The Great Lyudmila (First post | Silver Bloggers)

In the early days of her tour of the United States to garner support for the "second front" in Europe, the woman received unfavorable treatment, especially from the press. Among the questions they asked her, there were those that were not substantive, tendentious, and tended to dwell on trivial matters, especially those related to low fashion sense.

The media commented on her makeup and way of dressing which was far from American female pop culture at the time. She was overwhelmed and cornered by several newspaper articles that criticised the fashion sense of women like herself, perhaps even putting a covert or insinuative attack on Russian women's fashion at that time.

The Gentler Sex columnist for the Washington Post, even insists on linking the statement that an efficient soldier would be proud of his appearance. We can conclude how the position of women in the system of capitalist society through this phenomenon. The standard of beauty and all that they carry with them is nothing but one of the 'measures' created by patriarchal capitalist society in which men are included as symbols of power and women as objects of ownership or property, one of which is women like Lindsey.

But, she managed to throw the 'dirt' right in their faces. Drop all the men who measure women's position of beauty and fashion to the furthest retreat they can reach. Maybe at the same time, she would say in her heart while parting his lips sarcastically. Everyone will remember what she said in Chicago:

"Gentlemen," she said, "I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist residents by now. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind me for too long?" Pavlichencko

There was silence for a fraction of a second. Her words made the crowd freeze, before finally a thunderous roar of support surged and emotional. That day, she had succeeded in convincing people to take part in the battlefields of World War II. The story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916–1974) is circulating online everywhere especially on Russian military historical platforms.

They described Pavlichenko as a Russian female sniper during World War II who recorded 309 confirmed kills, including one hundred officers and thirty-six enemy snipers. On the other hand, some believe that most of the stories of "The Lady of Death" are mere figments of Soviet propaganda to garner allied support against fascism, including Joseph Stalin's political interests.

Besides, isn't she just a mourning woman trapped in a psychic illness and acute alcoholism who will die in her son's arms at the end of her life. Despite minor opinions about her, admit it or not, Pavlichenko was a legend that marked the emancipation of women even for the Soviets themselves.

Born Lyudmila Mykhailvna Pavlichenko in 1916, in Balaya Tserkov, a Ukrainian town outside of Kiev, the little girl grew up a tomboy who broke the rules in the classroom but was athletically competitive, and would not allow herself to lose to a boy in class any thing. She once told that she was shocked after hearing her neighbor's boy often brag to people about his skills at the shooting range. Pavlichenko thought that she had to do something.

“I set out to show that a girl can do it too. So I practiced a lot.” ^{opere citato}

When the war broke out, Pavlichenko, who was in Odessa at that time, was tapped to join but a girl like her found it difficult to join an infantry unit. They would not take girls in the army, therefore, Pavlichenko had to resort to all sorts of tricks to enter.

Military officials would rather have her in the nursing unit. When a Red Army unit held an impromptu audition, she no longer waited for the call to join the competitors and then demonstrated her aiming skills.

Pavlichenko's name was registered with the Red Army's 25th Chapayev Rifle Division. She immediately advanced to the front line of battle but on the first day, the woman found herself frozen when faced with the enemy.

Her 7.62 mm Mosin-Nagant rifle with 4x PE telescope does not move. Beside her, a young Russian soldier was getting into position, when a whoosh was heard and a bullet hit the boy which inflamed Pavlichenko and nothing could stop her.

Over time, Pavlichenko increasingly mastered her work. She even got a special task: countersniping alias duel between snipers one on one.

However, she has never lost a duel. Her shots brought down 36 enemy snipers in a hunt that could last all day and night—in one case, three days. It was one of the most stressful experiences.

It took endurance and willpower to hold her position for 15 or 20 hours straight but he held on until her eyes caught the presence of the Nazi snipers who she said were moving too much while ducking or hiding. Opponents threatened to tear Pavlichenko into 309 pieces equal to the woman's total score.

After the battle in Svastopol, Pavlichenko toured the entire United States, walking side by side with Eleanor Roosevelt from one crowd to another to rally allied support against Nazi fascism—this is also recorded as the first Soviet citizen to visit the White House.

She wears the uniform of daily service as a stiff officer while the first lady wears blues or sometimes a fur coat, spreading her feminine side all over the place. It was also on the tour that the mass media began to do their 'dirty' job very well, especially if not selling bullshit by all their American girl beauty standards.

The New York Times describes Pavlichenko as a woman who wears no blush, or any make-up, has no style other than her olive green uniform, while other athletes claim to be overweight after storming five menus in New England at once. Through her translator Pavlichenko answered their questions in a friendly manner, and when someone asked if Russian women could wear makeup, she thought for a moment.

She had just gone through a tough battle on the frontlines with a heavy toll a few months ago, what kind of question was that? But, calmly she replied:

"There are no rules against it, but who has time to think about her shiny nose when the battle is on?" ^{opere citato}

On her tour of New York, Pavlichenko was greeted by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and representatives of the International Union of Fur and Leather Workers, CIO, who gave her a long raccoon coat of leather that blended beautifully and glittered.

Got such a coat, the media lamented that later Pavlichenko would get her stained with blood when she had returned to her homeland and fought. Such a tiring tour, isn't it? The woman who was immediately fed up with the muddle-mouthed press said:

"I wear my uniform with respect. It has the Order of Lenin on it. It has been covered in blood in battle. It is clear that with American women what matters is whether they wear silk undergarments under their uniforms. What uniforms are for, they have not learned!" ^{opere citato}

On another occasion, she said the life of Russian women is based on full gender equality. From the first day of the revolution, Soviet women had full rights and they received specializations that made them independent like men.

"Soviet women had complete self-respect, because their dignity as human beings was fully recognized. Whatever we do, we are respected not just as women, but as individual personalities, as human beings. That is a very big word. Because we can fully that, we feel there are no limits because of our gender.That's why women naturally take their place beside men in this war." ^{opere citato}