Vera Sergueïevna Aksakova or Vera Axakova (19 February 1819 – 9 March 1864) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

writer known for her diaries at the time of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

in a

Slavophile Slavophilia (russian: Славянофильство) was an intellectual movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavoph ...

family.

Life

Aksakova was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1819. She was the eldest daughter of

Sergey Aksakov Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov (russian: Серге́й Тимофе́евич Акса́ков) (—) was a 19th-century Russian literary figure remembered for his semi-autobiographical tales of family life, as well as his books on hunting and fi ...

and his wife Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina (1793—1878). Her mother was the daughter of Major General Semyon Grigorievich Zaplatina and a captured

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

woman. Her brothers

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. ...

and Ivan Aksakov were both noted

Slavophiles Slavophilia (russian: Славянофильство) was an intellectual movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavoph ...

. When her father began to write "The History of My Acquaintance with Gogol" she acted as his assistant and as he lost his eyesight she became his amanuensis. Aksakova is known for her diary which gives an interesting insight into Russian life during the

Crimea War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. It starts on 14 November 1854 and ends a year later on 15 November. She reports hopefully on the death of

Tsar Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

in a three page entry. She feels regret that a man has died but is optimistic about his successor. She later records the loss of national prestige with her country's defeat at the Siege of Sebastopol.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksakova, Vera 1819 births 1864 deaths People from Buguruslansky District People from the Russian Empire of Turkish descent Writers from the Russian Empire Women writers from the Russian Empire