Raqymjan Qoshqarbaev (Kazakh: Рақымжан Қошқарбаев, Raqımjan Qoşqarbaev; Russian: Рахимжан Кошкарбаев, romanized Rahimžan Koškarbaěv; 19 October 1924 – 10 August 1988) was a Soviet soldier, who was the first soldier to raise the Soviet Flag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, having placed the flag by a staircase in the opera hall after sneaking into the building.

However, by 2 May the Soviets retook control of the building and raised the flag again, bringing photographer Yevgeny Khaldei with them to capture a reenactment of the historic moment.

[3] Immediately after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 Qoshqarbaev attempted to join the Red Army but was initially rejected because he was only sixteen years old at the time.

He was then sent for officer training at the Tambov All-Commander Infantry School, which he graduated from with honors before being sent to the Eastern Front as a junior lieutenant in October 1944.

After nightfall the artillery fire eventually died down and under the cover of darkness Mikhail Minin along with Aleksey Bobrov, Bulatov, and Qoshqarbaev raised the flag over the Reichstag.

Many suspected the reason for his not receiving the award was the fact his father had been declared an enemy of the people, which was later proven by the release of the Republic of Kazakhstan President's Archives in 1994.