Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Encyclopedia
Lyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko (July 12, 1916 – October 10, 1974) was a Soviet sniper
during World War II
, credited with 309 kills, and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history.
town of Belaya Tserkov (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
. In 1937 as a student of Kiev University
she successfully defended her master-thesis on Bohdan Khmelnytsky
.
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 Rifle Division; Pavlichenko had the option to become a nurse but refused; "I joined the army when woman were not yet accepted". There she became one of 2,000 female sniper
s in the Red Army, of whom 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, where she fought for more than 8 months. 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.
Pavlichenko 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. While meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C.
she was dumbfounded about the kind of questions put to her. "One reporter even criticized the length of the skirt of my uniform, saying that in America women wear shorter skirts and besides my uniform made me look fat". Pavlichenko 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 Armed Forces Museum
in Moscow
. While visiting in Canada
along with Vladimir Pchelintsev (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.
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
.
A second Soviet commemorative stamp featuring Lyudmila Pavlichenko's portrait was issued in 1976.
as a tribute to her war record and to memorialize her visits to the United States and Canada. It was released as part of the Asch Recordings..
Soviet sniper
Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II, apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts. In World War II, Soviet snipers used the 7.62x54R rifle cartridge with light, heavy, armour-piercing , armour-piercing-and-incendiary ,...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, credited with 309 kills, and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history.
Early life
Born in the UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
town of Belaya Tserkov (Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
) on July 12, 1916, Pavlichenko moved to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
with her family at the age of fourteen. There she joined a shooting club and developed into a sharpshooter
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
, while working as a grinder at the Kiev Arsenal factory
Kiev Arsenal factory
State enterprise of a special instrumentation Arsenal , for brevity Arsenal Factory, is one of the oldest and most famous industrial factories of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.-Pre-1918:...
. In 1937 as a student of Kiev University
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
she successfully defended her master-thesis on Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
.
World War II
In June 1941, 24-year old Pavlichenko was in her fourth year of studying history at the Kiev University when Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
began its invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Pavlichenko was among the first round of volunteers at the recruiting office, where she requested to join the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and subsequently she was assigned to the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's 25th Rifle Division; Pavlichenko had the option to become a nurse but refused; "I joined the army when woman were not yet accepted". There she became one of 2,000 female sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s in the Red Army, of whom about 500 ultimately survived the war. As a sniper, she made her first two kills near Belyayevka, using a Mosin-Nagant
Mosin-Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations....
bolt action rifle with a P.E. 4-power scope.
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, where she recorded 187 kills. When the Germans gained control of Odessa, her unit was pulled to be sent to Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
on the Crimean Peninsula, where she fought for more than 8 months. 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
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire. Because of her growing status, she was pulled from combat less than a month after recovering from her wound.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Later, Pavlichenko was invited by Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
to tour America relating her experiences. While meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
she was dumbfounded about the kind of questions put to her. "One reporter even criticized the length of the skirt of my uniform, saying that in America women wear shorter skirts and besides my uniform made me look fat". Pavlichenko appeared before the International Student Assembly being held in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and later attended CIO
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
meetings and made appearances and speeches in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The United States gave her a Colt automatic pistol, and in Canada, she was presented with a sighted Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
, the latter of which is now on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum
Central Armed Forces Museum
The Central Armed Forces Museum also known as the Museum of the Soviet Army, is located in northern Moscow near the Red Army Theater.-History:...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. While visiting in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
along with Vladimir Pchelintsev (fellow sniper) and Nikolai Krasavchenko (Moscow fuel commissioner), they were greeted by thousands at Toronto's Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
.
Having attained the rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
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
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
and was commemorated on a Soviet postage stamp.
After the war
After the war, she finished her education at Kiev UniversityKiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
and began a career as a historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. From 1945 to 1953, she was a research assistant of the Chief HQ of the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
. 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
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
A second Soviet commemorative stamp featuring Lyudmila Pavlichenko's portrait was issued in 1976.
Soviet and international recognition
Pavlichenko’s war record was recognized in the Soviet Union by two commemorative stamps with her portrait (see images above) and, in the United States, by a song composed during World War II by folk singer Woody GuthrieWoody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
as a tribute to her war record and to memorialize her visits to the United States and Canada. It was released as part of the Asch Recordings..