Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

Eugenie Mikhailovna Shakhovskaya (

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), 1889 – Kiev (

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

), 1920) (''Евгения Михайловна Шаховская, Yevgeniya Mikhaylovna Shakhovskaya'') was a Russian Empire pioneering aviator. She was the first woman to become a military pilot when she flew reconnaissance missions for the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

in 1914. She started taking flying lessons in 1911, and was awarded her flying licence in 1912. However, she gave up flying in 1913 after her instructor died mid-flight. She was convinced to start flying again and flew reconnaissance missions in

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Eugenie was accused of being a spy, arrested, and sentenced to death. However, she was shown mercy by the Tsar, her cousin, and sentenced to life in prison. In 1917, during the Russian Revolution, she was freed from prison. She became the chief executioner for the Cheka. In this time, she also became addicted to drugs. In a narcotic state, she shot one of her assistants and was herself shot dead.

References

External links

*
Ralph Cooper's EarlyAviators.com
Aviators from the Russian Empire Nobility from the Russian Empire Princesses from the Russian Empire 1889 births 1920 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Cheka officers Soviet executioners {{Aviation-bio-stub