Life and death of USSR’s most famous conjoined twins

Masha and Dasha (these are short names for Maria and Daria) Krivoshlyapova were USSR's most famous conjoined, or Siamese twins. The sisters had four arms, two legs, one circulatory and two nervous systems. Masha and Dasha were born on January 4, 1950 in Moscow. Doctors took them away from their mother immediately after birth (the twins were born through Cesarian section). However, having recovered from anesthesia, the woman insisted her babies be shown to her. Ekaterina Krivoshlyapova fainted when she saw the twins and had to spend about two years at a mental hospital as the woman was unable to cope with her shock. The twins' father, Mikhail, who worked as a personal driver for Lavrenti Beria, was told that the babies had died. The girls were given a different middle name and eventually found themselves at the Institute of Pediatrics of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, and then at the Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. The twins had spent most of their childhood at research centers and hospitals that became their home. Masha and Dasha started walking at hospitals. When adult, they were unwilling to recollect their medical past, when doctors would mostly use them as guinea pigs for tests and experiments. Doctors decided to amputate one of the girls' three legs, which they would use to support the body. As a result, Masha and Dasha could either walk on crutches or use a wheelchair.

from PravdaReport

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