Graduate of the Institute of Noble Maidens who became the first female pilot (8 photos)

Daughter of General Lydia Zverev, having received a classical education those years, she got married quite early and her life was pre-scheduled for a long time: a secular lady, a mother, an elderly grand lady respected in society. But something went wrong...





In 1890 she was born in the family of Major General Vissarion Lebedeva is a girl named Lydia. Major General participated in Russian-Turkish war, and then served on the territory of modern Poland. Lidochka was the youngest of five children in the family.

And this youngest dreamed of flying since childhood. She rose in balloons in the Osovets fortress (her father served there), herself created models of aircraft. And I even tried once "fly", rolling down from the roof of a low building on an open umbrella. Fortunately, she wasn't badly hurt. This time.



Parents considered Lida's hobbies youthful pampering, which will pass when she gets older. They saw their daughter graceful society lady, so we tried to give her the best education for a girl of those times: first she graduated from the gymnasium, then the institute noble maidens, and at the age of 17 Lydia got married. Absolutely classic scenario. But the marriage lasted only two years - the husband fell ill and died suddenly.





Lidia Zvereva with cadets and instructors of the Gamayun aviation school at the airfield in Gatchina.

1910 Lydia Zvereva just turned 20 years old. She ended up in St. Petersburg to fulfill what she had dreamed of from the very childhood: become a pilot.

In the same year, the first private aviation school was opened in Gatchina. "Gamayun", which was opened by an engineer and creator of the first in Russia aircraft factory Sergei Shchetinin. I was already in Gatchina at that time aviation school, but it trained only officer pilots, and in Gamayun Everyone was accepted, including women. Right there, among the first three people, and Lydia Zvereva entered. She had to pay 400 rubles and 600 in case of breakdowns of the airplane on which she had to train.

A year later, Zvereva took to the air for the first time on the Farman-4, which she controlled independently and flew at a height of 30 meters.

Aviator Pilot Diploma No. 31 Lidia Zvereva received on August 23 1911. She became the 31st person in the empire who had this document. But among women, she became the first.



"Farman-4"

But before Zvereva, there was another woman, on her own flying the aircraft. Dominikia Kuznetsova-Novoleinik together with her husband Pavel Kuznetsov was fond of aviation, well versed in the theory of flight and mechanics. May 5, 1911 during Second International Aviation Week in St. Petersburg Dominica made attempt to take off on a single plane "Bleriot-XI", but failed control and the plane fell, barely rising. The woman survived, but the career it ended.

And the year 1911 was generally very successful for women in the Russian aviation and two months after Zvereva diplomas of pilot education got a few more students.

On October 3, Evdokia Anatra became a certified female pilot.

On October 9, the singer and actress Lyubov successfully passed the exam Golanchikov, who, by the way, a year later established the All-Russian and world record - climbed on an airplane to a height of 2200 meters.



Diploma

During her studies at the aviation school, Lydia met pilot and engineer Vladimir Slyusarenko. The couple decided to get married and they together they built careers in aviation. And they planned the first one long ago flight between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The event was very risky, but 12 pilots volunteered to fly, including Slyusarenko.



Zvereva with a group of aviators of the flight Petersburg - Moscow

At first, he was going to complete the entire flight in a two-seat "Farmane", and Zvereva was supposed to fly as a passenger. They started from St. Petersburg, but the engine began to fail in the air and in order not to to die, it was decided to return to Petersburg. Vladimir had the opportunity to fly again, but his car was completely broken. Aviator Konstantin Shimansky came to the rescue by borrowing his motor, therefore, Slyusarenko took him as a passenger on a re-flight. But the plane fell, rafought and Shimansky died on the spot, and Slyusarenko received extremely severe injuries.

From the autobiography of Lydia Zvereva:

Secondly, I did not fly just because the aviator Shimansky offered Slyusarenko his motor and how the owner flew passenger. The result is known - both fell, Shimansky crashed to death and saved me at the cost of his life.



Lidia Zvereva with her husband Vladimir Slyusarenko in Gatchina

After Lydia received her diploma, she and her husband and others pilots conducted demonstration flights in front of the audience. In 1912 she made demonstrations in Tiflis. Zvereva performed quite complex elements in bad weather, which somehow almost led to her death.

Already in Riga, at demonstration performances, a powerful the wind and the plane of the airwoman (yes, that’s what women pilots were called in the beginning of the 20th century, taking tracing paper from the French aviatrice) began to take to stands. To save the audience, Zvereva made a sharp maneuver and the plane turned away from the stands, but it rolled over and fell to the ground. woman crushed by debris, but she was lucky, she didn’t even get serious mutilations.

It was there, in Riga, in 1913 that Lidia Zvereva opened aviation school where women could study. And study there was 200 rubles cheaper than in similar schools in the country.

Together with Vladimir, Lydia also founded workshops, where they were engaged not only in the repair, but also in the construction of aircraft.

After the outbreak of World War I, workshops from Riga transported to St. Petersburg and rebuilt into an aircraft factory. Released at first more than one aircraft per month, but the plant grew and expanded, and by 1916 year, every month already from five civilian and military aircraft.



Lydia Zvereva

The career of this amazing graduate of the Institute of Noble the girls was full of a variety of events, but her life was cut short in 1916 year.

Lydia Zvereva fell ill with typhus and died at the age of 25. The airwoman was buried at the Nikolsky cemetery, and Slyusarenko got married again in 1917, and after the revolution he emigrated to Australia.

No one looked after Lydia's grave, because during war, all her relatives left the city, and archival records were lost. AND only in 2019 was it possible to establish the alleged place of its burial.