Kombat (Russian for '
battalion commander') is a black-and-white photograph by Soviet photographer
Max Alpert. It depicts a Soviet military officer, armed with a
TT pistol, raising his unit for an attack during
World War II. This work is regarded as one of the most iconic Soviet World War II photographs, yet neither the date nor the subject is known with certainty. According to the most widely accepted version, it depicts junior
politruk Aleksei Gordeyevich Yeryomenko, minutes before his death on 12 July 1942, in
Voroshilovgrad Oblast, now part of Ukraine. The photograph is in the archives of
RIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency.
Photograph credit: Max Alpert