Vasilisa Kozhina (russian: Василиса Кожина, —) was a Russian guerrilla in the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

who fought against the invading French '' Grande Armée''.

Biography

Vasilisa came from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...

s. She was a

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

of Gorshkov, a starosta (an elder) of a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

of Sychyovsky Uyezd of

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate (russian: Смоленская губерния, Smolenskaja gubernija), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It ex ...

. During the French invasion of Russia from Vasilisa Kozhina organized in Sychyovsky Uyezd a partisan detachment of teenagers and

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

. All of them were armed with

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor mac ...

pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

bear spear A bear spear was a medieval type of spear used in hunting for bears and other large animals. The sharpened head of a bear spear was enlarged and usually took the form of a bay leaf. Right under the head there was a short crosspiece that helped f ...

s and so on. During the retreat of Napoleon's troops from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

her guerrillas attacked French troops, captured

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s and handed them to Russian units. For this feat Vasilisa Kozhina was awarded a medal and given a monetary reward. In 1813, the artist Alexander Smirnov painted her sole portrait.

Remembrance

A USSR postage stamp in honor of Vasilisa Kozhina

*A Vasilisa Kozhina street in Sychyovka. *A Vasilisa Kozhina street in Moscow, located near Filevsky Park and Bagrationovskaya subway stations. *A station Vasilisino of Gagarinsky District of Smolensk Oblast is named in honor of Vasilisa Kozhina. *There is a village, named in honor of Vasilisa Kozhina in Tver Oblast. *In 1962 there was issued a postage stamp in honor of "a partisan Vasilisa Kozhina". * Tolstoy credits her bravery in ''War and Peace'' In 2012, for the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 Russian World Studios contracted Russian director

Dmitry Meskhiev Dmitry Dmitriyevich Meskhiev (russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Месхиев, born 31 October 1963) is a Russian film director. His 2004 film ''Our Own (2004 film), Our Own'' won the Golden George at the 26th Moscow International Fil ...

to make a four-part series about Kozhina,Russia, France to co-produce 'Vasilisa Kozhina'
/ref> however the film was completed by Anton Sivers as ''Vasalisa'' in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozhina, Vasilisa 1780 births 1840 deaths People from Sychyovsky Uyezd Guerrillas Russian people of the Napoleonic Wars Women in the Imperial Russian military French invasion of Russia Women in 19th-century warfare