We recently celebrated International Women’s Day on 8th March. The theme of 2025 was "Accelerate Action" , emphasising the urgency of advancing gender equality. It is being predicted that at the current pace, achieving full gender parity could extend to the year 2158.
The year was 1941. Lyudmila Pavlichenko was 25 years old and studying history at Kiev University when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa and the Wehrmacht began its invasion of the Soviet Union. Instead of hiding or fleeing, she volunteered for the Red Army, not as a nurse (which was how the other countries were recruiting women), but as a sniper. She became one of 2000 female snipers in the Red Army. Here, let me remind you, the Soviet Union was the only country during World War II to recruit women in the army. During training, she outshot every man in her unit. The army soon realised that they weren’t dealing with an ordinary recruit.
Career at the Red Army—
Pavilchenko was initially assigned to the Red Army's 25th rifle division. On 8th August, 1941, she experienced her debut when she killed two Nazi officers in Biliaivka at a distance of 400 meters during the
Siege of Odessa. She later recalled how difficult it was. Killing someone changes you, after all. But soon, the battlefield became her new normal. At the same battle, she killed a total of 187 nazis. At the Siege of Sevastopol, she killed more than 100 axis soliders. One of her most legendary moments came when she faced off against a top German sniper. This wasn’t just another kill—it was a multi-day duel, where both snipers played an intense game of patience, strategy, and survival.
For three days, they hunted each other, moving silently, waiting for the other to make a mistake. In the end, Pavlichenko won, adding another high-value kill to her count.Her reputation spread so fast that the Nazis began targeting her specifically. They even tried bribing her through loudspeakers, promising she’d become an officer if she surrendered. When that didn’t work, they switched to threats:
“Pavlichenko, we will tear you into 309 pieces.” ('309' , because that's how many nazi and axis soldiers she had killed, including 36 snipers.)
In June 1942, Pavlichenko was hit in the face by shell from a mortar blast. After her injury, the Soviet High Command had her evacuated from Sevastopol by submarine.
Visits to the Allied Countries—
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With Eleanor Roosevelt
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In 1942, the Soviet Union sent a delegation of three young people to the United States and England, hoping that the publicity would persuade the Allies to open a second front. Lt. Pavilchenko was the first Soviet citizen welcomed at the White House. She was joined by fellow sniper Vladimir Pchelintsev and Moscow fuel commissioner Nikolai Krasavchenko. The American press wasn’t sure what to ask her. Instead of asking about the war, they asked:
- Did she wear makeup while sniping?
- Did she curl her hair?
- What did she think about American fashion?
Pavlichenko, unfazed and unimpressed, responded:
“I wear my uniform with honour. It has the Order of Lenin on it. What have you pinned to your chest?”
She toured the U.S. with Eleanor Roosevelt, giving speeches that shamed American men for not doing enough in the war. In Chicago, she declared:
“I am 25 years old, and I have killed 309 fascists. Gentlemen, don’t you think it’s time you stopped hiding behind my back?”
The crowd roared. She made an impression on Americans, inspiring American singer Woody Guthrie to write the song "Miss Pavlichenko" in 1942.
After visiting the U.S., Pavlichenko travelled to Canada, where she visited cities like Toronto and Ottawa. She met with officials, gave speeches, and urged more support for the Soviet Union in the fight against Nazi Germany. Unlike in the U.S., where reporters couldn’t stop talking about her looks, the Canadians focused on what really mattered—her war record and the Soviet struggle.
In Britain, she met Winston Churchill, toured factories, and spent time with wounded British soldiers, helping to strengthen ties between the Soviet and British forces.
Her trip was not just about diplomacy; it was also about reminding the Allies that, while they were delaying the opening of a Second Front, the Soviets were already fighting and paying the price in blood.
Called out American Hypocrisy—
During her tour, Pavlichenko also had a firsthand encounter with racial segregation in the U.S. While travelling by train, she saw that Black American soldiers and passengers were forced to sit separately.
Coming from the Soviet Union, where racism was officially condemned, she was shocked. She reportedly asked her American escorts:
“Why are your fellow soldiers treated this way? They are fighting the same war, are they not?”
It was a rare moment when an outsider called out America’s hypocrisy during a time when the country claimed to be fighting for "freedom."
Her legacy lives on:
Pavlichenko never returned to combat but instead trained Soviet snipers until the war ended in 1945. She later graduated from Kiev University and became a historian.
To this day, she remains the deadliest female sniper in history. No one has broken her record of 309 confirmed kills. Her legacy lives on in books, films, and even music; the metal band Sabaton honoured her with the song "Lady Death."
She proved that war isn’t just a man’s game. She wasn’t just part of history—she changed it.
So the next time someone asks if history has badass women, tell them about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the university student who became a sniper who outshot the Nazis, and the war hero who made even Eleanor Roosevelt take notes.
However, war does not end when the guns are silent. Like many veterans, Pavlichenko struggled with PTSD and depression for years. On October 10, 1974, she passed away after suffering a stroke.
The Soviet Union honoured her with two commemorative postage stamps, one in 1943, celebrating her battlefield feats, and another in 1976, marking her passing.
And when asked, “How many men have you killed?” She had only one answer:
“Not men. Fascists. 309.”
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