Soldier’s face after four years of war

Evgeny Stepanovich Kobytev is the man in the photo.

In 1941, Evgeny Stepanovich Kobytev was a young man with artistic ambitions.

He fought in several battles in Ukraine before being wounded and taken prisoner in September 1941.

A soldier's face before and after the war : 1941 vs. 1945 . pic.twitter.com/ASab4PtlFy

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He was imprisoned in the “Khorol pit” (Dulag #160) prison camp, where approximately 90,000 civilians (including Jews and POWs) died.

The stench was unbearable, but it was preferable to living outside, completely exposed to the elements.

Evgeny Stepanovich Kobytev became a soldier and enlisted in one of the Red Army’s artillery regiments. In 1943, Kobytev escaped from captivity and rejoined the Red Army.

He took part in various military operations in Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, and Germany.

After the war, he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal for his outstanding military service.

However, the Soviet High Command refused to award him the Victory over Germany medal because his military career had been “ruined” by his imprisonment.

In this camp, approximately 90,000 prisoners of war and civilians died.