Maria Grigorevna Nikiforova (Марія Григорівна Никифорова)

Ukrainian anarchist partisan leader who, alongside her husband, was court martialed and executed by the White Army on this day in 1919.

A self-described terrorist from the age of 16, Nikiforova was known widely by her nickname "Marusya".

Through her revolutionary efforts, Nikiforova became a renowned figure in the anarchist movement of 1918–1919 in Ukraine during Russian Civil War. She was allied with and influenced Nestor Makhno, and they worked together, pooling resources to fight off other forces in the civil war.

On August 11th, 1919, Marusya was recognized on the street in Sevastopol and she and her husband were arrested by the Whites. Marusya's arrest was a great victory for White counter-intelligence, and a month was spent gathering evidence for the case against her. Before, General Subbotin, commandant of the Sevastopol Fortress, she is found guilty on the following charges: that during the period 1918-1919, while commanding a detachment of anarcho-communists, she carried out shootings of officers and peaceful inhabitants, and she called for bloody, merciless reprisals against the bourgeoisie and counter-revolutionaries. For example:

"...in 1918 between the stations of Pereyezdna and Leshchiska by her order several officers were shot, in particular, the officer Grigorenko."

"...in November 1918 she entered the city of Rostov-on-Don with detachments of anarchists and incited a mob with an appeal to carry out bloody reprisals against the bourgeoisie and counter-revolutionaries."

"...in December 1918, while commanding an armed detachment, she participated together with the troops of Petliura in the capture of Odessa, after which she took part in burning down the Odessa prison, where the chief warden Pereleshin was killed in the fire."

"...in June 1919 in the city of Melitopol' 26 persons were shot on her order, including a certain Timofei Rozhkov."

These charges involve crimes specified in Articles 108 and 109 of the criminal code of the Volunteer Army.

The white army execute her.