Vasilisa Kozhina

Vasilisa Kozhina
Born 1780
Russia
Died 1840
Russia
Allegiance  Russian Empire
Years of service 1812
Rank A peasant woman,
A chief of a guerrilla detachment
Commands held a Russian guerrilla detachment
Battles/wars The Patriotic War of 1812

Vasilisa Kozhina (1780? — 1840?)[1] — a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Biography

Vasilisa came from Russian peasants. She was a wife of Gorshkov, a starosta (an elder) of a village of Sychyovsky Uyezd of Smolensk Governorate. During the French invasion of Russia from Vasilisa Kozhina organized in Sychyovsky Uyezd a partisan detachment of teenagers and women. All of them were armed with scythes, pitchforks, axes, bear spears and so on. During the retreat of Napoleon's troops from Moscow her guerrillas attacked French troops, captured prisoners and handed them to Russian units. For this feat Vasilisa Kozhina was awarded a medal and given a monetary reward. In 1813, the artist Alexander Smirnov has painted her sole portrait.

Remembrance

A Soviet postage stamp, 1962

In 2012, to the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian director Dmitry Meskhiev is going to make a four-part series about a participant of guerrilla movement - a peasant woman Vasilisa Kozhina.[2][3]

References

  1. Шикман А. П. Деятели отечественной истории. Биографический справочник. Москва, 1997 г.
  2. Сергей Сиротин. Василиса Кожина – амазонка 1812 года. РГРК «Голос России». 9.12.2010
  3. Russia, France to co-produce 'Vasilisa Kozhina'
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, August 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.