Yestai Ishanov was born in 1906 in the village № 3, Kustanai region. Before the Great Patriotic War started he worked as a zootechnician in the Amankaragaisky collective farm. He was sent to the war in 1942 by the Zhetygarinsky Regional Recruitment Office. Yestai acquired a military specialty in a training regiment and went to the front in July 1942 to fight for Stalingrad. He distinguished himself in the battles aimed at protecting a base for military operations located on the right bank of the Dnieper river. On 6 October 1943 the military unit of Yestai Ishanov was deployed near the village of Medvin (Kiev region, Ukraine). On that day, the enemy sent two infantry regiments and four tanks to counterattack against the Soviet positions. Ishanov’s unit defeated two German tanks and pointed the guns towards fascists. During the fighting, all the Soviet soldiers went out from trenches. Yestai Ishanov was the only person who stayed near the five guns. Despite he was wounded, Yestai continued firing moving from one artillery gun to another. As mentioned in the award sheet, in that battle the Soviet military unit defeated three tanks, seven vehicles with ammunition and two infantry battalions. By the Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union of 17 October 1943 for the successful crossing of the Dnieper river, protection of the base located on the right bank of the Dniepr river and the heroism and courage shown Sergeant Yestai Ishanov was recognised as Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin and the Medal of Golden Star. After the battle of the Dnieper, Yestai Ishanov participated in the crossing of the Zapadnyi Bug and Vistula rivers. During the stubborn battles near the city of Sandomierz (Poland) Sergeant Yestai Ishanov defeated more than fifty German soldiers within three days. In the last battle he was seriously wounded. Yestai’s friends and fellow soldiers Lieutenant Ignatyev and Senior Lieutenant Zelov evacuated him from the battlefield. On 1 September 1944 Yestai Ishanov died in a hospital. The funeral of the Soviet hero turned into a march that brought together Soviet and Polish people. Thousands of people came to the ceremony to express their gratitude to the person who defended them. Yestai Ishanov was buried in the city Sandomierz (Poland). There is a monument to Yestai Ishanov in the city of Zhitikara. One of the streets in this city was named after him.
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