Fyodor Ivanovich Hramtsov was born on June 17th, 1955, and died tragically on October 26th, 2002, during the 'Nord-Ost' hostage crisis at the Dubrovka theater in Moscow.

Smiling, zealous, businesslike,
Always ready to render people assistance,
This trumpeteer from God with the clear head,
All of us will never forget you.

Your life just did not turn out right,
You worked, building your plans for the future,
When things were looking up your hope was dashed,
And you are in a coffin covered with flowers.

A ridiculous event, or fate?
The soul is in unbearable pain,
The sonorous trumpet is silenced forever,
As you were, helpless and wounded.

What did you think about during that terrible hour,
When you met the boney one with the scythe,
When you breathed with difficulty for the last time,
At your moment of death on a Saturday dawn?

Involuntarily my tears bid my eyes farewell,
But you never lost your spirit -
You will be forever in our memory,
Let the damp earth for you be soft as down!