Alexei Berest

Born to an impoverished Ukrainian family, seven of Berest's fifteen siblings died prematurely. He was orphaned when eleven years old, and raised by his older sisters. From the age of sixteen, he worked as a tractor driver. Berest volunteered into the Red Army in October 1939 and took part in the Soviet-Finnish War as a signaller. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, he was sent to the front once more. In March 1943, while stationed in the Volkhov Front, Corporal Berest joined the Communist Party. In December, he was sent to the Leningrad Military-Political School (Which at the time was located at Shuya, after being evacuated) and trained as a commissar. After graduation in September 1944, Lieutenant Berest was assigned as Captain Stepan Neustroev's deputy for political affairs (Zampolit) in the 1st Battalion of the 150th Rifle Division's 756th Regiment.[http://www.dt.ua/3000/3760/50006/ An article in the Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhdnya] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604031231/http://www.dt.ua/3000/3760/50006/ |date=4 June 2009 }}.

On 30 April 1945, after long days of street combat in Berlin, the 150th Division attacked the Reichstag. On 1 May, at about 03:00, Berest and two scouts - Meliton Kantaria and Mikhail Yegorov - hoisted one of nine Soviet flags given to the division's commanders[http://english.pravda.ru/russia/08-05-2003/2749-victory-0/ An interview with Neustroev] [translated to English]. on the building's dome, fastening it to Wilhelm I's statue.[http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/neustroev_sa/index.html Neustroev's memoirs], chapter 12.[http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zinchenko_fm/index.html The memoirs of Colonel Zinchenko], the 756th Regiment commander. Chapter 2. Although not the first to be placed, the flag was eventually proclaimed as the Victory Banner. Later, posing as a Colonel, he negotiated with the German garrison of the Reichstag on the terms of their surrender. He received the Order of the Red Banner for his actions.[http://www.peoples.ru/military/hero/berest/ A short biography of Alexei Berest on People.Ru.]

In May 1945, Neustroev, Kantaria and many others who were involved in the Reichstag assault were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. For unknown reasons,The various sources cited in this article alternatively asserted that this was due to Berest's Ukrainian heritage, Marshal Georgy Zhukov's dislike for political officers or a confrontation with a Smersh officer several days before the battle. No conclusive data could be found on the subject. Berest did not attain the award and his part in the operation was silenced.[http://www.vu.mil.gov.ua/?part=article&id=210 Berest on the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense website.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426013235/http://www.vu.mil.gov.ua/?part=article&id=210 |date=26 April 2011 }}[http://www.ukurier.gov.ua/index.php?articl=1&id=11763 An article in ukurier.gov.]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 1948, he was discharged from the army and began working in the regional cinema department of Rostov-on-Don. In 1953, he was convicted of embezzlement and sent to ten years in prison, of which he served five.[http://www.ua.dev.cawas.com/peoples/c710c79f352fa4db/ Oleksi Berest on ua.dev.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708124535/http://www.ua.dev.cawas.com/peoples/c710c79f352fa4db/ |date=8 July 2011 }} After being released, he was employed in the local Rostselmash factory as a common laborer. On 3 November 1970, Berest was run over by a train as he saved a child who strayed on the railway. He died of his injuries in the early hours of the following day.{{Cite web |url=http://www.smolinfo.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=255&Itemid=265 |title=Berest on the Smolensk municipal website. |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724071026/http://www.smolinfo.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=255&Itemid=265 |archive-date=24 July 2011 |url-status=usurped }}

He was posthumously granted the title Hero of Ukraine on 6 May 2005.[http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=753/2005 The 2005 Presidential Edict naming Berest a national hero].

• Order of the Red Banner
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class
• Order of the Red Star
• Order of the "Gold Star" Hero of Ukraine – for military valour in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, the personal courage and heroism displayed in the Berlin operation and installation of the Victory Banner over the Reichstag, posthumously)
• Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
• Medal "For the Capture of Berlin"

{{Reflist}}

{{Reflist|group=a}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322194517/http://ukrgeroes.narod.ru/BerestOP.html Oleksi Berest on the Heroes of the Ukraine website].
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110810131427/http://100.sumy.ua/index.php/articles/45-community/1947-2010-05-07-12-12-23 Oleksi Berest on a Sumy newspaper website].

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berest, Alexei}}

Category:1921 births

Category:1970 deaths

Category:People from Sumy Oblast

Category:Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine

Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members

Category:Railway accident deaths in Russia

Category:Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine)

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner

Category:People convicted of embezzlement

Category:People nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union