Ilsur Metshin: "He was a man we were proud of"

(Kazan, KZN.RU, July 21, by Adel Galiyev). Sabir Akhtyamov, Hero of the Soviet Union and an honorary citizen of Kazan, died at the age of 89. His passing is a painful loss for the citizens of the republic, said Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin at today's Business Monday meeting and asked all those gathered to honor the memory of Sabir Akhtyamovich with a minute of silence.

"He was a man we were proud of; he stood at the forefront of all veterans' movements in Kazan and Tatarstan. His departure is a heavy loss for us all. A remarkable man, and yet so humble. We will miss him! It is unfortunate that he did not live up to the 70th anniversary of Victory," Ilsur Metshin expressed his deep regret over the death of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sabir Akhtyamov was born June 15, 1926, in the Kukmor region. In 1943, at the age of 17, Sabir Akhtyamov learned all the hardships of life at the front, starting his service at an anti-tank rifle company of the 2nd mechanized infantry battalion of the 2nd Tatsinsky Guards Tank Corps. Akhtyamov participated in the liberation of Minsk, marched to East Prussia, where he experienced the major battle of his life. At the village of Nemmersdorf, the enemy was destroyed in the protracted and unequal battle, and Sabir Akhtyamov was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War veteran took part in the military parade on Red Square on May 9, 1945. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Patriotic War, 1st class, and the Order of the Red Star.