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p April 3, 1942

p Dear Vera, my darling, my own little dove,

p My heart leaps with joy just to think you may get my letter, you and our boy and girl will see my writing and know I am alive and well.

p We haven’t seen or heard anything of each other for over nine months. Now, when I have a chance to send you a letter there’s so much I want to tell you, so much....

p What can I say to you? I remember, all my life I’ll remember Kulagino where I saw you (July 15) when you were sick, with our newborn girl, where we parted so suddenly, without saying good-bye properly. But I knew you couldn’t be angry at me, both as my wife and friend, since duty compelled me to stay in the district come what may. I can well imagine the whole horror of the situation in which I left you. Yet, as you know, there was nothing I could do to help. I consoled myself with the one thought that your suffering is all our people’s suffering, that there are thousands of martyrs like you, that war is war.

p But what is wonderful, my sweet, is that I haven’t for one moment lost my confidence that you are alive, that you think about me, that you love me, as you did ten years ago, as you always loved me. Not for one minute have I lost faith in us seeing each other again, in being together again. And I still believe it now, as much as I believe in our victory over Hitler’s bandits.

p My darling, my little dove, we’ll be together again. Just wait and see. Keep your spirits up. I shall live yet to hug and 59 kiss you all! I’m longing for that wonderful moment as much as I do for our country’s complete liberation from the fascist scum. That moment is coming nearer. We are all sure of it, we Bolsheviks, partisans and all the people in our district.

p Nine months in the nazi rear-how have I lived, where have I lived in this time? How have we fought against the German invaders? It cannot be described all in one letter.

p No matter what I write to you it would still seem a trifle.

p The first weeks and months of underground work were very grim. We have now about ten detachments in the district. I’m not exactly sure how many men we have in each detachment; in my lot there are over a hundred. They’re a wonderful, select bunch.

p I’ve been living in Fyodorovo, Ponizovye, Grishkovo, Petrishchevo and Bosino. I’ve had to spend my nights in the fields and woods. All autumn I was with a group of comrades in the woods. February I lived in a dug-out. Can’t grumble about my health. I’ve probably never felt better. My stomach ulcer seems to have healed, cicatrised. However much I hid, the Dukhovshchina gang-those fascist creeps-soon nosed me out. They’ve been hunting me like a bear, but it hasn’t got them anywhere. Only one...  [59•*  and several times we’ve led them a merry dance. The Germans’ fate in Demidovo, Prechistoye and Dukhovshchina will be decided in a few days. For the moment though we are still behind the lines, surrounded by the foe, but they cannot do a thing about us. The partisans are like quicksilver. Right from the beginning things have been fine, marvellous. What’s wonderful is that all the people round here are right behind us, assisting us and hating the nazis.

p What more is there to tell you? When I was left in the district I combed the whole area far and wide. I roped in almost all Communists. I organised them in underground Party partisan groups. Now they have grown into partisan detachments. In one of these I am commissar....

p A few of our good comrades fell into German hands and lost their lives. I, as you see, with some fifty local Communists have survived. Some of them have been with the partisans since autumn, others since winter.

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p Now Dukhovshchina is surrounded by partisan detachments. We’ve made short work of all nazi appointees. No one nazi-appointed administration body is now operating. For the time being the Germans are holing out like wolves in Dukhovshchina and a few other villages. In a number of villages we have already restored Soviet power. In the rest power [also] belongs to the partisans. My oh my, how the nazis are scared of the partisans...  [60•*  and I’ve easily escaped their clutches. Well, now I think they haven’t got a chance.

p My dear little dove, I must hurry. I haven’t written even a fraction of what I wanted. Farewell.

p Take care, bring up our son and little girl. I hope they are clever and good, I hope they grow up Bolsheviks. I hope they, and you as well, love our country.... And never lose faith in our deliverance from the enemy.

p Many, many kisses to you all.

p No matter what happens to me I’m sure you’ll be brave and come through all the hardships and, at least, bring up our son Volodya and daughter Nelya. If only I could see them now. I can just imagine them. Remember how we used to go on a ramble with our little girl? I haven’t got anything more to write on. Farewell... . Kisses. ...

Yours and yours alone,
Pyotr

p Pyotr Tsuranov, second secretary of the Dukhovshchina District Party Committee, was in charge of underground work in the district. Under his leadership several underground groups were formed, followed by small partisan units. With one of the units he took to the woods neighbouring on Kasplyansky District. Here the partisan ranks were reinforced by soldiers left behind in the rear and also by the villagers.

p Back in early September 1941, this unit had taken part in skirmishes with regular units of the 9th German Army, thereby rendering active assistance to the Soviet Army.

p At the commencement to 1942, the unit had its base in the village of Grishkovo, and a couple of months later in Gorodnya. It was joined there by other partisan groups and detachments.

On March 25, 1942, a band of partisans headed by Pyotr Tsuranov waited in ambush near the village of Zakup to which a column of 300 61 German soldiers was heading. The partisans scattered the Germans who fled in panic leaving behind more than a hundred dead.

Pyotr Tsuranov

p Pyotr wanted to tell his wife of the hazards of fighting behind the lines and the first thrills of their modest victories. This letter of April 3rd is their first contact since parting. Will it get through to her? Will his family know he is alive and well? Hardly having time to send the letter he rushed off again into the fray, this time in the village of Falisa held by police collecting taxes from the population. Tsuranov and his companions blasted the nazis from the village with hand grenades and eventually drove them out of Trofimenka and Voskresenskoye too. The clashes lasted two days.

p In April and May, a number of districts around Smolensk were freed by the partisans and Soviet authority was restored. On May Day there was a meeting of the Dukhovshchina underground District Party Committee Bureau which discussed ways and means of getting the whole district back into Soviet hands. District Party Secretary Pyotr Tsuranov was responsible for this work throughout the district. The Bureau, jointly with the District Party Executive Committee and the Y.C.L. Committee, addressed the following appeal to the people:

p “Soviet power has been restored and Soviet authority is now coming into its own on the territory of our district liberated from the nazis, i.e., in 10 village Soviets. But the battle against the foe certainly does not end here. Our victories have to be consolidated and taken further. We must do all we can to assist the Red Army and red partisans to smash the enemy and drive Hitler’s hordes out of the Soviet Union.

p “We shall win!”

p On June 22, an anti-fascist meeting of people from all over the district took place. The resolution adopted by 500 delegates and signed by Pyotr Tsuranov ended with slogans: "Long live our Soviet homeland!" "Down with the fascist scum!”

p In the summer of 1942, after a round of bitter fighting, the district was occupied for the second time. Pyotr was put in charge of the Burevestnik partisan unit and once more never gave himself any let-up in fearless raids on the nazis, organising underground operations, sabotage and raids.

In February 1943, the bold Communists’ leader of Dukhovshchina made his last sortie.