Sergei Solnechnikov
| Sergei Alexandrovich Solnechnikov | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 August 1980 Potsdam, GDR |
| Died |
28 March 2012 (aged 31) Belogorsky District, Amur Oblast |
| Allegiance |
 Russia |
| Years of service | 1997–2012 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | 54th command brigade |
| Commands held | signal battalion |
| Awards |
 Hero of the Russian Federation |
Sergei Alexandrovich Solnechnikov (Russian: Серге́й Александрович Солнечников, 19 August 1980 – 28 March 2012) was a Russian military officer, who at the cost of his own life saved his subordinates covering a grenade. He was honored as a Hero of the Russian Federation, posthumously.[1]
During training exercises on March 28, 2012 at a Far Eastern military base near the town of Belogorsk, major Solnechnikov pushed a soldier away from an unsuccessfully thrown grenade and threw himself over it after it bounced back into the trench they were in with dozens of soldiers standing nearby. Solnechnikov received serious injuries and was rushed into hospital but died almost 2 hours later.
Solnechnikov's feat received vast attention and sympathy in the media and across the Runet. He was buried with military honors on 2 April in his home town of Volzhsky. The next day he was awarded Russia's highest honor, the Hero of the Russian Federation.