Inspired by Tom Moore: 98yo Russian WW2 vet raises $23,000 to help fight Covid-19

In the Second World War, Zinaida Korneva was an anti-aircraft gunner who fought from Stalingrad to Berlin. Now, in 2020, Korneva is raising money to help fight the world’s latest enemy – coronavirus.

At the end of April, Korneva heard about then 99-year-old British World War 2 veteran Captain Tom Moore, who raised over £32 million ($40 million) for the UK’s National Health Service, in support of the battle against Covid-19. To raise the money, Moore walked around his garden 200 times before his 100th birthday.  

Inspired by Moore’s fundraising efforts, Korneva decided she wanted to do something similar. Unable to walk well, she promised to tell stories about the war and her life every day until May 9, posted each day on her YouTube channel, and in return, asked her viewers to donate money. So far, Korneva has collected 1,769,244 rubles ($23,867). 

In 1942, Korneva was drafted into the army, along with other girls aged 18-20. She was taken by train to Stalingrad, trained in the southern Republic of Kalmykia, and by the end of the war, she was in Berlin. Nowadays, Korneva is in self-isolation in her country house near Saint Petersburg, alongside her granddaughter. According to the latest data, Covid-19 has taken 1,451 lives in Russia. Since the start of the epidemic, there have been 155,370 confirmed cases, the vast majority in Moscow.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!