The Soviet artist Ivan Penteshin finished his painting “The Feat of Valeriya Gnarovskaya” in 1959. During that period, the painter started teaching at the Repin Institute of Arts — a year earlier, he was appointed assistant professor of the drawing department.
Valeriya Gnarovskaya, the woman depicted in this painting, was born in the village of Modolitsy, Kingisepp District, Petrograd Governorate in 1923. By June 1941, she had graduated from school and was making plans for the future. Unfortunately, they were not destined to come true.
After the war broke out, her father, Osip Gnarovsky, joined the army. Soon, in the fall of 1941, their district became a war zone, and its population began to be evacuated to Siberia. This is how Valeriya, along with her mother, grandmother, and younger sister, ended up in the Tyumen Region. They were stationed in a Siberian village far away from the frontline, but the young woman never abandoned the idea of joining the army.
On several occasions, Valeriya Gnarovskaya went to the recruitment office and asked to be sent to the frontline but was rejected every time. She decided to sign up for nursing courses. Finally, in the spring of 1942, she was sent to the Ishim Station, where the Siberian Division was being formed. There she graduated from the Red Cross Nursing Courses and volunteered to go to the front.
In July 1942, her division arrived at Stalingrad and immediately became involved in the fighting. After long defensive battles, the division was surrounded. Valeriya Gnarovskaya contracted typhoid fever. Only a week later, the division managed to break through the enemy circle and reach friendly forces. The soldiers carried Valeriya out of danger in their arms.
When she was in the hospital, Valeriya Gnarovskaya received her first award — the medal “For Courage”. Her fellow soldiers fondly referred to her as “Sweet Swallow” and wrote letters to the hospital, wishing her a speedy recovery. In the spring of 1943, Valeriya was already sent back to battle on the Third Ukrainian Front. During battles, she remained in the most dangerous areas where she managed to save over three hundred soldiers and officers.
On September 23, 1943, when Valeriya Gnarovskaya was preparing a group of wounded to be evacuated to the rear, enemy tanks approached their positions. The first-aid station was in danger. Two Nazi tanks headed for the dugout. Valeriya Gnarovskaya grabbed grenades from the wounded and threw herself under the tank. Soon, other soldiers arrived and destroyed the second tank. The enemy attack was repulsed.
The nurse Valeriya Gnarovskaya was only nineteen years old when she accomplished her feat. She died but managed to save 70 soldiers at the cost of her life.
Valeriya Gnarovskaya, the woman depicted in this painting, was born in the village of Modolitsy, Kingisepp District, Petrograd Governorate in 1923. By June 1941, she had graduated from school and was making plans for the future. Unfortunately, they were not destined to come true.
After the war broke out, her father, Osip Gnarovsky, joined the army. Soon, in the fall of 1941, their district became a war zone, and its population began to be evacuated to Siberia. This is how Valeriya, along with her mother, grandmother, and younger sister, ended up in the Tyumen Region. They were stationed in a Siberian village far away from the frontline, but the young woman never abandoned the idea of joining the army.
On several occasions, Valeriya Gnarovskaya went to the recruitment office and asked to be sent to the frontline but was rejected every time. She decided to sign up for nursing courses. Finally, in the spring of 1942, she was sent to the Ishim Station, where the Siberian Division was being formed. There she graduated from the Red Cross Nursing Courses and volunteered to go to the front.
In July 1942, her division arrived at Stalingrad and immediately became involved in the fighting. After long defensive battles, the division was surrounded. Valeriya Gnarovskaya contracted typhoid fever. Only a week later, the division managed to break through the enemy circle and reach friendly forces. The soldiers carried Valeriya out of danger in their arms.
When she was in the hospital, Valeriya Gnarovskaya received her first award — the medal “For Courage”. Her fellow soldiers fondly referred to her as “Sweet Swallow” and wrote letters to the hospital, wishing her a speedy recovery. In the spring of 1943, Valeriya was already sent back to battle on the Third Ukrainian Front. During battles, she remained in the most dangerous areas where she managed to save over three hundred soldiers and officers.
On September 23, 1943, when Valeriya Gnarovskaya was preparing a group of wounded to be evacuated to the rear, enemy tanks approached their positions. The first-aid station was in danger. Two Nazi tanks headed for the dugout. Valeriya Gnarovskaya grabbed grenades from the wounded and threw herself under the tank. Soon, other soldiers arrived and destroyed the second tank. The enemy attack was repulsed.
The nurse Valeriya Gnarovskaya was only nineteen years old when she accomplished her feat. She died but managed to save 70 soldiers at the cost of her life.
