Women in the Russian and Soviet military Women in the Russian and Soviet military , as in other nations , have played an important role in their country ' s military history , in particular during the Great Patriotic War . Despite performing various duties in the armies throughout Russian history , it was in the 20th century that women began to be given a more prominent role . Women of Russia and the Soviet Union played a significant role in World Wars , especially during World War II ; arguably a greater role than in other combatant nations , although attitudes towards their contribution was occasionally paternalistic and reluctant . World War I . Women served in the Russian armed forces in small numbers in the early stages of the war , but their numbers increased after heavy Russian losses such as at the Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes and a need for increased manpower . One such recruit was Maria Bochkareva who served with the 25th Reserve Battalion of the Russian Army . After the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia in March 1917 , she convinced interim prime minister Alexander Kerensky to let her form a women ' s battalion . The Women ' s Battalion of Death recruited women between the ages of 13 and 25 and appealed for support in a series of public meetings , enlisting approximately 2 , 000 soldiers . The Battalion fought during the June Offensive against German forces in 1917 . Three months of fighting dwindled their numbers to around two - hundred and fifty . The Women ' s Battalion was disbanded after a failed political revolution known as the Kornilov Affair . Its leader , General Lavr Kornilov , had been strongly supported by Bachkarova , and the Women ' s Battalion were identified as potential sympathizers . The majority of the battalion ' s members were reformed as the First Petrograd Women ' s Battalion . This group was at the Winter Palace on the night of the Bolshevik Revolution , along with an untrained cadet detachment and a bicycle regiment . They mounted a stiff resistance but ultimately fell , although there were only 5 deaths in the storming of the Winter Palace . The triumphant Bolsheviks officially disbanded the group . Several women pilots are known from the First World War . Princess Eugenie Shakovskaya was assigned duty as an artillery and reconnaissance pilot , having volunteered for the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1914 ( one of the world ’ s first female military aviators ) and flew missions with the 26th Corps Air Squadron in 1917 for nine months . Because of her connections to the Imperial family she was demobilized after the October Revolution . Lyubov A . Golanchikova was a test pilot who contributed her airplane to the Czarist armies ; Helen P . Samsonova was assigned to the 5th Corps Air Squadron as a reconnaissance pilot . And in 1915 , Nedeshda Degtereva had the distinction of being the first woman pilot to be wounded in combat while on a reconnaissance mission over the Austrian front in Galicia . World War II . Women played a large part in most of the armed forces of the Second World War . In most countries though , women tended to serve mostly in administrative , medical and in auxiliary roles . But in the Soviet Union women fought in larger numbers in front line roles . Over 800 , 000 women served in the Soviet armed forces in World War II ; nearly 200 , 000 of them were decorated and 89 of them eventually received the Soviet Union ’ s highest award , the Hero of the Soviet Union . They served as pilots , snipers , machine gunners , tank crew members and partisans , as well as in auxiliary roles . Very few of these women , however , were ever promoted to officers . Aviators . For Soviet women aviators , instrumental to this change was Marina Raskova , a famous Russian aviator , often referred to as the ‘ Russian Amelia Earhart ’ . Raskova became a famous aviator as both a pilot and a navigator in the 1930s . She was the first woman to become a navigator in the Soviet Air Force in 1933 . Raskova is credited with using her personal connections with Joseph Stalin to convince the military to form three combat regiments for women . The Soviet Union was the first nation to allow women pilots to fly combat missions . These regiments flew a combined total of more than 30 , 000 combat sorties , produced at least thirty Heroes of the Soviet Union , and included at least two fighter aces . This military unit was initially called " Aviation Group 122 " while the three regiments received training . After their training , the three regiments received their formal designations as the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment , the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment and the 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment . Land forces . The Soviet Union also used women for sniping duties extensively , and to great effect , including Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya and Ukrainian Lyudmila Pavlichenko ( who killed over 300 enemy soldiers ) . The Soviets found that sniper duties fit women well , since good snipers are patient , careful , deliberate , can avoid hand - to - hand combat , and need higher levels of aerobic conditioning than other troops . Women also served as machine gun ners , tank drivers , medics , communication personnel and political officer s . Manshuk Mametova was a machine gunner from Kazakhstan and was the first Soviet Asian woman to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union for acts of bravery . Partisans . Women consistituted significant numbers of the Soviet partisans . One of the most famous was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya , who earned the Hero of the Soviet Union award ( February 16 , 1942 ) . The youngest woman to become a Hero of the Soviet Union was also a resistance fighter , Zinaida Portnova . Post 1945 . After the war , most women left the armed forces . Those that stayed to make a career in the post - war armed forces saw old attitudes return and promotion and opportunities more difficult . Also , some military academies closed their doors to women despite the supposed official policy of equality . In 1967 , the Russian Universal Military Duty Laws concluded that women offered the greater source of available combat soldiers during periods of large scale mobilisation . Thus , several programs during the height of the Cold War were set up to encourage women to enlist . Participation in military orientated youth programs and forced participation in the reserves for ex - servicewomen up to the age of 40 are some examples . Universities contained reservist officer training which accompanied a place in the reserves themselves , especially for doctors . But some roles open to women during the war were later barred . Women have had the legal right to serve in the Russian Armed Forces throughout the post Cold War period . In 2002 , 10 % of the Russian armed forces ( 100 , 000 of a total active strength of 988 , 100 ) were women . However continuing attitudes towards women in Russian life are demonstrated by activities such as Miss Russian Army .