War hero Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The feat of the great Zoya

The article is devoted to a short biography of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a girl who became famous for her feat during the Great Patriotic War and who maintained courage and faith in victory until the end of her tragic death.

Brief biography of Kosmodemyanskaya: childhood and youth
Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was born in 1923 in a small village. As a child, she moved with her family to Siberia. IN early years I was sick a lot and seriously. Despite this, she studied excellently; knowledge came easily to her.
The outbreak of war interrupted my studies. Zoya and her brother began a harsh working life.
Many young people were then seized by a patriotic impulse. Zoya went to the front on her own. The girl was taken to school to train saboteurs. Only volunteers were taken for training, who were immediately warned of the high probability of death. The youth of that time were distinguished by incredible heroism, so they responded to the call great amount willing. Volunteers underwent strict medical control. As a result, about two thousand people were selected. The training was extensive and included mastery of all types of weapons, terrain orientation, and psychological training.
Kosmodemyanskaya, as part of a sabotage group, successfully completed the first military operation against the German invaders, which consisted in mining roads behind enemy lines.

Feat of Kosmodemyanskaya
At the end of November 1941, group commanders received the task of burning several villages in which German units were located. During the mission, Kosmodemyanskaya’s group came across an ambush. After a short battle with superior enemy forces, the group was scattered. Only three participants in the sabotage managed to get together, among whom was Zoya. In an effort to complete the assigned task, the saboteurs entered the village of Petrishchevo. Kosmodemyanskaya managed to set fire to three houses, after which she disappeared into the forest and spent the night there. The next day, waiting until dark, the girl returned to the village to finish the job she had started.
The German soldiers stationed in the village were ready for repeated sabotage. They strengthened security and involved some of the local residents in this. Kosmodemyanskaya was setting fire to a barn with hay when a peasant hired by the Germans noticed her. He hastily called German soldiers, who surrounded the barn and took the partisan prisoner.
Zoya was subjected brutal torture, but did not even give out her name, calling the pseudonym “Tanya”. The girl was publicly hanged. Even with a noose draped around her neck, she continued to talk about inevitable victory Soviet people. Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat became widely known in the Soviet Union. She was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Many citizens were proud of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat Soviet Union, he inspired people to continue the irreconcilable struggle against the invaders. A young girl gave her life, performing a task, albeit insignificant on a national scale, but in its own way important. From millions of acts of resistance to Hitler’s troops, a common Great Victory ultimately emerged.

Controversy surrounding the feat
During Perestroika, it was fashionable to revise the history of the Soviet period. At the same time, along with the truly necessary, revealing the hidden truth, historical research, appeared a large number of unfounded lies. Denigration of exploits and achievements was especially popular Soviet era. This trend did not bypass the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
Suggestions were made about the girl’s mental instability, that in fact there were no Germans at all in the village of Petrishchevo, that Zoya did not receive any orders, but went without permission to burn down peasant houses. A softer point of view was that under the name Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya there was hiding a completely different partisan who remained unknown.
All these speculations have no basis and are designed to be effective. It is always easier to criticize and question the merits of others than to do something worthwhile yourself.
A special commission worked on the Kosmodemyanskaya case, all the circumstances were carefully studied, and witnesses were questioned. There are photographs of the execution taken by the Germans. Zoya's mother recognized them as her daughter. All documentary materials confirm the authenticity of the feat.
The only thing that can downplay the significance of the feat is the very nature of the order, which consists in setting fire to the houses of the Russian population. But the girl did not think about the moral significance of her actions; she completely believed in the correctness of the government’s decisions. The burning of houses housing German soldiers was caused by severe military necessity. Zoya, even if she wanted, could not dispute decision. She was able to do more - give her life to achieve victory. This is her feat, which should never be forgotten.

A summary of the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, which was given in history textbooks to Soviet schoolchildren, for several decades was for them the best lesson in patriotism and love for the motherland, courage, and an example to follow. Yes and for modern boys and girls, this woman, or rather a girl, is an example of heroism. Zoya’s feat is still being discussed, new facts and evidence are emerging, controversy and even speculation are arising around it. Who was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya?

Biography of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

Zoya was a simple girl from the Tambov village of Osiny Gai. She was born into a family school teachers September 13, 1923. The family lived near Tambov until 1929, and then was forced to flee to Siberia, fearing denunciations and arrest. The fact is that Zoya’s grandfather was accused of anti-Soviet activities and executed for this. But the Kosmodemyanskys lived in Siberia for only a year, then moved to the outskirts of Moscow.

Zoya lived short life, and its significant milestones were a meager number of events, not all of which can be called happy:

• excellent studies at school, but lack of mutual understanding with classmates,
• meningitis, meeting Arkady Gaidar in a sanatorium during treatment,
• studying at a sabotage school and sending Zoya’s group behind the Nazi lines,
• successful completion of several tasks, capture and execution.

The difficult life of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, hardships and difficulties did not take away her patriotism and love for the Fatherland. The girl firmly believed in socialism and victory in the War, steadfastly endured all the hardships of captivity and accepted death with dignity - this is a fact that skeptics and pro-Soviet figures are unable to dispute.

Background to the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

In November 1941, when the Nazis were rapidly advancing and their troops were already on the approaches to the capital of the USSR, Stalin and the military commanders decided to use the so-called “Scythian” tactics in the fight against the enemy. Its essence was the complete destruction of populated areas and strategic objects on the path of advance of enemy forces. This task was to be carried out by sabotage groups, which were specially trained for this purpose in specialized schools, in accelerated courses. One of these groups included Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

In accordance with Stalin’s order No. 0428, the group was supposed to commit sabotage and destroy more than 10 villages in the Moscow region with Molotov cocktails:

• Anashkino and Petrishchevo,
• Gribtsovo and Usadkovo,
• Ilyatino and Pushkino,
• Grachevo and Mikhailovskoye,
• Korovino, Bugailovo and others.

The saboteurs set out on a mission on November 21, 1941, in two groups. They were ambushed near the village of Golovkovo, as a result of which only one group remained, which continued to carry out such a cruel, but necessary task in those realities.

Brief summary of the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

After the losses suffered as a result of shelling of groups near the village of Golovkovo, the task became more complicated, and the saboteurs, including Zoya, had to gather all their strength to complete the task of Stalin himself. Kosmodemyanskaya was supposed to burn the village of Petrishchevo near Moscow, which was a transport hub for fascist movements. The girl and her colleague, fighter Vasily Klubkov, partially completed the task, destroying 20 horses of the German army along the way. In addition, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya managed to disable German communications, which helped eliminate contact between several German units in the Moscow region and reduce their offensive activity, albeit for a short time.

The leader of the group of saboteurs who survived the ambush, Krainov, did not wait for Kosmodemyanskaya and Klubkov, and returned to the rear. Realizing this, Zoya decided to continue working behind enemy lines on her own and returned to Petrishchevo to start setting fires again. One of the village residents, who at that time was already serving the Germans, by the name of Sviridov, grabbed the girl and handed her over to the Nazis.

Captivity and execution of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was captured by the Nazis on November 28, 1941. The following facts are known for certain about her time in captivity and the torment that the young Komsomol member had to endure:

• regular beatings, including by two local residents,
• spanking with belts on naked bodies during interrogations,
• being driven through the streets of Petrishchev without clothes, in the bitter cold.

Despite all the horrors of torment, Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya not only did not disclose any information about her groups or assignments, but did not even give her real name. She gave her name as Tanya and did not provide any other information about herself or her accomplices, even under torture. Such resilience amazed not only the local residents, who became unwitting witnesses to her torment, but also the torturers themselves, the fascist punishers and investigators.

Many years after the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, her captivity and execution, it became known that villagers who were then serving for the Germans, whose houses she burned - the wives of the elder Smirnov and the punisher Solin - took part in the torture. They were convicted and sentenced to death penalty Soviet power.

The Nazis turned the execution of Zoya herself into a whole demonstration performance for local residents who did not show them due respect. The girl was paraded through the streets with an “arsonist” sign on her chest, and a photo was taken in front of Zoya, who was standing on the scaffold with a noose around her neck. But even in the face of death, she called for fighting fascism and not being afraid of invaders. The girl’s body was not allowed to be removed from the gallows for a whole month, and only on the eve of the New Year did local residents manage to bury Zoya.

Posthumous recognition of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat and new facts

After the liberation of the village of Petrishchevo from the Nazis, a special commission arrived there, identified the body and interviewed witnesses to the events. The data was provided to Stalin himself, and after studying it, he decided to posthumously award Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, they were given a directive to publish material about the feat in the media so that the whole country would learn about the heroism of a simple Komsomol member.

Modern historians have already provided supposedly genuine facts that the girl was betrayed to the Nazis either by her partner or by the group commander, and her heroism and perseverance are just fiction. These data have not been confirmed by anything, nor have they been refuted. Despite attempts to denigrate socialism and everything connected with it, the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya to this day serves as an example of patriotism and heroism for Russians.

Family

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was born on September 13, 1923 in the village of Osino-Gai (a village in various sources also referred to as Osinov Gai or Osinovye Gai, which means “aspen grove”), Gavrilovsky district, Tambov region, in a family of hereditary local priests.

Zoya's grandfather, the priest of the Znamenskaya Church in the village of Osino-Gai Pyotr Ioannovich Kozmodemyansky, was captured by the Bolsheviks on the night of August 27, 1918 and, after cruel torture, was drowned in the Sosulinsky pond. His corpse was discovered only in the spring of 1919; the priest was buried next to the church, which was closed by the communists, despite complaints from believers and their letters to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in 1927

Zoya's father Anatoly studied at the theological seminary, but did not graduate from it; married local teacher Lyubov Churikova.

Captivity, torture and execution

Execution of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

Zoya’s fighting friend Klavdiya Miloradova recalls that during the identification of the corpse, there was dried blood on Zoya’s hands and there were no nails. A dead body does not bleed, which means Zoya’s nails were also torn out during torture.

At 10:30 the next morning, Kosmodemyanskaya was taken out into the street, where a gallows had already been erected; a sign was hung on her chest that read “House Arsonist.” When Kosmodemyanskaya was brought to the gallows, Smirnova hit her legs with a stick, shouting: “Who did you harm? She burned my house, but did nothing to the Germans...”

One of the witnesses describes the execution itself as follows:

They led her by the arms all the way to the gallows. She walked straight, with her head raised, silently, proudly. They brought him to the gallows. There were many Germans and civilians around the gallows. They brought her to the gallows, ordered her to expand the circle around the gallows and began to photograph her... She had a bag with bottles with her. She shouted: “Citizens! Don't stand there, don't look, but we need to help fight! This death of mine is my achievement.” After that, one officer swung his arms, and others shouted at her. Then she said: “Comrades, victory will be ours. German soldiers, before it’s too late, surrender.” The officer shouted angrily: “Rus!” “The Soviet Union is invincible and will not be defeated,” she said all this at the moment when she was photographed... Then they framed the box. She stood on the box herself without any command. A German came up and began to put on the noose. At that time she shouted: “No matter how much you hang us, you won’t hang us all, there are 170 million of us. But our comrades will avenge you for me.” She said this with a noose around her neck. She wanted to say something else, but at that moment the box was removed from under her feet, and she hung. She grabbed the rope with her hand, but the German hit her hands. After that everyone dispersed.

In the “Corpse Identification Act” dated February 4, 1942, carried out by a commission consisting of representatives of the Komsomol, officers of the Red Army, a representative of the RK CPSU (b), the village council and village residents, on the circumstances of the death, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses of the search, interrogation and execution, it was established that Komsomol member Z. A. Kosmodemyanskaya before her execution uttered the words of appeal: “Citizens! Don't stand there, don't look. We must help the Red Army fight, and for my death our comrades will take revenge on the German fascists. The Soviet Union is invincible and will not be defeated." Addressing the German soldiers, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya said: “German soldiers! Before it's too late, surrender. No matter how much you hang us, you can’t hang us all, there are 170 million of us.”

Kosmodemyanskaya’s body hung on the gallows for about a month, repeatedly being abused by German soldiers passing through the village. On New Year's Day 1942, drunken Germans tore off the hanged clothes and Once again They violated the body, stabbing it with knives and cutting off its chest. The next day, the Germans gave the order to remove the gallows, and the body was buried by local residents outside the village.

Subsequently, Kosmodemyanskaya was reburied at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

There is a widespread version (in particular, it was mentioned in the film “The Battle of Moscow”), according to which, having learned about the execution of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, I. Stalin ordered the soldiers and officers of the 332nd Wehrmacht Infantry Regiment not to be taken prisoner, but only to be shot. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rüderer, was captured by front-line security officers, convicted and later executed by court verdict. .

Posthumous recognition of the feat

Zoya’s fate became widely known from the article “Tanya” by Pyotr Lidov, published in the newspaper “Pravda” on January 27, 1942. The author accidentally heard about the execution in Petrishchevo from a witness - an elderly peasant who was shocked by the courage of the unknown girl: “They hanged her, and she spoke a speech. They hanged her, and she kept threatening them...” Lidov went to Petrishchevo, questioned the residents in detail and published an article based on their questions. Her identity was soon established, as reported by Pravda in Lidov’s February 18 article “Who Was Tanya”; even earlier, on February 16, a decree was signed awarding her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

During and after perestroika, in the wake of anti-communist criticism, new information about Zoya. As a rule, it was based on rumors, not always accurate memories of eyewitnesses, and in some cases - on speculation, which, however, was inevitable in a situation where documentary information contradicting the official “myth” continued to be kept secret or was just was declassified. M. M. Gorinov wrote about these publications that in them “reflected some facts of the biography of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, which were hushed up in Soviet time, but were reflected as if in a distorting mirror - in a monstrously distorted form".

Researcher M. M. Gorinov, who published in the academic journal “ National history” article about Zoya, he is skeptical about the version of schizophrenia, but does not at all reject the newspaper’s reports, but only draws attention to the fact that their statement about suspicion of schizophrenia is expressed in a “streamlined” form.

Version about the betrayal of Vasily Klubkov

IN last years there is a version that Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was betrayed by her squadmate, Komsomol organizer Vasily Klubkov. It is based on materials from the Klubkov case, declassified and published in the Izvestia newspaper in 2000. Klubkov, who reported to his unit at the beginning of 1942, stated that he was captured by the Germans, escaped, was captured again, escaped again and managed to get to his own. However, during interrogations he changed his testimony and stated that he was captured along with Zoya and handed her over, after which he agreed to cooperate with the Germans, was trained at an intelligence school and was sent on an intelligence mission.

Could you please clarify the circumstances under which you were captured? - Approaching the house I had identified, I broke the bottle with “KS” and threw it, but it did not catch fire. At this time, I saw two German sentries not far from me and, showing cowardice, ran away into the forest, located 300 meters from the village. As soon as I ran into the forest, two German soldiers pounced on me, took away my revolver with cartridges, bags with five bottles of “KS” and a bag with food supplies, among which was also a liter of vodka. - What evidence did you give to the German army officer? “As soon as I was handed over to the officer, I showed cowardice and said that there were three of us in total, naming the names of Krainev and Kosmodemyanskaya. The officer gave it to German some kind of order to the German soldiers, they quickly left the house and a few minutes later they brought Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. I don’t know whether they detained Krainev. - Were you present during the interrogation of Kosmodemyanskaya? - Yes, I was present. The officer asked her how she set the village on fire. She replied that she did not set the village on fire. After this, the officer began beating Zoya and demanded testimony, but she categorically refused to give one. In her presence, I showed the officer that this was really Kosmodemyanskaya Zoya, who arrived in the village with me to carry out acts of sabotage, and that she set fire to the southern outskirts of the village. Kosmodemyanskaya did not answer the officer’s questions after that. Seeing that Zoya was silent, several officers stripped her naked and severely beat her with rubber truncheons for 2-3 hours, extracting her testimony. Kosmodemyanskaya told the officers: “Kill me, I won’t tell you anything.” After which she was taken away, and I never saw her again.

Klubkov was shot for treason on April 16, 1942. His testimony, as well as the very fact of his presence in the village during Zoya’s interrogation, is not confirmed in other sources. In addition, Klubkov’s testimony is confused and contradictory: he either says that Zoya mentioned his name during interrogation by the Germans, or says that she did not; states that he did not know Zoya’s last name, and then claims that he called her by her first and last name, etc. He even calls the village where Zoya died not Petrishchevo, but “Ashes”.

Researcher M. M. Gorinov suggests that Klubkov was forced to incriminate himself either for career reasons (in order to receive his share of dividends from the unfolding propaganda campaign around Zoya), or for propaganda reasons (to “justify” Zoya’s capture, which was unworthy, according to the ideology of that time, Soviet fighter). However, the version of betrayal was never put into propaganda circulation.

Awards

• Medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union (February 16, 1942) and the Order of Lenin (posthumously).

Memory

Monument at the Partizanskaya metro station

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya's grave at Novodevichy Cemetery

Museums

Monumental art

Monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya near school 201 in Moscow

Monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in the courtyard of school number 54 in Donetsk

Monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in Tambov

• Monument in the village of Osino-Gai, Tambov region, in the birthplace of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Tambov sculptor Mikhail Salychev
• Monument in Tambov on Sovetskaya Street. Sculptor Matvey Manizer.
• Bust in the village of Shitkino
• Monument on the platform of the Partizanskaya metro station in Moscow.
• Monument on the Minsk highway near the village of Petrishchevo.
• Memorial plate in the village of Petrishchevo.
• Monument in St. Petersburg in Moscow Victory Park.
• Monument in Kyiv: square on the corner of the street. Olesya Gonchar and st. Bohdan Khmelnytsky
• Monument in Kharkov in “Victory Square” (behind the “Mirror Stream” fountain)
• Monument in Saratov on Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Street, near school No. 72.
• Monument in Ishimbay near school No. 3
• Monument in Bryansk near school No. 35
• Bust in Bryansk near school No. 56
• Monument in Volgograd (on the territory of school No. 130)
• Monument in Chelyabinsk on Novorossiyskaya Street (in the courtyard of school No. 46).
• Monument in Rybinsk on Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Street on the banks of the Volga.
• Monument in the city of Kherson near school No. 13.
• Bust near a school in the village of Barmino, Lyskovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod region.
• Bust in Izhevsk near school number 25
• Bust in Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, near gymnasium No. 91
• Monument in Berdsk ( Novosibirsk region) near school number 11
• Monument in the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy near the Bolshevyazemskaya gymnasium
• Monument in Donetsk in the courtyard of school number 54
• Monument in Khimki on Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Street.
• Monument in Stavropol near gymnasium No. 12
• Monument in Barnaul near school No. 103
• Monument in Rostov region, With. Tarasovsky, monument near school No. 1.
• Bust in the village of Ivankovo, Yasnogorsk district, Tula region, in the courtyard of the Ivankovo ​​secondary school
• Bust in the village Tarutino, Odessa region, near the primary secondary school
• Bust in Mariupol in the courtyard of school No. 34
• Bust in Novouzensk, Saratov region, near school No. 8

Fiction

• Margarita Aliger dedicated the poem “Zoe” to Zoya. In 1943, the poem was awarded the Stalin Prize.
• Lyubov Timofeevna Kosmodemyanskaya published “The Tale of Zoya and Shura”. Literary record of Frida Vigdorova.
• Soviet writer Vyacheslav Kovalevsky created a dilogy about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The first part, the story “Brother and Sister,” describes the school years of Zoya and Shura Kosmodemyansky. The story “Don't be afraid of death! "is dedicated to Zoya's activities in harsh years Great Patriotic War,
• The Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet and the Chinese poet Ai Qing dedicated poems to Zoya.
• A. L. Barto poems “Partisan Tanya”, “At the monument to Zoya”

Music

Painting

• Kukryniksy. “Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya” (-)
• Dmitry Mochalsky “Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya”
• K. N. Shchekotov “The Last Night (Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya).” 1948-1949. Canvas, oil. 182x170. OOMII named after. M. A. Vrubel. Omsk.

Movies

• “Zoe” is a 1944 film directed by Leo Arnstam.
• “In the Name of Life” is a 1946 film directed by Alexander Zarkhi and Joseph Kheifits. (There is an episode in this film where the actress plays the role of Zoya in the theater.)
• “The Great Patriotic War”, film 4. “Partisans. War behind enemy lines."
• “Battle for Moscow” is a 1985 film directed by Yuri Ozerov.

In philately

Other

In honor of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, asteroid No. 1793 “Zoya” was named, as well as No. 2072 “Kosmodemyanskaya” (according to official version named after Lyubov Timofeevna Kosmodemyanskaya - mother of Zoya and Sasha). Also the village of Kosmodemyansky in the Moscow region, Ruzsky district, and the Kosmodemyansk secondary school.

In Dnepropetrovsk, eight-year school No. 48 (now secondary school No. 48) was named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Singer Joseph Kobzon, poets Igor Puppo and Oleg Klimov studied at this school.

The electric train ED2T-0041 (assigned to the Alexandrov depot) was named in honor of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

In Estonia, Ida Virumaa district, on the Kurtna lakes, a pioneer camp was named in honor of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

IN Nizhny Novgorod, school No. 37 of the Avtozavodsky district, there is a children's association “Schools”, created in honor of Z. A. Kosmodemyanskaya. School students hold ceremonial celebrations on Zoya's birthday and death day.

In Novosibirsk there is a children's library named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

A tank regiment of the National People's Army of the GDR was named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

In Syktyvkar there is Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Street.

In Penza there is a street named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

In the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, on the Seversky Donets River, is located Kid `s camp named after Zoya Komodemyanskaya.

see also

• Kosmodemyansky, Alexander Anatolyevich - brother of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Hero of the Soviet Union
• Voloshina, Vera Danilovna - Soviet intelligence officer, hanged on the same day as Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya
• Nazarova, Klavdiya Ivanovna - organizer and leader of the underground Komsomol organization

Literature

• Great Soviet Encyclopedia . In 30 volumes. Publisher: Soviet encyclopedia, hardcover, 18240 pp., circulation: 600,000 copies, 1970.
• Folk heroine. (Collection of materials about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya), M., 1943;
• Kosmodemyanskaya L. T., The Tale of Zoya and Shura. Publisher: LENIZDAT, 232 pp., circulation: 75,000 copies. 1951, Publisher: Children's Literature Publishing House, hardcover, 208 pp., circulation: 200,000 copies, 1956 M., 1966 Publisher: Children's Literature. Moscow, hardcover, 208 pp., circulation: 300,000 copies, 1976 Publisher: LENIZDAT, soft cover, 272 pp., circulation: 200,000 copies, 1974 Publisher: Narodnaya Asveta, hardcover, 206 pp., circulation: 300,000 copies ., 1978 Publisher: LENIZDAT, paperback, 256 pp., circulation: 200,000 copies, 1984
• Gorinov M. M. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya (1923-1941) // National history. - 2003.
• Savinov E. F. Zoya's comrades: Doc. feature article. Yaroslavl: Yaroslavl book. ed., 1958. 104 p.: ill. [About the combat work of the partisan detachment in which Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya fought.]
• You remained alive among the people...: A book about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya / Compiled by: Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation Valentina Dorozhkina, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation Ivan Ovsyannikov. Photos of Alexey and Boris Ladygin, Anatoly Alekseev, as well as from the collections of the Osinogaevsky and Borshchevsky museums.. - Collection of articles and essays. - Tambov: OGUP “Tambovpolygraphizdat”, 2003. - 180 p.

Documentary film

• “Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The truth about the feat" "Studio Third Rome" commissioned by State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Russia", 2005.

Notes

1. Some sources indicate the erroneous date of birth of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya - September 8
2. Magazine "Rodina": Saint of Osinov Gai
3. Zoya changed her last name in 1930
4. M. M. Gorinov. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya // Domestic history
5. Closing of the church in the village of Osinovye Gai | History of the Tambov diocese: documents, research, persons
6. G. Naboishchikov. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya - Russian Maid of Orleans
7. Senyavskaya E. S."Heroic symbols: reality and mythology of war"
8. 1941-1942
9. ...The 197th Infantry Division and its 332nd Regiment found their death in two cauldrons near Vitebsk on June 26-27, 1944: between the villages of Gnezdilovo and Ostrovno and in the area of ​​Lake Moshno, north of the village of Zamoshenye
10. Mind Manipulation (book)
11. Library - PSYPORTAL
12. Vladimir Lota “About heroism and meanness”, “Red Star” February 16, 2002
13. Chapter 7. WHO BETRAYED ZOYA KOSMODEMYANSKAYA

The pressing issues of the Soviet-Nazi confrontation are reflected in articles, documentaries and thousands of books.

Second World War is rethought every year in a new way. Detailed analysis such bright personalities and leaders human destinies during the war years, like Hitler, can be gleaned from the books of M. Solonin, A. Suvorov, which are so replete with bookstores.

Meanwhile, ordinary people, whose feats should live on for centuries, are fading into the shadows.Let's remember Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

Until recently, it seemed that the courage, boundless love for the Motherland, and fortitude of this fragile girl would always be for us the standard of true heroism. But ideals modern youth completely different, few people remember Zoya’s patriotism Kosmodemyanskaya, but it should.

Biography

Zoya was born Kosmodemyanskaya September 8, 1923 in the Tambov region in a small village. Zoya's grandfather was a priest. The Bolsheviks drowned him in it. At first, the girl signed up for a sabotage group, information about which was kept in the strictest confidence. That is why information about the last operation of the young Komsomol member is so contradictory.

Feat

Zoe Kosmodemyanskaya just turned 17 years old. Supreme Commander Order No. 428 called for depriving the enemy of warm shelter and burning houses in which the Germans were camped. Zoya, as part of a group of 20 people, was thrown behind enemy lines. The Germans were located in the area of ​​the village of Petrishchevo. In the occupied territory, the fighters came across an enemy patrol. Someone was killed, someone showed cowardice and returned back.

Three people took on the task: Zoya, Vasily Klubkov and Boris Krainov. They reached the village and agreed to meet after the arson at an appointed place, which never took place. The Germans captured Vasily Klubkov, he chickened out and betrayed his comrades. After this, Zoya was also captured. Kosmodemyanskaya.

The young defender of the Motherland showed an unbending character, not revealing information about the name of the group or about the comrade who miraculously managed to escape. The Nazis subjected the girl to excruciating torture. They brutally beat her with sticks, burned her body with matches, and took her barefoot out into the cold. Not a word of mercy escaped her lips.

Dozens of people who witnessed Zoya’s death testified to her uttering the following dying words: “We are two hundred million. You can't outweigh everyone. You will be avenged for me!”The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to a woman for the first time. It was Kosmodemyanskaya Zoya, who during the terrible years of the war showed a true example of courage and fearlessness. Streets were named in her honor, and every schoolchild heard the girl’s legendary name on their lips.

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, A. Matrosov, N. Gastello, N. Onilova are true heroes who gave their lives for the Motherland, for the world, for our bright present.

On November 29, 1941, partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was hanged by the Nazis. This happened in the village of Petrishchevo, Moscow region. The girl was 18 years old.

Wartime heroine

Every time has its own heroes. The heroine of the Soviet war period was Komsomol member Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who volunteered for the front as a schoolgirl. Soon she was sent to a sabotage and reconnaissance group, which acted on instructions from the headquarters of the Western Front.

Kosmodemyanskaya became the first woman during the Second World War to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). At the site of the fatal events there is a monument with the words “Zoe, the immortal heroine of the Soviet people.”

Tragic exit

On November 21, 1941, groups of our volunteers went beyond the front line with the task of committing arson in several populated areas. Repeatedly, the groups came under fire: some of the fighters died, others got lost. As a result, three people remained in the ranks, ready to carry out the order given to the sabotage group. Among them was Zoya.

After the girl was captured by the Germans (according to another version, she was caught by local residents and handed over to the enemies), the Komsomol member was subjected to severe torture. After prolonged torture, Kosmodemyanskaya was hanged on Petrishchevskaya Square.

Last words

Zoya was taken outside, with a wooden sign hanging on her chest with the inscription “House Arsonist.” The Germans rounded up almost all the villagers to execute the girl.

According to eyewitnesses, the last words of the partisan addressed to the executioners were: “You will hang me now, but I am not alone. There are two hundred million of us. You cannot hang everyone. You will be avenged for me!”

The body hung in the square for about a month, frightening local residents and amusing German soldiers: drunken fascists stabbed dead Zoya with bayonets.

Before retreating, the Germans ordered the gallows to be removed. Local residents hastened to bury the partisan, who was suffering even after death, outside the village.

Fighting girlfriend

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya has become a symbol of heroism, dedication and patriotism. But she was not the only one: at that time hundreds of volunteers were going to the front - young enthusiasts like Zoya. They left and did not return.

Almost at the same time when Kosmodemyanskaya was executed, her friend from the same sabotage group, Vera Voloshina, tragically died. The Nazis beat her half to death with rifle butts and then hanged her near the village of Golovkovo.

"Who was Tanya"

People started talking about the fate of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya after the publication of Pyotr Lidov’s article “Tanya” in the Pravda newspaper in 1942. According to the owner of the house in which the saboteur was tortured, the girl steadfastly endured the bullying, never asked for mercy, did not give out information and called herself Tanya.

There is a version that it was not Kosmodemyanskaya who was hiding under the pseudonym “Tanya”, but another girl - Lilya Azolina. Journalist Lidov, in the article “Who Was Tanya,” soon reported that the identity of the deceased had been established. The grave was excavated and an identification procedure was carried out, which confirmed that it was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya who was killed on November 29.

In May 1942, Kosmodemyanskaya’s ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.

Name flower

Streets were named in honor of the young partisan who accomplished the feat (in Moscow there are Alexander and Zoya Kosmodemyansky streets), monuments and memorials were erected. There are other, more interesting objects dedicated to the memory of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

For example, there are asteroids No. 1793 “Zoya” and No. 2072 “Kosmodemyanskaya” (according to the official version, it was named after the girl’s mother, Lyubov Timofeevna).

In 1943, a lilac variety was named in honor of the heroine of the Soviet people. "Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya" has light lilac flowers collected in large inflorescences. According to Chinese wisdom, the color lilac is a symbol of positive spiritual strength and individuality. But among the African tribe this color is associated with death...

Accepted martyrdom in the name of patriotic ideals, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya will forever remain a model of vital energy and courage. Whether it’s a real heroine or a military image - it’s probably not so important anymore. It is important to have something to believe in, someone to remember and something to be proud of.