Nanu Shaova has passed away in the Caucasus Mountains
It has been claimed that Nanu, whose passport said she was 128, was born before the last Tsar Nicholas II took the throne.
She was registered two years ago in the Russia Book of Records as the oldest person in the country, and with that she became the oldest person to have ever lived.
So what was Nanu's secret to such a long life? She credited local drink Ayran, a mixture of yoghurt and chilled or iced water, to her lengthy life.
In her life, Nanu was married twice, having eight children, 19 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.
Impressive, right?
Her son Hussein said: "She did not have any kind of special diet."
“She only said that it is important to work a lot.
“She said, 'the more and the better you work, the healthier you will be'".
“There was something genetic in it too – her mother, my granny lived for 117 years.”
A tribute from officials in her region after her death on Monday said: "Nanu Shaova, a centenarian from the village of Zayukovo, in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Baksan district, and Russia’s oldest woman, according to the Russia Book of Records, has died at the age of 128."
“She would have turned 129 in May.
“The administration of Baksan district offers its most sincere condolences to her family.”
