On July 12, 2026, communists and progressive people around the world commemorated the 110th anniversary of the birth of Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (1916–1974), one of the greatest heroines of the Great Anti-fascist Victory and a symbol of the Soviet people's struggle against nazism-fascism.
Born in the Russian Empire and raised in the Soviet Union, Pavlichenko embodied the values of the socialist state, which opened the doors of education, professional life and military service equally to women and men.
Born in the Russian Empire and raised in the Soviet Union, Pavlichenko embodied the values of the socialist state, which opened the doors of education, professional life and military service equally to women and men.
A history student at Kyiv University when Nazi Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941, she volunteered for the Red Army and refused to be assigned as a nurse, insisting on fighting at the front. Her courage quickly became legendary. Serving with the Red Army's 25th Rifle Division during the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, Pavlichenko recorded 309 confirmed enemy kills, including 36 enemy snipers, making her one of the most successful snipers in military history. Wounded several times, she nevertheless became an enduring symbol of the Soviet people's determination to defend their socialist homeland against the Nazi invaders.
In 1942, after being withdrawn from combat because of her injuries, Pavlichenko visited the United States and Canada as part of a Soviet delegation seeking greater Allied support for the struggle against fascism. Addressing large audiences, she famously challenged those who questioned the role of women in combat, declaring: "Gentlemen, I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 Fascist invaders. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?" Her words became one of the most memorable anti-fascist appeals of the Second World War.
Awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, Lyudmila Pavlichenko remained throughout her life a proud representative of the Soviet people whose victory over fascism was achieved through immense sacrifice, collective determination and unwavering devotion to socialism. Her legacy stands as a reminder that the defeat of Nazism was not the achievement of isolated individuals, but of a socialist society that mobilized millions of workers, peasants, soldiers and women in defense of humanity.
One hundred and ten years after her birth, the name of Lyudmila Pavlichenko continues to inspire all those who honor the heroic struggle of the Soviet Union against fascism and defend the historical truth against distortion and anti-communist revisionism. Her life remains inseparable from the history of the Soviet Union—a history written with courage, sacrifice and victory.
In 1942, after being withdrawn from combat because of her injuries, Pavlichenko visited the United States and Canada as part of a Soviet delegation seeking greater Allied support for the struggle against fascism. Addressing large audiences, she famously challenged those who questioned the role of women in combat, declaring: "Gentlemen, I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 Fascist invaders. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?" Her words became one of the most memorable anti-fascist appeals of the Second World War.
Awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, Lyudmila Pavlichenko remained throughout her life a proud representative of the Soviet people whose victory over fascism was achieved through immense sacrifice, collective determination and unwavering devotion to socialism. Her legacy stands as a reminder that the defeat of Nazism was not the achievement of isolated individuals, but of a socialist society that mobilized millions of workers, peasants, soldiers and women in defense of humanity.
One hundred and ten years after her birth, the name of Lyudmila Pavlichenko continues to inspire all those who honor the heroic struggle of the Soviet Union against fascism and defend the historical truth against distortion and anti-communist revisionism. Her life remains inseparable from the history of the Soviet Union—a history written with courage, sacrifice and victory.
