Nadezdha Durova was a woman
who, while disguised as a man, became a decorated soldier in the Russian
cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. She was the first
known female officer in the Russian military. She left her father’s
house while in her late teenage years and joined a nearby Cossack regiment. She
was always very rebellious growing up. Always running off into the forest to go
on adventures all by herself. However this was not appropriate for a girl in 19th
century Russia. Especially a young aristocratic girl as she was. Her father was
a captain in the military and she was born on a military base where he worked.
This is how she first became associated with the military and where she was
raised to love the sound of a canon and the cry of battle. Once old enough to
be mistaken for a young male she cut her hair and fled home to chase after the
life she always wanted. The Russian military asked a few questions as some did
say she looked too feminine, but she scraped by and was in the military for
three years serving in countless battles until her bravery on the front lines
got her noticed and she was discovered for what she truly was. Durova was a
strong woman and no doubt she was fearless, and her time in the Russian army
was a great inspiration in her time for the feminist movement. Proving to
Russians of both genders that females were more than just dolls dressed up in
makeup and gowns.
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