Russian Women Leaders
Throughout history, there have been many Russian women leaders who have made significant contribution to the field. The list includes many familiar and great Russian female leaders such as Catherine the Great, Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Catherine I of Russia, Anna of Russia, Valentina Matviyenko.
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Birthdate: January 6, 1958
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kaliningrad, Russia
Lyudmila Putina was married to Russian president and former prime minister Vladimir Putin from 1983 to 2013. Their divorce was publicly announced on national TV, during the intermission of a ballet performance. She has been associated with programs developing the Russian language and was previously a flight attendant for Aeroflot.
Birthdate: March 6, 1937
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bol'shoe Maslennikovo, Russia
Former cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is currently part of the Russian State Duma. In 1963, she became the first woman to fly into space when she went on a solo mission aboard the Vostok 6. She has won many honors, such as the Hero of the Soviet Union.
3
Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya
(Deputy Minister of Education in the Government of the Soviet Union 1929 – 1938)
Birthdate: February 26, 1869
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: February 27, 1939
4
Natalia Poklonskaya
(Advisor to the Prosecutor General of Russia)
Birthdate: March 18, 1980
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Mykhailivka, Ukraine
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Alina Kabaeva(Russian Politician, Media Manager and Retired Rhythmic Gymnast)
Birthdate: May 12, 1983
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
6
Lydia Litvyak
(Fighter pilot)
Birthdate: August 18, 1921
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: August 1, 1943
7
Alexandra Kollontai(Russian Revolutionary and Diplomat & First Woman in History to Become an Official Member of a Governing Cabinet)
Birthdate: March 31, 1872
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: March 9, 1952
Alexandra Kollontai was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and diplomat. She served as the People's Commissar for Welfare in Lenin’s government. A powerful figure, she became the first woman in history to become an official member of a governing cabinet. She was also one of the few women to play a prominent role during the Russian Revolution.
8
Elvira Nabiullina
(Russian Economist and Governor of the Bank of Russia)
Birthdate: October 29, 1963
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ufa, Russia
The first woman to serve as the governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina has also been an economic advisor to Russian president Vladamir Putin. The daughter of a factory manager mother and a driver father, she made it to the Forbes Power Women 2020 list.
9
Valentina Matviyenko
(Russian Politician and the First Female Leader of Saint Petersburg)
Birthdate: April 7, 1949
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Shepetivka, Ukraine
Also known as Vladimir Putin’s right-hand woman, Russian politician Valentina Matviyenko has been the governor and the first female leader of Saint Petersburg. She was also an ambassador to Greece and Malta, and now chairs the Federation Council. Though Ukrainian by birth, she supported Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Birthdate: September 13, 1987
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Moscow Oblast, Russia
Lyubov Sobol is a Russian public and political figure. An influential personality, Sobol serves as a lawyer of a nonprofit organization called the Anti-Corruption Foundation. In 2019, BBC included her in the leadership category of its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.
11
Natalia Sedova
(Second wife of Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionary)
Birthdate: April 5, 1882
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Romny, Ukraine
Died: January 23, 1962
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Marina Raskova
(Navigator)
Birthdate: March 28, 1912
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Russian Empire
Died: January 4, 1943
13
Aleksandra Samusenko
(Military personnel)
Birthdate: 1922 AD
Birthplace: Chita, Russia
Died: March 3, 1945
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Elena Stasova
(Politician)
Birthdate: October 3, 1873
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: December 31, 1966
Birthdate: January 26, 1672
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Moscow
Died: August 15, 1714
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Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova
(Revolutionary leader and founder of the Soviet Union)
Birthdate: March 6, 1835
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: July 25, 1916
17
Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia
(Politician)
Birthdate: September 27, 1657
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: July 14, 1704
Birthdate: August 8, 1849
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Gzhatsky Uyezd
Died: August 8, 1919
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Khertek Anchimaa-Toka
(Politician)
Birthdate: January 1, 1912
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Bay-Tayginskiy Rayon, Russia
Died: November 4, 2008
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Sophia Perovskaya
(Revolutionary)
Birthdate: September 13, 1853
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: April 15, 1881
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Yevdokiya Bershanskaya
(Military personnel)
Birthdate: February 6, 1913
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Dobrovol'noye, Russia
Died: September 16, 1982
Birthdate: May 17, 1950
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Baranovichi
Died: July 12, 2014
Soviet politician and The New Times editor Valeriya Novodvorskaya, who founded the Democratic Union party, had been a prominent dissident who often clashed with the Soviet authorities. She was once jailed for criticizing the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The self-proclaimed asexual activist lived with her mother and her cat.
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Yekaterina Budanova
(Fighter pilot)
Birthdate: December 6, 1916
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Smolensk Oblast, Russia
Died: July 19, 1943
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Vera Figner
(Revolutionary Whose Work to Free All Russian People Led to Her Involvement in the Assassination of 'Alexander II')
Birthdate: July 7, 1852
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kazan, Russia
Died: June 15, 1942
Russian revolutionary Vera Figner was a major figure of the Populist (Narodnik) movement. Initially a medical student, she later left her studies midway to devote herself to politics. She also left her husband for her revolutionary cause and became associated with the Zemlya i Volya party.
Birthdate: December 17, 1921
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Shabanovka, Russia
Died: July 6, 2013
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Galina Starovoytova
(Politician)
Birthdate: May 17, 1946
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chelyabinsk, Russia
Died: November 20, 1998
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Irina Rodnina
(Russian Politician and Retired Figure Skater)
Birthdate: September 12, 1949
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
28
Zinaida Greceanii
(Politician)
Birthdate: February 7, 1956
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tomsk Oblast, Russia
29
Tatyana Golikova
(Politician, Economist)
Birthdate: February 9, 1966
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Mytishchi, Russia
From being the chief economist of the Russian finance ministry to serving as the deputy prime minister for social policy, Tatyana Golikova has done it all. Known as Miss Budget in popular media, she specializes in labor economics. She was also named Madam Arbidol for her alleged association with Pharmstandard.
Birthdate: October 19, 1934
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: March 21, 2012
Birthdate: July 20, 1931
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Western Oblast, Russia
Died: November 30, 2017
Birthdate: May 15, 1922
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kurmangazy District, Kazakhstan
Died: May 20, 2008
33
Catherine Breshkovsky
(Political figure)
Birthdate: January 25, 1844
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ivanovo, Russia
Died: September 12, 1934
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Anastasia Filatova
(Politician)
Birthdate: February 4, 1920
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ryazan, Russia
Died: October 21, 2001
35
Fanny Kaplan
(Revolutionary)
Birthdate: February 10, 1890
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Volhynian Governorate
Died: September 3, 1918
Born into a poverty-stricken family of farmers, Fanny Kaplan was home-schooled. Later, while working as a milliner, she joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party and thus became part of radical politics. She developed anti-Bolshevik sentiments and attempted to assassinate Lenin. Though Lenin recovered, Kaplan was later executed.
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Alena Arshinova
(Politician)
Birthdate: March 3, 1985
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Dresden, Germany
37
Yekaterina Kuskova
(Russian Economist and Politician Who Opposed the Bolshevik Government)
Birthdate: November 23, 1869
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ufa, Russia
Died: December 22, 1958
Economist, journalist and politician Yekaterina Dmitriyevna Kuskova of the Russian Empire advocated for social reformism and opposed the Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin’s authoritarian policies following the October Revolution. She was a member of the nascent Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) and later became a founding member of the liberal Union of Liberation, which was renamed as the Constitutional-Democratic Party (KDP).