At the end of the Second World War a female Russian soldier was posted to direct traffic opposite the Brandenburg Gate in Allied-occupied Berlin. Her name was Maria Limanskaya and as she carried out her duties she was both photographed and filmed by Eugeny Haldey of the Tyelyegrafnoye Agyentstvo Sovyetskogo Soyuza (TASS) – a Soviet news agency. The photograph was published in many newspapers and magazines across the world and Maria quickly became an iconic image of the Second World War. Unlike the legendary Spitfire or the resolute Winston Churchill her image has sadly been largely forgotten today.
Maria Limanskaya directing traffic opposite the Brandenburg Gate in 1945.
So who was this Soviet soldier and what happened to her? Maria was born in 1924 and joined the Red Army in 1942 aged 18. Little is known about much of her wartime service but it is said she had several near-death experiences including watching a building destroyed by a bomb only seconds after she had exited it. Following her time opposite the Brandenburg Gate Maria was sent to direct traffic in support of the Potsdam Conference in late July 1945. During this time she saw one of the motorcades carrying important delegates to the conference and as it passed saluted. One of the occupants of the motorcade was none other than Winston Churchill. Pausing to talk to this female Russian soldier Churchill asked (via an interpreter) if the British soldiers had been minding their manners towards her and her female colleagues. Maria’s replied “If they don’t, our soldiers will defend us”. It is said that Churchill merely smiled and continued on his journey.
With her work over Maria returned to civilian life and married. Sadly the marriage did not last and she was left alone to bring up two daughters. However, she did meet another man, a wartime veteran called Victor, who she married and remained with for 23 years until his death. She also stayed in touch with wartime friends by letter but with the passage of time the letters began to stop arriving.
At the time of writing it is believed Maria is still alive and living in the village of Zvonaryovka in the Saratov region of Russia. In 1982 Haldey sent her a number of photographs he had taken of her and others in 1945. She has five great-grandchildren of which three now live in Germany. In some TV documentaries she is mistakenly referred to as Anna Pavlova.
