Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko

Zinaida Mikhailovna Tusnolobova-Marchenko (; 23 November 1920 – 20 May 1980) was a medic of the Red Army in the 849th Rifle Regiment during World War II. After being attacked by a German soldier in Kursk, suffering from severe frostbite and getting gangrenous wounds, she became a quadruple amputee. With her injuries forcing her to retire from the military she spoke on the radio and wrote an open letter to the soldiers of the 1st Baltic Front which received over 3,000 replies. She was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 6 December 1957 and the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1965, making her the third Soviet woman to receive the medal from the Red Cross.

Early life Tusnolobova-Marchenko was born on 23 November 1920 to a family of farmers on the Shevtsovo farm in Polotsk, located in present-day Belarus. After graduating from secondary school she worked as a chemist in Leninskugol; she joined the military after the start of the war and became a member of the Communist party in 1942.

World War II Tusnolobova-Marchenko joined the Red Army in April 1942 after the start of the Second World War and after graduating from nursing courses was assigned to the 849th Rifle Regiment.

Awards

Hero of the Soviet Union (6 December 1957) Order of Lenin (6 December 1957) Order of the Red Banner (14 April 1945) Order of the Red Star (6 November 1942) Florence Nightingale Medal (12 May 1965) campaign and jubilee medals