Dmitriy Vasilievich Piatnitski is the brother of my grandfather Nikolay Vasilievich Piatnitski and son of great-grandfather Vasiliy Sofronovich. He lived in the village of Dorosino (Lyuban District of Belarus), where he maintained a peasant farmstead.
Our home archive preserves authentic records of his life: a pre-war 1938 full-length photograph with his elder brother Nikolay, a 1940 studio photograph with his wife, and a postcard sent to him from Minsk by my parents in the spring of 1970.
Authentic vintage print from 1938. On the left: young Dmitriy Vasilievich; on the right: his elder brother Nikolay Vasilievich.
Digital AI restoration repairing creases and aging to reveal fabric textures, boots, and facial expressions of both brothers.
Original date inscription at the bottom: "November 23, 1940 Dmitriy Vasilievich Piatnitski". Dmitriy wears a civilian defense badge on his lapel. Beside him stands his wife.
Mailed from Minsk by my father Vladimir Nikolayevich and mother Raisa to uncle Dmitriy Vasilievich, his wife, and children Vanya and Katya in Dorosino village.
"The 1938 photograph with elder brother Nikolay is a rare family treasure. Dmitriy is captured as a young man in a cap, belted semi-military tunic, breeches, and tall riding boots. The brothers stand shoulder to shoulder, calm and confident. Just three years of peace remained before the war.
The portrait from November 23, 1940 was taken seven months before the outbreak of the war. Dmitriy Vasilievich is seated in a dark suit and polished lace-up shoes, wearing a Soviet civilian sports badge on his lapel, beside his wife in a tailored dark jacket with a white collar.
The 1970 postcard is an invaluable family document. My father Volodya wishes his uncle Dmitriy, his aunt, and his cousins Vanya and Katya a happy May Day. The card records our Minsk address at the time in the Chizhovka district (Uborevicha St. 136, apt. 58) with the postal cancellation stamp dated April 27, 1970. And the note at the bottom is especially poignant: "Uncle, why aren't you writing?". Such preserved letters vividly capture the enduring personal connection between the Minsk and Dorosino branches of the family."
Family and Lineage
Family and Lineage
Dynamic data from the family tree
Peasant of Dorosino village, spouse of Vasiliy Sofronovich, mother of Nikolay, Ivan, Anton, and Dmitriy Piatnitski
Physics teacher in Korma village school. Pre-war sapper service in Rogachev. Perished in a POW camp in summer 1941
Regular Signal Corps Officer of the Red Army, Colonel. Chief of Communications of 822 IPTAP. Defense of Leningrad, Battle of Berlin
Captain-Lieutenant of Soviet Navy (Black Sea Fleet, Dnepr Flotilla). Defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, Order of the Red Star
Sources
- Piatnitski Family Archive: joint photograph of brothers Nikolay and Dmitriy from 1938 (original print and AI digital reconstruction), authentic studio print dated 23.11.1940, and postal card dated 25.04.1970.
- Family oral history and personal correspondence.
