Ruslan Budnik

Ruslan Budnik is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by Ruslan Budnik:

Unsinkable Sam – Legendary Cat Survived 3 Sinking Ships

Since ancient times, there are stories of ships in which cats were indispensable inhabitants. The main purpose of cats was to fight against rodents, since…

The StuG – Sturmgeschütz SPG in Dozens of Photos

Sturmgeschütz (or StuG) was a series of self-propelled artillery used by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The most common version, the StuG III,…

Zina – Germans Took Her Hands and Legs but She Inspired Her Nation

“You have been riveted to a hospital bed, but you can firmly say that you were in the forefront of fighters, tankmen, pilots and artillerymen…

Sergei Aleshkov: ‘Seryozha’ Was the Youngest Soldier in WWII at 6 Years Old

Red Army troops firing their guns from the remnants of a building

The stories about children of war are often tragic; the Second World War, for example, claimed the lives of millions. Some were sent to concentration…

Comrade Dora – Brutal Executioner of the Bolshevik CHEKA in Odessa

The 1917-1923 civil war in Russia was an armed struggle for power between representatives of various classes, generally defined as the “Whites” who opposed the Soviet state,…

The Forgotten Tank Battle – Senno

According to popular belief, the largest tank battle of World War II–called the Great Patriotic War in the USSR–occurred in July 1943 on the Kursk…

German Special Forces of WWII – Brandenburgers

In 1935, the head of the Abwehr, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, enlisted the services of a veteran of the colonial wars, Captain Theodor von Hippel. Canaris…

Meat Grinder on the Eastern Front – Rzhev

The Battle of Rzhev is marked in Soviet history as one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Great Patriotic War. Rzhev was occupied…

Happy Warrior – Private Wojtek in the Polish Army

After Germany attacked the USSR during World War II, Joseph Stalin restored diplomatic relations with Poland at the request of the Allies. Under the terms…

Menace to the Wehrmacht – The Green Ghost Armored Train

Armored trains showed their effectiveness during the Civil War in Russia in 1917-1922. They were used as a means of transportation for people and transportation…

49 days Adrift – USS Kearsarge Saved Soviet Sailors

On March 7, 1960, the American aircraft carrier Kearsarge saved Soviet soldiers who had drifted in the ocean for 49 days without food or water.…

Defending Fort Stalin to the Last Man – 1st Battle for Sevastopol

In the history of the defense of Sevastopol, the 365th anti-aircraft battery, called the Fort Stalin, played a special role. It occupied hill 60 and…