Some Women Awarded the Medal "Hero of the Soviet Union"

From a Soviet encyclopedic work (2 vols) listing all military Heroes of the Soviet Union...

PUSHINA, Fedora Andreevna. Born 13.11.1923 in the village of Tukmachi in Yakshur-Bodinsk region of the Udmurt ASSR to a working-class family. Ukrainian; finished the 7th grade; completed a medics school in Izhevsk and worked in a hospital. In the Soviet Army since 1942. At the front in the Great Patriotic War since August of 1942. As a military medic in the 520th Rifle Regiment (167th Rifle Division, 38th Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) and a Komsomol member, Medical Lieutenant Pushina displayed courage and selflessness in saving the wounded. On 6.11.1943 a building holding many wounded soldiers was set on fire by enemy bombs (village of Svyatoshino, now within the Kiev city limits). Pushina rushed into the building, now engulfed in flames, and succeeded in saving more than 30 Soviet soldiers and officers. She herself suffered heavy burns and died. Awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously on 10.01.44. Also decorated with the Order of Lenin and the Red Star. Buried in Kiev. There are memorials to her in Izhevsk and the village of Yakshur-Bodya in the Udmurt ASSR.

KONSTANTINOVA, Kseniya Semenovna. Born in 1925 in the village of Sukhaya Lubna in Lipetsk region of Lipetsk district. Russian; finished middle school and a nurse-midwives school in Lipetsk. In the Soviet Army since 1943, and at the front from October of that year. Medical instructor in a battalion of the 730th Rifle Regiment (204th Rifle Div., 43rd Army, Kalinin Front) and a candidate for membership in the CPSU. On 1.10.1943 near the village of Shatilovo (Rudnyansk region of Smolensk district), Medical Senior Sergeant Konstantinova was surrounded and captured by the fascists while bravely defending wounded soldiers, she herself having been seriously wounded while doing this. After beastly tortures she was killed. Posthumously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on 4.6.44. Also decorated with the medal of the Order of Lenin. Buried in the village of Raskopy in Rudnyansk region. A memorial plinth is on the building of her former nurse-midwives school in Lipetsk (now a medical school). Her name is carried by a middle-school youth pioneer troop in her home village and by School No. 53 in Lipetsk. A square in Lipetsk is named after her.

KOVSHOVA, Natalya Venediktovna. Born 26.11.1920 in Ufa, Russia. Graduated from middle school in Moscow; worked in a scientific research institute. In the Soviet Army from 1941. In combat in the Great Patriotic War from the fall of 1941. A rifleman-sniper in the 528th Rifle Regiment (130th Rifle Div., 1st Shock Army, Northwest Front); candidate for membership in the CPSU. As a private, she bravely fought the fascist invaders and trained newly arrived young women in sniper craft. On 14.8.1942 near the village of Sotoka (now in the Parfino region of Novgorod district), she was engaged in battle with Nazi troops who fought their way right up to her entrenchment. With her last two grenades she blew up herself and the surrounding enemy. Awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union 14.02.43 posthumously. Also decorated with the Order of Lenin and the Red Star. Buried in the village of Korovitchino in Staraya-Russa district. Carried in perpetuity on the rolls of her military unit. A street in Moscow is named after her.

POLIVANOVA, Mariya Semenovna. Born 24.10.1922 in the village of Naryshkino (now in the Aleksinsk region of Tula district) in a working-class family. Russian; middle school education. Served in the Great Patriotic War from Oct. 1941. Sniper in the 528th Rifle Regiment (130th Rifle Division, 1st Shock Army, Northwest Front); candidate for membership in the CPSU as a private. In combat near the village of Sotoka (Parfino region of Novgorod district), along with female friend N.V. Kovshova she stubbornly held out against advancing Nazi troops, inflicting serious casualties with accurately aimed fire. When the fascists closed in, she blew up herself and the surrounding enemy with a grenade. Awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on 14.02.43 posthumously. Also decorated with the Order of Lenin and the Red Star. Buried in the village of Korovitchino in Staraya-Russa region of Novgorod district. A street in Moscow carries her name.

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Translated by Mark Conrad, 1995.