Larisa Ratushnaya (; 9 January 1921 – 18 March 1944) was a Soviet partisan and underground resistance fighter. She was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 8 May 1965 twenty years after the end of the war.
Early life
Ratushnaya was born on 9 January 1921 to a Ukrainian peasant family in the village of
Tyvriv
Tyvriv ( uk, Тиврів; pl, Tywrów) is an urban-type settlement in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Geographically it is in eastern Podolia on the shore of Southern Bug, southeast of Vinnytsia. It was formerly the administrative center of the Tyvri ...
, located within present-day
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 ...
. She became a member of the Komosmol in 1937 shortly before graduating from secondary school in 1938. In 1939 she entered Moscow State University but had to postpone her studies after the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
World War II
After leaving her studies at Moscow State University she entered nursing courses so she could enlist in the local militia after completing training. As a medical orderly in the 8th Krasnopresnenskaya Division she participated in the Battle of Moscow. In October 1941 she was captured and taken prisoner by enemy forces in
Naro-Fominsk
Naro-Fominsk (russian: На́ро-Фоми́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Naro-Fominsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Nara River, southwest from Moscow. Population:
History
The Fominskoye village was fir ...
but later managed to escape to Vinnytsia. In January 1942 she joined the partisan unit Vinnytsia underground under the command of
Ivan Bevz. Ratushnaya was noted for her talent to forge German documents and seals, saving many peoples lives by providing identifications for former
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
as well as forms exempting people from deportation to Germany, further enabling the partisan unit's activities. Due to her fluency in German she managed to infiltrate a POW camp and help several prisoners escape.
Ratushnaya was again arrested by the Gestapo in July 1942 while she was working at a candle factory and sent her to the
concentration camp in
Hnivan
Hnivan (, , pl, Hniwań) is a city in Vinnytsia Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Population:
History
The year 1629 is mistakenly considered the date of the first written mention of the city to this day. This was facilitated by the mention of ...
, which she escaped from in April 1943. After her second escape she returned to partisan activities, working in a makeshift printing outlet printing anti-Axis pamphlets and delivered various supplies including weapons, ammunition, and medicine to other partisan detachments. On 18 March 1944 she was killed by an Axis infiltrator of her unit who had knocked on her door and asked to speak to her before shooting her twice. She was buried with full military honors in the Park of Glory in Vinnytsia where there is now an eternal flame memorial. Over twenty years after her death she was posthumously 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 ...
by decree of the
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...
for her resistance activities.
See also
*
List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union
This is a list of female Heroes 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 wi ...
*
Soviet partisans
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratushnaya, Larisa
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
1921 births
1944 deaths
Soviet female resistance members
Soviet partisans in Ukraine
Russian people of World War II
Ukrainian women in World War II
Soviet civilians killed in World War II