radiofreederry:

Happy birthday, Lyudmila Pavlichenko! (July 12, 1916)

A celebrated and decorated Soviet sniper, it was said that more than 300 Nazis were felled by the gun of Lyudmila Pavlicheko. Born to Russian parents in what is now Ukraine, Pavlichenko grew up as part of the first generation to live in socialism. A tomboy, Pavlichenko was interested in sport and shooting, and learned to shoot a sniper rifle with the Red Army. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Pavlichenko was one of the first volunteers to enlist, and served on the front lines, distinguishing herself in the Siege of Odessa and Siege of Sevastopol and earning the nickname “Lady Death.” She was only stopped in her annihilation of the Wehrmacht by a mortar shell to the face, which she survived. After recovering, she was not recalled to the front but instead served as a propagandist, touring other Allied countries as an ambassador for the Soviet Union. After the war, Pavlichenko returned to civilian life, working as a historian and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from her experiences. She died in 1974 of a stroke.