Russian woman, 97, launches coronavirus charity, inspired by UK’s ‘Captain Tom’
St. Petersberg: Inspired by 99-year-old Briton Tom Moore’s multi-million pound charity walk, a Russian fellow World War II veteran has launched her own effort to gather contributions for the families of doctors and nurses who have died of COVID-19.
Zinaida Korneva, 97, isn’t walking laps in her garden as Moore did in the days up to his 100th birthday last month. Instead, she’s launched a website with videos telling of her trials as a Red Army soldier in the Stalingrad region. In one of the videos she credits Mr Moore, who served in the British army during WWII and rose to the rank of captain, as her inspiration.
“Hello Tom. I learned about your story. You are a strong person and a real soldier,” she says, displaying a chestful of medals. “We defeated fascism together in 1945. And now, together, we’re fighting against this virus.”
As of Tuesday, Korneva’s campaign had raised over US$26,000 (FD$58,574) in five days and she hopes to accumulate US$40,000 (FD$90,114).