Elizabeta Baranovskaya, originally from Russia, was a ballerina who had been training since the age of four. She studied at the Moscow State Academy, and her hometown was Smolensk. Her mother was Belarusian. Elizabeta's aspiration was to perform at the Bolshoi Theater, a dream she shared with her mother. However, after discovering she had a tumor, she traveled to Italy for treatment, where her leg was unfortunately amputated. Devastated by this, she tried to commit suicide by jumping off the hospital roof but survived. The SWA then intervened and took her in.
Alessandro Ricci, her handler, gave her the name Petrushka, inspired by the Russian puppet character, which is traditionally a boy's name, like Rico. Petrushka underwent extensive physical augmentation. Unlike earlier first-stage cyborgs, most of her features were replaced; she wasn't naturally a redhead nor did she have naturally green eyes. The doctor who worked on her chose to model her after his first love because Alessandro only specified that she should not be a redhead. At sixteen years old, Petrushka has the body of a teenager, unlike the other cyborg girls who are children. As the prototype for the second-stage generation, Petrushka appears in volume six, featured on the cover with her primary weapon. Being a second-stage cyborg meant all necessary information about her life at the SWA was pre-programmed into her brain. She knew her location, that she would undergo combat training, and that she "must follow Alessandro's and the Agency's orders without hesitation." However, an error occurred, leaving her without any memories, real or fabricated. Despite her personal desires, she must execute every order given to her and is forbidden to speak ill of her handler.
Her name is often shortened to the more feminine "Petra." Petrushka's preferred weapons include the Spectre M4 SMG and Taurus PT92 pistol. Although excluded from the anime adaptation, she makes a brief appearance in episode 5 of Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-. (Source: Wikipedia)
