Nadezda Durova, born in Kiev in 1783 and died in Ebaluga in 1866, was a cavalry officer of the Tsarist army, in service from 1806 to 1816. Enrolled in male clothes with the name of Aleksander Sololov, he participated in the Prussian countryside and the Russian campaign of 1812 against the armed of Napoleon, earning the fame fearless and efficient. The Tsar Alexander I wanted to meet her personally and conferred an honor. Retaled by the service in 1816, Nadezda continued to wear male clothes, but remains under discussion whether it can be considered a transgender person or not. After her military career, Nadezda was the author of some novels and, above all, of a memorial based on her war diary, the “Memoirs of Cavalier Pulzella”, who gave her great fame not only in Russia, but also in the West.
A girl-solved: Nadezda’s childhood and wedding Andreevna Durova
Nadezda Andreevna Durova was born in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire, on September 17, 1783. His father was a USSARI officer, a special cavalry unit. As a child Nadezda was the victim of an accident, falling from the window of a racing carriage. The father entrusted her to the care of her soldiers. So it was that he learned the travel commands and he began to get passionate about arms: his favorite pastime was playing with rotted discharged pistols. In 1801, at the age of 18, Nadezda married to the magistrate Vasily Stefanovich Cherno and in 1803 he gave birth to a son. However, the passion for military life and weapons soon took over: in 1806 (1805 according to other sources) the woman left the family and, disguised in male clothes, enlisted in the army, at the time engaged in the wars against Napoleon’s France.
The military career
Nadezda chose to enlist in a regiment of knights, the Ulani, with the name of Aleksander Sokolov. He took part in this guise in the Prussian countryside, during which the fourth coalition (composed of Russia, England, Prussia and other states) faced Napoleon’s France, and showed himself very courageous. According to what she herself told in her memories, during the fighting she managed to save two wounded companions. The Prussian campaign ended with the French victory, sanctioned by the peace of Tilsit between Napoleon and the Tsar Alexander I. The latter, informed of the presence of Nadezda among the soldiers, wanted to meet her personally: he received it at court in St. Petersburg and gave her an important honor, the cross of San Giorgio. Nadezda was also promoted to the lieutenant of a unit of Ussari and assumed the pseudonym of Aleksandrov, personally chosen by the Tsar. He took part in the campaign against Napoleon of 1812 and in the battle of Borodino he was injured in one leg. He remained in the army more four years, witnessing the definitive defeat of Napoleon in 1815. In 1816 he retired from the service.
The last few years and the Memorie book by Nadezda Andreevna Durova
During his military career Nadezda wrote a diary and in 1836 the poet and writer Aleksander Pushkin convinced her to publish it. The book came out with the title of “Memoirs of Aleksandrov”, but the publishers changed him, for commercial reasons, in “Memoirs of the Virgin Knight” or “Memoirs of Cavalier Pulzella” (with this title they are published in Italian). The book is considered an important source for the study of Napoleonic wars. Nadezda also wrote novels and continued to dress male clothes. It is discussed, however, if it can be considered a transgender person or a crossdresser, that is, a woman who wore men’s clothes. What is certain is that Nadezda died on March 21, 1866 in the city of Ebaluga and was buried with military honors.
