Mihail Zaharovič Galanov (Михаил Зачарович Галанов) was born in 1915 in Siberia (exact location unknown), and died at Fruška Gora on December 4, 1994. He was a lieutenant of the Soviet army guard and commander of the mortar platoon. Mihail holds two medals, the Medal of the Patriotic War II order and the Medal of the Red Star. He was awarded both in 1944 for his valiant war efforts in Ukraine.

His untimely death was inflicted by a sniper round, while he was ordering the 82mm mortar platoon in an effort to help the 8th Brigade of the 1st Proletarian Division. They were trying to break the front line north of Erdevik. In 2 war days, he neutralised two German machine guns and a mortar battery, and thereby caused the enemy great losses in manpower. He was posthumously awarded with the Soviet Medal of Patriotic War, 1st class, on December 14, 1944.

He was buried in a local cemetery in Stara Bingula, where a statue was raised in his name. It’s interesting that he’s buried at a local cemetery, amongst the graves of farmers, and that he’s the only soldier of the soviet army that rests there. The statue was restored in autumn, 2015.

Place: Stara Bingula