Klavdiya Gadyuchkina
Russian supercentenarian (1910–2025)
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Klavdiya Mikhailovna Gadyuchkina (Russian: Клавдия Михайловна Гадючкина; née Krotova; 5 December 1910 – 29 November 2025) was a Russian supercentenarian. She was the oldest living person in Russia at the time of her death, and the oldest Russian ever recorded.[1][2][3]
5 December 1910
(aged 114 years, 359 days)
- Oldest recorded Russian person
- Surviving subject of Nicholas II
Klavdiya Gadyuchkina | |
|---|---|
Клавдия Гадючкина | |
| Born | Klavdiya Mikhailovna Krotova 5 December 1910 Norskoye, Yaroslavl Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 29 November 2025 (aged 114 years, 359 days) Yaroslavl, Russia |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse |
Sergey Petrovich Gadyuchkin
(died 1956) |
| Children | 5 |
Biography
Gadyuchkina was born on 5 December 1910[a] in Norskoye in the Yaroslavl Governorate of the Russian Empire (now part of the city of Yaroslavl in the Russian Federation) to Mikhail Krotov, a carpenter, and Yevlampiya Krotova. When she was young[b], her mother died of cancer.[2][4]
At the age of 15, she started a job at the Red Pass (Russian: Красный Перевал) spinning factory, where she continued to work for over 40 years.[5][6] She worked first as a labourer, then as a spinner and assistant foreman, and was recognized as a Stakhanovite for her hard work.[4] She reported working "12-hour shifts" with only one day off each week.[2]
Gadyuchkina married Sergey Petrovich Gadyuchkin,[7][8] a naval officer,[2] living initially with his sister's family in a single room. Later, when Sergey was promoted, they were given separate housing.[4] They had five children, three of whom survived to adulthood: two sons, Sergei and Evgeny, and one daughter, Rita.[4] Her husband died from a workplace injury in 1956, but she never remarried, saying that "a stranger wouldn't want her children".[4][7][9]
Old age and death
In November 2014, she was reported to have six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.[10] In her old age, she became an avid reader, and was said to "devote all her free time to reading".[11] She read books and newspapers and tried to stay up-to-date on sociopolitical matters.[4][12] In January 2022, she visited the Yasnye Zori sanitorium in Yaroslavl.[12] As of May 2025 she continued to live with her family in Yaroslav and was looked after by her many relatives.[2][7][13][14]
Gadyuchkina died on 29 November 2025, at the age of 114 years and 359 days, a few days after being hospitalised. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living Russian person, and the oldest Russian ever recorded.[15]