Maxim Passar

Maksim Aleksandrovich Passar (; 30 August 1923 22 January 1943) was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II credited with killing 237 enemy soldiers. Decades after he was killed in action during the war, he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2010.

Early life Passar was born on 30 August 1923 to a Nanai family of fur hunters in Nizhny Katar (Нижний Катар) in the present-day Nanaysky District of the Russian Far East.

As a young child, Passar helped his father hunt for furred animals. From this, he gained strong marksmanship skills, including the ability to shoot squirrels in the eye so that he could use as much of the fur as possible. He also developed the patience necessary to remain still observing a target in the winter cold. Having started attending school in 1933, he dreamed of going to Leningrad for higher education after graduating. He was the older brother of poet Andrei Passar [ ru].

World War II After traveling 60 kilometers on foot to the Troitsk military enlistment office in February 1942 to join the army, and despite demonstrating his sharpshooting skills to the recruiters, he was initially posted as a mortarman on the Eastern Front. However, he was soon allowed to switch to become a sniper and placed in brief sniper training.

Passar went on to participate in the Battle of Stalingrad starting in July 1942, where he became one of the best snipers. By early September 1942, he was credited with taking out 56 enemy combatants, having adopted a daily routine of stalking potential targets in his trench from dawn to dusk. Later that month, on 28 September, he celebrated his 100th kill, noting the date in his diary. By November, he increased his tally to 152 kills, and despite being wounded in battle in December, he remained on the front lines.

Awards Hero of the Russian Federation (16 February 2010) Two Orders of the Red Banner (17 October 1942 and 23 April 1943)