Zhenya Savicheva

Yevgenia Savicheva (1909 – 28 December 1941), known as Zhenya Savicheva, was a Soviet woman who was the elder sister to Tanya Savicheva, a Soviet girl who kept a diary during the besieged Leningrad.

Zhenya Savicheva was born in 1909, the eldest of five children. She was the daughter of Nikolai Rodionovich Savichev (father) and Mariya Ignatievna Savicheva (née Fedorova) (mother).

Death and burial

Leningrad was besieged by the Germans on 8 September 1941 during the German invasion of the Soviet Union (which started on 22 June 1941). Zhenya Savicheva and her family were one of many families who lived in Leningrad, and who continued to live there when it was besieged by the Germans.

In December 1941, Zhenya Savicheva walked almost seven kilometres to her workplace, every day. She worked in a factory which made weapons used to fight the Germans. She would work tirelessly at her workplace from morning to evening. Then, after she left work, she would donate her blood to injured Soviet Red Army soldiers. She continued this every day. On the morning hours of 28 December 1941, Zhenya left to walk to work, but never came back home. Her sister Nina went outside to walk to Zhenya's workplace and look for her, and discovered her lying collapsed. Zhenya died that same day. Zhenya's body was later buried in a nearby cemetery.