Arriving in Washington, DC on this day in 1942 as a part of a tour of the US, Canada and the UK to encourage the Allies to open up a second front against Nazi Germany, at the invitation of Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyudmila Pavlichenko (Людмила Михайлівна Павличенко) of Odesa became the first official Soviet guest in the White House. Credited with killing three-hundred nine Axis soldiers—likely an undercount as confirmed kills required a witness and included thirty-six enemy snipers—after being retired after a blow from shrapnel, Pavlichenko was reassigned as a trainer and propagandist for the Red Army. 
Not particularly fond of her new role as a diplomat, shy and quiet and only wanting to get on with beating the fascists, Pavlichenko complained that she was not taken seriously by the press, but her blunt responses to sexist questions were well received by the public. Calling on Chicago with the First Lady, citing her credentials, she chided, “Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
synchronoptica
one year ago: the Guinness World Records (with synchronoptica)
eight years ago: ghost malls plus duped by Brexit
nine years ago: assorted links worth revisiting plus the oracle of Delphi
ten years ago: work-life balance plus Austria hosts the Bilderberg conference
eleven years ago: social media and credit scores
