Rakhimzhan Qoshqarbaev

Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev was a Soviet soldier who was the first to raise the flag of the Soviet Union at the Reichstag building in Berlin, placing it by a staircase in the opera hall after sneaking into the building. After nightfall Qoshqarbaev and several of his comrades raised the flag on the roof. However, because they had raised the flag in the night when it was too dark to take a photo, none of them were part of the iconic photo of Soviet soldiers raising the flag on 2 May. After the raising of the flag on 30 April it was shot down by German snipers shortly before the Wehrmacht briefly retook control of the building. However, by 2 May the Soviets retook control of the building and raised the flag again, bringing photographer Yevgeny Khaldei with them to capture a reenactment of the historic moment.