Meet Maria Limanskaya, a.k.a. the ‘Victory traffic controller’ and the ‘Brandenburg Madonna’
The young lady became famous thanks to the photo, which was taken in May 1945 in liberated Berlin by photographer Evgeny Khaldey.
‘Victory traffic controller’ a.k.a. ‘Brandenburg Madonna’
This the whole world saw the photo, which went on to become one of the symbols of victory over the Nazis. After 40 years, the photographer and his model met again and Evgeny Khaldey took another photo of the woman, this time with all her medals.
Maria Limanskaya in 1984. Photo taken by the same photographer
Limanskaya went through the entire war sewing clothes and then went on to train as an traffic controller. She was wounded several times and was on the brink of death, even once falling under the ice.
Maria Limanskaya in 2019
The famous "regulator" today lives in Saratov Region with her daughter. On April 12, Maria will turn 100 years old!
A monument to the ‘Victory traffic controller’ in the Saratov Region
