The name of Nadezhda Savchenko became known to the whole world when a military pilot was captured by rebels from the south-east of Ukraine, and by court decision went to a Russian prison. Two years later, she returned to her homeland on the personal plane of the Ukrainian president and soon took a deputy seat in the Verkhovna Rada.
Today, some perceive Nadezhda as a strong political figure and a possible presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, while others believe that her career ended after Savchenko was taken into custody, accusing her of trying to seize state power in Ukraine.
Childhood and youth
Nadia was born in 1981 in the Ukrainian capital. The girl’s parents had a difficult fate, they achieved everything in life with their own labor. My father spent the war years at the machine tool, and in peacetime he worked as an agricultural engineer. The mother’s family was dispossessed and sent to Kolyma. She worked as a seamstress, later married and gave birth to two daughters, the eldest of whom was Nadezhda.
From an early age, the girl showed love for everything national. She spoke Russian well, but preferred to communicate in her native language. Even her parents chose her school with teaching in Ukrainian, the only one in the area. After her graduation, the girl was educated as a fashion designer. Further searches for her place in life led her to the faculty of journalism at the University of Kiev and to the telephone intimate services. Nadia began her military career as a radio operator of the railway troops, followed by contract service in the airmobile forces. "Baptism of fire" the girl was part of the coalition forces in Iraq.
But from childhood, Nadia’s dream remained the desire to fly a combat aircraft, so when she returned home, she became a student at Kharkov Air Force University. She was expelled twice as “unfit for flying, ” but was restored both times, and in 2009 she received a navigator diploma. At the helm of the Su-24 and Mi-24 helicopter, she spent dozens of hours, made 45 parachute jumps.
To participate in the anti-terrorist operation, Nadezhda went to the south-east of the country as part of the Aidar volunteer battalion. Co-workers gave her the nickname "Bullet." The biography of the girl made a sharp turn after she was captured by fighters of the self-proclaimed LPR during the operation to eliminate the Aidarites. There was information that Savchenko served as a gunner and was directly related to the killing of people. A Russian court accused her of illegally crossing the border and of being involved in the liquidation of journalists. She spent two years in custody, and a hunger strike and a speech by the public did not help. The court appointed her a long prison term, but she was able to return to Ukraine very soon, in 2016. This happened after two states exchanged prisoners of war.
Political career
At home, Nadezhda was warmly welcomed. The Batkivshchyna party granted the Hero of Ukraine first place on its list, and after the election Savchenko received a deputy mandate. She announced her desire to run for president almost immediately after her return. And six months later, she declared herself a politician independent of factions and presented a plan for the return of Donbass. Hope repeatedly visited the conflict zone, met and tried to negotiate with the leaders of the LPR and the DPR. Such actions provoked indignation from the ruling authorities. According to Savchenko’s personal statement, the country's highest legislative body withdrew her immunity from her. After that, she led the new opposition party, and once again reiterated her intention to participate in the presidential election in 2019.
