June 22 - Day of Remembrance and Sorrow: "You have three hours, lieutenant. Say goodbye to your parents and come back!"

      In the calendar of memorable dates in Russia, there is one of the heaviest days – June 22, Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, which has been declared a memorial day by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation. At dawn on June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the USSR without declaring war. In the first hours, German aviation bombed airfields, railway hubs, naval bases, troop placements, and peacefully sleeping cities. The attack went deep into the country, 250-300 kilometers from the border, with Minsk, Kyiv, Sevastopol, Brest, Riga, Vilnius, Kaunas, and other settlements under fire. This was a terrible and dark day for the Soviet people and the Red Army, and for a large number of fighters, it became their last. In just one day, June 22, more than 80 thousand people died. The border troops, who were the first to take the brunt of the 5-million-strong Hitler's army, were mostly killed or captured – and their number alone was 83 thousand by June 1941. Thus began the Great Patriotic War. It lasted 1418 days and nights.

      One of the participants in these tragic events was Sungatullin Yarulla Giniyatovich (20.06.1920 – 11.07.2005) – candidate of technical sciences, associate professor, vice-rector for scientific work from 1966 to 1967, head of the department of construction structures from 1964 to 1973, the first head of the department of reinforced concrete and stone structures from 1973 to 1979, a graduate of KIIHS in 1952.

      Platoon commander of the regimental reconnaissance, senior lieutenant Sungatullin Yarulla, July 1941. Assistant commandant of the Mitte district of Berlin, captain Sungatullin Yarulla. Berlin, July 20, 1945. Head of the Department of Reinforced Concrete Structures Sugatullin Y.G., 1975.

      Here is how Yarulla Giniyatovich recalled the first days of the war (from the book "I Was in That Great War," authors-compilers P.P. Lebedev, V.M. Dautov, 2005): “...the 208th rifle regiment of the 18th rifle division, stationed in Kazan, was finishing loading onto trains on June 22. By noon, everyone already knew – the Germans attacked us, the war had begun. But at six in the morning, I, a young lieutenant who had graduated from the Kazan Infantry School, reported as ordered to the commander of the regiment, Colonel Nurminsky. After listening to my report, the colonel said:

      - You have three hours, lieutenant. Say goodbye to your parents and return!

      Thus began the war for me.

      On June 25, we unloaded near the Orsha station and that same day began to take up defensive positions along the Dnieper River. All night we dug trenches, shelters. The platoon of foot reconnaissance, which I began to command, was located near the regiment's headquarters. But we spent the second night in the trenches.

      I remember a clear morning filled with the scents of a pine forest. I woke up to the sounds of an old Tatar song, memorable to me since childhood. At first, it seemed that I was just continuing to sleep. But it was my scouts singing – my fellow countrymen, very young guys. Just recently, I had been in my hometown of Kazan, near my parents' house, the school I graduated from... And suddenly everything changed. Only the song with the familiar melody remained. Those were the last hours of silence in our area.

      ...Every day we awaited the fascists' advance. My reconnaissance platoon crossed the Dnieper in small groups of 2-3 people every morning and conducted surveillance, returning to our command at night.

      At the beginning of July, the Germans managed to break through the front at the flanks of our division. On the night of July 2, the regiment was pulled from its positions to be redeployed to a new direction. My platoon, as usual, formed the combat outpost. We headed out to the Mogilev highway... In the dense pine forest, a pale strip marked the road. The darkness was so thick that nothing was visible a few meters away. The platoon moved in a chain along the road, the darkness and silence weighed heavily on our nerves, stretched to the limit. At dawn, the regiment stopped. What awaited us next? The soldiers were tired, hungry, and the kitchens had fallen behind somewhere.

      To at least slightly quell my hunger, I decided to eat some wild strawberries. Moving from berry to berry, I unknowingly stepped out to the edge of the forest. From here, a rye field began, and a country road stretched into the distance. A completely peaceful picture. And suddenly I hear: the sound of an engine. Soon, a vehicle with unfamiliar outlines appeared over the hill. No doubt – Germans! I saw the driver, an officer sitting next to him, and another one in the back seat. They behaved as if at home – talking loudly and laughing. Their brazen confidence filled me with such rage that I didn't even feel fear! Suddenly the vehicle stopped, the fascists jumped out and began shouting, turning towards me:

      - Hey, Russian! Halt!

      They couldn't see me. So who were they shouting at? I looked back and saw several of our soldiers quickly retreating into the forest: apparently, they were also gathering berries and accidentally stumbled upon the fascists. Meanwhile, the Germans opened fire with rifles. I aimed at the officer and shot. He fell as if cut down. The others immediately stopped shooting and took cover in the rye.

      And then suddenly shots were fired from the forest. Bullets whistled right over my head. Our guys are shooting! One of the soldiers ran up to me:

      - Comrade commander, take the grenades! With two soldiers, we rushed to the vehicle and, getting within throwing distance, bombarded the fascists with grenades. When everything calmed down, we approached the vehicle. Here they are, the Hitlerites, I saw them up close for the first time. All were dead...

      And let there be only three of them on our account for now. Tomorrow there will be more. And so – until the final victory – which is still far away, but inevitable.”

      On June 20, 2026, the author of these lines would have turned 106 years old. For his combat merits, Y.G. Sungatullin was awarded the Orders of the Red Star, the Patriotic War I Class, and medals.

      Victory Day at KISI. From left to right: Lebedev P.P., Kontsevoy A.I., Zamaleev K.Z., Zubulin A.V., Sungatullin Y.G., Ikhsanov K.K., Subaev G.G. May 8, 1987.

      May 9, 1978. From left to right: Bikeyev S.K., Pikulev N.A., Sungatullin Y.G., Gerasimenko T.E.

      During the combat operations from June to September 1941 until he received a serious wound in battle, Yarulla Sungatullin personally destroyed at least 15 enemy soldiers, most often in close combat, and captured two in a duel. He carried the bullet received during his serious injury near his heart until the end of his days. Yarulla Giniyatovich Sungatullin passed away on July 11, 2005. We remember and are proud!

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      Information provided by E.Z. Gilmutdinova, director of the museum.