The name of Nadezhda Savchenko became known to the whole world when the military pilot was captured by the rebels from the south-east of Ukraine, and by court order she was sent to a Russian prison. Two years later, she returned to her homeland on the personal plane of the Ukrainian president and soon took the deputy chair in the Verkhovna Rada.
Today, some perceive Nadezhda as a strong political figure and a possible presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, while others believe that her career ended after Savchenko was taken into custody, accusing her of trying to seize state power in Ukraine.
Childhood and youth
Nadia was born in 1981 in the Ukrainian capital. The girl's parents had a difficult fate, they achieved everything in life by their own labor. My father spent the war years at the machine, and in peacetime he worked as an engineer of agricultural machinery. The mother's family was dispossessed and sent to the Kolyma. She worked as a seamstress, got married late and gave birth to two daughters, the eldest of whom was Nadezhda.
From an early age, the girl showed love for everything national. She spoke Russian well, but preferred to communicate in her native language. Even her parents chose a school with teaching in Ukrainian, the only one in the region. After graduation, the girl received the education of a fashion designer. Further searches for her place in life led her to the Faculty of Journalism of Kiev University and to the intimate telephone service. Nadya began her military career as a radio operator of the railway troops, followed by contract service in the airmobile troops. The girl was baptized by fire as part of the coalition forces in Iraq.
But from childhood, Nadia's dream remained the desire to operate a combat aircraft, so after returning home, she became a student at the Kharkov Air Force University. She was expelled twice as “unfit to fly”, but both times she was restored, and in 2009 she received a navigator's diploma. She spent tens of hours at the helm of a Su-24 aircraft and a Mi-24 helicopter, making 45 parachute jumps.
To participate in the anti-terrorist operation, Nadezhda went to the southeast of the country as part of the Aydar volunteer battalion. Colleagues gave her the nickname "Bullet". The girl's biography took a sharp turn after she was captured by the fighters of the self-proclaimed LPR during the operation to eliminate the Aydarites. There was information that Savchenko served as a spotter and was directly related to the murder of people. A Russian court accused her of illegally crossing the border and involvement in the liquidation of journalists. She spent two years in custody, but the hunger strike and public demonstrations did not help. The court appointed her a long prison term, but she was able to return to Ukraine very soon, in 2016. This happened after the two states exchanged prisoners of war.
Political career
At home, Nadezhda was greeted cordially. The Batkivshchyna Party gave the Hero of Ukraine the first place on its list, and after the elections Savchenko received a deputy mandate. She announced her desire to run for president almost immediately after her return. And six months later, she declared herself a politician, independent of factions, and presented a plan for the return of Donbass. Nadezhda repeatedly visited the conflict zone, met and tried to negotiate with the leaders of the LPR and DPR. Such actions have caused outrage on the part of the ruling authorities. According to Savchenko's personal statement, the country's supreme legislative body removed the right of immunity from her. After that, she led a new opposition party, and once again confirmed her intention to participate in the presidential elections in 2019.
How he lives now
Today Nadezhda is in the Kiev pre-trial detention center. The country's security service accused the oppositionist of organizing a coup and preparing a terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada. According to Ukrainian law, she faces a prison sentence up to life imprisonment. In protest, the girl began a dry hunger strike, which, according to relatives, severely undermined her own health.
All these years Savchenko stood out with an ascetic lifestyle. At the same time, for many Ukrainians, it remains a symbol of national victory. Perhaps Nadezhda will soon take on a new political height, and a real, strong man will appear in her personal life, with whom she will experience the joy of motherhood.
