Murzakhmetov Balgabai was born on October 11, 1925 in the village of Karakalpak, now in the Auliekolsky district of Kostanay region. In 1943, he was drafted into the Red Army. He fought on the third and then the Fourth Ukrainian Fronts, participated in the liberation of Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Later he participated in the capture of Konigsberg, as well as in the war with Japan. After the end of the war, he continued to serve in the ranks of the Soviet Army in the Far East. He was demobilized in 1948. In April 1948, he started working as a remote track adjuster at Tobol station. Later he was appointed foreman. He achieved a “velvet” track on his section with high operational efficiency and full train safety. During his work, he traveled more than 60,000 kilometers along his site. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 2, 1981, Balgabai Murzakhmetov was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal for outstanding industrial achievements, early fulfillment of the tasks of the Tenth Five-year plan and socialist obligations. He continued to work as a foreman until his retirement in 1990. Together with his wife, he raised nine children. He died on January 3, 2014.
He was awarded 2 Orders of Lenin (02/28/1974; 04/02/1981), Orders of the Patriotic War II degree (03/11/1985), the Red Banner of Labor (08/04/1966), medals, including “For the capture of Budapest”, “For the capture of Konigsberg”, the badge “Honorary Railway Worker”.
