World Oldest Woman, Koku Istambulova, Dies at 129

A woman believed to be the oldest person on earth has died at the age of 129.

According to official pension records in Russia, the woman, identified as Koku Istambulova, was just months away from celebrating her 130th birthday in June 2019 before her passing.

Officials reviewing her documentation believed she had outlived another woman who reportedly died at the age of 128 just last month.

Koku gained public attention the previous year after she revealed that she had never experienced a single joyful day throughout her long life.

Her grandson, Iliyas Abubakarov, shared details about her final moments, explaining that she had eaten her usual evening meal on Sunday, January 27, 2019, at her home in a village in Chechnya.

Speaking about her passing, Illyas said:
“She was joking, she was talking

“Then she suddenly felt unwell, she complained of a chest pain.

“We called the doctor, we were told that her blood pressure had dropped, and injections were made.

“But they failed to save her.

“She died in a quiet way, fully conscious, praying.”

Koku has since been laid to rest in her home village of Bratskoe. She is survived by five grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

It was also reported that she was born before Tsar Nicholas II was crowned and lived through the entire Soviet era, according to details in her internal Russian passport.

Her recorded date of birth is June 1, 1889, during the reign of Queen Victoria in Britain.

Before her death, she spoke about one of the darkest moments in her life — the forced deportation of Chechen people ordered by Stalin around 75 years ago. She recalled the suffering endured during the journey, including how many people died in overcrowded train carriages.

She said speaking in Chechen language:
“It was a bad day, cold and gloomy,” she said of the February morning in 1944 when the entire nation was expelled from their mountain homeland in the Trans-Caucasus.

“We were put in a train and taken … no one knew where.

“Railway carriages were stuffed with people – dirt, rubbish, excrement was everywhere.”

“Write that – there was excrement in the carriages.

“We were not allowed [to go] anywhere.”

“On the way to our exile, dead bodies were just thrown out of the train,”

“Nobody was allowed to bury the dead. Corpses were eaten by dogs. My father-in-law was thrown out of the train in this way.”

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