Elimelah Zelik Abramovich 
(1911– 25.08.1942)

Political worker. 
Born in Gogmel. He graduated from the school of metalworkers and began working at the plant in Kerch. Then he was sent to study at the Y.M. Sverdlov Communist University, and after graduation he became a cadre navy political worker. He began his service at the school of naval pilots, and then received an appointment as a pompoly on the famous icebreaking ship “A. Sibiryakov”, whose captain was A.A. Kacharava. 
"Sibiryakov" transported military goods, military units, delivered the wounded. To protect against German aircraft and submarines, four 76-mm and two 45-mm guns and several anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the ship. The team was replenished with naval gunners. 
In their last voyage, Siberians delivered cargo and a replacement crew for wintering workers at several polar stations, went to Dickson Island, and then went on. There were about 100 people on board. On August 25, 1942, the silhouette of a warship appeared on the horizon. The commander immediately informed the headquarters of the maritime operations of the appearance of a foreign vessel and asked the latter for its name. The answer was unintelligible, the ship raised the English flag, asked for information about the ice situation in the  Vilkitsky Strait and the location of the caravan of ships, which went from east to west. This seemed suspicious to Elimelah and Kacharava, and they decided to give the alarm. The foreign ship began to rapidly converge with the Sibiryakov, lowered the English, raised the German flag and ordered to stop on the radio and surrender. Then he opened sighting fire for intimidation. 
Kacharava hoped to get to Belukha Island and throw himself on the stones there, but the speed of the German raider was more than twice the speed of the Sibiryakov.A veteran of the Arctic, an old icebreaking ship entered an unequal battle with the German cruiser "Admiral Scheer". 
Admiral A.G. Golovko, the commander of the Northern Fleet during the war years, wrote about this fight: “In comparison with the heavily armed Nazi cruiser "Admiral Scheer", the icebreaking ship looked like a victim. But there were many Soviet courts in the Arctic, which were threatened with a meeting with Scheer. The Siberians knew that it was up to them to hold the enemy ship for some time, to inform the entire Soviet Arctic about it. They understood that they could do it only at the cost of their own lives. And they didn’t hesitate to make sure they died ... You can’t compare the battle of “Sheer” and “Sibiryakov” with the duel between Goliath and David.You can not even talk seriously about the fight or duel. It is more appropriate to compare the actions of Siberians with the feat of Alexander Matrosov. Only it was a collective feat and, therefore, it is especially expensive”.  
Already the first volleys of “Sheer” brought down the mast of “Sibiryakov”, the radio communication stopped. Then the ship’s artillery was destroyed, a fire broke out and holes appeared. Sailors fought with fire, restored radio communications, continued to shoot at the enemy, but soon all means of struggle were exhausted, most of the crew died. Kacharava ordered to lower the boats and open the Kingston, but at the moment when he gave the last order to the mechanic Bochurko, he was seriously wounded. In command entered Elimelah. The radio operator Shershavin managed to transmit the last radiogram to Dickson: “The pompolit ordered to leave the ship. We burn. Goodbye, 14 hours 05 minutes".

Elimelah supervised the loading of people into the boats. The wounded commander was lowered into one of them, a shell hit the second, and she fell over. "Sibiryakov" all in flames and smoke banked forward and began to sink quickly. The surviving Siberians shouted to Elimelah to jump into the water, and they would pick him up, but he ordered to immediately sail away from the sinking ship. The last thing the sailors saw were Elimelah and Bochurko standing on the stern of the battle flag raised up.Then everything was clouded by smoke. The boat returned to the place of death, but they found no one in the water. Elimelah fulfilled to the end his duty as a naval officer. He was not able to find out that the feat of “Sibiryakov” had disrupted the German naval operation “Wunderland”, whose task was to deliver an unexpected blow to the Soviet communications in the Arctic.