LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the validation of Klavdiya Gadyuchkina as the oldest known person ever to have lived in Russia. A resident of Yaroslavl, she is 114 years and 315 days old as of today, making her the fifth-oldest living person in the world.
Klavdiya Mikhailovna Gadyuchkina (Клавдия Михайловна Гадючкина) was born in the village of Norskoye on the northwestern outskirts of the city of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia (then Russian Empire). She claims to have been born on 24 November 1909; however, according to the research conducted by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) and LongeviQuest, her actual birthdate is 5 December 1910. When she was nine years old, her mother died of cancer. Her father, a carpenter, had to work a lot to afford both bread and hay for their cow. She had to leave school in the 3rd grade.
At the age of 15, she found a job at the local spinning factory “Red Pass”, dedicating her entire career to the establishment. She advanced from auxiliary worker to spinner and assistant foreman, eventually becoming a production leader, earning a gramophone as a reward for her achievements.
She married Sergey Petrovich, and the couple went on to have five children. Her eldest son was born at the beginning of World War II, and the youngest in 1945. Her daughter Rita was 11 years old at the beginning of the war. Before her husband left for the front, he instructed her to exchange any items they possessed for food if necessary. Her husband died in 1956, due to an injury received at the factory. She retired after 52 years of work in the factory.
LongeviQuest extends our heartfelt congratulations to Klavdiya Gadyuchkina and her family on this remarkable achievement. We wish her continued health and happiness in the years ahead. We also express our sincere gratitude to her family for their assistance during the validation process, and to researchers Arkady E. Kopylov and Georg Fürholzer for their dedicated work in completing it.
In July 2025, aged 114.
