“In the very first days of the special operation, Timofey received a burn to his cornea due to explosions - his eyes were constantly watering. The guys approached him and suggested that he go to the rear: “Comrade commander, you need to see the doctors.” He waved his hand: “It will pass. I won’t leave the guys because of my eyes,” Olga Shishlakova tells RT.
On March 1, 2022, she lost her only son in the Northern Military District zone. The 23-year-old lieutenant, commander of the logistics company of the 423rd motorized rifle regiment, died during artillery shelling. The young commander and his colleagues were awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.
After Timothy's funeral, the parents decided to build an Orthodox chapel next to the cemetery in honor of St. Timothy in
memory of all the defenders of the Fatherland who died in the special operation.
“I came to serve my Motherland”
Timofey's father Andrey Shishlakov is a reserve lieutenant colonel, he served in the logistics troops
in the town of Kosteryovo, Vladimir region. Timofey also graduated from school there.
According to the parents, they did not put pressure on their son when choosing a future profession. His mother didn’t even want him to become a military man: “I know what it’s like to be a military man’s wife. It's very difficult."
Nevertheless, Timofey still decided to follow in his father’s footsteps - after school he entered the Military Academy of Logistics and Technical Support in St. Petersburg.
Little Timofey Shishlakov with dad
© Photo from personal archive
Timofey had no problems with his studies, but according to his parents, it was not easy for him to get used to strict discipline, daily routine and life in a closed institution.
By his fourth year, Timofey became a candidate for master of sports in military quadathlon, although at first physical training was difficult for him. Timofey graduated from the Academy in 2021 with honors, so he had the opportunity to stay at the educational institution: engage in military science and teach.
“That’s what I offered him,” Olga recalls. “But he answered me: “Mom, what can I give to the cadets if I was not in the army? I first want to understand from my own experience what is there.” And he went to serve.”
While still studying, Timofey participated in Victory parades. First - on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, as his father once did, and then three times - on Red Square in Moscow. The last time, in 2020, he, dressed in the uniform of the Red Army, carried the Victory Banner as part of the banner group.
Olga Shishlakova now recalls that there was some symbolism in this: “How cyclical history is! In 1941, after the parade on Red Square, servicemen went to fight at the front - and after this parade, our guys went to defend the country.”
“They provided fuel without sleep or rest”
After studying, Timofey arrived at the 423rd Motorized Rifle Regiment as a company commander. His boss Yaroslav Gladkikh (then a lieutenant colonel) immediately told the graduate that he was accepting the company “in a deplorable state.”
“To which there was a clear answer: “We will work, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel.” Timofey rolled up his sleeves and quickly restored all the faulty samples of the company’s military equipment. Then he asked to give him the emergency storage facilities in the fleet of military vehicles, which he independently repaired on his own, erected a fence and brought the weapons and military equipment storage sector (types of military equipment) into compliance with the order of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” it is written in the posthumous official review.
Timofey Shishlakov graduated from the Military Academy of Logistics and Technical Support
© Photo from personal archive
Timofey Shishlakov learned about his deployment to a special operation on February 23, 2022. That same evening he called home to congratulate his father on Defender of the Fatherland Day. Timofey warned that he would not have contact due to military exercises, and then added: “I would like to return home at least by March 8.” According to the parents, the son did not even hint that he was going on a military operation, did not say goodbye or give any parting words.
The deputy company commander, a captain who was ten years older than Timofey, recalled that before entering the Northern Military District zone, the officers sat in a tent and talked about families and life in civilian life in order to distract themselves before the difficult task. According to him, Timofey seemed to have a presentiment that he would not return, and said: “I took the oath, so it’s not a problem to come in. It’s just a pity that there was so much more I wanted to do in this life.”
As Timofey’s parents found out after his death, the regiment advanced from the Belgorod region and on February 27 arrived in the village of Veprik, Poltava region. The command report on the death of the company commander states that Lieutenant Shishlakov, on his own initiative, found a warehouse with a supply of fuel in the village area and refueled military equipment with his subordinates.
“It seems like all they do is fix it and leave. In fact, Timofey and his subordinates had to drive the tanker to the storage facility, connect the hoses, pump in fuel, then drive up to our equipment, refuel the vehicles for which there was enough fuel, and go for a new batch. And all this under fire. They didn’t have time to sleep or eat,” says Andrey Shishlakov.
After his death, Timofey’s friends and colleagues began to write to his parents about what kind of person they remembered their son
© Photo from personal archive
After this, the lieutenant received an order from the commander of the 4th Kantemirovskaya Tank Division to refuel the vehicles of the “dried up” 13th Tank Regiment.
On March 1, Lieutenant Shishlakov and his subordinates - Sergeant Shuvaev and Corporal Abasov - were pumping the next portion of fuel from the storage facility into the tanker and at that time came under mortar fire. They all died on the spot.
“For three days without sleep or rest, they provided fuel to military equipment. Thanks to the actions of Lieutenant Shishlakov and his subordinates, the units of the 4th Tank Division were able to leave the shelling area using standard equipment with minimal losses,” the command report says.
When Shishlakov and his comrades died under fire, their colleagues from the 423rd Motorized Rifle Regiment made a 200-kilometer march on loaded vehicles and on March 1 completed the task of storming Trostyanets in the Sumy region. This is also “undoubtedly the merit of the Guard Lieutenant Shishlakov and his subordinates,” the command noted.
“This cross will be facing my son”
Andrei and Olga learned about the death of their son only on March 21: before that they were told that Timofey was performing combat missions. On the same day, photographs of the bodies of Shishlakov, Shuvaev and Abasov were published on Ukrainian social media channels. For several months, Timofey’s parents received calls from Ukrainian numbers: they extorted money for the return of his body, and mockingly asked why they sent their only son to the front.
In early July, the bodies of the lieutenant and his subordinates were returned to their homeland as a result of an exchange for the bodies of militants of the nationalist Azov unit*. Timofey was buried on July 12 in his hometown of Kosteryovo, Vladimir region.
In September, secondary school No. 3, from which Timofey graduated with a gold medal in 2016, was named after him, and a memorial plaque was installed at the entrance to the building. The idea of naming the school after the hero was proposed by Olga and Andrey, and the director and teachers unanimously supported them.
Students of school No. 3 named after Timofey Shishlakov collect gifts for military personnel of the 423rd motorized rifle regiment
© Photo from personal archive
School No. 3 still has children who knew Timofey personally. Students regularly send parcels to the front through the assistance group for the 423rd regiment, which was organized by Andrei and Olga.
Schoolchildren, on their own initiative, raise funds to purchase things necessary for the fighters, pack boxes with gifts and write letters to the fighters with words of support.
“One third grader put the Snickers they bought him over the weekend in the fighter box. I didn’t eat it on purpose and saved it for the guys at the front,” Olga smiles. — A tenth-grader, who knew Timofey at school, asked to hand over a large USSR flag: he is interested in history and collects such things. He said: “Please tell the military that with this banner they will go into battle in tanks.” But the guys in the regiment said that there would be nothing left of him in battle. They hung it in one of the dugouts at the headquarters: “It will warm our souls.”
The parcels collected by volunteers are taken to the SVO zone by Andrey Shishlakov along with other volunteers.
“Some people jokingly call me the batya of the regiment, but I don’t consider myself any batya, of course. After all, I’m not too old for such a position. If I didn’t have several shunts in my heart, I would have been in the regiment long ago and served with the guys,” he says.
The construction of the Orthodox chapel has already been completed. All that remains is to raise funds for interior decoration
© Photo from personal archive
When in the summer of 2022 Andrei Shishlakov once again went to the front line to deliver parcels, he got into a conversation with one of the servicemen, a sculptor by training. He suggested making a canopy with a dome and a cross over Timothy’s grave. Gradually, this idea grew into the decision to build an Orthodox chapel in memory of all those who died during the Northern Military District.
The main sponsors were Andrei and Olga - they transferred the entire amount they received from the Ministry of Defense after Timofey’s death. This money was enough for the construction of the chapel itself, the erection of a dome and a cross.
“When the cross was raised on the dome of the chapel, the mother of Mirikerim Abasova from Dagestan, who died along with Timofey, came to visit us. Before rising, the priest invited us and her to kiss the cross too. She approached him with the words: “There is only one God,” and kissed him, saying that this cross would be addressed to her son too,” Olga recalls with tears.
It is necessary to raise 2-2.5 million rubles for the interior decoration of the chapel: the Shishlakovs decided to order more durable mosaic icons that can be preserved without restoration for up to ten years. The icons are already being painted by an icon painter from the Kirov region. To collect the missing funds, Timofey’s parents created a group on VKontakte, through which anyone can make a donation.
In the house in Kosteryovo, where Timofey grew up, his parents also made a small memorial wall dedicated to their son: they kept his awards and certificates, his favorite things. On the shelf is the book “A Hero of Our Time.” It was given to Timofey by a friend whom they met at military training.
“I saw it in Tima’s bag while he was still alive,” says Olga. “I remember smiling then and saying: “Well, we found a hero!” Now this book is here in my son’s room, in memory of the kind of person he was.”
* “Azov” is an organization recognized as terrorist by a decision of the Supreme Court of Russia dated August 2, 2022.