Maria Oktyabrskaya Petitions Stalin
During World War II, many Russian women served in the army, including a patriotic young woman named Maria Oktyabrskaya. She married a Russian army officer, Ilya Oktyabrskaya, and they planned to fight the Germans together. Tragically, he was killed in a clash in Kyiv, leaving Maria overwhelmed with rage and anger. In response to her husband’s death and the suffering of Soviet people under the fascist invaders, Maria made a remarkable decision. She sold all her belongings and used the funds to purchase a T-34 tank, swearing an oath of revenge against the fascist dogs who had taken her husband’s life.
Determined to seek justice, Maria wrote a letter to Stalin, expressing her deep desire for vengeance and her commitment to fight for the motherland. Her plea touched Stalin, and he granted her request. After a brief training period, Maria Oktyabrskaya and her tank, affectionately named “Fighting Girlfriend,” joined the battle. Despite initial skepticism from her male comrades, Maria quickly earned their admiration with her fearless combat skills. She fearlessly engaged the enemy, exiting her tank under fire to fix mechanical problems. In an emotional letter to her sister, she wrote about her baptism by fire and her determination to defeat the enemy. Tragically, just a few months later, during the Red Army’s Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944, Maria Oktyabrskaya lost her life while fighting the Nazis, her sworn enemies.
