People from all over the world come here to see with their own eyes the place for which they fought until the last breath. The memorial complex “Brest Hero Fortress” is one of the most visited museums in Belarus.
In June 1941 it was a town of the Western Special Military District with about 9 thousand people of the garrison’s personnel and command, plus about 300 hundred families of military personnel. Streets with residential buildings were located on Kobrin fortification - Northern Entrance Gate. Three days later, at dawn on June 22, the first shells fell on the fortress.
The Wehrmacht troops planned to capture the citadel in a few hours. The preliminary end time of the operation was noon. Therefore, active air and art shelling was carried out. In the first half hour alone, over 5 thousand shells were fired at the fortress.
After the war, the remains of an unknown radio operator and his walkie-talkie were found in the basement of the building. People are found even now, after almost 80 years.
The last known defender of the Brest Fortress was captured on July 23. This was the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment, Major Gavrilov, who organized the defense of the Eastern Fort. He was the only one of the defenders who during his life received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Only one third of the defenders of the Brest Fortress are known. 1038 people are buried in a mass grave. There is no list of those who died in captivity. And many young officers who graduated from schools in Smolensk and Kalinkovichi arrived in the fortress a few days before the start of the war.
After the war, there were approximately 750 people alive. Today there are only three of them. The youngest, Peter Kotelnikov is 90, Vladimir Kozmin is 94, and Rishat Ismagilov is 99.












