Born in Polotsk, Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko became a legendary woman. Being a young girl, in 1943 she came to the front and saved 123 wounded soldiers for 8 months. In February, she was wounded as well. The reconnaissance officers found her in the field only a day later. A young nurse made it through numerous surgeries because, for her wounds and frostbites, she had to have her arms and legs amputated. But Zinaida learned to live with it.
As part of the celebration of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, international students of Polotsk State University visited a Museum in the Apartment of Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko and learnt the story of this amazing woman.
The museum comprises 127 exhibits. The international students saw her personal belongings and documents, photos and letters.
During the visit to the museum, the tour guide told the students about the childhood and adolescence of Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko and her contribution to the victory. There is also a great number of her photos and various materials of post-war years. After the war, she lived in Polotsk and her disability didn’t stop her from being an activist, a wife and a mother. In 1957, she was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. In addition, in 1965 she was awarded the Medal of Florence Nightingale of the Red Cross International Committee.
People all around the world know the story of Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko, and our international students are not an exception.
Anna Gavrilyuk, social worker