Tuta: Yakutia's Hero of Russia who survived six days

Andrey Grigoryev, whose callsign is Tuta, became the 10th Hero of Russia from Yakutia. Vladimir Putin presented him with the award in January 2025. Tuta drew wide attention after a shocking video of a hand-to-hand fight that the Yakutian won. People struck by Grigoryev«s strength called him “the Yakut Rambo.” How he survived six days of hell, breathed water, why he cried like a child, and what he discussed with a Hollywood star — read in this article by 14.RU.

Who is Tuta?

Andrey Grigoryev was born on 12 May 1989 in the tiny village of Kirov in the Nyurba District of Yakutia — barely more than 250 people live there today. As a child he loved the exact sciences, especially mathematics. When Grigoryev was little, friends called him Tatalei; at school the nickname turned into Tatu, but his older brother told him that was actually the name of a girls« pop group, and so the nickname became Tuta.

He grew up in a large family — Tuta was the ninth child. He has four sisters and four brothers. When young Andrey was in the 6th grade, the head of the Grigoryev family died after a long illness, and the care of the children fell entirely on his mother. By Tuta«s recollection, his mother raised them strictly; sometimes even the cord from an electric water boiler came into play.

— We [the brothers and sisters] never argued with our mother. Mother is mother, and largely it was she who made me a normal person. I always reported to her and tried not to come home late, because she always waited for us by the window and sometimes could not sleep at all, — Tuta recalled in an interview with the SVOI project. — From early childhood I knew that mother and the Motherland are sacred.

Young Andrey«s father ran a peasant farm, keeping cows. He also managed to teach his sons the finer points of hunting and fishing so well that Tuta was already hunting ducks on his own in the second grade, and sometimes hares too.

After school Grigoryev trained as a driver-mechanic, served in the army and went to work as a tractor driver. A little later he married a girl named Oktyabrina, and they became parents of five children.

— I am very grateful to my wife; she is such a great woman. I have two boys and three little angel daughters. I am very proud of them. When I signed the contract, my youngest son cried and said: “Dad, make sure you come back alive.” That motivation helped me a lot. Every time I went on an assault or a combat mission, they [the family] were constantly worried. My wife made pancakes every morning and fed the spirits, — said the Hero of Russia.

Grigoryev signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence in 2024. He served in the 39th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District.

He cried like a little child: the six-day hell

On 16 November 2024, Andrey Grigoryev and a fellow soldier set off on motorcycles on a combat mission — to plant a Russian flag in the Donetsk village of Trudovoye. As soon as they arrived, machine-gun fire opened up on them; Tuta«s friend was killed instantly, and the Yakutian himself was pursued.

— Well, thank God, I took one out straight away with my assault rifle, then a kamikaze drone hit me; I got confused and tried to find shelter, and a concrete storeroom caught my eye, — Tuta said in an interview with the WarGonzo media project. — I went in there, already wounded in the ear and eye. I stood there trying to bandage myself, but then one of the enemies came up and started telling me to surrender, promising they would feed me well and treat me. It turned out he was stalling for time and waiting for another drone.

To frighten the enemy, Grigoryev said reinforcements would soon arrive, but in the end he had to fight. The Ukrainian soldier opened fire on the building and threw grenades, and then it came to hand-to-hand combat.

— It was frightening there, of course. He [the enemy] was much bigger than me. I tried to pull out my knife at once, but he was holding my hand; I pulled it out and struck, but with the first blow I wounded myself, because the knife was slippery and covered in blood, — Tuta recalled.

In that struggle he even had to bite his enemy. The Hero of Russia noted that he had to do it because he understood only one of them would survive the fight.

— We both knew that, because in such fights only one survives. Either him or me. So I had to win and survive by any means, — Grigoryev says.

During the fight the Ukrainian soldier shouted loudly and called for help, while Tuta, by contrast, gritted his teeth and kept fighting in silence. He admitted that he knew the area was held by the enemy and that no reinforcements would come (his comrades were 5–6 km from the scene), so he had to fight for his life in silence so as not to draw more enemies.

Tuta managed to win. After the fierce fight the Yakutian went into his shelter and took off his body armour as no longer needed — it had been torn to shreds, and his helmet also had to be put aside. The wound had made his ear swell badly, and the gear simply would not fit.

The brief respite quickly ended, and the enemy attacked. Six Ukrainian soldiers went after Grigoryev and pelted his shelter with grenades.

— I did not say a word. I just hid, hid and hid. I was jittery, but I sat in silence. Then the Ukrainian commander asked whether I was alive. I stayed silent. One of them went to check, and I took him out at once, — says the Yakutian.

In response, Tuta was again pelted with grenades. And again one of the enemies went to check whether they had managed to kill Grigoryev, but Tuta again opened fire and badly wounded his opponent.

Some time later the Ukrainians ran out of grenades and left, but not before setting the building on fire; there were many rags and books inside, so the fire spread quickly. To save himself, Tuta literally lay face-down in a puddle so as not to suffocate from the smoke, and breathed next to the water.

Another brief respite followed. A little later Grigoryev set fire to and destroyed enemy depots and vehicles — all of it under fire. Then the Yakutian decided to make his way back to his own, but he had to do it as carefully as possible.

— On 21 November I dreamed of my wife and daughter. It was as if we were talking on the phone, and the time on the screen was 14:26. When I woke up, I realised I had no phone. A little later I decided to move back to another place; I sat for a long time and was afraid. And when I started moving, I looked at my watch and saw the time — 14:26, — says Tuta.

He crawled to another place; drones fired at him along the way and people even passed by. Tuta was lucky: no one noticed him, but he had to crawl for a long time. Along the way he found water. From exhaustion the man drifted off to sleep from time to time, and in one of those moments he dreamed of his children.

— All five children are sitting next to me. Here in the rain. And they all seem to be very cold — it was like reality. And I sit and say to them: “Children, don«t be afraid, we»ll survive somehow.” I dreamed I was calming them; my youngest was very cold, shaking all over, and I tried to warm my son and daughter with my body. I also told them that tomorrow we would decide to run from here, that today it would not work — the rain, — Tuta recalls. — And my eldest son says to me that we can«t tomorrow, we have to today, because the younger ones are very cold.

Tuta woke up. And decided that, come what may, he would crawl on. At that time there were again enemy attacks. On 22 November Grigoryev heard unfamiliar speech near one of the buildings.

— I tried to listen, but they were not speaking Russian. The wind was still noisy, so I was afraid it might be mercenaries or Ukrainians. So I went on and entered some two-storey building, then I hear someone speaking behind me; I turned round, and there was my friend standing there. It turned out those people had been speaking Yakut, and I hadn«t even realised! As soon as I saw my friend, I started crying like a little child, — Tuta recalls.

What next?

After a long recovery from his wounds, Andrey Grigoryev returned to civilian life to start over. Back home he was greeted with full honours and showered with gifts, and the brave Yakutian«s name was not forgotten in popular culture either.

Thus the Ayar publishing house released a comic (18+) about his feat of arms, and artists painted his portrait on the wall of a residential building in Yakutsk. That is not all: the head of the republic, Aysen Nikolayev, announced the shooting of a film about Grigoryev.

— The creative team has already been formed. Mikhail Lukachevsky is the director. The team is now taking part in a competition held by the Cinema Foundation. I also met with Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and said that if we are entrusted with making this film, then of course we will make a film that will be the pride of the republic, — said Il Darkhan (the head of Yakutia).

The Yakutian also met Hollywood actor Steven Seagal in Moscow, a month after receiving the high award. According to TASS, their meeting took place during a gathering with a Russian Foreign Ministry representative for Russian-American humanitarian ties. Tuta and Seagal talked about the special military operation and hand-to-hand combat. Photos from the meeting spread across the internet, and many joked that the actor had met his idol.

Among Tuta«s admirers was actress and TV presenter Maria Shukshina, who said at one event that Tuta should be sent to the State Duma.

— First, I have a suggestion: Tuta should go to the State Duma, I think. Because these people cannot pour out their voices like a loud nightingale, but we, the people, don«t need that. And we don»t need populist words. We need deeds, and people like this, it seems to me, could raise and revive our country, — said Maria Shukshina.

Also very glad to meet the Yakut Rambo was the governor of the Transbaikal region, Alexander Osipov.

— I waited a long time for the chance to meet Andrey Grigoryev, and at last we managed to talk in Yakutia. <…>. I am very proud to have been honoured to have my photo taken with such a man, — the Transbaikal governor wrote on his Telegram channel.

The authorities did not forget to give material tokens of the republic«s gratitude either. Grigoryev will receive a three-room apartment in Nyurba — it is to be handed over with the renovation already done — and he was also given a plot of land in his native ulus (district).

Tuta himself recently registered the trademark “Tuuta” — he will produce souvenirs and specialised products. The patent will be valid until 12 April 2035. The registered mark is in white and black and protects the brand, including in the manufacture of knives and clothing and in advertising and commercial services.