Lyalya Nasukhanova facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lyalya Andarbekovna Nasukhanova
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| Ляля Андарбековна Насуханова | |
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| Born | 1939 Starye Atagi, Chechen-Ingush ASSR
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| Died | 2000 |
| Spouse(s) | Aslan Bitarov |
| Awards | Honored Master of Sports of the USSR |
Lyalya Andarbekovna Nasukhanova (Russian: Ляля Андарбековна Насуханова; 1939 – 2000) was a brave and skilled parachutist and pilot. She was the very first Chechen woman to become a pilot.
Throughout her amazing career, Lyalya won many flying contests. She completed over 100 parachute jumps and spent more than 2,500 hours flying powerful Yakovlev and MiG jets. She also helped train over 200 new pilots. After 23 years dedicated to flying, she started a career in politics. She passed away in 2000, having had to leave her home during a difficult time.
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Early Life and Dreams
Lyalya Nasukhanova was born in 1939 in a small village called Starye Atagi. Her family was Chechen. In 1944, her family, like many others, was unfairly forced to leave their home because of their background. They were sent to live far away in a town called Taraz.
Lyalya spent most of her childhood there. She went to school near an airfield, which made her fall in love with flying. Even though people unfairly called her family "criminal" and told her that flying was not a job for women, she still wanted to fly.
In 1955, she moved to Alma-Ata. There, she was allowed to make parachute jumps at a local flying club. The authorities only let her join because they thought she would give up quickly. While at the club, she met famous women pilots like Valentina Grizodubova, Nina Rusakova, and Yevdokiya Bershanskaya. Meeting them made her even more determined to become a pilot.
Returning Home
In 1957, the Chechen people were allowed to return to their homes. Lyalya Nasukhanova moved back to Chechnya and lived in Grozny for a short time. She wanted to join the Makhachkala flying club in Dagestan. After six months of training there, students got to fly planes.
Because she had been forced to leave her home before, she tried many times to join but was often told no. Eventually, she was accepted, but with some limits on what she could do. She lived with relatives in the city during her training. Every day, she had to wake up at 3:00 AM to walk across the city to the airfield. Finally, she made her first flight in a Yak-18 plane.
A Pilot's Career
After finishing her training at the Makhachkala flying club, Lyalya wanted to study more at an aviation technical school. Her family still did not approve of her choice to fly. One year after being accepted, she joined the Central Flight Technical School in Saransk.
She quickly became known for her amazing skills in aerobatics, which is flying stunts. In one competition in Rostov-on-Don, she came in first place, beating 26 male pilots! At the 1962 national championship in Samara, she took second place among 54 competitors. In 1963, she won a bronze medal at the first Moscow Women's aerosports competition. That year, a famous newspaper called Pravda praised her, saying she flew "where even eagles dare not rise into the air."
In 1964, Lyalya became the commander of a group of planes. This made her the first woman in the Soviet Union to lead a unit of jet aircraft. At the Grozny Aviation Training Center, she flew the MiG-17 and taught new pilots. In the 1980s, she received a special award for training athletes from a cosmonaut named Georgy Beregovoy. After 23 years of flying, she left aviation to start a career in politics.
Dream of Becoming a Cosmonaut
In the 1960s, Lyalya Nasukhanova applied four times to become a cosmonaut (an astronaut). However, because she was from the Vainakh group and had been sent away from her home, she was seen as a "special settler." This meant she could only join the cosmonaut team if the Communist Party made an exception for her.
Even though many of her cosmonaut friends supported her, this exception never happened. She was rejected all four times. This was despite the fact that she had much more flying experience and almost as much parachuting experience as Valentina Tereshkova, who became the first woman in space.
Later Life
After 23 years in aviation, Lyalya Nasukhanova began working in politics. She graduated from the Chechen-Ingush Pedagogical Institute. She served as a representative on the Grozny city council and held other important roles in the local government.
When the First Chechen War began, Lyalya and her husband, Aslan Bitarov (who was also a flight instructor), moved to a village near Vladikavkaz. She passed away in 2000 at the age of 61. At the time, she was living as a refugee, which means she had to leave her home because of war.
Honors and Tributes
Lyalya Nasukhanova received many awards for her amazing flying skills. She was also honored in culture and art. A famous Chechen poet named Raisa Akhmatova wrote a poem dedicated to her. A portrait of Lyalya was painted by an artist named Valentin Mordovin.
Images for kids
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Lyalya Nasukhanova, a pioneering Chechen pilot.
See also
In Spanish: Lialia Nasujanova para niños
