Ilya Kaverin

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Ilya Ananevich Kaverin (May 15, 1910 – November 19, 1963) was a Soviet Red Army tank driver and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was born in Astara to a fisherman's family and worked as a fisherman before he was drafted in 1941. He served in the 74th Tank Regiment, 71st Mechanized Brigade, within the 9th Mechanized Corps, and fought in the Battle of the Caucasus and the Battle of Kiev.

In November 1943, during the Kiev battle, his tank was hit and burned. He was the only survivor, put out the flames, and, with a machine gun and grenades, repelled ten German attacks over several days, reportedly killing about 30 enemy soldiers. Later, in the battle for the village of Khotiv, his tank destroyed a German infantry platoon and 12 vehicles.

For these actions he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on January 10, 1944. He joined the Communist Party in 1944. On May 14, 1945, he received the Order of the Red Star for his actions in the Battle of Berlin. He was discharged from the army at the end of the war as a senior sergeant and returned to Astara to work on a state farm. He died on November 19, 1963, and was buried in Astara.