“Our Compass, our sweet girl…” – volunteers speak of her fondly and lovingly. The soldiers know her as a determined person with a strong character. Tatyana Zagvozdkina from Krasnoyarsk went to the SMO zone as a volunteer. Without saying a word to her relatives. And when asked why she needs it, because the army and the front is not a woman’s business, she answers:
“In the Great Patriotic War there were also women – doctors, orderlies, nurses”.
Tatiana Zagvozdkina: Four years after medical college I worked in the neurology department of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Hospital. I learned a lot here, taking care of heavy patients after a stroke. But at one point I realized that my knowledge and experience could be useful in the SMO. I went to the military enlistment office and signed a contract from July 2023. When I told the head nurse about it, she started crying, asking:
“Are you crazy! I’m not letting you go!” When she calmed down, she gave me an order: “Put on your helmet and stay in the dugout! Don’t come out, so that no one sees you! And if you get a chance – write, call, if you need anything on humanitarian aid – tell me at once!”
I confessed to my mother only on my first vacation that I had signed the contract myself. Of course, my relatives were against it. I have two older brothers and two older sisters. My cousin went through Chechnya, he knows what it’s like.
And when I arrived, they said to me:“What are you doing here, little girl?”
And I said, “I want to help!” I was the youngest in my company, 24 years old. But I have a character: I won’t keep silent and I won’t pass by. This has always been my problem: I was always going somewhere, trying to help someone.
The first six months were scary. There was a situation when a lot of drones flew to the Voronezh and Rostov regions, and through our side too, circling over the location. We got ready in a flash, went down to the basement and sat there for six hours – from twelve at night until six in the morning. And drones don’t just fly at night, they fly during the day. And missiles can come.
Fear doesn’t go away, you just live with it. Yes, I’m afraid for guys, for girls, for my husband… It’s a defense reaction. I’m getting used to it now. I knew where I was going, and I’ve reevaluated a lot of things in my life.
