Филипп Георгиевич Остриков / Filipp Georgiewitsch Ostrikow 1901 - 1942

Born 21.1.1901 in Petropawlowsk
Died 9.5.1942 in Mauthausen

Biography

Filipp Georgievich Ostrikov was born on 21 January 1901 in Petropavlovsk into a poor peasant family of four children: three sons and a daughter. His childhood was marked by deprivation. After the death of his father in 1908 he started to work, at the age of seven, as a day labourer in agriculture; from 1914 he worked as a conscripted labourer without pay in a monastery, and from February 1917 for a wealthy villager.

In December 1919 he joined the 270th Beloretsky Regiment of the Red Army in Krasnoyarsk as a volunteer. He took part in campaigns against White troops under Baron Wrangel, among others in the battle of Sivash Bay. In July 1920 he become a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

After the defeat of Wrangel’s troops, Filipp Georgievich was sent for training to Kostroma. In May 1921 the course participants had to put down a counter-revolutionary uprising in Tambov, where Ostrikov worked in reconnaissance. In September 1922 he was posted by the military commissariat to Tyumen to the 86th Rifle Regiment, where he served as group leader, adjutant to a platoon leader and platoon leader. From August 1924 to 1925 he attended another training course in Smolensk. In 1926 he married Klavdiya Timofeevna Tychkina, and in August 1927 their first daughter, Lidiya, was born. In the years 1928 and 1929 he audited military political courses in Leningrad, after which he was sent to Vyazma to a secret department. In March 1932 his second daughter Valentina was born.

In 1936 he was promoted to the rank of captain and was given the position of battalion leader in the 86th Rifle Regiment. In March 1937 his son Anatoly was born. In his 17th year of service in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army he received many letters of thanks and awards. Having fought on the Polish, Finnish and Bessarabian fronts and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After his he was transferred to Odessa as regiment commander of the 674th Rifle Regiment.

On 22 June 1944 the 674th Rifle Regiment under the command of Major Ostrikov defended the southern borders against the Nazi German troops. At the beginning of August 1941 Filipp Georgievich was ordered by division command to take his regiments and cover the division in the region of Kotovsk as it retreated to the east. Dmitry Konstantinovich Levinsky also fought in Filipp Georgievich’s regiment and was later to write the book We are from 1941. In this book he tells his story and throws light on his military commanders – among them Ostrikov – by describing some of the events from June to August 1941 and in captivity: ‘The regiment commander, Major Ostrikov, was a serious, thoughtful and taciturn man in his mid-40s; in the civil war he was awarded an Order of the Red Banner; in the regiment he enjoyed authority and respect. […] Finally again on Mauthausen. I bid farewell to the regiment commander Major Ostrikov, the chief of staff Captain Ovchinikov and other regiment commanders in Kishinev, in a transit camp for prisoners of war […]. In 1943, when I was already in the Gusen subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp, I heard what happened to Ostrikov and Ovchinikov. I can’t remember any more exactly who told me, but I knew my commanders well and believed that it could have happened exactly like that. In autumn 1941 they were taken to Mauthausen following an unsuccessful escape attempt. When they arrived, an SS officer gave the command: “Communists, three steps forwards!” Only Major Ostrikov stepped out of the line and was shot immediately.’

Filipp Georgievich was a good family man, a loving and loyal husband and father. He was cheerful and funny, loved to sing and dance, read a lot and had a large library. He took part in sport and was kind to animals. His service took up a lot of his time but still he devoted a lot of attention to his family. His wife and children loved and respected him. For many years my grandfather’s fate remained unknown. Klavdiya Timofeevna remained loyal to her husband to the end of her life. Sadly she left this world without knowing what happened to Filipp Georgievich. His daughter Valentina Filippovna (my mother) and his son Anatoly Filippovich live in Odessa.

Tatiana Gaida

 

Postscript: Valentina Filippovna Rashislova’s memories of her father Filipp Georgievich Ostrikov

‘Papa loved his wife deeply, something even his children could sense. He strove so that Mama always had the opportunity to look good: well dressed, a nice hairdo. But he also always looked impeccable himself.

His pet name for Mama was Klanechka and he embraced her often and ardently. Papa helped a lot around the house: he did the washing up, cleaned the windows, dusted and helped Mama in the kitchen.

His gave his children a very sheltered upbringing and devoted great care to them. When he came home from work, he always went first to his children: checked their homework, helped them with various school subjects and played with them. When something happened or we were ill, it was always Papa who took us to the doctor. Every day he took his children to kindergarten or accompanied them to school.

He supported his children’s development: my sister Lidiya attended ballet and singing classes, I was allowed to join a drama society and trained in a folk dance group. My brother Anatoly didn’t go anywhere, he was still too little.

Once a week our father took us along with him to the banya and massaged us all with bundles of twigs. During this time my mother stayed at home and had time to herself.

At New Year he joined us children in making decorations for the fir tree from different coloured pieces of paper.

My Papa was a real animal lover. He loved to sing, to dance and to recite poetry, especially Pushkin, Lermontov, Blok, Yesenin, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva and Mayakovsky.

As commander of a rifle regiment he was strict but fair. If one of his soldiers was experiencing misfortune at home or there were problems, he always helped them as best he could. His people regarded him highly for it.

The void left behind by my father could never be filled. The war, the uncertainty about where he was and his loss tore a great wound in the life of the whole family. The deportation was terrible, but even worse was my father’s defamation and that everything, but really everything was taken away from us. His rehabilitation took place too late and too half-heartedly.

 

I still miss my father today.’

Translation into English: Joanna White

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