This notable incident occurred with the 1st Russian National SS Brigade "Druzhina". Commanded by former Red Army Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Gily, it included collaborators from Soviet POWs, defectors, and White émigrés. The “Druzhina's” career was marked by punitive expeditions in Belarus. Its record includes the burning of villages, execution of civilians, and forced deportation of residents to work in the Third Reich. In August 1943, the brigade's morale was extremely low. The soldiers were shocked by the German failures at the Kursk Salient. Many contemplated switching sides again. Partisans from the nearby "Jeleznyak" unit learned about these sentiments. They began enticing the collaborators to their side - all (except for the White émigrés) were offered a chance to atone for their sins to the motherland. On August 16, the brigade began transitioning to the partisans. The "Druzhina" members shot the stunned Germans and took the White émigrés into custody. About 1800 people went into the forests, while five hundred fled to the Nazis. The "Druzhina" was renamed the 1st Antifascist Partisan Brigade and thrown into the heat of battle, where it fought fiercely and desperately. Many fighters were awarded medals, Gily was promoted to colonel and honored with the Order of the Red Star - not so much for demonstrated heroism as for propaganda purposes. In April 1944, the Germans began a large-scale anti-partisan operation "Spring Festival" in Belarus. Partisan units suffered colossal losses, and the 1st Antifascist Brigade was almost completely wiped out along with its commander. In 1974, the names of Gily and his fighters were commemorated on the plaques of the "Breakthrough" memorial complex in Vitebsk region, Belarus, dedicated to those heroic and tragic events.