Women in Nineteenth-Century Russia: Lives and Culture

Russian women of the nineteenth century are often thought of in their literary incarnations, but their real counterparts are now becoming much 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 nineteenth-century Russia’s culture and society.