Georgy Sakirich

Georgy Sakirich graduated from the Military Academy in Kyiv in 1905. In 1909, he was a lieutenant in the 7th Transcaspian Rifle Battalion. He was one of the best Russian fencers in the time before World War I and was an officer instructor at the Main Gymnastics and Fencing School in St. Petersburg. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, he competed in both sabre events but was eliminated in the first round. At the First Russian Olympiad in 1913 in Kyiv, he was the most successful fencer, winning three gold (individual foil, individual and team spadroon) and three silver medals (individual sabre, rifle fencing). At the Second Russian Olympiad one year later in Rīga, Sakirich won both events contested, individual foil and spadroon.

During World War I, Sakirich received the Order of St. Anna for bravery. In 1916, he attended the Gatchina Aviation School in 1916 and was promoted to captain at the Air Force Guard of the general staff. In 1918, Sakirich served in the Russian-Turkish border area during the Civil War and joined the 1st Kuban Aviation Detachment of the South Russian Army. His last rank was colonel before he emigrated to France, where he became commander of the district of National Organization of Russian Intelligence (NORR) in Vincennes, an organisation of Russian military emigrants. In official documents, he was listed as an artist. During World War II, Sakirich served as an interpreter at the headquarters of the German 9th Army since October 1941 and later as commander of one of the White Cross detachments in the German Wehrmacht. He was killed by Soviet scouts in 1942 on the highway near Bely in Tver oblast.