The twentieth century Joan of Arc

April 4, 2008

During the First World War, women were mobilized on an unprecedented scale. Some of them, mainly Russian, wouldn’t be satisfied working in the rear and would eventually enroll in the army. Maria Bochkareva stood out among all of them. She was born to a poor peasant family and fought in the frontline from the very beginning of the war. She was wounded in several occasions, formed the so-called ‘women’s battalions of death’, got the highest honors and became a worldwide famous charismatic leader. She was executed by the Bolsheviks when she was just 30 years old.

Maria Leontievna Bochkareva