Order of the Red Star nr. 298737 was awarded by Order of the 22nd Tank Brigade of September 4, 1943 to 28- or 29-year-old Junior Lieutenant Grigory Afanasyevich Volkov, commander of a T-34 tank, 1st Tank Battalion, 22nd Tank Brigade, 6th Tank Corps, 1st Tank Army, Voronezh Front.

Grigory Afanasyevich Volkov was born in 1914 in the village of Kalinovo in Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk) Province in Southeastern Ukraine. After his two years of mandatory military service, from 1936 to 1938, he enrolled at Kharkov University. Volkov never married; his father, Afanasy Volkov, still living in Kalinovo, was listed as his closest relative.

In 1941 Volkov rejoined the army and enrolled at Stalingrad Medium Tank School. He graduated on November 3, 1942, was promoted tot Junior Lieutenant, and was given command of a T-34 medium tank of the 6th Tank Corps's 22nd Tank Brigade.

Between late November and late December, 1942, the 6th Tank Corps supported the 20th Army during Operation Mars. The 6th Tank Corps was part of the eastern pincer, which, along with thrusts from the north and west, attempted to crush the Rzhev salient. The area became known as the 'Rzhev meat grinder' for the horrific losses suffered particularly on the Soviet side. Despite its exertions, the Red Army failed to achieve its objectives.

In early January, the 22nd Tank Brigade was transferred to the Western Front reserve to be replenished. In late February the brigade was placed under General Katukov's 1st Tank Army. In March 1943 the brigade arrived in the Kursk area, underwent further training, continued recuperating, and prepared itself for the upcoming battle.

The 22nd Tank Brigade was deployed in the southern part of the Kursk salient, about 30 kilometers south of Oboyan. During the battle of Kursk, the 1st Tank Army was able to contain the German southern pincer, but the 22nd Tank Brigade suffered heavy losses, losing 360 men, 46 T-34 tanks, 6 T-60 and T-70 light tanks, and numerous small arms. After receiving some reinforcements following the Kursk operation, the 22nd Tank Brigade pushed south-southeast in the direction of Belgorod before turing southwest.

By the second week of August the brigade had reached the Merchik river, about 50 kilometers west of Kharkov. On the far side of the river, at the village of Sharovka, the fighting was intense following the arrival of the SS Divisions Das Reich and - facing the 22nd Brigade - Totenkopf. On August 31, Volkov was nominated for a Red Star for his efforts during these battles, which was formally awarded on September 4.

The 1st Tank Army and neighboring 6th Guards Army were joined by the 5th Guards Tank Army, but the armies suffered severely under the German onslaught and were pushed back to Bogodukhov, 30 kilometers northwest of Kharkov. All three Soviet armies suffered heavily, and the tank armies lost more than 800 of their initial 1,112 tanks.

In September, having completed the Belgorod-Kharkov operation, the 1st Tank Army was transferred to the reserves in the Sumy area. The next month, on October 7, Volkov was promoted to Lieutenant, and five days later he received his Red Star. The army was then transferred by train to the area east of Kiev. After the liberation of Kiev, which was completed on November 6, the 1st Tank Army started planning its advance in the direction of Zhitomir and Berdichev. Volkov would not take part in the push beyond Kiev: in December 1943 he was reported missing in action, at the age of about 29. The Order of the Red Star was his only decoration.

1. Last name, first name, and patronymic: Volkov, Grigory Afanasyevich
2. Rank: Junior Lieutenant
3. Position and unit: Commander of a T-34 tank, 1st Tank Battalion, 22nd Tank Brigade

Nominated for: Order of the Red Star

4. Year of birth: 1917
5. Nationality: Ukrainian
6. Party affiliation: Not a member
7. Frontline service: In the Patriotic War since June 1941
8. Wounds and contusions received: No
9. Since when in the Red Army: 1941
10. Drafted by which military commissariat: Military Commissariat of the city of Voroshilovgrad, Voroshilovgrad Province
11. Previous awards: None
12. Permanent home address and last name, first name, and patronymic of his wife or parents: _______________

Order of the Red Star nr. 298737, obverse and reverse