Зоя Космодемьянская: Советтік партизан қаһарманы

Soviet partisan (1923–1941)

Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (; September 13, 1923 – November 29, 1941) was a Soviet partisan. She was executed after acts of sabotage against the invading armies of Nazi Germany; after stories emerged of her defiance towards her captors, she was posthumously declared a Hero of the Soviet Union. She became one of the most revered heroines of the Soviet Union.

The Kosmodemyansky family name was constructed by joining the names of Saints Cosmas and Damian (Косма (Kosma) and Дамиан (Demyan) in Russian). From the 17th century, the Kosmodemyansky were priests in the Russian Orthodox Church. Zoya's grandfather Pyotr Kosmodemyansky was murdered in 1918 by militant atheists for his opposition to blasphemy. Zoya (her name is a Russian form of the Greek name Zoe, which means "life") was born in 1923 in the village of Osino Gay (Осино Гай) (meaning Aspen Woods), near the city of Tambov. Her father, Anatoly Kosmodemyansky, studied in a theological seminary, but did not graduate. He later worked as a librarian. Her mother, Lyubov Kosmodemyanskaya (née Churikova), was a school teacher. In 1925, Zoya's brother, Aleksandr Kosmodemyansky, was born. Like his sister, he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, and, like Zoya, posthumously. In 1929, the family moved to Siberia for fear of persecution. In 1930, they moved to Moscow.

The story of Kosmodemyanskaya's death became popular after Pravda published an article written by Pyotr Lidov on January 27, 1942. Kosmodemyanskaya's account was repeatedly published in Pravda. Harris writes that " Recognizing the value of Zoya's image and narrative, the Soviet Union quickly began shaping Zoya's image to suit its own purposes The Komsomol and educational system introduced young people to Zoya through organized museum visits, presenta tions and politically correct readings Zoya quickly became the most revered Soviet heroine, and numerous Soviet public monuments to her were commissioned, in a top down manner." In 1944, the film Zoya was made about her. She was also referred to in the film Girl No. 217, which depicted atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war by the Nazis. Her image was also used frequently in anti German propaganda which encouraged violence against the German occupying forces. Many streets, kolkhozes and Pioneer organizations in the Soviet Union were named after Kosmodemyanskaya. Her portrait became a part of ceremonial procedures of commemoration performed by pioneers, and was used as a symbol of the highest distinction awarded to the best class in school. The Soviets erected a monument in her honour not far from the village of Petrishchevo. Another statue is located at the Partizanskaya Moscow Metro station. A 4108 meter (13,478 feet) mountain peak in Trans Ili Alatau is named after her. A minor planet 1793 Zoya, discovered in 1968 by Soviet astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova, is named after her. Kosmodemyanskaya is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. In the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, a Kosmodemyanskaya monument was destroyed on 21 April 2022 amidst a derussification campaign. In December 2022 the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya street in Ukraine's capital Kyiv was renamed to (World War I Ukrainian Sich Riflemen member) Sofia Halechko street. Zoya Phan, an outspoken political activist for the Karen people and member of the Burma Campaign UK, was named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya by her father, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan. He chose the name because he had read about Kosmodemyanskaya while studying at Yangon University and saw several parallels between the Karen resistance against the Burmese government and the Soviet resistance against the Nazis in Europe.

Kosmodemyanskaya's life became a subject of media controversy during the 1990s. In September 1991, an article by Aleksandr Zhovtis was published in the weekly Russian magazine Argumenty i Fakty. The article alleged that there were no German troops in the village of Petrishchevo, in spite of several photos of her being hanged by German soldiers. Zhovtis blamed Stalin's scorched earth policy for the "unnecessary" death of the young woman. Ten years later, Kozhemyaka wrote another article "Zoya is executed yet again", in which he lamented some "absurd material" on Internet discussion forums, which alleged that Zoya had hurt Russian peasants rather than German troops, that she had schizophrenia, and that she was a fanatical Stalinist. In 1997, the newspaper Glasnost published the previously unknown protocols of the official commission of residents of Petrishchevo village and Gribtsovsky selsoviet from January 25, 1942 (two months after Zoya's execution). The protocols stated that Kosmodemyanskaya was caught while trying to destroy a stable containing more than 300 German horses. They also described her torture and execution.