‘World’s Oldest Woman’ Tanzilya Bisembeyeva of Russia, Dead at 123

A Russian woman claiming to be the oldest person in the world reportedly passed away on Wednesday. Tanzilya Bisembeyeva died on Wednesday, according to a report by The Sun, at the age of 123. If her birth date is correct, Bisembeyeva is the longest-living person on record.

The Russian government has apparently recognized Bisembeyeva’s claim that she is the oldest person in the world. Her age was certified in the Russian Book of Records, where a photo of her birth certificate was published. Bisembeyeva claimed to have lived through the Russian revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union in her long life.

Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta spoke to a senior government official in her home district in the Astrakhan region, Nurgali Baitemirov. Baitemirov said that Bisembeyeva was a legend in the community.

“She died peacefully, she was buried in the family cemetery,” Baitemirov said. “The whole village came to see her depart on her last journey.”

If she was truly 123 years old, Bisembeyeva would have been 21 years old when the Russian revolution took place. The revolution overthrew the Russian Empire, abolishing the monarchy and establishing the Soviet Union in the early 20th century.

Bisembeyeva claims that she then lived through the entire reign of Joseph Stalin, including his tyranny and alleged genocide. The local paper claimed that she credited her survival of these times to “optimism and hard work.”

Bisembeyeva did have a few health tips for those looking to emulate her longevity. She swore by drinking kefir and fermented milk for digestive health, and she claimed that she did not see a doctor until she was over 100 years old. Her family also said that Bisembeyeva was “never sitting still,” and lived a “healthy lifestyle.”

Bisembeyeva did not smoke, and she was careful to eat only “natural foods.” She did physical labor for most of her life, including agricultural work.

“She was working all the time in the fields,” one person attested.

Bisembeyeva’s son, Shintas, told the paper that his mother’s lifespan was absolutely true, whether certified by a government or not. Shintas is 70 years old himself.

“My mother has seen a lot during her long life,” he said. “She has lived from Rasputin to Putin.”

Skeptics point to Shintas and his brother’s as the biggest evidence against Bisembeyeva’s claimed lifespan, since she would have been 53 when she first gave birth, and 59 when her last son was born. Bisembeyeva has three sons in total. She also has 10 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren so far.

Bisembeyeva is only a year older than the Jeanne Calament, considered by many to be the oldest person ever to have their age independently verified. Calament was 122 when she passed away in 1997, and lived her life in France. However, many others around the world have claimed to live longer.