Marytė Melnikaitė
Marytė or Marija Melnikaitė (18 March 1923 – 13 July 1943) was a Soviet partisan and the only Lithuanians, Lithuanian woman awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. While her partisan career lasted less than two months, Soviet propaganda exaggerated her duties and accomplishments. Many works, including a film and an opera, were dedicated to her. Several streets in the former Soviet Union (including Tyumen, Minsk, Almaty, Shymkent) are still named after her. Early life Melnikaitė was born to a family of a Russian mother Antonina Illarionovna and a Lithuanians, Lithuanian father Juozas Melnikas in Zarasai. She had four other siblings and the parents took assorted jobs to provide for the large family. They moved frequently in search for jobs (Zarasai, Anykščiai, Rokiškis, Zarasai, Marijampolė). Melnikaitė completed a primary school in Rokiškis and started working at ''Avanti'' confectionery at age 14 and studied sewing. In 1940, after Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940 ...
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Zarasai
Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the north – Lake Zarasaitis, to the southeast – Lake Baltas, and the east – Lake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas are connected by the River Laukesa. Zarasai holds the record for the highest recorded daytime temperature in Lithuania at on 30 July 1994. A few music festivals are held in Zarasai in summer, such as Mėnuo Juodaragis and Roko naktys. Etymology The name of Zarasai is of Selonian origin. Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga explained its origins – in Selonian language the word ''lake'' was pronounced as ''ezeras'' or ''ezaras'', plural form ''ezerasai''. During the time it was shortened to ''Zarasai''. In Polish, the town was known since the first third of the 16th century as Jeziorosy, from ''jezioro'' meaning 'lake'. In 1836, the town was renamed ''Novoalexandrovsk'' in honor of Tsar Nicholas I's son Alexander. ...
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