Women in Nineteenth-Century Russia: Lives and Culture

by Wendy Rosslyn (Editor), Alessandra Tosi (Editor)

Russian women of the nineteenth century are often thought of in their literary incarnations as the heroines of novels such as Anna Karenina and War and Peace. But their real-life counterparts are now becoming better understood as active contributors to Russia's varied cultural landscape. This collection of essays examines the lives of women across Russia - from wealthy noblewomen in St Petersburg to desperately poor peasants in Siberia - discussing their interaction with the Church and the law, and their rich contribution to music, art, literature and theatre. It shows how women struggled for greater autonomy and, both individually and collectively, developed a dynamic but often overlooked presence in Russia's culture and society during the long nineteenth century (1800-1917). Women in Nineteenth-Century Russia provides invaluable reading for anyone interested in Russian history, nineteenth-century culture and gender studies.

Genres: History, Russia, 19th Century

262 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2012

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a change from my normal programming, this book was research, research, research. I’m currently working on a historical project with one of my best friends and we have spent the past month diving into articles, theses, Wikipedia. . . it goes on and on. This collection of essays about the lives of women in 19th century Russia was insanely helpful. Though at times written in an intellectual type of way I haven’t encountered since graduating college, I still felt like this book was super helpful as a baseline for building our story.

Covering topics ranging from women as artists, women as caretakers, the limits placed on their lives, and how they both worked around the times and used the times to their advantage. Especially enlightening was seeing how the 19th century in Russia actually REVERSED progress that had been made in earlier centuries, such as protections for victims of assault, and less stereotypes attached to women who worked in certain professions — female performers being considered prostitutes for “selling” their body to the public, for example.

SO FASCINATING.

A very niche-specific read, but super interesting, especially for any history nerds out there — like me.

[Annm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful for my research, even if at times it is rather grim.

[Laura N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched. My only complaint was that one of the thesis statements in a section wasn’t really answered.