Galina Petrova

Born on 9 September 1920 in the port city of Mykolaiv, then part of the Ukrainian SSR, Galina Konstantinovna Petrova grew up in a Russian family that valued education and patriotism. After graduating from secondary school with honors in 1940, she enrolled in the Forestry Department of the Novocherkassk Engineering Institute in Rostov, where she excelled in both theoretical studies and physical training. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 abruptly altered her career path; she abandoned her forestry studies to take intensive nursing courses in Krasnodar, demonstrating an early willingness to sacrifice personal ambitions for the national cause. By 1942 she had successfully completed the program and entered the Soviet Navy as a nurse, quickly rising to the rank of Glavny starshina (Chief Petty Officer) within the 386th Independent Naval Infantry Battalion of the Black Sea Fleet. Her dedication to the wounded was evident from the outset, as she volunteered for the most perilous assignments, often working under fire to evacuate casualties from the front lines.\n\nDuring the brutal Kerch‑Eltigen operation of late 1943, Petrova’s courage reached legendary status. On the night of 1 November, she traversed a barbed‑wire and mine‑strewn field in complete darkness, carrying more than twenty injured soldiers to safety while evading enemy fire. This extraordinary feat earned her the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 17 November, making her one of the few women to receive such high honors in the Red Army. Tragically, just days later, she was gravely injured while confronting German counter‑attacks in Eltigen and was evacuated to a makeshift hospital housed in a school building. On 4 December 1943, that very building was bombed, sealing her fate at the tender age of twenty‑three. Her remains were interred in the “village of heroes” in Crimea, and numerous memorial plaques, streets, and monuments now commemorate her self‑less service, ensuring that Galina Petrova remains an enduring symbol of bravery and sacrifice.