Zhenya Tabakov is a 7-year-old Russian who died saving his sister from being raped. He has been honored by the government for heroism. Read about him and see a photo of him below.
Zhenya Tabakov
Zhenya Tabakov was awarded the Order of Courage medal by the Russian government. The award was given posthumously, so his dazed and grieving mother, Galina Tabakov, received it on his behalf. He was just 7-years-old when he was murdered trying to save his sister from being raped.
Zhenya was at home with his 12-year-old sister, Yana Tabakov when someone came to their door. Yana explains why she let him into their house.
“I asked who it was. The man said he was the postman, and he needed to give us a telegram and get a signature. So I opened the door,” recalls Zhenya’s sister Yana.
As soon as the man stepped into the house, he grabbed Yana and put a knife to her throat. He then sent Zhenya to get all the money he could find in the house. Zhenya did as he was told, but when he returned to the room, he saw that the intruder was undressing his sister, still holding the knife to her neck. Little 7-year-old Zhenya sprang into action.
He went to the kitchen, got a knife, came up behind the intruder and plunged the knife into the would-be rapists back with all his might. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to kill the intruder, but his actions did force the man to release his hold on Yana. She ran for help when the man turned his attention to Khenya, stabbing him 8 times.
The intruder was thirty-five-year old Sergey Kiyashko, who has been arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors say they have all the evidence they need to convict him.
This all happened in Noginsk-9, a town that has virtually no crime, which makes it all the more shocking. The community has rallied around the family and are hailing Zhenya as a hero. As they should. As he was.