Vasily Zaitsev (far left) instructs other Soviet snipers, Stalingrad, December 1942
Vasily Zaitsev is perhaps the most famous of all the heroes of the Red Army in their fight against the Nazi and fascist invaders during the Second World War.
An exceptional sniper who helped to develop the Red Army's sniper strategy and to train other snipers, Zaitsev is credited with 225 confirmed kills between October 10 - December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He was seriously wounded in January 1943 and withdrawn from the battle. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in February 1943.
He became a member of the Communist Party in 1943 and after the war was a director of a textile factory in Kiev.