Nina Pavlovna Petrova ( Russian : Нина Павловна Петрова ; 27 July 1893 – 1 May 1945) was a Soviet sniper during the Winter War and World War II. She was credited with 122 kills by the Soviet government. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Glory 1st class on 29 June 1945, making her one of only four women to be awarded all three classes of the award.
17-555: Petrova was born in 1893 to a Russian family in Lomonsov village within the Russian Empire. During Nina's youth her father died, leaving their mother alone to raise five children by herself, so after completing secondary school Nina enrolled in trade school. Three years later, the family moved to Vladivostok where Nina worked as an accountant during the day and went to school at night. Later, Petrova moved to Revel and found employment at
34-430: A colored-glass factory near Oranienbaum, in the village of Ust-Ruditsa. An unofficial nickname, Rambov , a Russified contraction of the old name Oranienbaum, is popular among the local residents. Lomonosov can be reached by suburban train from St. Petersburg's Baltic Terminal to Oranienbaum Station. Lomonosov is twinned with: Oranienbaum, Russia Oranienbaum ( Russian : Ораниенба́ум )
51-485: A foothold at Oranienbaum , in the rear of the forces of Nazi Germany . This foothold had a major importance in the launching of the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in early 1944, which finally ended the siege (see Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive ). In 1948, the town was renamed to its current name Lomonosov, in honor of the scientist , poet and glassblower Mikhail Lomonosov . In 1754, Lomonosov had founded
68-611: A shipyard. During the 1917 Revolution , she was a resident of Lodeynoye Pole in the St. Petersburg Oblast but moved to the city of Leningrad with her daughter in 1927. There she worked as a gym teacher and was active in various sports including horseback riding, cycling, rowing, swimming, basketball, skiing, hockey, and skating. From 1934 to 1935, Petrova was the team captain of the Leningrad Military District women's ice hockey team. After improving her sharpshooting skills, she entered
85-590: A sniper school and became a certified sniper instructor. Petrova fought in the Soviet-Finnish War before volunteering for service in the German–Soviet War . Initially, Petrova served in the 4th Division of the Leningrad People's Militia before entering a medical battalion, even though she was too old to be drafted. In November 1941, she transferred to fight as a sniper in the 1st Infantry Battalion of
102-518: Is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg , Russia , located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland , 40 kilometers (25 mi) west of Saint Petersburg proper. Population: 42,505 ( 2010 Census ) ; 37,776 ( 2002 Census ) . Lomonosov is the site of the 18th-century royal Oranienbaum park and palace complex, notable as being
119-499: Is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg . The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites . In 1707, four years after Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg, he gave the grounds near the seaside to his right-hand man, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov . Menshikov commissioned the architects Giovanni Maria Fontana and Gottfried Schädel , who built his residence,
136-906: The 3rd Baltic Front , Petrova fought in a battle near the Lepassaare railway station in Estonia. During those combat engagements, she killed an additional twelve enemy soldiers for which she was awarded the Order of Glory 2nd class. While fighting on the 2nd Belorussian Front in the battle for the control of Elbing in February 1945, Petrova provided cover to her unit by attacking enemy positions with sniper fire, killing 32 enemy soldiers in that engagement and bringing her kill tally to 100 with her victories in Leningrad, Lepassaare, and other battles. For her actions in Elbing, Petrova
153-580: The 284th Infantry Regiment of the 86th Tartu Rifle Division, where she rose through the ranks to sergeant-major ( starshina ). In the Battle of Leningrad , Petrova trained other soldiers of the Red Army as snipers in addition to participating in direct combat. On 16 January 1944, in the village of Zarudiny in the Leningrad Oblast , Petrova took out an enemy communications officer and another soldier. Her position
170-568: The Grand Menshikov Palace from 1710 to 1727 (not to be confused with Menshikov Palace in Saint Petersburg , built by the same architects around the same time). Menshikov was deposed shortly after Peter's death, and died in exile, and the palace passed out of his family. In 1743, Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Grand Duke Pyotr Fyodorovich, the heir of Empress Elizabeth (the future Emperor Peter III ). From 1756 to 1762,
187-660: The Netherlands and king of England, who was the idol of Peter the Great, or it was borrowed from the toponymy of Germany (the city of Oranienbaum in the Principality of Anhalt named by Princess Henrietta Katharina Nassau-Oransky after her home place) simply as a “beautiful” name in the fashion spirit of the Petrine era. During World War II the town was heavily involved in the Siege of Leningrad , where Red Army forces managed to establish
SECTION 10
#1732872193907204-553: The architect Antonio Rinaldi built the Peterstadt Fortress ensemble on the bank of the Karost River for Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch. From the outside, the palace is a relatively simple building, single-storey except for the small central pavilion, painted in a mellow combination of ochre and yellow. The Upper Park was laid out from 1750 to 1770. The palace was the site of two opera premieres to libretti by Metastasio in
221-437: The middle of the eighteenth century, Amor prigioniero (one act, composed by Francesco Araia , 1755), and Semiramide riconosciuta (three acts, composed by Vincenzo Manfredini , 1760). In the 19th century, Oranienbaum became a noble manor. During World War II, Oranienbaum suffered to a much lesser extent than other suburbs of St. Petersburg, since defense was deployed here on the so-called “ Oranienbaum Bridgehead ”. However,
238-465: The only palace in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg that was not captured by Nazi Germany during World War II . Oranienbaum was granted town status in 1710, and was initially applied to the Oranienbaum palace complex , built between 1710 and 1725 opposite Kronstadt , in the neighbourhood of the royal residence Peterhof Palace , by the architects Giovanni Mario Fontana and Gottfried Johann Schadel, and
255-587: Was discovered and she managed to retreat to a different position and shot three more before it was attacked. From January to March 1944, she took out 23 enemy soldiers and was awarded the Order of Glory 3rd class on 2 March 1944 for her actions in Leningrad. For her actions in Leningrad, she was awarded the Medal For Battle Merit and the Medal For the Defence of Leningrad . In early August 1944, while fighting on
272-490: Was intended for Alexander Menshikov , a close associate of Peter the Great . The original name of the town translates to " orange tree " in German (in modern German, the word is Orangenbaum ), and is believed to have been derived from the palace complex which had greenhouses to grow exotic plants such as orange trees. According to another version, the name means “Tree of Orange” in honour of William III of Orange , stadtholder of
289-444: Was nominated to be awarded the Order of Glory 1st Class but did not live to receive it. She was killed in action on 1 May 1945, just days before the end of the war, when a mortar attack pushed her off a cliff. Throughout her career she trained 512 other snipers, killed 122 enemy soldiers, and took three enemy combatants hostage. Lomonosov, Russia Lomonosov ( Russian : Ломоно́сов ; before 1948: Oranienbaum , Ораниенба́ум )
#906093