Galina Petrova (, ; 9 September 1920 – 4 December 1943) was a medic and

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

in the 386th Independent Naval Infantry Battalion of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

during 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 ...

. She died during a bombing attack on 4 December 1943 less than a month after she was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

on 17 November 1943 for her bravery in the Kerch-Eltigen operation.

Early life

Petrova was born on 9 September 1920 to a Russian family in

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in the

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 ...

. In 1940 after she graduated from secondary school with honors she entered the Forestry Department of the Novocherkassk Engineering Institute in

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

. After the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

she entered nursing courses in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

Military career

After graduating nursing courses Petrova entered the Soviet Navy as a nurse in 1942. She was present in the Kerch-Eltigen operation in 1943 with the rest of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. On the night of 1 November she carried over twenty wounded soldiers from the battlefield in the night under the cover of darkness, running through a field of barbed wire and mines to reach numerous injured marines. For her bravery in the offensive she was awarded the title

in November by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Less than a month after she received the award she was injured while holding back German soldiers in a series of following counterattacks in Eltigen on 3 December. She was taken to a hospital for her injuries but died the next day when the school building used as a hospital was bombed. Her remains were interred in the village of heroes in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

Recognition

There are memorial plaques dedicated to her memory in Novocherkassk and South Russian State Polytechnic University as well as streets named in her honor in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Tuapse Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse i ...

, and the village of heroes in

Kerch Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...

. Monuments in her likeness are present at the forestry institute where she studied and at the medical school in Kerch named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrova, Galina Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin 1920 births 1943 deaths Soviet women in World War II Women in the Russian and Soviet military Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Mykolaiv Soviet Navy personnel Deaths by airstrike during World War II Soviet nurses

Early life

Military career

Recognition

See also

References