Практический курс первого иностранного языка

It is actually not easy for me to answer the question that was stated as an essay topic. After all, there are a lot of people who could be called heroes! Nevertheless, when it comes to start thinking about heroes, I always remember the times of The Great Patriotic War firstly or also The Second World War. That’s why I decided to dedicate my essay to such person as Zinaida Portnova.

Zinaida was an amazing girl, that was born in the Soviet Union in 1926. She was a pioneer and a selfless partisan. Zinaida Martynovna Portnova also worked as a member of military intelligence. During World War II she had managed to perform some heroic acts, and that’s why she became the owner of the Title Hero of the Soviet Union eventually.

She was only a teenage girl when the awful, destructive and large-scale war began. The girl participated in intelligence operations and she was always putting up an active resistance to the German invaders. The war criminals tortured her a lot, but she didn’t told them a single word about a condition of the Soviet army. And that’s why I think that she could be called a true model of patriotism.

Zina died young: at the age of seventeen she was sent to execution by shooting. She steadfastly accepted her death near the prison of the city of Polotsk, that is situated in Belarus. So the countries of Soviet Union lost one more good person during that cold and terrible winter of 1944.

As I already wrote, there are a lot of amazing people in this world. Humanity has a lot of people to be very proud of. Outstanding scientists, hardworking atheletes, rescue workers, mothers of many children – all of them do something important in their lives and they are worthy of respect. But why does exactly Zina Portnova amaze me the most now? My heart sank after reading a story of her life because I was struck by the persistence of her character. I can cite this woman as an example of dedication, valor and courage.