Sergei Aleshkov

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Andreyevich and the family name is Aleshkov.

Sergei Andreyevich Aleshkov (also Alyoshkov; Russian: Сергей Андреевич Алёшков, 15 February 1936 – 1 February 1990) was a Soviet soldier, adopted "Son of the Regiment", and the youngest soldier to serve in World War II at 6 years old.^[1]

Sergei Aleshkov
Sergei receiving an award for his actions in 1943
Native name	Сергей Алёшков
Born	(1936-02-15)February 15, 1936 Gryn, Kaluga Oblast (Soviet Union)
Died	February 1, 1990(1990-02-01) (aged 53) Chelyabinsk (Soviet Union)
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Battles / wars	Battle of Stalingrad

Biography

Before the war, Sergei (Seryozha) lived with his family in the forest village of Gryn (now the Ulyanovsk district of the Kaluga Oblast). Sergei's father died before the war, and his brothers Ivan and Andrei enlisted in the army, leaving Sergei and his brother Peter with their mother.^[2]

His mother and brother were executed by the Germans for their links to the partisans, and Sergei was left wandering the woods until he was discovered and taken in by the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

His future military career was unsuccessful due to his poor health as he had been smoking heavily from a young age, and he eventually died of a heart attack on 1 February 1990, aged 53.^[10]

In popular culture

The film Soldier Boy (2019) depicts Sergei's experiences during the war. Sergei is played by Andrey Andreev.^[11][12]