FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION G. CHERNOV

Purpose. Despite the steady scientific interest in the problems of the great Patriotic war, and the feat of its specific heroes, the post-Soviet historical science often has not yet introduced previously inaccessible sources that significantly Supplement their biographical information. In particular, an attempt is made to reconstruct the biography of the Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Chernov in the most complete way, using materials that were not previously used in scientific circulation. In addition, the author’s research on the values and lifestyle of the Chuvash Diaspora in the Altai region includes, in addition to considering the specific existence of this people in southern Siberia, and reconstructing the life path of its best representatives. Methodology. As a special way of measuring socio-cultural processes in modern science, methods of historical biography are increasingly used, including individual destinies in the context of history. The descriptive and biographical methods and the method of historicism inherent in this auxiliary historical discipline were applied. Results. For the first time in the scientific literature it is described in details the key life episodes of the only Hero of the Soviet Union in the Altai region, Chuvash by nationality, Georgiy Chernov. It has been able to establish that the Chernov family was one of those who had founded the most compact Chuvash residence in the Altai territory. The materials of the investigation on the charges against G.Chernov’s father in conspiring against the Soviet authorities have made it possible to supplement information about widespread “SR-rovsowski conspiracy” in Siberia”, mass repressions which were begun after the NKVD order № 00447. However, the presence of the repressed father didn’t prevent the social biography of Georgiy Chernov. The hero’s military path was completed with the act of heroism on August 21, 1944, which was restored from widely available materials as well as from little known recollections of his fellow soldiers. Conclusions. A retrospective review of Georgiy Chernov’s life demonstrates the disparity of the interaction of social and concrete historical factors with his personal aspirations and motives. The maximal indoctrination of the Bolshevik state can’t prevent the success of the Soviet modernization. As an evidence of it there are the fates of the representatives of the generation whose youth took place during the great Patriotic war