Born: 4 January 1924 (Kerch, Ukraine)
Died: 5 April 1944 (Simferopol, Ukraine)
Biography:
Alime Seitosmanovna Abdenanova (Crimean Tatar: Alime Seitosman qz Abdenanova; 4 January 1924 – 5 April 1944) was a Crimean Tatar scout in the Red Army during World War II. Born on 4 January 1924 in Kerch, Alime grew up in a Crimean Tatar peasant family. Her mother, Meselme, was from the neighboring town of Mayak-Salyn and had grown up in poverty until marrying Alime’s father, Seit-Osman, who worked at the Metallurgical Plant in Kerch. Alime had two younger sisters, Azife and Feruza. Tragedy struck the family when both of their parents passed away in 1930 and 1931, leaving Alime and her sisters to live with their grandmother in Jermai-Kashik, where they took on the surname Abdenanova.
Alime had a promising academic career. She completed seven years of secondary school with honors and eventually found work as a secretary at the Uzun-Ayaksky village Soviet in the Leninsky district. In 1940, she became a member of the Komsomol, the youth league of the Communist Party. Despite her determination to join the Red Army after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Alime was initially refused because of her affiliation with the Leninsky District Executive Committee. However, after the committee was relocated to Kerch and later Temryuk, she seized the opportunity to enroll in medical courses and was then assigned to a hospital in Krasnodar.
It was after the Soviet troops had successfully regained territory from the Wehrmacht in the Battle of Kursk and the Novorossiysk-Taman Operation that the Red Army decided to launch an offensive to retake Crimea. Major-General Nikolai Trusov, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Maritime Army Intelligence, ordered reconnaissance scouts to be sent to the rear of the retreating Axis forces. This led to the formation of the reconnaissance group Bast, which consisted of two scouts and six agents trained in sabotage.
Alime was chosen to lead the reconnaissance group and played a vital role in collecting intelligence about the positions of German and Romanian troops throughout the Kerch Peninsula. Her bravery and resourcefulness in carrying out these missions earned her the prestigious Order of the Red Banner. However, tragedy struck when the group was arrested by the Germans in February. Despite facing unimaginable torture for over a month, Alime refused to reveal any information to her captors.
Regrettably, on 5 April 1944, Alime was executed on the outskirts of Simferopol at the young age of twenty. Her unwavering courage and dedication to her comrades and cause did not go unnoticed, and on 1 September 2014, Alime Abdenanova was posthumously declared a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of Vladimir Putin. This made her the sixteenth woman and the first Crimean Tatar to be awarded this title, highlighting her exceptional contribution to the war effort.
Awards:
– Order of the Red Banner (posthumously)