Born: 17 September 1783, Ukraine
Died: 21 March 1866
Country most active: International
Also known as: Наде́жда Андре́евна Ду́рова, Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov, Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova (Russian: Наде́жда Андре́евна Ду́рова) was a notable figure of the Napoleonic era. She adopted various aliases, including Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov, and Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov. Durova, under the guise of a man, achieved distinction as a decorated soldier within the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars. She was one of the earliest documented female officers in the Russian military.
Her memoir, titled “The Cavalry Maiden,” is very important in the historical record due to the scarcity of written accounts from junior officers who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. Furthermore, it stands as one of the earliest autobiographical works in the Russian language, offering valuable insights into the era’s tumultuous backdrop.
A contemporary debate surrounds the Durova’s gender identity. While much of the scholarship has portrayed her as a cross-dressing woman, Durova’s personal life evidenced a rejection of femininity, even expressing aversion to her own sex. She adopted terms of androgyny, describing herself as both a bogatyr and an Amazon warrior within “The Cavalry Maiden.” Notably, she also delved into prose, with one of her stories, “Nurmeka,” featuring a male character who cross-dresses as a female. This has sparked speculation about Durova’s potential transgender identity, though modern terminology like “transvestite,” “transsexual,” and “transgender” were coined long after her lifetime. Contemporary scholarship increasingly leans toward recognizing Durova as an early example of a transgender individual.
IW note: Infinite Women respects transgender identity; however, it is difficult to determine how a historical individual may have personally identified. As such, we acknowledge the likelihood that Durova identified as what would today be a transgender man, but we choose not to exclude them without definitive proof thereof.