Alexei Berest
| Alexei Berest | |
|---|---|
Berest, circa 1945.
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| Born |
March 9, 1921 Goryastovka, Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | November 4, 1970 (aged 49) Rostov-on-Don, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Buried at | Alexandrovskoye Cemetery, Rostov-on-Don |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union (1939–1948) |
| Years of service | 1939-1948 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars |
Soviet-Finnish War World War II |
| Awards |
Order of the Red Banner Order of the Patriotic War 1st class Order of the Red Star Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" Hero of Ukraine (posthumous) |
Oleksiy Prokopovych Berest (Ukrainian: Олексій Прокопович Берест. Russified: Алексей Прокопьевич Берест [Alexei Prokopievich Berest]; March 9, 1921 – November 4, 1970) was a Soviet political officer and one of the three Red Army soldiers who hoisted the Victory Banner.
Born to an impoverished 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.
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 on the building's dome, fastening it to Wilhelm I's statue.Although not the first to be placed, the flag was eventually proclaimed as the Victory Banner. Later, impostering 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.
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