Lyudmila Pavlichenko is a famous female sniper who killed 309 Germans. He is a Hero of the Soviet Union. In the West, she was nicknamed "Colt Woman" and "Lady Death".
Biography
Lyudmila was born in Belaya Tserkov (Kiev region) on July 12, 1916. Her father was an employee, then he became an officer of the NKVD. The mother was of noble origin. Since the 30s, the family began to live in Kiev.
As a child, Lyudmila wanted to become a teacher, after school she entered the university. While still a high school student, Luda began to work at the factory. She was a turner, and then she became a draftsman.
Young people then tried to get military specialties, and the girl decided to go to a shooting circle. She successfully passed all the standards, then Lyudmila was called to the sniper school, where she became an excellent student. At the beginning of the war, Pavlichenko was in Odessa. She did an internship, wrote a diploma.
Hearing that the war had begun, the girl went to the military registration and enlistment office, she was called to the front. But there she was without a rifle, the recruits were not given weapons. Then they gave her the rifle of the deceased soldier, in the first battle the girl distinguished herself with well-aimed shots. On the first day of the defense of Odessa, Lyudmila killed 16 Germans in 15 minutes. Later Pavlichenko received a sniper rifle.
Then the troops withdrew to Sevastopol. Pavlichenko was there for 8 months, participated in hostilities. In total, she was at the front for 1 year, was wounded, shell-shocked, and then she trained snipers. In 1942, Lyudmila was awarded a medal, and in 1943 she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1942, Pavlichenko was in America, where she became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. Lyudmila made a speech to the Americans who "hid behind her back for too long." Many times Pavlichenko was asked the question of how she managed to destroy so many Germans in cold blood. Lyudmila said that a good friend of hers died in front of her eyes, and she became imbued with hatred of the Nazis.
Later Pavlichenko wrote an autobiography, where she said that hatred taught her to shoot accurately. What she saw in the war turned the woman's mind upside down. After the Victory, Lyudmila finished her studies, became a researcher at the military headquarters, and led social activities. Pavlichenko died in 1974.
Personal life
At the age of 15, Lyudmila had an affair with Alexei Pavlichenko, who was older than her. Lyudmila found herself in a position, many were whispering about the pregnancy of the schoolgirl. Then Pavlichenko did not really want to remember this. Lyudmila's father, who became an NKVD officer, insisted that the young people sign. In 1932, their boy Rostislav was born. But the marriage turned out to be fleeting, Lyudmila returned home. She did not like to remember her first husband.
During the war, Pavlichenko met with Lieutenant Kitsenko. They were going to get married, but the man died. After the war, Lyudmila's husband was Konstantin Shevelev. In this marriage, she did not give birth to children.
