summer of 1944	Major General Ivan Klochkov, director of Armored Vehicle Repair Plant nr. 8
A train loaded with repaired Panzer 38(t) tanks, Western Front, July 1942	Close-up of a repaired Panzer 38(t) tank on a train