Abdraim Reshidov

Abdraim Izmailovich Reshidov (Abduraim İsmail oğlu Reşidov, Абдраим Измайлович Решидов; 8 March 1912 – 24 October 1984) was the deputy commander of the 162nd Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces during World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War in the USSR. In 1945 while he held the rank of Major he was declared a Hero of the Soviet Union for his first 166 missions in a Pe-2 during the war. After the war he was heavily involved in the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement, and swore to the government that he would publicly commit self-immolation if they continued to refuse him the right of return.

Early life
Reshidov was born on 8 March 1912 to a Crimean-Tatar family in the village of Mamashay in Crimea. After completing only five grades of school he began working at the workshops of Kachin Military Aviation School. In 1932 he graduated from the Simferopol Osoaviahim flight school, and in 1933 he entered the Red Army, after which he continued his studies at the Lugansk Military Aviation School before goring on to graduate from the Odessa Military Aviation School in December 1934. After completing flight school he was assigned as a pilot to the 10th reconnaissance squadron of the Kharkov Military District. From May 1938 to April 1940 he served as a pilot in Sevastopol before transferring to the 5th High Speed Bomber Regiment in Odessa, in which he was stationed when Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa.

World War II
Shortly after the launch of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Reshidov began flying defensive sorties on the Southern Front. In March 1942 his regiment was honored with the Guards designation and renamed the 8th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment. He fought on the Southern, North Caucasian, and Transcaucasian fronts.

From March 1942 to June 1943 Reshidov studied at the Red Army Air Force Academy for commanders and chiefs of staff of aviation regiments, and went on to briefly serve in the 15th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Reserve Regiment. He returned to the warfront in October as a squadron commander in the 854th Bomber Aviation Regiment. The regiment flew missions as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and fought in the Battle of the Dnieper, and in February 1944 the regiment received the Guards designation, becoming the 162nd Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment. In October 1944 Reshidov was appointed as the deputy commander of the regiment and as a flight instructor. By February 1945 he had completed 166 sorties, and received his third nomination to become a Hero of the Soviet Union. On 27 June 1945 while he held the rank of Major he was declared a Hero of the Soviet Union. By the end of the war he had completed 191 sorties and collected eight shared kills of enemy fighters.

Later life
Reshidov was stationed in Czechoslovakia when the war ended, and held various military positions until he retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1958. Despite his prolonged service in the military he was not permitted to return to his homeland of Crimea and spent many years in exile. In 1967 Reshidov applied to move to Simferopol, but he was told that his application would not be considered until 1968. Taking matters into his own hands, Reshidov relocated from Nalchik to Crimea with his wife and daughter in October 1967, without permission from authorities. However, it became impossible for him to find a place to live due to the residence permit system, leading to his further depression. On 4 November 1967 he sent a telegram to Chief Air Marshal Konstantin Vershinin, swearing that he would end his life by self immolation in Lenin square if he could not live in Crimea. He was granted permission to live in an apartment in Simferopol, but lived under constant surveillance of the KGB. The KGB described Reshidov "provocative" and "partisan", but that did not stop him from supporting the right of return for Crimean Tatars. In 1972 the KGB slandered him as "inflammatory" and "agitating" for holding meetings in his apartment with other Crimean Tatars and supporting the right of return for all his fellow Crimean Tatars. Despite harassment from the KGB, Reshidov continued to live in Simferopol until his death on 24 October 1984. He never lived to see his nation granted the full right of return in 1989.

Awards and honors

 * Hero of the Soviet Union
 * Two Orders of Lenin
 * Three Orders of the Red Banner
 * Order of Aleksandr Nevsky
 * Order of the Red Star
 * Medal "For Battle Merit"
 * Czechoslovak War Cross
 * campaign and jubilee medals