His sister, Anastasia, followed the same path. The girl was brought to the court at the age of 6, and there she realized that this was her life. Nastya’s mother cannot imagine her life without swimming, her grandmother is a professional basketball player, her grandfather in his youth was part of a group of referees for this sport, and his older brother chose for himself.

First steps along the road of life

At the age of 13, Pavlyuchenkova began her professional sports career. She made her debut at competitions in Poland and was even able to reach the semi-finals. Of course, I wanted to do more, but this result already proved the talent of the Russian athlete. Afterwards there were victories and defeats, tears and smiles, but be that as it may, all these events gave the aspiring athlete an additional incentive to move on and hone her skills.

In 2005, paired with Solonitskaya, the ITF title was won, and in 2006, Pavlyuchenkova won her first independent victory, which not only she, but her entire family is proud of. From that moment on, she was recognized as the best junior in the world according to the ITF. At just 15 years old, Anastasia won the title of world number one in the junior rankings, and this means a lot.

She went on to win three Junior Grand Slam singles titles and five Junior Grand Slam doubles titles. Soon the athlete decided to switch and began to fight for the ball with even greater zeal. And in just one year, from 2007 to 2008, she won 10 ITF matches. Another reason for joy and pride is the certificate of honor from the President of the Russian Federation, given to her for sporting achievements at the XXVII World Universiade, held in Kazan in the summer of 2013.

Noticing Pavlyuchenkova’s aggressive, energetic play, sports journalists became interested in her thoughts about the future. According to the athlete, she will make every effort to play better, trying not to make mistakes. During the game, the tennis player tries to stay on the back line, where she feels most comfortable. Her favorite and most practiced shot is , and her most preferred during a match is clay.

The athlete trains a lot not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine, as well as in rainy London, where she tries to go on court early in the morning before the weather turns bad. Over the years, Anastasia has trained with several wonderful coaches; now, since 2013, she has moved to Martina Hingis, a coach with extensive experience, a former Swiss tennis player, champion of many important international tournaments.

Hobbies and dreams

Anastasia has a very busy training schedule, which forces her to spend most of her time on the court. However, when there is free time left, she prefers to spend it richly and as interestingly as possible. Of course, such a sociable girl has many friends, reliable and understanding. And I would like to wish that there would always be only worthy people nearby, ready to support in difficult times, capable of guiding you on a good, correct path. One of Pavlyuchenkova’s hobbies is football; she always tries to watch important matches and is very upset when her favorite team loses. She also loves good cinema, and the genre can be different: a funny comedy, a mysterious, exciting fantasy, or just a melodrama.

The young Russian tennis player Anastasia Sergeevna Pavlyuchenkova (born 07/03/1991, Samara) was born into a family of athletes. Mom Marina was a swimmer, and dad Sergei was a rower. It is worth noting that the tennis player’s grandmother is a former basketball player. Grandfather was a referee in the elite group for this sport in the USSR. Anastasia’s older brother played tennis professionally for some time, but then began accompanying his sister on trips to tournaments.

Persistence and work

The parents decided to send the girl to tennis. And at the age of 6 they brought her to the shady court. Since then, Anastasia had no time for dolls and toys. Her day began and ended on the court. The tenacity and consistency with which she practiced surprised her coaches and parents. And here is the reward for hard work: among juniors at 15 years old.

The first training took place under the supervision of dad and mom. What the parents knew or were able to do, they all tried to pass on to their daughter. Over time, the older brother also began to help Anastasia in training. Alexander himself played professional tennis and shared with his sister all the subtleties and nuances of the game.

In 2006, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russian athlete) became a discovery in tennis. She won 3 junior Grand Slam tournaments alone and 5 as a pair. Constant training and an objective assessment of her game did not allow the young athlete to catch the “star” disease.

Having moved to the adult tennis team, she did not get lost among the athletes, as often happens. Successfully plays for the Russian national team. She is one of the 30 strongest world tennis players. At the moment, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is the 25th racket in the world.

Sport means growing up fast

The transition from juniors to big-time sports is always difficult and painful. Junior tennis is soft and smooth, while adult tennis is more aggressive. After such a game, deep potholes from impacts remain on the field. The blows in tennis are stronger and the speed is enormous.

The constant presence of stars Dementieva and Kuznetsova mobilizes willpower. They force young people to strive for high achievements. The process of turning a caterpillar into a butterfly occurs very quickly. It's always difficult mentally.

And if physically the young star was well prepared, then moral adaptation is always difficult. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova tried to cope with this task. Constantly working on her mistakes, practicing strikes and various techniques distracted the girl from idle conversations and thoughts.

Since 2007, the tennis player's permanent coach has been Patrick Mouratoglo. Then there was a short collaboration with Gerald Bremont. Since 2013, Anastasia has been coached by the famous Swiss tennis player.

Strong rear

Parents try to always be there. Help her in everyday life, give practical advice, support her morally at competitions. So that their daughter could continue her studies at a tennis school abroad, they sold their car and moved to another apartment.

And it’s not even about the fees that Anastasia receives. They are only enough for flights, living abroad and studying. All this costs a considerable investment. They understand perfectly well that Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, tennis and big-time sports are connected together.

Anastasia's older brother is also trying to help his sister. He took upon himself all administrative, household, housing issues, organizing flights and much more. If an athlete deals with everyday issues, she will not have enough strength for training and competitions. In a foreign country, a close and dear person is like a breath of clean air. Therefore, a strong and reliable shoulder is simply necessary.

Personal life

Now Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lives in France. There he trains at the Tennis Academy. He speaks good English and is learning French along the way. Likes to watch comedies, loves Johnny Japp and Ven Stiller, listens to hip-hop.

He prefers Japanese cuisine and likes pizza. In your free time, you don’t mind lying on the couch with a book in your hands, especially if it’s The Atlantis Code. Likes to sit with good friends in a cafe over a cup of coffee or tea.

Active recreation comes first. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova enjoys figure skating, dancing, and snowboarding in the winter. She is unmarried, height - 176 cm, weight 70 kg.

The image of Lyudmila Pavlichenko was idealized by the Soviet media. Few knew that the famous female sniper in the West was called “Miss Colt.” Soviet censors excluded mistakes and mistakes from Pavlichenko’s combat biography. And, according to modern historians, they exaggerated her achievements.

Childhood and youth

Pavlichenko became the most productive not only among Soviet snipers. A girl from a simple working-class family broke the world record for the number of enemies destroyed. Among Belova’s relatives, which is the sniper’s maiden name, there were no military personnel. My father worked as a mechanic. True, he took part in the Civil War.

Pavlichenko’s small homeland is Bila Tserkva. In the early 30s, the family moved to Kyiv. Lyudmila dreamed of becoming a history teacher. After school I entered the university, but while still a high school student, I worked at a factory. Lyudmila went to work at the insistence of her father, who believed that her work biography would compensate for the shortcomings of her origin: Pavlichenko’s mother had noble roots.

Lyudmila made a career at the plant. At first she did menial work, then she learned to be a turner, and then became a draftsman. Among young people in those years, it was fashionable to acquire military specialties. Aviation sports were especially popular. Pavlichenko was afraid of heights from an early age, and therefore decided to try her hand at shooting.

At the very first lesson, yesterday's schoolgirl hit the target. The first success inspired me. Lyudmila began training in a shooting club and successfully fulfilled the standards. Pavlichenko did not give up her sniper activities even while studying at the Faculty of History. Later, Lyudmila was invited to a sniper school. Here she was among the best.

Pavlichenko was in Odessa when the war began. In the seaside city, which soon found itself in the hands of German and Romanian military forces, Lyudmila did an internship, and in her free time she visited the local scientific library: she wrote her thesis on the Pereyaslav Rada.


Having heard an announcement on the radio about the beginning of war, a student at Kyiv University went to the military registration and enlistment office. There, just by looking at the girl, they said that doctors would be called in later. Nobody wanted to hear the explanation that she was not a doctor at all, but a sniper. But five days later an order was issued to recruit graduates of sniper circles. Pavlichenko took the oath on June 28.

War

Lyudmila carefully kept the badge she received after graduating from shooting school. When the war began, I decided that I would become a sniper and would certainly apply the acquired skills in real combat. However, at the front she found herself without a rifle.


Weapons were not issued to recruits. He simply wasn't there. One day, a soldier was killed in front of 25-year-old Pavlichenko. The deceased's rifle became the first military weapon. According to Pavlichenko’s biographers, she shot accurately, and already in the first battles she demonstrated amazing results. Soon she was given a sniper rifle.

Each rifle company had two snipers. Pavlichenko went on a mission with Leonid Kitsenko. At the beginning of August, German-Romanian troops were already approaching Odessa. In the first days of the defense of the city, Pavlichenko accomplished a feat that for some reason was not noted by the Soviet command. On the mission, she destroyed 16 fascists in 15 minutes. The second time Lyudmila made ten successful shots. Among the dead were two German officers.


How did a young woman manage to make so many cold-blooded shots? This is the most common question that foreign journalists asked Pavlichenko. The woman, who accounted for 309 deaths, once told a story that was later replicated by the Soviet media. A soldier for whom she had developed sympathy died before her eyes. This event gave rise to hatred for the enemy in Lyudmila, for which later, in the foreign press, she was nicknamed “Lady Death.”

Pavlichenko's achievements are controversial today. Some historians argue that the effectiveness of an attractive female sniper, a favorite, is exaggerated. Others believe that Pavlichenko did not enjoy the attention of the opposite sex, and therefore was able to realize herself in the war.

Lyudmila spent eight months in Sevastopol. She took part in battles and destroyed as many enemies as any sniper who participated in the defense of the Crimean city could not. According to official information, Lyudmila spent a year at the front, and after that she trained young snipers.

In her autobiographical book, Pavlichenko tried to reveal the origins of her rare sniper gift. Lyudmila was taught accuracy, intuition and other qualities by hatred of the enemies who came to her native land and disrupted her peaceful life. In the villages that were recaptured from the enemy, Pavlichenko saw the dead bodies of children and adults. What she saw affected the young woman’s consciousness. There is an assumption that Pavlichenko had an unusual structure of the eyeball.


The exploits of "Miss Colt" are now questioned. In the first months of the war, Pavlichenko shot and killed 187 Germans and Romanians. Photos of the 25-year-old woman with slogans and calls were distributed at the front to raise morale. But having killed more than 200 enemies, Pavlichenko did not even receive a medal. And in 1941, even representatives of non-military specialties who had not been on the front line were awarded.

Not a single experienced sniper could boast of Pavlichenko’s achievements. However, her name did not appear on the list of awards until April 1942. Only then did Pavlichenko receive a medal. She became a Hero of the Soviet Union later, in 1943.

The army was suffering losses and, of course, needed serious replenishment. There weren't enough men at the front. To attract girls to the front, a heroic female image was required. The exploits of the young partisan, who burned houses with Germans and stables belonging to civilians, impressed few people in 1943. New heroes and heroines were needed.

In 1942 Pavlichenko visited the USA. Here I met and even became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. And most importantly, she made an appeal to the Americans who “have been hiding behind her back for too long.” Lyudmila was warmly applauded. This scene was used in the 2015 film and, with the light hand of the filmmakers, it turned out to be so effective that many TV viewers believed that Senior Sergeant Pavlichenko managed to change the course of the war.


The delegation included Vladimir Pchelintsev. The sniper already had the highest military award. Although in 1942 his results were much more modest than Lyudmila’s (114 killed soldiers). Pchelintsev willingly satisfied the curiosity of the Americans, demonstrating his skill in shooting. Pavlichenko, a more experienced sniper, refused.

Personal life

Ten years before the start of the war, 15-year-old Lyudmila met Alexei Pavlichenko. The young man was older than her. The romantic relationship has gone too far. Soon Lyudmila found out that she was expecting a child. Rumors about the pregnancy of a 15-year-old schoolgirl quickly spread throughout the area. Later, Pavlichenko did not like to talk about this fact from her biography.


Lyudmila Pavlichenko and her second husband Alexey Kitsenko

Pavlichenko’s father was by that time working in the NKVD. Fearing troubles in the service, he insisted on registering the marriage. In 1932, a son, Rostislav, was born. However, family life did not work out, and soon the girl returned to the bosom of the family. Pavlichenko did not like to remember her first husband.

In 1941, Lyudmila met Lieutenant Kitsenko. She was going to marry him. But Kitsenko died at the beginning of 1942. Lyudmila received severe injuries and severe nervous shock.


Soon after the vacation I received a second concussion. Numerous injuries and mental shock are facts cited by supporters of the version of the exaggerated achievements of the female sniper.

Little is known about Pavlichenko’s personal life after the war. Lyudmila Mikhailovna married Konstantin Shevelev, but she had no more children.

Post-war years and death

Pavlichenko completed her studies and became a historian. However, she did not go to work at school. She spent eight years as a research assistant at the military headquarters. She was involved in social activities.

She died in 1974. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Memory

  • In the city of Bela Tserkov, a school was named in honor of Lyudmila Pavlichenko.
  • A street in Sevastopol was named after the famous sniper.
  • American singer Woody Guthrie sang the song “Miss Pavlichenko” in 1946.

  • The film “Battle for Sevastopol”, the role of the famous female sniper was performed by. The script was written using the memories of Eleanor Roosevelt.
  • The Lyuda rifle is named after Pavlichenko in the computer game Borderlands 2.

Awards

  • 1942 – medal “For Military Merit”
  • 1943 – title “Hero of the Soviet Union”
  • Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War"
  • Award weapon - Colt pistol

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian tennis player, international master of sports. She has 12 victories in WTA tournaments. At one time, the tennis player managed to become the first racket of the world in the junior rankings.

Nastya was born in 1991 in Samara. Her parents are professional athletes: her mother was a swimmer, her father was a rower. Anastasia has a brother, Alexander.

It is noteworthy that the Pavlyuchenkovs are a sports dynasty, where Nastya and Sasha are already the third generation. Their grandmother was a professional basketball player, and their grandfather worked as a basketball referee. But the younger Pavlyuchenkovs did not choose any of the sports that their family practiced. They preferred tennis, in which Anastasia reached considerable heights.

Nastya first picked up a racket at the age of 6. At the initial stage, she was trained by her mother, an amateur tennis player. Then brother Sasha played with Nastya.

Tennis

The sports biography of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova achieved its first successes when the girl turned 14 years old. She managed to win the doubles tournament of the International Tennis Federation. A year later, Nastya was the leader in singles. Soon Pavlyuchenkova was named the first racket among athletes in the youth category.


When her daughter turned 16, her parents realized that Anastasia had a brilliant sports future. But in order to move on without stopping, she needs to seriously improve her level of skill under the guidance of a professional mentor. So the 16-year-old girl ended up in France, where Patrick Mutorgla became her coach.

According to unconfirmed information, Anastasia’s parents sold the car and moved to a smaller apartment in order to pay for their daughter’s expensive stay and training abroad. Pavlyuchenkova worked with experienced coaches not only in France, but also in England. Looking ahead, let’s say that since 2013, the famous Martina Hingis has been preparing it.


The results of training under the guidance of world-famous mentors began to bear fruit since 2005. We can say that Nastya found herself in professional sports this year. And since 2007, she managed to win 10 victories in prestigious ITF tournaments in a short time.

Pavlyuchenkova has 9 Women's Tennis Association titles. And according to the results of the games in 2011 and 2013, Anastasia became a finalist of the Fed Cup and entered the top 20 best world tennis players in the WTA ranking.


Winner of the Kremlin Cup 2014 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

In the summer of 2013, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova showed excellent results at the XXVII World Universiade in Kazan. For this she received a certificate of honor from the President of the Russian Federation. In 2014, the girl won the Kremlin Cup. A year later, Pavlyuchenkova was one step away from first place at the tournament in Washington, losing to Sloane Stephens in the final. In 2016, the tennis player competed at the Olympic Games in Rio, where she lost to Monica Puig.

Sports journalists, watching the athlete play, claim that Nastya feels comfortable on the back line of the clay court. And her signature shot is a forehand down the line.

Personal life

It is not surprising that an athlete of such a high level lives on an extremely busy schedule, with very little time for entertainment and relaxation. For now, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s personal life is about her family and friends, of whom the girl has many. Nastya is an open and sociable person. This is evidenced by her accounts on social networks - “ Instagram" And " Twitter", where there are photos of the tennis player with close people and colleagues.


The girl is passionate about football, which she loves to watch live, at the stadium, surrounded by a large group of her favorite friends. The tennis player also loves movies, and is not limited to watching one specific genre. Nastya can be seen at fashion shows in the capital, which she attends if she comes to Moscow.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova now

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is in good professional shape. According to the Russian singles rankings at the end of 2017, the tennis player took 15th place.


In April 2018, Pavlyuchenkova participated in the WTA tournament in Stuttgart. The girl managed to make it to the quarterfinals thanks to her victory over American Madison Keys in the first round and over Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in the second. The Russian lost the quarterfinals to Estonian Anett Kontaveit.

Anastasia spent the second half of May 2018 on the courts of the International Tennis Tournament in Strasbourg. The tennis player from Russia successfully competed in the first and second rounds, where she fought with German Tatyana Maria and compatriot Natalya Vikhlyantseva. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's opponent in the quarterfinals was Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan. The match ended with a score of 6:4; 6:2 in favor of the Russian. In the semi-finals, the girl played a match against Australian Ashleigh Barty and beat her with a score of 6:4, 1:0.


In the final of the competition, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova met with her opponent from Slovakia, Dominika Cibulkova. The girls did not want to give victory to each other. As a result, the match, which commentators called “hellish,” lasted for 3.5 hours. Pavlyuchenkova won by a points margin. The tournament became the 12th competition won in Pavlyuchenkova’s career. The girl received $43 thousand for winning.


Without slowing down, Anastasia headed to the French Roland Garros, which began on May 27 in Paris. But her performance at the Grand Slam tournament turned out to be unsuccessful for the Russian. The tennis player won the first round match against Polona Hercog from Slovenia. At the next match, she fought with Australian tennis player Samantha Stosur, who beat Anastasia with a score of 6:2, 7:6 (7:1). A loss could have a negative impact on the Russian woman’s WTA ranking. Now she occupies 28th position according to the updated version dated May 28, 2018. Anastasia was even ahead of, which was only 30th.

Awards

  • 2006, 2007 – victory at the Australian Open
  • 2006 – victory at the US Open
  • 2013 – gold and silver medals at the Universiade in Kazan

At the age of 27, Kiev resident Lyudmila Pavlichenko became the Hero of the Soviet Union and the first female sniper to be awarded this title during her lifetime. And also the first Soviet woman received into the White House, which is what our story will be about. Of course, she didn’t even think about this. There lived a man, went to school, worked at the Arsenal plant. In 1937, Lyudmila entered the history department of the Kyiv State University named after T. G. Shevchenko, where she did not smoke menthol cigarettes with a bottle of rum-cola, but was involved in gliding and shooting. Thus, fourth-year student Pavlichenko was always ready for work and defense, and straight from summer practice in Odessa she went to beat the invaders.

As the media unanimously report, by July 1942, it was no longer a student, but a sergeant of the 54th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Chapaev Division of the Primorsky Army, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a participant in the battles in Moldova, the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol, who had killed 309 enemy soldiers and officers. Including 36 enemy snipers. Including, according to legend, a specialist with five hundred lives to his name. A lot, especially for a girl. 23rd place in the world in terms of performance, taking into account the fact that since 1942 Lyudmila Mikhailovna did not fight, but taught young people in the Shot courses.

Of course, among us there will be citizens who will have an idea about the unnatural nature of such activity, which will certainly develop into discussions about totalitarian education in the evil empire. According to the testimony of her partner on a trip to the USA and Great Britain in the fall of 1942, Vladimir Pchelintsev, a certain Jesse Storry took up the same issue. He outlined his impressions of communicating with Lyudmila Mikhailovna on the pages of the Canadian youth magazine New Advance: “I discovered an interesting fact that helps to better understand her anti-fascist character at breakfast in the White House, where Mrs. Roosevelt received the Canadian delegation. We were in the living room, casually talking with Mrs. Roosevelt, when she suddenly said that the day before she had received the Soviet delegation here. One of the questions Mrs. Roosevelt asked Lyudmila was: “How did she, a woman, manage to shoot at the Germans, seeing their faces at the moment of aiming? American women have a hard time understanding this!” Lieutenant Pavlichenko answered briefly: “I saw with my own eyes how my husband and my child died... I was nearby...”. This fact, it must be said, is not found in any biography.

But another fact is very well known: Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Pchelintsev and Komsomol leader Nikolai Krasavchenko fulfilled an important state mission - to shame the allies, who in every possible way avoided opening a second front. Just for the occasion, I dug up a couple more rare frames in the US Library of Congress, apparently not previously published. And as a bonus - a country song about a heroic sniper, composed by famous performer Woody Guthrie. He, like millions of ordinary Americans, was ashamed.

“A historian by training, a warrior by mentality, she fights with all the fervor of her young heart,” wrote the Krasny Chernomorets newspaper on May 3, 1942. Anyone who wants details can read the memoirs. The newspaper, surprisingly, did not lie. For a long time, after her partner Leonid Kutsenko was mortally wounded, Lyudmila went to “work” alone, until the evacuation from besieged Sevastopol. Although this often backfired on her. And in the fall of 1942, together with her colleague from the Leningrad Front, Vladimir Pchelintsev, and the propaganda secretary of the Moscow city Komsomol committee, Nikolai Krasavchenko, she went to the USA and then to England. With a propaganda trip, let's say.

From the front SVT. For work she had the usual "three"

Another photo “for the front-line newspaper”

Both companions are worthy of all attention. The son of a painter who died in 1920 from typhus, adopted by his mother’s second husband, an officer of the Red Army, the young man was brought up in the Spartan spirit. “In the 9th and 10th grades I do physical education and military affairs. I train at the OAH Shooting Club. I am in charge of military affairs at the school. At this time, I passed the standards for the GTO, VS, GSO, VS 2nd stage, PVHO badges. Repeatedly participated in shooting competitions. 10th grade was spent in a stubborn struggle for knowledge,” Vladimir wrote in his own hand in his autobiography. I had to fight because Pchelintsev studied in Petrozavodsk, where pests built their criminal nest. They forced young people to learn Finnish. “Only after the elimination of the enemies of the people could we study properly,” notes Vladimir, taking us into the difficult atmosphere of that time.

V. N. Pchelintsev with the rank of sergeant

Having entered the Leningrad Mining Institute to study as a geologist, he continued to shoot: from 02/22/1940 - 1st class shooter, from 03/14/1940 - Master of Sports of the USSR, from 04/27/1940 - category III shooting sports instructor. Of course, with the beginning of the war, Vladimir volunteered to join the active army, although senior students, starting from the third year, in 1941-42. had a deferment from conscription (imagine). He ended up in the 83rd fighter battalion of the NKVD, then in the 11th rifle brigade of the 8th army of the Leningrad Front. He is considered one of the “initiators” of the sniper movement. On February 6, 1942 he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. At this time, there were 102 enemy soldiers and officers on my personal account. The total score is 456, including 14 snipers.

As for the Komsomol member, he was included in the small delegation as an inspirer and a link between Soviet and non-Soviet youth. He also had some combat experience. As journalist and writer Leonid Mlechin tells us, in 1946, Stalin received an anonymous letter to the Central Committee aimed at the leader of Moscow, Georgy Popov. Nikolai, whom the Moscow authorities had just decided to promote further, also suffered from it: “The young careerist Komsomol member Krasavchenko went to the front, was captured by the Germans, and who knows where he got his party card. By unknown means he got out from behind enemy lines. He should belong in the camps. But Popov gave him a new party card, sent him abroad as a member of the youth delegation, and then made him secretary of the MK and MGK Komsomol. ...Popov persistently sought the election of Krasavchenko at the last Komsomol congress as secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee. But even young people saw through what kind of fruit Krasavchenko was and failed him.”

Delegates in all their glory. Photo from the archives of the US Congress Library

It happened near Smolensk, where a group of Moscow youth was sent to build defensive structures. The Germans advanced so quickly that people were captured. Krasavchenko, realizing what awaited him, buried his Komsomol card, not his party card (otherwise he would have been a communist) in some barn. But when he came out to his people, he honestly told how everything had happened, and they gave him a new one. And since he was released abroad, therefore, the party and government believed his story about what happened.

And the background of the trip is that a good friend of the Soviet people, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a telegram to Joseph Vissarionovich. In it, he (as always) expressed sincere sympathy for the courageous struggle of the Soviet people, spoke about the ever-increasing efforts of the allied states and about the great role of youth in the anti-fascist struggle, especially its leading part - the students. And already, as if casually, he announced that from September 2 to 5, the World Student Assembly was meeting in Washington, where the leading place should be taken by delegations of the allied powers - the USA, USSR, England and China. In general, send at least two or three delegates.

I am inclined to evaluate the ideological combination for the selection of delegates as extremely correct, which to some extent justifies the civilian suit of Comrade. Krasavchenko in difficult years for the country. The problem is obvious: the allies (primarily Great Britain) are openly pushing for a solution to a strategically important issue. Negotiations on the opening of a second front had been ongoing since June 1941, and specifically in the spring of 1942, People's Commissar Molotov flew to the USA, and then to England again on the same occasion. Everyone politely agreed, but in a letter to Stalin dated July 18, and then during negotiations with the head of the Soviet government in Moscow in August 1942, Churchill announced England’s refusal to open a second front in Europe in 1942. “This was also confirmed on behalf of the President F. Roosevelt and the US Ambassador to Moscow A. Harriman, who was present at the negotiations between W. Churchill and J. V. Stalin,” this is the information that can be gleaned from the pages of the publication “The Great Patriotic War. Questions and Answers.”

For a PR campaign in order to process public opinion in the dynamic countries, young and beautiful white people of the Caucasian race were chosen, representing the two main fraternal Slavic peoples and having a specific result. After the destruction of the airfields in 1941, things were still a bit tight with the pilots, the sailors and tank crews were also lagging behind, and in general things at the front were rubbish - it was not possible to recapture Kharkov, the landings near Kerch and Feodosia failed, the Germans were rushing to Stalingrad. And here, personally, with their own hands, 411 fascists were killed between them. Living Hero of the Soviet Union. Moreover, who came out with him to the American and English public? A weak girl, and already with the Order of Lenin, by the way! Moreover, Pavlichenko fought from the very beginning and was a unique phenomenon in her own way.

At the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, Pchelintsev and Pavlichenko quickly resolved the clothing issue. In particular, the general's uniform was altered to fit. I can’t say for sure, but the lady was awarded the rank of junior lieutenant before the trip. And this can also be explained purely logically: it’s not like just a sergeant will represent a huge country! Again, a strange relationship of subordination: Pchelintsev was already a senior lieutenant. He recalled that the form was sorted out literally within a day.

Jr. Lieutenant Pavlichenko in a magnificent cap.

“Having tried mine on, I was pleased - everything fit. The general's buttonholes disappeared, and now in their place were sewn crimson infantry buttonholes with gilded edging, and three shiny ruby ​​“cubes” and infantry emblems were attached to them. Gold chevrons are sewn on the sleeves - three gold stripes with a break. From his tunic he hung the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Lyudmila Pavlichenko also looked good in the uniform of a junior lieutenant with the Order of Lenin and the medal “For Military Merit.” They showed up in uniform to Mikhailov (First Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee - TS). He liked our costumes. To our “regalia”, on behalf of the Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense, Colonel-General Shchadenko, he added two more modest awards - the gilded “Sniper” and “Guard” badges,” he recalled. They also gave out fashionable “bottle” boots. I cannot remain silent: the presentation of guards badges in this case was pure window dressing, especially since the 25th Chapaev Division, in which Pavlichenko served, died in July 1942 and was by that time officially disbanded.

But for the Americans and the British this was completely unimportant; they did not understand Soviet military uniforms. But in terms of appearance, it was a winning move. The Guard is the Guard. And the trip across the USA, Canada and then the UK was extremely successful. Every time in a new place, guests from the fighting country of the Soviets felt the inexhaustible interest of the public. Literally from the first day, about which the hardworking Pchelintsev left a similar report. In addition to the daily report, he very colorfully described his sniper talents and somehow very noticeably rubbed Lyudmila - either she refuses to shoot (they were asked to do this all the time), then she gets fat from beer, or in general it turns out that she doesn’t exist.

At the Consulate in Washington

“Today is August 27th. It was 5:30, and no wonder we had difficulty getting up. But there was no time to idle. In just a few minutes our express arrived in Washington. At 5.45 he made the last turn of the wheels and stopped under the arches of the capital's station. It was dark, gloomy, there was a slight haze and dampness in the air. Imagine our surprise when, looking out the window, we saw many people greeting us on the platform. However, at that moment we were more occupied not with contemplating the crowd on the platform, but with the thought that we had finally arrived in Washington - the goal of our journey. We arrived on the 14th day of the journey, leaving several thousand kilometers behind. Whatever you say, this is impressive and remains forever in the memory,” writes Pchelintsev. And they stayed overnight in the White House, under the tutelage of Eleanor Roosevelt, whom they later spoke of with great feeling.

Gift photo of Eleanor Roosevelt. From the archive of V. Pchelintsev.

With officials. Even the gloomy Pchelintsev noted Lyudmila’s ability to make others laugh

And here is the TASS message from August 30: “In a conversation with journalists, Krasavchenko asked them to convey greetings to American youth and the entire American people from the Soviet people fighting at the front against the Nazi hordes. Krasavchenko briefly described the diverse participation of Soviet youth in the fight against the aggressor. He expressed the hope that the stay of the Soviet delegation in the United States would strengthen the friendship of American and Soviet youth and that the active participation in the war of the youth of all united countries would accelerate the final victory over Hitlerism. Lyudmila Pavlichenko conveyed fighting greetings from Soviet women to American women and spoke about the selfless work of Soviet women, inspired by hatred of the enemy. Pchelintsev spoke about the art of the sniper and concluded: “We can and will win. Stalin said so, so it will be.”

With Ambassador of the Soviet Union to the USA M. M. Litvinov

The program of the visit was extremely eventful - we traveled all over the country, met with students, trade unions, labor collectives and even the Furriers Association. Almost everywhere - with constant success. Here is what Vladimir Nikolaevich reports on this matter:

“By the end of the meeting, the ministers, already out of breath, bring paper sheets to the presidium and hand them over to us: “I don’t like communists, and all Russians are communists! I came here out of curiosity to see what kind of people you are? To be honest, I liked you! Please accept it from me.” a small amount and buy yourself a gift of your choice - in memory of this meeting" - signature. Here, on a narrow form, is a check. The first time, I remember, I turned it around in front of me in bewilderment and asked the translator:

What it is? He smiled:

Congratulations! This is a bearer check for one thousand dollars. A gift, as you can see from the note, you can give yourself a rich one!

As we stayed in America, we received more and more such bank checks. Of course, it never occurred to us to spend it on ourselves. In addition, we received a lot of checks that went to the aid fund, either for “Soviet Russia”, or for the “Red Army”, or for the “second front”. And so it happened that we began to attach “our” personal checks to all the others and transfer them wholesale to the embassy to M. M. Litvinov. The total amount soon reached an impressive size, on the order of several hundred thousand dollars!”

This is understandable, since snipers had examples from life, and corresponding texts were prepared for them. In particular, Luda. “Lyudmila spoke before the International Student Assembly in Washington, before the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), as well as in New York, but many people remember her speech in Chicago.

Gentlemen,” a ringing voice rang out over the crowd of thousands of people gathered. - I am twenty five years old. At the front, I had already managed to destroy three hundred and nine fascist invaders. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you've been hiding behind my back for too long?! The crowd froze for a minute, and then exploded into a frenzied noise of approval....”

This is how numerous sources describe the most poignant moment of the trip, without, however, providing a link to the original source. We won't give it either.

It should be noted that Soviet snipers (and Komsomol members) did not travel across the USA and Canada alone, but together with representatives of other allies, specially selected by the American International Students Service committee. Traveling around the eastern states were Pavlichenko, the Chinese Yun-Wan (a former actress, a friend of Chiang Kai-shek’s wife, a student at Columbia University), Irena Morrey, the leader of the Washington ISS Committee, British pilots Peter Cachran and Scott Malden, as well as “the representative of Holland Abdul Kadir, a native of Dutch West Indies". On the western side - Pchelintsev with Krasavchenko in the company of two more British pilots and a Dutch naval lieutenant.

In the middle - Captain Peter Cachran, Scotsman . Photofrom a book you know.

The delegation is almost in full strength. From the archive of V. Pchelintsev.

Pchelintsev cites an interesting episode about American democracy in connection with a visit to Pittsburgh, where one morning in a hotel corridor he met two policemen. “From his explanation, I understood that Pittsburgh is a special city in America: it is a city in which the overwhelming majority of the population are immigrants from Germany, Germans! Many in the city do not hide their sympathies for Hitler, they admire the successes of Hitler’s army on the Eastern Front, they hate Russians; there are many fascist thugs in the city. They learned from the press that there were two Russians in the youth delegation that came to the city. And all the newspapers are talking about the fact that one of them was a sniper who exterminated one and a half hundred of their compatriots! The reaction of the fascist elements is understandable, their unequivocal threats to “deal with the Russians” - that’s even how it happened.

The Furriers' Association kindly presented the envoys of the Red Army with bear jackets and another fur coat made from silver foxes.

And at the end of September, when the program was exhausted, the USSR Consul in the USA, Viktor Fedyushin, said that it was still too early to go home, since Prime Minister Churchill personally sent an invitation to visit Great Britain. “You must, my dears, correctly understand that your stay in America and your trip around the country brought enormous benefits that are difficult to overestimate. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in some matters the attitude towards us has now radically changed in the United States. Many issues are being resolved quickly and favorably, which until recently had to be resolved for weeks, or even months. “I’ll reveal a small “official secret” - Maxim Maksimovich Litvinov recently said at an embassy meeting in Washington that your youth delegation was an unexpected catalyst that accelerated and intensified many processes of Soviet diplomatic activity in the United States,” the consul admonished the snipers.

Farewell party at Hunter College, organized by a certain "Russian war relief". The second front is what we expect from you, gentlemen Americans, and you are talking about milk...”, Pchelintsev responded irritably about the slogan.

Running through the visit in italics, we will only say that Churchill received them personally, the snipers were given a visit to military units, presented with rifles, and at the end a meeting was organized with Charles de Gaulle. Everyone assured that the opening of a second front was not far off, everyone was ready and it was just a matter of time. And old de Gaulle boasted that his pilots are ready to fight fascism - just give them planes. The talk, of course, was about the future “Normandy-Niemen”. Well, and of course, meetings with working people.

I wonder what she has in her hand? She told De Gaulle that snipers don't smoke

“She was enthusiastically greeted by the workers of the plant she visited. At a rally in London, organized on November 22, 1942 by the Women’s Committee of Anglo-Soviet Friendship in honor of Pavlichenko, English women promised to be worthy of their Soviet sisters,” says the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense on this occasion, which has not lost the sparkling style of the editorials of the formidable 40- x years.

I’m making a note to you, comrade Englishman. Your weapon hasn't been cleaned for a long time

Senior Lieutenant Pchelintsev did not like Uncle Winston. “The descendant of the Duke of Marlborough studied the officer standing in front of him. One thing the prime minister did not know was that before him there was also a descendant who, like himself, was proud of his pedigree, although it spoke of my common origin from a distant ancestor, a forest beekeeper, a “beekeeper.” But my great-grandfather died in Bulgaria, near Shipka, in 1877 in a battle with the Turks. Grandfather died in 1905 near Mukden, in Manchuria, in a battle with the Japanese. His father also laid down his head in 1920 near Kursk in the battle with the White Guards,” these are the thoughts that were born in his head with the limp handshake of the legendary prime minister and the terry anti-Soviet.

Let's talk about the results: interest in the Soviet Union and the war it waged single-handedly against all of Europe grew sharply. Of course, the Battle of Stalingrad played a key role in this, but Soviet snipers (and Komsomol members) gave an ironclad information lead. For example, American radio began to include stories about life in the USSR in national and local broadcasts and reported details of the heroic struggle of Soviet soldiers and partisans.

The British are boasting about tanks that are “about to go across the strait.” The overcoats are sewn to order through the efforts of Ambassador Maisky, the buttons and buttonholes are made-to-measure.

In November 1942, the newly created US Office of Information organized weekly radio broadcasts dedicated to the Soviet Union. And in 1942, I will tell you, in America there were more than 28 million radio points, which covered 82.8% of the entire population of the country. The Soviet documentary film “The Defeat of the Germans near Moscow” was shown in cinemas in Great Britain and the USA. In general, the public was very much in favor of helping the allies. But the second front was eventually opened when the collapse of Germany was obvious. But the famous film about the lost private will tell you about this better than I can.

And if I’m lying, then old man Woody Harty’s song “Miss Pavlichenko” does not at all resemble the deceitful fabrication of the Kremlin secret services. There are heartfelt lines in it: “The world will love your sweet face, just like me. After all, more than three hundred Nazi dogs died from your weapons.” What's it like?