Plotnikova Marina Vladimirovna (1974-1991) - the heroine of Russia. Shortly before her death, she managed to get a certificate of graduation from a rural school. She drowned while rescuing three children who nearly sank in the river.
Biography
Was born on May 11, 1974 in the small village of Zubrilovo (Penza region) in a large family. The girl's mother Tatyana Nikolaevna single-handedly raised 6 children: Elena, Zhanna, Sergei, Alexander, Vladimir, Natalia and Marina, who was the third heir in a friendly family.
She took part in the life of Zubrilovo and secondary school, was hardworking and a little uncommunicative, moderately open. She was happy to study with lagging classmates and students of elementary grades, the schoolgirl was the right hand of her class teacher, Valentina Mikhailovna Mizina. Shortly before her death, she graduated from the eleventh grade, a record of this was preserved in her personal diary: “When will cardinal changes come in my fate? Probably, I dream about it in vain. Now I'm in the last grade, but everything seems to be in the sixth or fifth grade. When I get my high school diploma and go to enroll, no, for sure, I will soon begin to miss home. Soon, I will pick up the documents from the university and come to my native place."
Fateful day
Summer turned out to be extremely hot, children escaped the heat every day by swimming in the big river Khoper. Most often they swam near an old mill, where the river begins to bend, and in the very center, a small island with colorful sand banks and spreading branches of trees is clearly visible. You can easily get to the island by swimming, but near the coast people are waiting for steep slopes and waterways, because of them accidents occur on sunny days.
On June 30, a rural girl Natalya Vorobyova and two sisters of Plotnikova bathed in a cool river near the sandy shore. Towards evening Marina came to the place where the children were frolicking, before leaving she said to her grandmother: "I will go and wash my head." Suddenly Natalia Vorobyova began to move further from the sandy shore, found herself at a great depth and began to sink under the water. Marina Vladimirovna became scared for the child, the girl rushed after Vorobyova and managed to push her to the tall bushes. Plotnikova looked back and realized that the younger sisters, worried about her, rushed to save her. Zhanna and Elena got into a fast whirlpool and began to go to the bottom. Marina saved the children, but having become very weak, she was unable to get out of the Khoper River. She found eternal peace in her homeland.
After the tragedy
The terrible death of young Marina, who saved 3 minors from the Khoper River, received a wide response and was actively discussed in the Zubrilov media for more than a year, as well as among fellow villagers. Marina's heroic deed was compared to the exploits of children and adolescents during the Second World War.
By the decree of the head of state Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin "for the courage and perseverance shown during the rescue of underage citizens", Plotnikova was awarded the Order of the Hero of the Russian Federation. A resident of the village of Zubrilovo became the very first girl and the sixth in the history of Russia to receive this title (three pilots and two cosmonauts received the order before Marina).
Everlasting memory
1. On September 3, 2004, the school that the girl graduated from was named after her, but, unfortunately, the educational institution has not been working for 4 years.
2. On July 29, 2016, a bust dedicated to Marina Plotnikova was unveiled.
