Kseniya Konstantinova

Kseniya Semyonovna Konstantinova (Russian: Ксения Семёновна Константинова; 18 April 1925 – 1 October 1943) was a Senior Medical NCO in the 730th Rifle Regiment during World War II. For her service in the military she was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 4 June 1944.[1]

Kseniya Semyonovna Konstantinova
Native name	Ксения Семёновна Константинова
Born	(1925-04-18)18 April 1925 Suhaya Lubna, Tambov Governorate, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	1 October 1943(1943-10-01) (aged 18) Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1943
Rank	Senior Medical NCO
Unit	730th Rifle Regiment
Battles/wars	Eastern Front of World War II †
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Medal "For Battle Merit"

Civilian life

Konstantinova was born on 18 April 1925 to a Russian family in the Tambov Governate of what is now present-day Lipetsk. At the age of 16 after the start of the war she attempted to join the military, but was turned away twice for being too young. She left secondary and medical school before graduating to join the military; she was enrolled in paramedic and obstetric courses.[2][3]

Military career

Konstantinova joined the Red Army in 1943 after turning eighteen in the spring that year after being rejected by the military twice in the past for being too young. In May she was deployed to the Eastern Front in the 730th Infantry Regiment as a medical instructor. During her free time on the front she played the guitar. She aided the wounded in the battles of Voronezh, Kursk, Kalinin, and Vitebsk and was awarded a medal for battle merit. In Kursk she sustained injuries but soon returned to the war after recovering.[2][4]

On 1 October, after being surrounded by enemy combatants while protecting injured soldiers from her battalion despite being heavily outnumbered, she eventually ran out of ammunition after making her last stand and sustaining a head injury that knocked her out. She killed roughly 36 soldiers in her last stand before being captured by the Nazis. After capturing her they gouged out her eyes, and cut off her ears, and beat her, but she did not reveal any information about troop movements. After re-capturing the city, Soviet soldiers later found her body mutilated and nailed to the ground; they buried her in the Rudnyansky Cemetery.[4][5]

Awards and recognition

Awards

• Hero of the Soviet Union
• Order of Lenin
• Medal "For Battle Merit"

Memorials and honors

• A song composed by E. Manvelyan titled "Sister of Mercy" is dedicated to Konstantinova and was later adapted into a musical play depicting her life and death in combat.[5]
• Her portrait is present the Liptesk Hero's square and on a memorial plaque at the midwifery school where she studied; memorial plaques dedicated to her are also present at the Yelets and Smolensk medical schools.[4]
• Her image was featured in the 1985 postcard series of "Women-physicians-Heroes of the Great Patriotic War" by L. Kotlyarov.[6]

See also

• List of female Heroes of the Soviet Union
• Tatyana Baramzina
• Yelena Stempkovskaya

References

1. Sakaida, Henry (2012-04-20). Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941–45. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781780966922.
2. "1943: 1 октября героический подвиг совершила наша землячка, санитарный инструктор Ксения Константинова". LipetskMedia.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-01-29.
3. "Константинова Ксения Семеновна. Бессмертный полк" (in Russian). 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
4. Ufarkin, Nikolai. "Константинова Ксения Семёновна". www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-01-29.
5. "Ксения Константинова". Победа 48: Липецкая область (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-01-30.
6. "Константинова Ксения Семеновна - Никто не забыт, ничто не забыто". memorialcards.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2018-01-30.