Klavdiya Gadyuchkina

Klavdiya Gadyuchkina
Клавдия Гадючкина
Born
Klavdiya Mikhailovna Krotova

(1910-12-05)5 December 1910
Norskoye, Yaroslavl Governorate, Russian Empire
Died(2025-11-29)29 November 2025
(aged 114 years, 359 days)
Yaroslavl, Russia
Known for
  • Oldest Russian person ever
  • Surviving subject of Nicholas II
SpouseSergey Petrovich Gadyuchkin (died 1956)
Children5

Klavdiya Mikhailovna Gadyuchkina (Russian: Клавдия Михайловна Гадючкина; née Krotova; 5 December 1910 – 29 November 2025) was a Russian supercentenarian. She was the oldest living person in Russia at the time of her death, and the oldest Russian ever recorded.[1][2][3]

Biography

Gadyuchkina was born on 5 December 1910[a] in Norskoye [ru] in the Yaroslavl Governorate of the Russian Empire (now part of the city of Yaroslavl in the Russian Federation) to Mikhail Krotov, a carpenter, and Yevlampiya Krotova. When she was young[b], her mother died of cancer.[2][4]

At the age of 15, she started a job at the Red Pass [ru] (Russian: Красный Перевал) spinning factory, where she continued to work for over 40 years.[5][6] She worked first as a labourer, then as a spinner and assistant foreman, and was recognized as a Stakhanovite for her hard work.[4] She reported working "12-hour shifts" with only one day off each week.[2]

Gadyuchkina married Sergey Petrovich Gadyuchkin,[7][8] a naval officer,[2] living initially with his sister's family in a single room. Later, when Sergey was promoted, they were given separate housing.[4] They had five children, three of whom survived to adulthood: two sons, Sergei and Evgeny, and one daughter, Rita.[4] Her husband died from a workplace injury in 1956, but she never remarried, saying that "a stranger wouldn't want her children".[4][7][9]

Old age and death

In November 2014, she was reported to have six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.[10] In her old age, she became an avid reader, and was said to "devote all her free time to reading".[11] She read books and newspapers and tried to stay up-to-date on sociopolitical matters.[4][12] In January 2022, she visited the Yasnye Zori sanitorium in Yaroslavl.[12] As of May 2025 she continued to live with her family in Yaroslav and was looked after by her many relatives.[2][7][13][14]

Gadyuchkina died on 29 November 2025, at the age of 114 years and 359 days, a few days after being hospitalised. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living Russian person, and the oldest Russian ever recorded.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Klavdiya Gadyuchkina". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e Вачнадзе, Полина (6 May 2025). "За Победу выпью коньячку! Старейшая жительница России рассказала, как встретит 9 мая". yar.kp.ru - (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Ярославна Клавдия Гадючкина попала в топ-10 старейших людей мира" (in Russian). ЯРСМИ. 3 May 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Труханова, Элина (28 December 2017). "Какие книги читает 108-летняя жительница Ярославля". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  5. ^ Maglov, Stefan (5 December 2024). "Klavdiya Gadyuchkina, Doyenne of Russia, Celebrates 114th Birthday". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Ярославская долгожительница Клавдия Гадючкина награждена медалью к 80-летию Победы" (in Russian). Вести Ярославль. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Зайцева, Полина (25 November 2022). "«Жила и никому зла не делала»: 113-летняя жительница Ярославля раскрыла секрет долголетия". 76.ru. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  8. ^ Лиходедова, Анастасия (25 November 2019). "Надо любить людей: ярославская пенсионерка рассказала, как дожила до 110 лет". Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  9. ^ "«Я ни туда, ни сюда — между небом и землей»: 115-летняя россиянка — о своей судьбе" (in Russian). 161.ru. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Жительница Ярославля отметила 105-летний юбилей". AiF (in Russian). 25 November 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  11. ^ "«Первый Ярославский» поздравил с 106-м днем рождения жительницу Ярославля". Телеканал Первый Ярославский. 25 November 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  12. ^ a b Красоткина, Влада (16 January 2022). ""Я как будто помолодела на 10 лет": ярославская долгожительница Клавдия Гадючкина рассказала об отдыхе в санатории "Ясные зори"". yar.kp.ru - (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  13. ^ "«Говорю, что я древняя»: как проводит время 114-летняя россиянка, пережившая мужа на 67 лет". 86.ру (in Russian). 19 December 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Жительница Ярославля стала шестой в рейтинге долгожителей мира" (in Russian). Вести Ярославль. 5 May 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  15. ^ Villatoro, Fabrizio (30 November 2025). "Klavdiya Gadyuchkina, Russia's Oldest Person Ever, Dies at 114". LongeviQuest. Retrieved 30 November 2025.

Notes

  1. ^ Gadyuchkina claimed to be born on 24 November 1909, but was verified as being born 5 December 1910.[1]
  2. ^ In one article, her mother was reported to have died when Klavdiya was 9 and in another when she was 5.