To commemorate three years since the death of Mikhail Tolstykh (nom-de-geurre Givi), Head of State Denis Pushilin paid homage to the Hero of the Donetsk People’s Republic and laid flowers at his grave.
For the third year in a row on February 8, residents of the Republic have been coming to the grave of Mikhail Tolstykh to remember what he was like, what he forever remained in the hearts of people.
Our famous fellow countryman Iosif Kobzon called Givi and his fellow soldier Motorola combat leaders of the DPR. Mikhail Tolstykh’s comrades-in-arms say that he was a natural commander and was able to cope with a hardest task, to get through most dangerous areas where no one else would risk going. His enemies were in horror of him…
Givi was a military tactician, who could predict the enemy’s move. He could find a way out of any situation, inspire each of his fighters with confidence and courage. Thanks to him, Somalia Battalion won the glory of one of the best assault battalions of the Republic. Those heroes marched ahead of everyone, in the vanguard.
He worked 24 hours a day and did not like to talk about himself, only about his men. “It is my men who are the heroes fighting on the front. I am just their commander, that is all. I am an ordinary soldier of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”
Mikhail Tolstykh lived for the victory of the Republic. And he wholeheartedly trusted in the undefeatable Donbass. He fought for Slavyansk, defended Ilovaisk and Snezhnoye, Uglegorsk and Debaltsevo, fought for the Donetsk airport. In 2015, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Mikhail Tolstykh died in a terrorist attack on February 8, 2017.
Givi is buried on the Alley of Heroes in the capital’s cemetery. Arsen Pavlov (nom-de-guerre Motorola) and other defenders of the Donetsk People’s Republic are buried there too.
Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin honored the memory of the fallen soldiers and laid flowers at the monument to Alexander Zakharchenko.