Durova Nadezhda Andreyevna (1783–1866) - officer of the Russian Imperial Army, cavalry maiden, participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. She went down in history as one of the first Russian women who decided to devote themselves to military affairs. Nadezhda Durova, whose biography will be especially useful for children when studying history in the 5th grade, was also a famous writer.
Early Life[]
Nadezhda Andreyevna was born on September 17 (September 28 on the Gregorian Calendar, given that Russia was still using the Julian Calendar at the time), 1783 in the family of the hussar captain Andrey Vasilyevich Durov and Nadezhda Ivanovna Alexandrovna, the young daughter of a wealthy Poltava landowner.
Nadezhda (mother), who married against her parents' will, passionately dreamed of giving birth to her beloved husband a son. The birth of her daughter disappointed the hot-tempered woman so much that she once threw her crying one-year-old daughter out of the carriage. The child was saved, and Durov was forced to give little Nadya to be raised by the hussar Astakhov.
When Durov resigned in 1789 and the family settled in the city of Sarapul in the Vyatka province, 6-year-old Nadya began seeing her mother again. She tried to teach her daughter to do needlework and housekeeping, but it didn’t work out for her.
The best gift for the grown-up Nadya was the Circassian horse Alkid, and from then on she spent all her free time in the saddle.
Cavalry maiden[]
When studying the short biography of Nadezhda Durova, it is worth noting the year 1806. It was then that the desperate girl said goodbye to her usual life and, under the guise of nobleman Alexander Vasilyevich Sokolov, entered service in the Konnopolsky Lancers cavalry regiment. The main selection criterion was the fact that the lancers did not wear beards, and Durova easily transformed into a young man.
This is exactly the kind of life Nadezhda dreamed of. In the battles of Guttstadt, Heilsberg, Friedland, she showed courage and even accomplished a feat - she saved a wounded officer, for which she was awarded the St. George Cross and the rank of non-commissioned officer.
Durova's secret was revealed in 1807 in Tilsit during the signing of the Peace of Tilsit between Napoleon and Alexander I. Nadezhda wrote a letter to her father asking him to forgive her for her daring act. Having received this message, Durov Sr. used all his connections and quickly found his daughter.
The rumor about the cavalry maiden reached Emperor Alexander I, and he, shocked by Nadezhda’s courage and her desire to serve the Fatherland, allowed her to remain in the army and transferred her to the elite Mariupol Hussar Regiment under the name Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov.
Durova's military career developed rapidly. During the Patriotic War, she commanded a half-squadron, and had 60 horsemen under her command. Durova's half-squadron took part in a mounted attack in Borodino, where Nadezhda was wounded in the leg.
After treatment, Durova served with Kutuzov himself. He knew that his orderly was a woman, but did not do her any favors.
In 1816, after 10 years of service in the army, Nadezhda Andreevna retired with the rank of captain and with a pension. She always wore a man's suit, invariably used the surname Alexandrov, and became angry when they addressed her as a woman.
Literary activity[]
A big event in Durova’s life was her acquaintance with Alexander Pushkin. In 1836, Nadezhda Andreevna published her memoirs, which deeply shocked the famous writer. He supported the literary debut of the cavalry maiden and in every possible way encouraged her to pursue a writing career.
Inspired by such support, Durova began to write stories and novels, publishing them in Sovremennik and Otechestvennye zapiski. In 1840, a collection of works was published in four volumes.
The main theme of all Durova’s works was overcoming gender discrimination. The writer sought to convince readers that there should be no difference between the social status of men and women.
Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova died on March 21 (April 2), 1866 at the age of 82. She was buried with full military honors.