escape and evade from the German Army. Following her return to the Regiment she was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in 1942 because she could not produce the card. She was later acquitted after her sentence was suspended and she was reinstated to her position. Mechanics Raisa Kharitonova and Tamara Frolova were sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for dismantling a flare (used by navigators to illuminate bombing targets) and using the small silk parachutes to sew undergarments. Both of them were retrained as navigators, but Frolova was killed in action in 1943. Honored personnel Twenty-three personnel from the regiment were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, two were awarded Hero of the Russian Federation, and one was awarded Hero of Kazakhstan. Heroes of the Soviet Union Raisa Aronova Vera Belik Marina Chechneva Rufina Gasheva Polina Gelman Tatyana Makarova Natalya Meklin Yevdokiya Nikulina Yevdokiya Nosal Olga Sanfirova Zoya Parfenova Yevdokia Pasko Nadezhda Popova Nina Raspopova Yevgeniya Rudneva Yekaterina Ryabova Irina Sebrova Mariya Smirnova Maguba Syrtlanova Nina Ulyanenko Yevgeniya Zhigulenko Heroes of the Russian Federation Aleksandra Akimova Tatyana Sumarokova Hero of Kazakhstan Khiuaz Dospanova Post-War life In 1917, Russia was the first country to declare legal equality for women, which allowed them to enter military service. Women were inherently equal in both rights and responsibilities as a Russian citizen as social equality was a fundamental part of the Communist ideology. However, ideology was not always exhibited in practice which is seen time and time again especially through times of war whether it be prior, during, or after. In the case of after World War II, women in Russia were treated as though they always have been, especially before the 1917 law was passed. Many can see this passing as a way to get more nationalistic views for Russia, along with soldiers to fight for their country, rather than for the actual equality and treatment of women. A common dilemma for these women grew out of the social pressures of deciding to place more importance on the family instead of an aviation or military career. Irina Rakobolskaya, pilot with the 588th Regiment, rationalized the difficult reality and challenges she faced to pursue both a family and piloting career when she stated, “I think that during the war, when the fate of our country was being decided, the bringing in of women into aviation was justified. But in peacetime