Damir Rashidovich
Gilemkhanov
1999-2022
Damir Rashidovich Gilemkhanov was a gunner in the 3rd tank platoon, 1st tank battalion, of the 163rd Guards Tank Regiment, 150th Motor Rifle Division, 8th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District. He held the rank of Guards Corporal and was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. He was born on September 21, 1999, in Kazan, the Republic of Tatarstan, into a military family. He finished nine grades at Secondary School № 42 in the Kazan’s Privolzhsky District. In 2015, he entered Kazan Polytechnic College, graduating from it in 2019 with a specialization in the installation and maintenance of internal plumbing, air conditioning, and ventilation systems. Later in 2019, Gilemkhanov was conscripted for military service, after which he transitioned to serve as a contract soldier. At first, he served as a tank mechanic-driver in the Far East, then he was assigned to the 163rd Guards Tank Regiment as part of the 150th Motor Rifle Division, which stationed in Persianovsky, the Rostov Region. Since February 24, 2022, Gilemkhanov’s unit took part in a special military operation to support the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. On March 7, 2022, while operating a T-72B1 tank, Gilemkhanov, along with his commander, Senior Lieutenant Damir Islamov, and driver Ivan Tsevun, were engaged in an assault near the town of Zolote, the Severodonetsk District, in the LPR. Their precise fire tank caused substantial damage to Ukrainian forces, neutralizing a fortified firing position and nearly ten soldiers. During the battle, their tank was set ablaze by incendiary rounds, but the crew managed to extinguish the flames and continued their mission. Facing an unequal encounter with five enemy tanks, Gilemkhanov’s tank destroyed four of them before being struck by the fifth, resulting in the death of the entire crew. On March 25, 2022, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Guards Corporal Damir Rashidovich Gilemkhanov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for his bravery and heroism in the line of duty, making him the youngest Hero of Russia by date of birth. This highest honour was presented to his parents on April 15, 2022, by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, during a farewell ceremony at Kazan Higher Tank Command School. In June 2022, Secondary School № 42 in Kazan was named in his honour.
Address: Moscow, Victory Park
