A poetry-reading event entitled “Sister of Mercy and Love” and held as a part of the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Great Victory took place at S. Beysembayev Scientific Library of S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University.

Veronika Tushnova, a well-known Russian poetess and doctor, was born on March 27, 1915. Her father was a Professor in Medicine. Veronika worked in hospital throughout the Great Patriotic War. She was often called “the Sister of Mercy and Love” or “the doctor with a writing book”, as she could bring back to life even those who were hopelessly ill.

Active members of the Inspiration book club decided to pay tribute to this remarkable person.

“We learned a lot of new, as we were preparing for this session of our club, e.g. many facts about her life and how her famous works were written. We studied her biography, printed her poems and looked for recordings of her songs,” said Tatyana Doroshenko, a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Russian Philology.

This session took place just before the 5th anniversary of the Inspiration club. All events held by the Club are interactive. Yelena Likhanova, a librarian of the higher category of the Imaginative Literature sector and Library of the People of Kazakhstan, says that the Club has changed significantly over these years. At first, they just held weekly meetings. Then they started holding thematic events.

Tatyana Doroshenko also noted that Tushnova's poetry still excites readers, and many women can relate to what she wrote. “Almost every reader can remember one's happy and sad moments in life when reading Veronika Tushnova's poems. I think that the army of her fans will keep growing, as her poems touch both heart and soul. However, if you ask ‘Who is Veronika Tushnova?’, it is very likely that many students will fail to give the right answer. Some of them will probably remember that she was a poet, some will say that she was the author of lyrics of Pugacheva's songs,” says T. Doroshenko.