Everything about Lyudmila Pavlichenko totally explained
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (
Ukrainian: Людмила Михайлівна Павліченко,
Russian: Людмила Михайловна Павличенко) (
July 12,
1916 –
October 10,
1974) was a
Ukrainian Soviet sniper during
World War II, credited with 309 kills.
Early life
Born in
Bila Tserkva on
July 12,
1916, Pavlichenko moved to
Kiev with her family at the age of fourteen. There she joined a shooting club and developed into a
sharpshooter, while working as a
grinder at the
Kiev Arsenal factory.
World War II
In June of
1941, 24-year old Pavlichenko was studying history at the
Kiev University when
Nazi Germany began its
invasion of the Soviet Union.
Pavlichenko was among the first round of volunteers at the recruiting office, where she requested to join the
infantry and subsequently she was assigned to the
Red Army's
25th Infantry Division.
There she became one of 2,000 female
snipers in the Red Army, of whom only about 500 ultimately survived the war. As a sniper, she made her first two kills near Belyayevka, using a
Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle with a P.E. 4-power scope.
Pvt. Pavlichenko fought for about two and a half months near
Odessa, where she recorded 187 kills. When the Germans gained control of Odessa, her unit was pulled to be sent to
Sevastopol on the
Crimean Peninsula. In May
1942, Lieutenant Pavlichenko was cited by the
Southern Army Council for killing 257 German soldiers. Her total confirmed kills during World War II was 309, including 36 enemy snipers.
In June 1942, Pavlichenko was wounded by
mortar fire. Because of her growing status, she was pulled from combat less than a month after recovering from her wound.
She was sent to
Canada and the
United States for a publicity visit and became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a
U.S. President when
Franklin Roosevelt welcomed her at the
White House. Later, Pavlichenko was invited by
Eleanor Roosevelt to tour America relating her experiences. She appeared before the
International Student Assembly being held in
Washington, D.C., and later attended
CIO meetings and made appearances and speeches in
New York City. The United States gave her a Colt automatic pistol, and in Canada, she was presented with a sighted
Winchester rifle, the latter of which is now on display at the
Central Museum of the Armed Forces in
Moscow. While visiting in
Canada along with Vladimir Pehelintsev (fellow sniper) and Nikolai Krasavchenko (Moscow fuel commissioner), they were greeted by thousands at
Toronto's Union Station.
Having attained the
rank of
Major, Pavlichenko never returned to combat but became an instructor and trained Soviet snipers until the war's end. In 1943, she was awarded the Gold Star of the
Hero of the Soviet Union, and was commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp.
After the War
After the war, she finished her education at
Kiev University and began a career as a
historian. From
1945 to 1953, she was a research assistant of the Chief HQ of the
Soviet Navy. She later was active in the Soviet Committee of the Veterans of War.
Pavlichenko died on
October 10,
1974 at age 58, and was buried in the
Novodevichye Cemetery in
Moscow.
In 1976, she was commemorated on a second Soviet postage stamp, and a Ukrainian cargo ship was named in her honor.
Further Information
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