Shilin, Afanasii

Born Sept. 1, 1924, in the village of Petropavlovka, in present-day Novouzensk Raion, Saratov Oblast. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (Feb. 22, 1944, and Mar. 24, 1945). Lieutenant general (1975). Member of the CPSU from 1944.

Shilin was born into a worker family. He entered the Red Army in 1942 and graduated from the Second Tomsk Artillery School in 1943, the Higher Artillery School for Officers in 1946, the F. E. Dzerzhinskii Artillery Academy in 1952, and the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1966. During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), Shilin served from 1943 on the Southwestern, Third Ukrainian, and First Byelorussian fronts. He commanded a platoon and was chief of reconnaissance for an artillery battalion in the 132nd Guards Artillery Regiment. He took part in the fighting for the Dnieper and the liberation of the Ukraine, Moldavia, and Poland. After the war, Shilin held important command positions.

Shilin has been awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Patriotic War Second Class, and various medals. A bust of Shilin has been erected in the city of Leninsk-Kuznetskii in Kemerovo Oblast.