For the 8th of March: about famous women of Russia
Women's suffrage in Europe was first introduced in 1906 in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which was part of the Russian Empire. Women were also elected to parliament there for the first time: 19 women received seats in the Sejm as a result of the 1907 elections. Women in Russia received full suffrage in the spring of 1917. With the International Women's Day coming up, we would like to recall the women of our country who became the first in their field not only in their homeland, but also throughout the world.
Yekaterina Dashkova (1743-1810) was an influential noble stateswoman, a major figure of the Russian Enlightenment, a writer and teacher, who headed the Russian Academy (1783-1796) and became the first woman in the world to head a national academy of sciences, and also the first woman in Europe to hold a government office.
Julia Lermontova (1846-1919) was the first woman in the world to obtain a doctorate in chemistry and made a huge contribution to the development of the Russian oil industry.
Sofya Kovalevskaya (1850-1891) was a pioneer for women in mathematics around the world – the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics, the first woman appointed to a full professorship in northern Europe and one of the first women to work for a scientific journal as an editor.
Evgenia Rubinstein (1891-1981) was the first female climatologist in Russia and in the world, making a huge contribution to weather forecasting and climate change research.
Lina Stern (1875-1968) was a biochemist and physiologist, the first female professor at the University of Geneva, and the first female full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), an outstanding diplomat, was the first woman in history to be a cabinet minister, and the first woman ambassador, acting as the diplomatic head of mission and Ambassador of the Soviet Union in Sweden from 1930 to 1945.
Valentina Grizodubova (1910-1993), Polina Osipenko (1907-1939) and Marina Raskova (1912-1943) made the longest non-stop flight in history from Moscow to the Far East in 1938, setting a women's world aviation record for flight distance – 6,450 km.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916-1974), the best female sniper in the world history, who also makes the top five snipers of all time, being credited with killing 309 Nazi enemy combatants during the World War II.
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka (1912-2008) was the first non-royal female head of state in history. In April 1940, she was elected the Chair of the Presidium of Little Khural, the head of state for the Tuvan People's Republic. Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was the longest-living female head of government and state in the world.
Ekaterina Furtseva (1910-1974) was the world's first female Minister of Culture (USSR, 1960-1974); among other efforts she initiated several high-profile international competitions, including the Moscow International Film Festival, which was attended by stars of Hollywood and world cinema.
Valentina Tereshkova (born 1937) was the first woman in space (June 16, 1963).
Larisa Latynina (born 1934) is one of the most decorated athletes in history; between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and four team medals, and her nine Olympic gold medals is the world record for a female gymnast.
Irina Rodnina (born 1949) is the most successful figure skater in the history of pair skating, a three-time Olympic winner (1972, 1976, 1980), and a ten-time world champion, who never lost a single tournament in her entire career. On March 6, Rodnina, feature film produced jointly with the Rossiya TV channel, will be released on screens.
