Russia: veteran of the ‘Brandenburg Madonna’ photo dies

(ANSA) – MOSCOW, NOV 26 – A Russian veteran of the Second World War, Maria Limanskaya, portrayed in a famous photo in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin while directing traffic a few days before the capitulation of the Third Reich. The woman died in the Russian region of Saratov, where she lived, as announced by the governor. The image, which became famous under the title ‘The Brandenburg Madonna’, was taken by Tass photographer Yevgeny Khaldey on 2 May 1945. Limanskaya, who enlisted as a volunteer at the age of 18, was initially employed as a sewer the uniforms of the soldiers and later became a regulator of troop traffic. His baptism of fire took place in Bataysk, Rostov region, where, under enemy fire, he directed soldiers crossing the Don. He also took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and others in Simferopol, Belarus and Poland, before reaching Berlin. (HANDLE).