Faina Nevzorova (full name — Anfiya) was born in 1918, in the Arkhangelsk region. When she was 13 years old, her parents were arrested and she and her seven-year-old brother were exiled to Tomsk. Later the mother was released, but the family did not return to the North and settled in Anzhero-Sudzhensk.

Since childhood Faina Nevzorova dreamed of becoming a pediatrician and working with children. In 1936, her dream came true: she enrolled at the Tomsk Medical Institute in the medical faculty. However, she had to undergo medical practice in extreme conditions at the front line.

In August 1942, the young doctor arrived at her duty station — in the vicinity of Velikiye Luki, in the 338th regiment, 117th Division of the Kalinin Front. There were fierce and bloody battles, and in the regimental hospitals there were no vacant places: the wounded were coming in non-stop.

Faina Nevzorova recalled how once, she injected machine gunners with typhoid vaccine right on the front line: the soldiers could not break away from the fight. Ahead, just 25 meters away, there were German trenches, and foreign speech could be heard. Suddenly, she felt a painful stab on her cheek: an enemy bullet flew nearby. An elderly fighter told her:

One day, Nevzorova was left to care for 76 severely wounded fighters who could not be sent to the rear. The doctor not only administered treatment to them, but also did bandages herself, and also milked the cows and gave the soldiers milk. Help came only five days later — Nevzorova sent patients to the hospital and marched with the regiment onward to Berlin. In Germany she received the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree.

News of the victory caught Faina Nevzorova in the German town of Lukenwald, 30 kilometers from Berlin. She demobilized with the rank of captain of medical service and returned home with awards ‘For the Capture of Prague’, ‘For the Capture of Budapest’, ‘For the Capture of Warsaw’.

After the war, Faina Nevzorova came to Anzhero-Sudzhensk together with her husband, a major of the Soviet Army, whom she met at the battlefront. She worked as a pediatrician in the city hospital. According to the recollections of colleagues, Nevzorova did not like to talk about her war merits. She was known as a good competent doctor, who fought to save other people’s lives and restore the health of children. She was in charge of the children’s department for 18 years.

Besides medicine, Faina Nevzorova was involved in public life: For 14 years she was elected secretary of the party organization of the city hospital.