Vladimir “Priest” Pletnev is a fan of the football club “Metalist” (Kharkiv), a representative of the team “Young Patriots”.
Vladimir Yurievich Pletnev was born on February 19, 1999 in the city of Kharkiv. He studied at the city secondary school №37. After school, he entered the history faculty of the Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after him. Grigory Skovoroda, who graduated in 2020. University friends and teachers remember the guy as an active, quick-witted and cheerful young man who breathed every moment of life with his full chest. He was active in sports, engaged in archery, athletics, basketball and boxing.
As a child, he read a lot, and the best gift for him was books. He had his own small library: encyclopedias, historical and patriotic books. According to the memories of relatives, from the first grades of school Vladimir was fascinated by history. Especially the history of Ukraine and the Cossacks. He could talk for hours about historical events and the lives of individuals. Loved animals and travel very much. As a teenager, he could collect a backpack and go to the forest, or to the fields for a whole day.
He began to be interested in football in 2012. Then it was greatly influenced by the European Championship. Important matches at home were watched by the whole family. In 2017, he joined the team “Young Patriots”, which was created by senior teammates from Kharkiv City Patriots, and invited promising young people from among the fan community of the city. Over the next two years, Vladimir managed to take part in several football confrontations, where he showed himself from the best side. Through sports and the fan movement, he found loyal friends.
One of the close friends recalls the football story: - “I remember one funny story. It was an arranged meeting with the team of fans of Kyiv “Dynamo”. Almost all the guys then fought for the 1st or 2nd time, no one had any experience, but Volod had already had the 4th fight, so he had an understanding of what was happening. At some point, I saw that almost all of our guys were at the bottom, and there was such a feeling that we had to stop. Having run my eyes over the “meadow”, I met with a glance with Volodya. He was lying on his back, on his side were two rivals who tried to beat him, and he covered his head and lay as if on the beach. Closing his head from blows with his hands, he looked at me and smiled as if he was not in a fight now, but really on the beach.”
Courage and determination in fights did not interfere with success in training. Independently prepared for entering the budget. As a teenager, he began to make money to be independent. Family occupied an important place in his life and was of great value to him. Those close to him remember Vladimir as a dreamer, but note that he was able to set goals and achieve them.
With the beginning of the war in the East in 2014, I wanted to volunteer, but had to wait for adulthood. Then Vladimir took part in trips to the ATO zone and volunteer actions. He dreamed of becoming a real Warrior, like ancestors - Cossacks. He continued to study and improve his skills in sports and self-development, in order to get to “Azov”, which by that time had already become legendary.
The dream came true in 2019, having shown himself to be one of the best during the passage of the KMB, “Priest” got into a separate reconnaissance detachment of the Azov regiment. He was a machine gunner in reconnaissance (GRSP). Having also the skills of a medic, he was one of the best fighters of the unit. He managed to participate in the life of the fan team, even after entering the service.
In the first hours of a full-scale war, “Priest” performed a combat mission in the direction of Shyrokyny, his group was the first to meet the enemy. On February 24, he suffered a bullet wound to the head. The brothers provided assistance and evacuated to the hospital, where Vladimir Pletnev died the next morning. On August 23, 2023, a memorial plaque was opened on the building of the school in which Vladimir studied.
