Vasily Zaitsev

Soviet sniper (1915-1991)

  • Fame61.3
  • Momentum16.2
  • Wikipedia42.3K
Source-basedRising
Lived 1915–1991, aged 76
WritersWriter / Author
  • Wikipedia
    51 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1915–1991
    Aged 76
  • Awards
    19
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-12

A Soviet sniper who killed 225 German soldiers in two months during the Battle of Stalingrad — a tally that made him a wartime legend and the central figure in a 2001 Hollywood film.

Biography

About

Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev was born 23 March 1915 and served as a sniper in World War II. Between 22 September and 19 October 1942, he killed 40 enemy soldiers; then, from 10 October through 17 December during the grinding fight for Stalingrad, he killed 225 more. The Soviet Union made him a Hero, and his wartime exploits became the spine of William Craig's 1973 book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which in turn became the 2001 film of the same name, with Jude Law playing Zaitsev. David L. Robbins featured him again in the 1999 novel War of the Rats. He died 15 December 1991, d…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Vasily Zaitsev

Vasily Zaitsev
saidundated
The arrival of the Nazi sniper set us a new task. We had to find him, study habits and methods, and patiently await the moment for one, and only one, well-aimed shot.
Quoted in "The Sniper at War: From the American Revolutionary War to the Present Day" - Page 67 - by Michael E. Haskew - History - 2005.
Vasily Zaitsev
saidundated
There was no ground for us beyond [the] Volga.
Quoted in "Notes of a Sniper: For us There is no Land Beyond the Volga" - Zaytsev,Vasily - Vladivostok:Moscow/2826 Press Inc.
Vasily Zaitsev
saidundated
The duel went on for three days, but it ended in our victory in a matter of seconds. The German was well prepared for it. He had liquidated two Soviet snipers before that.
Quoted in "The Voice of Russia," Copyright 2002.
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By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
61.3
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum16.2
Historical25.5
Now attention11.6
Source confidence60.0
Completeness60.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence