Aleksandra Leontievna Boiko (; 20 May 1918 – 25 May 1996) was a tank commander in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

active in the Eastern Front of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Aleksandra Leontievna Morisheva was born on 20 May 1918, in

Belebey Belebey (russian: Белебе́й; ba, Бәләбәй) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, located on the bank of the Usen River, from Ufa. Population: History Belebey was established i ...

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. She graduated from the

Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (KNUTD) ( uk, Київський національний університет технологій та дизайну (КНУТД) is a university in Kyiv, Ukraine. Areas of knowledge taugh ...

in 1938, and became employed as a chemist in a factory in

. Morisheva moved to

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...

, where she became an inspector in the Kolymsnab trust until February 1942. Morisheva married Ivan Fedorovich Boiko. Along with her husband, Ivan Boiko, she raised 50,000

rouble The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

s from their savings to pay for the construction of a tank for the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. As part of the effort, they appealed to be sent to the Eastern Front. A year later, she was appointed as a tank commander while holding the rank of

Junior Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant. Germany In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956. Eastern Europe In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior l ...

, and her husband was her engineer within the tank. The couple had both graduated from the accelerated programme at the Chelyabinsk Tank School. They first entered battle during the Riga Offensive in 1944, and it was reported that they had destroyed five tanks and two guns in two weeks. In August that year, she was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

first class. She went to Moscow in September that year, where she attended an anti-fascist rally and appeared on the back cover of the magazine ''

Ogoniok ''Ogoniok'' ( rus, Огонёк, t=Spark, p=ɐɡɐˈnʲɵk, a=Ru-огонёк.ogg; pre-reform orthography: ''Огонекъ'') was one of the oldest weekly illustrated magazines in Russia. History and profile ''Ogoniok'' has issued since . I ...

''. Later, while fighting in the Baltics, both Boikos were injured and spent time in a hospital. They were released in time to celebrate

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. After she was demobilised, she returned to Magadan and ran a bakery before being elected to the City Council twice, in 1947 and 1953. She then moved to

Apsheronsk Apsheronsk (russian: Апшеро́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Apsheronsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Pshekha River (in the Kuban's basin). Population: 39,488 (2020), Persian ''āb šurān'' (salty w ...

, but was made an honorary citizen of Magadan on 4 December 1991. She died on 25 May 1996.

References

{{Authority control 1918 births 1996 deaths Russian women in World War II Soviet Army officers Tank commanders 20th-century Russian military personnel Russian political people Soviet military personnel of World War II Women in the Russian and Soviet military

Biography

See also

References