Lyudmila Pavlichenko
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Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko | |
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Native name |
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Birth name | Lyudmila Mikhailovna Belova |
Nickname(s) | Lady Death |
Born | 12 July [O.S. 29 June] 1916[1] Bila Tserkva, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) |
Died | 10 October 1974 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | (aged 58)
Buried | Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow |
Allegiance | Soviet Union |
Service/ | Red Army |
Years of service | 1941–1953 |
Rank |
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Unit | 25th Rifle Division |
Battles/wars |
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Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | Rostislav Pavlichenko[1] |
Other work | Soviet Committee of the Veterans of War |
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (
After she was injured in battle by a mortar shell, she was evacuated to Moscow.[5] After she recovered from her injuries, she trained other Red Army snipers and was a public spokeswoman for the Red Army. In 1942, she toured the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. After the war ended in 1945, she was reassigned as a senior researcher for the Soviet Navy. She died of a stroke at the age of 58.[2]
Early life and education
Lyudmila Belova was born in
In 1932, she married Alexei Pavlichenko, and gave birth to a son, Rostislav (1932–2007). However, the marriage was soon dissolved, and Lyudmila returned to live with her parents. She attended night school as well as performing household chores.
She enrolled at
World War II
In June 1941, Pavlichenko was aged 25 in her fourth year studying history at
Pavlichenko fought for about 2+1⁄2 months during the Siege of Odessa and is credited with killing 187 soldiers.[11] She was promoted to senior sergeant in August 1941, when she added 100 more kills to her official tally. At 25, she married a fellow sniper, Alexei Kitsenko.[5] Soon after the marriage, Kitsenko was mortally wounded by a mortar shell and died from his injuries a few days later in the hospital.[7]
When the Nazis and their Romanian allies overran Odessa on 15 October 1941, her unit was withdrawn by sea to
In June 1942, Pavlichenko was hit in the face with shrapnel from a mortar shell. When she was injured, the Soviet High Command ordered for her to be evacuated from Sevastopol via submarine.[13]
She spent around a month in the hospital.
Visits to Allied countries
In 1942, Pavlichenko was sent to Canada and the United States for a publicity visit as part of the
"I am proud to wear the uniform of the legendary red army. It has been sanctified by the blood of my comerades who've fallen in combat with the fascists."[15]
She was described by the reporters as very blunt and unemotional in her responses.[7]
Pavlichenko appeared before the International Student Assembly being held in Washington, DC, attended the meetings of the
On Friday 21 November 1942, Pavlichenko visited Coventry, England, accepting donations of £4,516 from local workers to pay for three X-ray units for the Red Army. She also visited the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, then the Alfred Herbert works and Standard Motor Factory, from where most funds had been raised. She had inspected a factory in Birmingham earlier in the day.[19]
Having been made an officer, Pavlichenko never returned to combat, instead becoming an instructor and training snipers until the war's end.
Later life
When the war ended, Pavlichenko finished her education at
Death and legacy
She died from a stroke on 10 October 1974 at 58 and was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Her son, Rostislav, is buried next to her.[citation needed]
A second Soviet commemorative stamp featuring her portrait was issued in 1976.[7]
In popular culture
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2023) |
The American folk singer Woody Guthrie composed a song ("Miss Pavlichenko") as a tribute to her war record and to memorialize her visits to the United States and Canada.[21][non-primary source needed] It was released as part of The Asch Recordings.[22][23][non-primary source needed]
Pavlichenko was a subject of the 2015 film Battle for Sevastopol (original Russian title, "Битва за Севастополь"). A joint Russian-Ukrainian production, it was released in both countries on 2 April 2015.[citation needed] Its international premiere took place two weeks later at the Beijing International Film Festival. It is a heavily romanticized version of her life, with several fictitious characters and many departures from the events related in her memoirs.[citation needed]
The first English language edition of her memoirs, Lady Death, was published by Greenhill Books in February 2018.[14] It has a foreword by Martin Pegler and is part of the Lionel Leventhal's Greenhill Sniper Library series.[24]
Pavlichenko's experiences during World War II, both in battle and on tour in the United States, are retold in Kate Quinn's 2022 novel The Diamond Eye.[25]
Awards and honours
- Hero of the Soviet Union (25 October 1943)
- Two Orders of Lenin (16 July 1942 and 25 October 1943)
- Two Medals "For Military Merit" (26 April 1942 and 13 June 1952)
- Campaign medals[26]
See also
- List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union
- Roza Shanina – World War II female sniper credited with 59 confirmed kills
- Lydia Litvyak – World War II female flying ace
- Snipers of the Soviet Union
- Juba (sniper)
References
- ^ a b c Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 160.
- ^ a b c d Lockie, Alex. "Meet the world's deadliest female sniper who terrorized Hitler's Nazi army". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ISBN 9781681442839.
- ^ "Meet the world's deadliest female sniper who terrorized Hitler's Nazi army". Business Insider.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Lady Death: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Greatest Female Sniper of All Time". mentalfloss.com. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ "Велика Вітчизняна Війна". 28 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o King, Gilbert (21 February 2013). "Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper". Smithsonian. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Pavlichenko, L. Lady Death: the Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper 2018 p.1 ISBN 9781784382704
- ^ ISBN 978-1841765983, page 31
- ISBN 9781784382704.
- ^ ISBN 978-1851097708, page 457
- ISBN 978-0-7603-3717-2. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Mankiller: Major Lyudmila Pavlichenko by Henry Sakaida 1 of 2". soviet-awards.com. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ a b Pavlichenko, Lyudmila; Pegler, Martin (5 February 2018). Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper. Greenhill Books. ASIN 1784382701.
- ^ a b c Ross, Greg (12 November 2018). "Podcast Episode 224: Lady Death". Futility Closet. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- TIME Magazine(Monday, 28 September 1942)
- ISBN 978-0415224031, page 268
- ISBN 9780359647798, page 83
- ^ The Coventry Evening Telegraph, Saturday November 21st 1942
- OCLC 829740681, retrieved 3 December 2011
- ^ "Miss Pavlichenko" dated to 1942 at [1] Archived 1 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hard Travelin': The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3,
- ^ "Amazon.com: Miss Pavlichenko: Woody Guthrie: MP3 Downloads". amazon.com.
- ^ "Greenhill Books". www.greenhillbooks.com. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ Kate Storey (2 May 2022). "#ReadWithMC Reviews 'The Diamond Eye'". Marie Claire Magazine. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ Simonov & Chudinova 2017, p. 164.
Bibliography
- OCLC 1019634607.
- Pavlichenko, Lyudmila; Pavlichenko (2018). Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper. Greenhill Books, London. ISBN 9785990960701.
External links
- Lyudmila Pavlichenko about snipers during the Great Patriotic War. Documentary filmed by the Soviet Central Television in 1973 and released in 1975
- Lyudmila Pavlichenko at Find a Grave