Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya

Commander Kosmodemyanskaya is sitting at home and reading a book.

Feat In November 1941, Zoya's group was tasked with carrying out Supreme Command Headquarters Order No. 428, issued November 17, 1941. The order was intended to force Nazi troops out of their warm shelters and into the cold, by destroying and burning settlements behind enemy lines. The mission included the village of Petrishchevo (Vereisky District, now Ruzsky Okrug), home to a communications center. On November 27, 1941, Zoya and her comrades (Boris Kraynov and Vasily Klubkov) approached Petrishchev. She managed to set fire to three houses housing German soldiers, as well as destroy transport and horses. During her second attempt at arson, she was spotted by the village headman, Semyon Sviridov, who was collaborating with the Germans, and reported the incident. Zoya was captured. ria.ru dzen.ru ru.wikipedia.org ru.ruwiki.ru runi.rf The Germans subjected the girl to brutal torture, but she refused to betray her comrades, her unit number, or other military secrets. During interrogation, she gave her name as Tanya, in honor of the Civil War heroine Tatyana Solomakha, whom she admired. Before her execution, Zoya gave a speech urging the villagers not to fear death and to fight the occupiers. She shouted, "No matter how many of us you hang, you won't hang them all; there are 170 million of us. But our comrades will avenge me!" She was hanged on November 29, 1941. Her body was not allowed to be buried for a long time—on January 1, 1942. Later, after the liberation of Petrishchev, the body was exhumed and identified.