Nestor Kozin

Nestor Dmitriyevich Kozin (Russian: Нестор Дмитриевич Козин; 28 October 1902 – 11 September 1992) was a Soviet Army major general. After being drafted into the Red Army in 1924, Kozin became an officer and from 1939 was a battalion commander in the 107th Rifle Division. Kozin fought in the Yelnya Offensive after the 107th was moved west and became a regimental commander in the 100th Rifle Division in August 1941. After the end of the Yelnya Offensive in early September, Kozin was awarded the Order of Lenin for his leadership and the 100th Rifle Division became the 1st Guards Rifle Division. He then fought in the Battle of Moscow and in April 1942 was appointed commander of the 8th Motor Rifle Division NKVD. The division became the 63rd Rifle Division in June and fought in Operation Uranus. Kozin received the Order of Suvorov 2nd class and the division became the 52nd Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the offensive. The division continued to fight at Stalingrad and Kozin was wounded in January 1943. After recovery, he was sent to study at the Military Academy of the General Staff, where he remained until given command of the 13th Guards Airborne Division in April 1944. During August and September, Kozin led the 189th Rifle Division during the Tartu Offensive. In September, he returned to command of the 52nd Guards Rifle Division and led it during the Baltic Offensive, Vistula–Oder Offensive, East Pomeranian Offensive and Berlin Offensive. For his leadership of the division, Kozin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 29 May. After the war, he continued to serve in the army and retired in 1954. He lived in Barnaul and died in 1992.

Early life and prewar service Kozin was born on 28 October 1902 in the village of Burkovo-Pokrovskoye (now Novopokrovka) in Tomsk Governorate. His father died when Kozin was still a child and Kozin became a farmworker. He then worked as a laborer at the Tatarsky railway station. Kozin received his only education during the Bolshevik Likbez literacy campaign.

Conscripted into the Red Army in May 1924, Kozin was sent to the 35th Rifle Regiment of the 12th Rifle Division. He graduated from the regimental school in January 1925 and remained assigned to it as a squad leader before being sent to the Omsk Infantry School for further training in October 1926. Upon his graduation from the school in January 1929, Kozin was appointed a platoon commander in the 11th Rifle Regiment of the 4th Rifle Division, stationed at Slutsk in Belarus. Serving as officer for errands under the division commander from July 1932, Kozin was transferred to the 94th Rifle Division in the Siberian Military District in November 1933.

With the 94th, he commanded a company of the 280th Rifle Regiment at Krasnoyarsk before transferring to the 281st Regiment of the division at Achinsk in April 1936. After serving as the assistant regimental chief of staff and battalion chief of staff in the 281st, Kozin became a battalion commander in the 503rd Rifle Regiment of the 91st Rifle Division, formed from the 281st, in September 1939, then held the same position in the 82nd Reserve Rifle Regiment. He became an assistant battalion commander in the district Commanders' Improvement Course (KUKS) at Biysk in July 1940, and in December was appointed commander of the 586th Rifle Regiment of the 107th Rifle Division at Barnaul. and the division became the 52nd Guards Rifle Division on 27 November. The division then fought in the Soviet attacks to shrink the Stalingrad Pocket. On 21 January 1943, Kozin was promoted to major general. He was wounded and sent to the hospital. After his recovery, Kozin was sent to study at the Military Academy of the General Staff.