Background
Nikolai was born on 14 May in 1922 in the village Popovka now Rossoshansky district of the Voronezh region in a peasant family.
Nikolai was born on 14 May in 1922 in the village Popovka now Rossoshansky district of the Voronezh region in a peasant family.
Nikolai studied at Rossoshansk Pedagogical School in Rossoshansk, Voronezh region, Russia.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the military commissariat sent him to the Kharkov Artillery School. However he did not have time to finish his studies, so was sent to the front.
After the war, he graduated from the Military Academy of Armored Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Y. Malinovsky.
From 1939 to 1940 he studied at Voronezh teacher's institute, Physics, and mathematics in Voronezh, Russian Federation.
He met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in Kharkov, where he'd studied. Soon he was sent to the front.
His first battle took place at Putivl (Ukraine). Then he was sent to study at an artillery school in the Uzbek SSR. After graduation, he received the rank of lieutenant and was sent to the North-Western Front. He became the commander of the battery of the 350th separate fighter battalion.
In March 1943, he was wounded for the first time.
November 17, 1943 in the battle for the village of Svidovok Cherkassy region of Ukraine, the enemy counterattacked by 10 tanks and a reinforced battalion of infantry. Thanks to skilful actions of the senior lieutenant N.K. Gorbanev all counterattacks of the enemy were foiled. The artillerymen under his command destroyed 7 tanks and 1 machine gun, up to 80 enemy soldiers and officers. During counterattack of the enemy, personally raised the personnel of the artillery battery in the attack, carrying the infantry behind him. For his actions he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
April 5, 1944 in the battle of the city of Iasi (Romania) he participated in the defense of nine counterattacks of the enemy. Thanks to his heroic actions, it was possible to repulse all counter-attacks, and helped three battalions of infantry to leave the encirclement, retaining living force and weapons. In this battle, the artillery battery of Captain Gorbanev destroyed 4 tanks, 5 armored personnel carriers, and 7 machine guns.
In total, 12 tanks, 1 self-propelled gun, 12 armored personnel carriers, 8 guns of different caliber, 21 machine guns, and up to 500 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed in the battles from the Dnieper River to the Prut River under his leadership.
After the war, he continued his service in the Red Army.
Since 1951, he served at the headquarters of the Central Group of Soviet Forces (Austria).
Since 1955, he became the commander of the tank regiment of the Belarusian Military District (the city of Borisov), since 1961 - the chief of staff of the tank division in the Belarusian Military District.
Since 1967, he took a position of the commander of the motorized rifle division, the Transcaucasian Military District.
From 1974 to 1984, he was the head of the Kazan Suvorov Military School.
Since 1984 - in the reserve. Worked in the republican headquarters of the Civil Defense of Belarus.
Since 1991, he had been retired. He led a great patriotic work.
He lived in Minsk. He died on March 20, 2012. He was buried at East (Moscow) cemetery in Minsk.
He was a member of the Commuist Party of the Soviet Union.