Kirill Orlovsky

Kirill Orlovsky
Kirill Orlovsky on a Soviet stamp.
Born	30 January 1895 Myshkovichi village, Bobruysk Uyezd, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	13 January 1968(1968-01-13) (aged 72) Myshkovichi, Kirovsky Raion, Mogilyov Oblast, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russian Empire Soviet Russia Soviet Union
Service / branch	Infantry State security
Years of service	1915–1944
Rank	Podpolkovnik
Battles / wars	World War I Polish–Soviet War Spanish Civil War
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Hero of Socialist Labour Order of Lenin (5) Order of the Red Banner Order of the Red Star

Kirill Prokofyevich Orlovsky (Russian: Кири́лл Проко́фьевич Орло́вский; 30 January  [O.S. 10 January] 1895  – 13 January 1968) was a Soviet partisan commander, a functionary of the Soviet secret police, and the chairman of a major kolkhoz. He was a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union award for courage during fighting the Nazi occupation behind enemy lines.

Early life and career

Kirill Prokofyevich Orlovsky was born in the village of Myshkovichi, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire, into a family of Belarusian peasants on 30 January  [O.S. 10 January] 1895. In 1906, he entered the Popovshchina parochial school, graduating in 1910. In 1915, he was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army, first serving as a private in the 251st reserve infantry regiment and from 1917, as a non-commissioned officer in the 65th Siberian rifle regiment, commanding a sapper platoon, seeing action at the Western Front of World War I. In January 1918, he was demobilized, returning to his native village.