Maria Osipova is one of the legendary Soviet underground workers during the Great Patriotic War. She was an active participant in Operation Retribution, which resulted in the elimination of the General Commissioner of the occupied Belarus Wilhelm Cuba.
Biography: early years
Maria Borisovna Osipova (nee Sokovtsova) was born on December 27, 1908 in the Belarusian village of Serkovitsy, near Vitebsk. The parents were workers at a local glass factory. The family lived modestly. Maria went to work at the age of 13, which was the norm for that time. Like her parents, she began to work at a glass factory.
In parallel, Maria became the head of the regional pioneer organization, and then a delegate to the All-Union Congress of the Komsomol. Even then, she took an active part in the social and political life of her native village.
When Maria turned 25, she moved to Minsk and entered the Higher Communist Agricultural School. After graduation, she became a student at the law institute. After receiving her diploma, Maria began working at the Supreme Court of Belarus. She was predicted to have a good career. Then there was a year before the war.
Activities during the Second World War
On June 22, 1941, the Nazis treacherously occupied Belarus. The so-called governor was appointed Wilhelm Cuba. In the first days of the occupation, Maria, together with one of the teachers of the law institute, created the first underground group in Minsk to fight against fascism. Initially, it consisted of only 14 people.
The underground workers provided assistance to Soviet prisoners of war, distributed leaflets, hid Jews, and collected information about the Nazis. Osipova's group was also involved in sabotage operations. It was a dangerous job, but Maria did it well. In correspondence with the leaders of other underground groups, she was referred to as "Black".
In September 1943, Osipova brought a mine to Minsk, which was intended for Wilhelm Cuba. Risking her life, she hid it in a bag of lingonberries. A few days earlier, Maria convinced the Soviet intelligence officer Elena Mazanik, who served in Cuba's house, to plant a mine under his mattress. The explosive device went off, and on September 22, 1943, Hitler's governor was destroyed. For completing the operation, Osipova became a hero of the USSR.
After the war, Osipova remained to live in Minsk. In the period from 1947 to 1963, she was a people's deputy. In parallel, she worked as the deputy director of the Fundamental Library of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Personal life
Maria Borisovna was married to Yakov Osipov. She met him in 1924, during the sixth congress of the RKSM. The family had two children: daughter Tamara and son Yuri.
Yakov's husband was killed on November 2, 1941 during the battles for the Crimean peninsula. Maria did not remarry. She died on April 7, 1996. Her grave is located at the Minsk Eastern cemetery.
