Hanna Barysevich
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Hanna Barysevich of Minsk, Belarus, claims to be the world's oldest person, having allegedly been born on May 5, 1888 in Buda. The claim first made international news in May 2004, and a year later her story resurfaced as "117-year-old has cataract operation to restore sight".
When asked about applying to Guinness World Records, Hanna stated that she hadn't thought about it. Although it seems the only evidence of her age is her passport, her stories of surviving two World Wars, the two 1917 revolutions, and the rise and fall of communism are worth reading about, whether or not her age is proven.
To see where Hanna ranks among the dozen people who currently claim to be older than the current Guinness' world's oldest person titleholder, please see longevity claims.
Like many old people in Belarus, she speaks a kind of trasianka (a mix of Belarusian language and Russian).
