With 242 Kills In Four Months, Soviet Sniper Vasily Zaytsev Was A Nazi-Killing Machine. Vasily Zaytsev was one of Russia's most skilled marksmen and decorated snipers who was immortalized in Enemy at the Gates . Vasily Zaytsev grew up in the Ural Mountains, some of the roughest inhabited terrain there is. Lacking the luxury of going down to the deli to pick up meat, Zaytsev became acquainted with the finer points of marksmanship from a young age, hunting deer and other animals for food. Wikimedia CommonsVasily Zaytsev in action during the Battle of Stalingrad. When Germany betrayed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, Zaytsev joined the rest of his countrymen in taking up arms to defend the motherland. He initially served as a Navy clerk, but rather than sit out the war filing papers while his rifle collected dust, Zaytsev requested a transfer to the front lines. His wish was granted and he joined a rifle regiment that would soon be an integral ...