Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya: who is she?

The story of the heroic deed of the famous heroine of the Great Patriotic War Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is set out. The main attention is paid to the restoration of genuine events and their separation from the stereotypes that have developed around this history. A lot of space is given to the memories of the participants of these events, the first publications about them in the press. The presentation widely uses unpublished materials. At the beginning of the article, the official version of the entire history of the feat is stated. This version is criticized, due to its illogic and contradictory nature. The true story of the feat is based on the memories of witnesses of events and the analysis of surviving documents. In particular, an analysis of Stalin's order of November 17, 1941 on the tactics of “scorched land” in the fight against the enemy, on the basis of which the subversive group Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya acted. The criminal character and inadequacy of this order are shown, in particular, the unsatisfactory preparation of the group for the task. Detailed description of the process of performing the task in the period from November 21 to December 3, 1941. The personal actions of Z. Kosmodemyanskaya are also described in detail: the burning of houses in the village of Petrishchevo, captivity and execution in the period from November 27 to November 29, 1941. The decisive role of Stalin in the creation and wide use of the image of the heroine is shown. A hypothesis about the cause and the true culprit of the death of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is put forward.