Oldest Russian Woman Klavdiya Gadyuchkina Dies at 116

In Yaroslavl, the 116-year-old centenarian Klavdiya Gadyuchkina has died. This became known on December 1.

The information was confirmed to 76.RU by her granddaughter, Olga. She specified that the pensioner passed away in the hospital on the morning of November 29. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

The Yaroslavl centenarian was among the top five oldest people in the world according to the international organization LongeviQuest. Klavdiya Gadyuchkina was considered the oldest resident of Russia.

According to the family of Klavdiya Mikhailovna, she was born on November 24, 1909. In 2025, she turned 116 years old. However, according to information from LongeviQuest, the actual birth date of the oldest Yaroslavl resident is December 5, 1910. That means she would have turned 115 only at the beginning of winter 2025.

What is known about Klavdiya Gadyuchkina

Klavdiya Gadyuchkina was born into a large family in the village of Norskoye on the outskirts of Yaroslavl. She was a primary school student when her mother died. After the third grade, little Klava asked to stop studying to help the family.

At 15, she got a job at the «Krasny Pereval» factory. There, they produced cotton yarn. The work was physically demanding. Klavdiya first worked as a spinner and then became a workshop foreman«s assistant. She recalls those years as the hardest and most exhausting period of her life.

»Take care of your health. I lost mine at the factory. Noise, dust, heat! They started to intensify the work. First, we tended to one machine, then we had to handle two. And everything was pushed onto me, everything onto me. I lost my health,« Klavdiya Mikhailovna previously said in an interview with 76.RU.

At 19, Klavdiya Mikhailovna married a hardworking man, Sergei Petrovich. He served in the navy, and after returning from a voyage, he fell in love with the Yaroslavl woman and won her affection. In their marriage, they had three children: two sons and a daughter.

One of the main achievements of her life, Klavdiya Gadyuchkina previously noted, was her large and close-knit family. The centenarian is survived by six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. In her lifetime, she saw four generations.

Her husband died in 1956. There was an accident at the «Norskaya Sloboda» factory where he worked. Klavdiya Mikhailovna never remarried.

The centenarian did not like her age. She considered her attitude to life as the secret to longevity: «I am a kind person, perhaps that»s why I«ve lived so long.»

In 2024, in an interview with 76.RU, Klavdiya Mikhailovna complained that she suffered from blood pressure fluctuations and joint pain. Moreover, in recent years, her vision and hearing had significantly deteriorated. Her local therapist would occasionally visit her at home. But to see specialists, the grandmother was forced to go to the clinic, which was physically difficult for her.

After the publication by 76.RU, a delegation of doctors from the Central City Hospital, to which the Yaroslavl resident is attached by residence, visited the centenarian. The administration of the medical institution promised to take control of Klavdiya Gadyuchkina«s medical care.