The only female admiral of the Russian Navy in history

This honor went to Laskarina Boubulina, the heroine of the Greek War of Independence. Amazingly, she never once commanded a single Russian ship in her life.

Boubulina fought fanatically against the Turks for the freedom of Greece. She was a wealthy woman and equipped a whole flotilla of eight ships with her own funds. The brave lady herself also participated in battles, although she was already over fifty.

“Quite a rare fact in the history of nations: a woman takes up arms, a very rich woman decides to sacrifice her ships, her money and her sons on the altar of her homeland… She had the heart of a lion,” historian and eyewitness of the fighting Anargyros Hatzi-Anargyrou wrote about Boubulina.

Sadly, the heroic Laskarina died in a far from heroic way. She was killed in a quarrel with another family in 1825 - just five years before Greek independence.

Russians admired the struggle of the Orthodox Greeks for freedom and were well aware of Bouboulina’s exploits. When Emperor Alexander I heard the news of her death, he posthumously awarded her the honorary title of Admiral of the Russian Navy.

📷 Legion Media, Getty Images

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Take a look at these marvelous paintings by Soviet artist Vladimir Gavrilov!

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of this versatile painter, whose works include dramatic war paintings, incredible still lifes, as well as genre scenes from everyday life!

1/ A fresh day, 1958
2/ For the native land, 1959
3/ Waiting for a new life, 1962
4/ Cafe. Fall day, 1962
5/ Forest bellflowers, 1965
6/ Yelena Tyazhelova, the USSR’s Master of Sports, 1967

The exhibition of Vladimir Gavrilov works can be seen at the New Tretyakov Gallery until August 27, 2023.

📷 Courtesy of the Tretyakov Gallery

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