Marina Yurlova

Marina Yurlova (1900-1984) was born in a small village in the Caucasus.[1][2] The daughter of a colonel of the Kuban Cossacks was just 14 years old when her father went to war in August 1914. In the search for her father, she became a child soldier in the Russian army at age 14.[2] Specifically, she joined the Reconnaissance Sotnia (100 horse squadron) of the 3rd Ekaterinodar Regiment.[3]

She originally worked as a groom in Armenia; however, after two months of this she was sent to fight the Turkish Army.[2] In 1915 she was shot in the leg while blasting bridges across the Erivan River.[2][4] She was treated at the Red Cross hospital in Baku and then returned to the Eastern Front.[2] In 1916 she was again wounded and also had a mental breakdown and was sent to an asylum.[2] However, in 1919 she was released and emigrated to the United States.[2] Yurlova published two autobiographies, Cossack Girl (1934) and Russia Farewell (1936).[2] In 1984 she died at the age of 84 years.

She had won the St. George Cross for Bravery three times.[3][5]

She is one of those whose wartime experiences are described in Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics, Kathryn J. Atwood, Chicago Review Press, June 1, 2014.

Media Portrayal

Marina Yurlova is one of the 14 main characters of the series 14 - Diaries of the Great War. She is played by actress Natalia Witmer.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.booksllc.net/sw2.cfm?q=14_-_Diaries_of_the_Great_War
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 John Simkin. "Marina Yurlova". Spartacus Educational.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 David Bullock (20 October 2012). The Russian Civil War 1918-22. Osprey Publishing. pp. 110–. ISBN 978-1-78200-536-0.
  4. ↑ Elisabeth Shipton (15 July 2014). Female Tommies: The Frontline Women of the First World War. History Press Limited. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-0-7509-5748-9.
  5. ↑ David M. Rosen (2012). Child Soldiers: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 153–. ISBN 978-1-59884-526-6.