Zinaida Portnova: The teenage partisan of the Soviet resistance

By Harsh Thakor*

February 20 marked the birth centenary of Zinaida Portnova, one of the youngest recipients of the Soviet Union’s highest wartime honour. Remembered for her role in the anti-Nazi underground in occupied Belarus during the Second World War, Portnova became a symbol of youth participation in the Soviet resistance.

She was born on February 20, 1926, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), the eldest daughter of a working-class Belarusian family. Her father worked at an industrial plant, and she had a younger sister, Galya. In 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Portnova was visiting relatives in Belarus and found herself in territory that soon came under German occupation.

The German invasion of the Soviet Union, launched under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, led to rapid advances into Soviet territory and heavy military and civilian casualties. Occupied regions such as Belarus witnessed harsh reprisals, forced labour, and widespread destruction. It was in this context that underground resistance networks began to emerge.

Portnova joined the youth resistance organisation known as the Young Avengers, linked to the Komsomol (All-Union Leninist Young Communist League). According to accounts, including Henry Sakaida’s book Heroines of the Soviet Union 1941-45, an altercation between German soldiers and her grandmother over confiscated livestock is said to have influenced her decision to join the resistance.

Initially, Portnova distributed leaflets and carried out small assignments such as gathering intelligence and assisting in the theft of weapons. Over time, she received training in handling firearms and explosives from other members of the underground. She took part in sabotage activities targeting German infrastructure, including facilities such as a local power plant, a pump station, and a brick factory, according to Soviet-era accounts.

One of the most widely cited episodes associated with Portnova occurred in August 1943, when she reportedly infiltrated a German garrison kitchen in Obol and poisoned food intended for German personnel. When suspicion arose, she is said to have eaten some of the food herself to avoid detection. She later fell ill but survived and went into hiding. Following this incident, she joined a partisan detachment named after Kliment Voroshilov.

In 1944, Portnova was assigned a reconnaissance mission to investigate a failed sabotage operation. She was captured and handed over to German authorities. During interrogation, she reportedly seized a pistol and shot her interrogator and two guards in an attempted escape. She was recaptured shortly thereafter near a river and taken to Goryany, where she was interrogated and eventually executed by gunshot in January 1944. She was 17 years old.

On July 1, 1958, Portnova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, one of the country’s highest distinctions. She was also awarded the Order of Lenin. Over the decades, her story became part of Soviet wartime memory. Monuments and plaques commemorating her were erected in various cities, including Minsk, and youth groups during the Soviet period were named in her honour.

Zinaida Portnova’s life and death remain part of the broader history of youth resistance in the Soviet Union during World War II, reflecting the role played by young partisans in occupied territories.

---

*Freelance journalist

Comments

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

Maoist activity in India: Weakening structures, 'shifts' in leadership, strategy and ideology

By Harsh Thakor* Recent statements by government representatives have suggested that Maoism in India has been effectively eliminated, citing the weakening of central leadership and intensified security operations. These claims follow sustained counterinsurgency efforts across key regions, including central and eastern India. However, available information from security agencies and independent observers indicates that while the organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) has been significantly disrupted, elements of the movement remain active. Reports acknowledge the continued presence of cadres in certain forested regions such as Bastar and parts of Dandakaranya, alongside smaller, decentralized units adapting their operational strategies.

46% own nothing, 1% own 18%: The truth about India’s land inequality

By Vikas Meshram * “Agriculture is the backbone of India” — this is what we have been hearing for generations. But there is a pain hollowing out this backbone from within: the unequal distribution of land. On one hand, news of farmer suicides, indebtedness, and rural migration keeps coming; on the other, agricultural land across the country continues to concentrate in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

US study links ultra-processed diets to preterm birth, sparks concern in India

By Jag Jivan A growing body of scientific evidence linking ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption during pregnancy to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes has sparked fresh concern among public health experts, with Indian nutrition advocates warning of serious implications for the country’s already strained maternal health landscape.

From Manesar to Noida: Workers take to streets for bread, media looks away

By Sunil Kumar* Across several states in India, a workers’ movement is gathering momentum. This is not a movement born of luxury or ambition, nor a demand for power-sharing within the state. At its core lies a stark and basic plea: the right to survive with dignity—adequate food, and wages sufficient to afford it.

Midnight weeping: The sociology of tragic vision in Badri Narayan’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Badri Narayan, a distinguished Hindi poet and social scientist, occupies a unique position in contemporary Indian intellectual life by bridging the worlds of creative literature and critical social inquiry. His poetic journey began significantly with the 1993 collection 'Saca Sune Hue Kaï Dina Hue' (Truth Heard Many Days Ago). As a social historian and cultural anthropologist, Narayan pioneered a methodological shift away from elite archives toward the oral traditions and folk myths of marginalized communities. He eventually legitimized "folk-ethnography" as a rigorous academic discipline during his tenure as Director of the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute.

Search This Blog