Zaurbek Dzitiev  

(1862-1912) 

Holder of 3 St.George Crosses, officer of the Russian Army.  

Zaurbek Dzitiev was born in 1862. He became regular officer of the Russian Army, participated in Russia-Japan and the First World wars. He was awarded repeatedly for his feats of arms. We do not possess detailed evidence of the battles he was fighting in but we presume that those combats were in no way easy and feats were heroic once he became the holder of the three St.George crosses. Zaurbek Dzitiev was courageous, kind and unusually fair. Here is one fact from his biography where all these traits manifested themselves. 

It was in his young years in the Kurtatinsky canyon. He was returning to Tzimiti from the plain part of Ossetia and all of a sudden, near Dzivgis, he saw the gang stealing the cattle belonging to the Kanukovs. He decided to act immediately. Realizing that he is alone against the whole gang and the fighting will be unequal he made up his mind to take the cattle away from them and return it to the owners. The fighting began, Zaurbek got wounded but never gave up. Killing two bandits and making the rest of them run, getting over the pain, he turned the cattle back and passed it to the Kanukovs near Barzikau. 

Obviously, only a man with immense courage and bravery can act like this. 

It is worth adding that Zaurbek had another passion which was rather unusual in the military environment. He was part of the Ossetian youth musical ensemble which traveled all across Europe in 1900 and was performing successfully in France, Germany, Denmark. These talents coupled with impeccable service to the Motherland make this man outstanding.  

Based on the book “SONS OF MOTHERLAND” by G.T.Dzagurova  

Translated by Andrei Varava